From Ekon to Nzuelezo Stilt Village
Trip Start
Mar 27, 2008
1
14
21
Trip End
Oct 01, 2008
Axim,
Ghana
Monday, June 16, 2008
Actually work was very interesting this week. With CHRAJ we did a radio broadcast on Eagle FM on the abuse of power by politicians and the police and we did our last inspection of a 'slum' community outside Cape Coast.
There was something very interesting about Ekon, the fishing community we visited on Friday, and I had a hard time characterising it as a 'slum'. Why I'm not sure. Perhaps it's because I'm getting used to the constant poverty that surrounds me or maybe because there was something I found inherently beautiful and dignified about this community
Ekon fisherman- note the flag
. Yes, technically the town should be characterised by a slum because of its lack of infrastructure and access to schools and healthcare, but this seemed to do it an injustice. We sat with the local leaders of the community for some time and asked them questions about their quality of living and about their lifestyle in general. They all seemed to be content and proud people, certainly not looking for pity or a handout. Later that day I joined Marc and his friends and we headed west to Axim. The first tro-tro from Cape Coast to Takoradi was comfortable (for a tro-tro) but the second one from Takoradi to Axim gave me an uncomfortable feeling. In reality, the travelling to Axim was completely hassle free, but I still was left a bit shaken by the journey.
Although it was raining for the rest of the day we enjoyed a couple drinks by the beach and a boozey dinner at the hotel's restaurant. Later that night we met some Irish gold miners who were at the hotel for a weekend break; at first they were entertaining and pleasant enough but they became aggressive and uninteresting, so I bayed farewell to the group and went to sleep.
The next day we hired two taxis to take us to Nzuelezo Stilt Village, roughly 30 km away from the Cote d'Ivoire boarder
Ekon
. It took a couple hours of bone shaking travelling along dirt roads to reach the town of Beyin where we arranged to travel by canoe to the village itself. The village sits in protected wetlands, so we arranged our visit through the Ghana Wildlife Commission, and were given two guides/boatman to take us to the village. After we had bought the customary bottle of liquor for the chief, which is a customary practice all over Ghana, and acquainted ourselves with out guides, we headed off. It took about an hour to paddle out to the village and team America (me and David) took the outbound journey, while team Canada (Marc and Alex) took the inbound trip. Team America was by far the fastest, but that was to be expected considering the Olympic athletic prowess of our great country- Ha! The canoe was a bit unstable at times and the paddling a bit tiring, but overall the journey was very pleasant. Once at the village we exited the boats onto 'dry land' and poked around at our leisure. Our guides then introduced us to the Chief of Nzuelezo Village and he explained the history of how his tribe migrated from Mali several hundred years ago, and how they built their village over the lake. While I enjoyed meeting with the Chief, and with the villagers, I had an overwhelming feeling that we were intruding on them. The village has benefited from tourists monetarily, but they also have lost their privacy since there is a steady stream of tourists constantly walking through the village. It felt almost like an African Disneyland exhibit, and was forced to say the least.
We spent another night in the lovely hotel in Axim and then headed home to Cape Coast on Sunday. While I had not travelled extensively during the weekend, I still came to the conclusion that I do not want to travel much more in Ghana by public transport. It may be because of the two horrendous road accidents that happened last week or maybe because I'm getting old and weary, but my initial plan of travelling overland to Burkina Faso in August has been axed. I may still do the trip but it will have to be by private car or by plane. Then again, as usual, I may always change my mind....
