Bittersweet Goodbyes

It is hard to believe that tomorrow is our day of departure. With the blink of an eye, this month in Ghana has flown by and while the time has gone by quickly, the amount that we have accomplished is a great source of pride for us.

We are currently writing from the Volta Region of Ghana on our final excursion of the trip. The Volta Region is quite different from our home on the coast, with rolling hills green and mountains and-- naturally-- no ocean. It is absolutely beautiful and our days have been action-packed since our arrival on Friday. On our way up, we stood inches from wild baboons on the outskirts of the Shai Hills Reserve and watched and then actually participated in weaving our own cloth with the the kente weavers.

Today we explored the Tofi Atome Monkey Sanctuary, where the monkeys are considered sacred and protected from poaching by a wonderful community run eco-tourism project. As we hiked through the lush jungle, curious monkeys descended from the trees and some even took bananas out of our hands and ate them! It was incredible. In the afternoon we visited the Wli waterfall, which is reportedly the tallest waterfall in West Africa. We had a chance to swim in the pool below the falls and stand in awe of its height and beauty.

Tomorrow we head south the the village of Aburi to hit the hand-crafted market stalls and hopefully see the Botanical Gardens before having our last meal and flying home.

Prior to our Volta Region visit, we said our last, very sad goodbyes to Cape Three Points. Our classroom project is essentially finished, which is an incredible testament to all of our hard work and to the help of our Ghanaian friends. We hosted a goodbye party with all of our new friends and many tears were shed as we departed from our home for the past month. Cape Three Points will be missed greatly but without a doubt will remain a special place in our hearts forever. It has been an incredible month.

See you soon!
Mark and Kelsey