Lake Bosumtwi

May 25-27
by: Akosua Michelle

This weekend we went to Lake Bosumtwi, about 2 hours by tro-tro from Konongo. I was very excited, as it had been on my to-do list since pre-departure in Canada, though the suggestion met with early resistance because of the fear of bilharzia. However, after several tour books and tourists confirmed that the lake is bilharzia-free, consensus was reached and we were off!

Lake Bosumtwi is a true crater lake- created by a meteorite that would have crashed into earth about a million years ago! It is the home of the Ashanti god Twi, and it is where Ashanti souls are said to go when they die. Because of its significance, certain unwritten restrictions exist on the lake- for one, the use of dugout canoes is verboten (I don't know why). As such, there is a special style of plank canoe used by the fishermen on the lake. I was lucky enough to be able to try one, and it was an expierience! Not too difficult to use by just one person, but pretty much impossible when 2 or 3 people want to share the same plank!

We stayed at the Lake Point Guesthouse, run by Nana, an Austrian, and Stephen, her Ghanaian husband. They were both cordial and kept the guesthouse in impeccable condition. Our rooms (actually self-contained huts) were breathtaking, and the bathrooms were clean!! Very very exciting to find clean bathrooms in Ghana.

I went off on my own on day 2 to hike the surrounding hillsides. Within half an hour of starting my hike up a dry stream bed, I found myself deep in the jungle, and loving it. I passed small plantations, followed by bamboo forest, cleaved rocks and hillsides, and finally the top of the hills and the source of the former stream. I was only able to stay at the top briefly as I was low on water and being burnt alive away from the shade of the forest, but the experience of being in the middle of the rainforest, away from civilization, was one of the highlights of my trip.

The food at the Lake Point was another highlight...I'll admit I found it ridiculously overpriced (Canadian prices in Ghana!), but it was so worth it...Sarah, our cook, is amazing, but even her food can't beat cake and ice cream.

We hadmade a pact that weekend to leave work behind for a few days while we were at the Lake, which we did (very) successfully, and we left on Sunday refreshed and ready for another week of activities.