The startling sound of my alarm woke me up at 5 a.m. last Friday morning, the windows covered in condensation. It was time to take a weekend trip to explore the Volta Region.
We are a small group of six this year due to the pandemic. In past years, groups of students were as large as 20. Our group feels like a family to me. It is so amazing to be able to explore a
different country with new friends, and I am so grateful that we get to experience more of the
country together on weekend trips.

Our journey began in East Legon. As the sun rose over the highways of Accra, our five-hour
road trip began. I was surprised to hear that the trip would take five hours considering that it
didn’t look very far on the map; but as time went on, we all began to realize why the trip would be so long. There is a well-traveled stretch of road to the Volta Region that has yet to be improved. The entire trip on the mostly dirt, hardly paved road is filled with holes and bumps that requires slow and expert driving. The first adventure of this trip was stopping to explore Wli Falls. When we arrived, we made our way along a beautiful path framed with thick foliage. We came across a cacao tree and I was able to try raw cocoa beans for the first time. The texture surprised me. It was sweet but slimy.

Once we arrived at the waterfall, I was in awe. Wli Falls is the tallest waterfall in Ghana, so you can imagine our amazement standing right underneath it. Swimming beneath the waterfall was even more special.

My other favorite stop on this trip was the Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary. Located in the
Afadzato South District of the Volta region is where the endangered Mona monkey species
dwells. During our visit we were actually able to feed the monkeys and see them up close.

They make a special noise when it is time for food, and once our tour guide made that sound the monkeys started to come out looking for a snack. This was truly amazing and I will never forget my experience with those monkeys.