Transport tales

I have a reputation in my group for being the one to organize weekend trips away with my trusty (falling apart) guide book! I’d noticed in the transport section that trains ran between Kumasi to Takoradi, so I decided the Western Region would be our destination. I was excited about traveling on a train across Ghana and on Friday morning we set out to the train station. We arrived in Kumasi and a very friendly gentleman led us to the station. I was a little surprised that our route to the train station was walking on rusty old train tracks with people selling various items along the side. However I assumed these must be old tracks and we marched on. We finally arrived at the train station where many people stood, so I was hopeful that a train would be coming soon. However when we asked the train guard he laughed and said no trains have ran in the last year and from the look of the train tracks no trains will be running anytime soon. So we jumped into a posh trotro and headed to Takoradi. Sarah was talking to a very friendly gentleman who smiled when she said we had been planning to travel by train, his response ‘Ghanaians wouldn’t even travel on those trains if they were free!’
Once we arrived in Takoradi, we caught a rickety old trotro to ‘The Green Turtle Lodge’ where we enjoyed a fabulous dinner and night on the beach. The eco lodge was beautiful; we were able to camp on a stunning white sandy beach with an outdoor shower looking out to the sea. I enjoyed a beautiful walk along the beach and a dip in the sea before breakfast. On Saturday we traveled further into the region, we we’re kindly given a lift to the bus station in a 4x4. There were a few too many people to seats, but the driver calmly suggested the roof and we jumped at the opportunity, So Karem, Sarah and I climbed up onto the rickety roof and watched the beautiful scenery pass us by. It was brilliant! Although Karem questioned whether our insurance policy would cover us and how would we explain it to our parents if anything happened!?
Our next form of random transport was a small canoe, we questioned whether all six of us and our luggage would fit, however the boatman calmed our fears and we all piled on. The canoe journey was stunning, we passed through two jungles and out onto a vast black lake. Our final stop was a stilt village built on the lake, which we explored.
I’d noticed in my guide book a desert of the coast of Ghana, where tourists are allowed to camp. So we decided our final night would be spent on the desert island, half our group backed out but Karem, Ifsa and I decided to face our fears and board a very old fishing boat which would take us to the Nunu Busua Island. Ifsa and I clutched each others hands as we boarded into the boat and headed out onto the rough sea. Waves continually rocked out boat, up and down but we made it to the small Island. With no tents, no sleeping bags and no mobiles working we stayed on the Island. We enjoyed banana pancakes as we watched the sunset over the main land. It was a cold night, however I did manage to sleep for 7hours! Unfortunately Karem didn’t and spent the whole night worrying about the heavy clouds lurking above us!