Ghana ACT: Monkeys and Waterfalls

Annelise: Monkey Whisperer.

Yesterday, we went on our first excursion of the session! We woke up at 5AM and immediately left for the Tafi Monkey Sanctuary, which was crazy fun. All we had to do was hold a banana and the mona monkeys would jump all over us and eat the bananas right out of our hands. They were aggressive little guys! Unreal. A lot of us had muddy little pawprints on our shoulders and arms from where the monkeys had jumped/climbed onto us. Before I knew it, we were done with the monkeys and on our way to the largest waterfall in Western Africa. We climbed all the way to the upper falls, which took about 4 hours. Most of the way up was a very narrow, rocky, trail with a very steep incline. It was honestly one of the most physically challenging yet rewarding things I have ever experienced. It was exhausting, of course, and

During our hike we encountered many exotic and ferocious creatures,
such as this beastly giant millipede.

looking up the HUGE mountain was daunting. When we finally reached the waterfall, the water was coming down with such force that we were all drenched just from the mist that was surrounding the falls. It was a stunning sight though, and I'm so proud of myself for making it all the way up there to see it. Definitely worth the soreness in my legs and butt that I am feeling right now. When we finally reached the end of the trail and got back to all the souvenir shops, it started to downpour in typical Ghanaian fashion. And when I say downpour, I mean standing in it for 10 seconds would get you drenched to the bone. We waited several hours and browsed the shops until the rain let up and eventually stopped, where we finally got back in our trotro (bus/van thing) and began our long journey home. I think the exhaustion made us all a slightly

Our gorgeous reward for hiking the mountain.
Pictures just don't do it justice.

crazy because we were all very giggly bunch on the ride home. In any case, all it took was some leftovers of Jollof and Mpoto Mpoto and we all passed out by 11. And now, on a completely random note, I'm going to post some photos of the food we've been eating, as per request of my dear friend Chelsea. I have yet to encounter a meal that I did not thoroughly enjoy, although I am avoiding meat at all costs because for those of you who know me, you know that I'm pretty much afraid to eat anything that was once an animal. From what I hear though, the meat is also delicious, haha. Anyway, enjoy! More posts to come soon.