Ashanti Excursion Part 1: Lake Bosumtwi

Still feeling homesick? Thought not.

From Mr. O's memory, Canadian Thanksgiving in mid-October was the time when homesickness set in. Not being able to gather with family to enjoy some turkey time when the leaves turn colour is a bit tough. The best way to get around this is to do something fun to take the mind off home and to enjoy the present.

Mr. and Mrs. O decided the best way to spend the long weekend was relaxing Canadian-style by the lake - Bosumtwi, that is. The largest natural lake in Ghana, Bosumtwi was formed as a crater, so is perfectly round. It is very warm and is bilharzia-free*, which means no parasites to worry about, in contrast to other freshwater areas in Ghana. Thus it is the only non-ocean place to swim. Mr. O had fond memories of a previous visit for Easter during his first visit.

Look up. Look waaaay up.

1 down, 399 to go.

Mr. and Mrs. O brought along another couple with a young child who were feeling adventurous and hopped in the big old SUV and set their coordinates for the Ashanti Region. The drive is approximately 4-5 hours, mostly on the Accra-Kumasi highway, which starts as a four lane freeway, then abruptly turns into dirt road construction, then two-lane blacktop. On the blacktop are several toll booths, police checkpoints and speed bumps - in addition of being a source for construction funds (as well as padding the cops' meager salaries), these serve to remedy the highway's reputation as the most dangerous in West Africa. Mr. O noted that there appear to be much fewer burned-out and overturned tractor-trailers on the roadside, which might point to increasing safety (as well as the arrival of industrial tow trucks).

ANTS. SO MANY ANTS.

The drive was long, so we decided to break it up by visiting the Bobiri Butterfly Sanctuary. As rainforest goes in Ghana, this was quite beautiful, and with 400 types of butterflies constantly fluttering about, it was great to take in. Unfortunately, the tour guide wasn't very guide-like, so he mostly read the signs posted on major tree species and remarked at how there are 400 types of butterflies (without identifying any one type, which might have been useful). However, at $2 per person, it is hard to complain.

Arriving at the lake, one decends from a high mountain-style pass where one can see the whole lake from above. Once at the bottom of the hill, to get to the few resorts that dot the lake, one switches from the well-maintained blacktop road to a rocky dirt road that rattle even the strongest of Land Cruisers. Taxis understandably hate going on this road. It passes through a few small fishing villages, which gave the Accra residents their first viewing of rural life (and rural poverty), as well as the first of what will be many children's calls of ''HELLO OBRUNI!''

Litlle Miss goes exploring the countryside.

A light shower.

The group arrived at Cocoa Village Guesthouse and settled into their simple cabins, with fans and mosquito nets (Little Miss was excited to go ''camping in a tent''). The dinner was prepared by the Slovenian owner, who just happened to have fresh steak from Kumasi. So the group ate very well, with meals overlooking the water. Electricity was intermittent and cell reception was patchy, so the days and evenings were fairly quiet. Lake Boswumtwi really is a place to relax and enjoy fresh water, fresh air and little noise, other than the occasional songs and chatter of fishermen on simple wooden planks (metal on the lake is taboo). There were a ridiculous amount of bugs after the rain that gravitated towards the lights, but lots of lizards to eat them and almost no mosquitoes.

Cocoa Village and their mascot Koko (get it?)

On Sunday, the group took a quick drive to a new outfit called the Green Ranch. Run by a French woman and her Ghanaian husband, they keep local horses for trail riding, as well as a vegetarian restaurant and fairly nice accommodations. The group went for a one-hour ride down the road to the beach and through the nearby village (where the owner seemed to know every child by name). Little Miss found her helmet and jerry-rigged seatbelt hot and uncomfortable, but she was thrilled to be riding on a horse like her grandmother. Mr. O took a dip in the lake afterwards to get rid of the sweat and horse-smell.

Trail riding, Ghana-style

Otherwise, the group spent the weekend relaxing - reading, looking for geckos and snails, watching cartoons (yes, we brought the DVD player) and throwing rocks into the lake (Little Miss' favourite). With little to do after dark, the guests sat on the porch and drank beer and wine by gaslight with the owners.

Going for a swim.

An interesting point is how close the place is to the nearby villages - people are walking by it all the time and one can hear the chattering of traveling locals from the hut. Both Cocoa Village and Green Ranch are very intertwined with the communities, despite the stark difference between villagers and foreign tourists. The employees are hired from the villages and they have strong relations with the local authorities. Cocoa Village also seems to function as the local cellphone charging station, as the next village does not have electricity. The owner's girlfriend is even trying to publish a beautifully-designed children's book about the village. So patronizing these places is a bit different from the average faceless all-inclusive resort.


On Monday, once they settled their (surprisingly low) bills, Mrs. O and friends made the long trek back to Accra, while Mr. O joined the owners going to Kumasi, as he was attracted to a soccer match of epic proportions...

Somehow these guys survived the weekend.

*Note: there is a great debate on what this means. Locals fish and swim in the lake regularly, without recorded instances of bilharzia. Tourists do not report having any cases resulting from swimming in the lake in blogs or travel guides. Finally, it was mentioned that the lake is tested for bilharzia regularly by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. That being said, doctors preach caution and do not advise swimming. Mr. O has now done this twice, with no issues (yet).