Another holiday in Ghana has come and gone. However, this time we were prepared! The previous holidays came without much notice and therefore, without much adventure. It took me only a couple of times to get caught unawares, to then download the Ghanaian calendar of holidays and be ready for the next one!
FOUNDERS' DAY - Aug 4th
This is a national holiday to commemorate the contributions of all the people, most notably the "Big Six" that led the struggle to Ghana's independence, along with many many others in history. On this day, Ghanaians take the opportunity to reflect upon and honor the sacrifice of their fore-bearers.
I can't help but think of and remember my own ancestors who paved the way and sacrificed much so that I might have the gospel in my life. There are many here in Ghana who similarly brought hope and the gospel of Jesus Christ to this region.
BIG ADA
Our holiday adventure began Thursday afternoon, leaving work a little early. Our destination was Big Ada in the Volta River Region, this time closer to the ocean. Although this town is only a mere 71 miles from our apartment in Accra, it took us 3.5 hrs to travel there. Traffic is notoriously horrific in Ghana, due to horrible road conditions as well as overly-congested streets with way too many vehicles, motorbikes, and some of the largest transport trucks we have ever seen!
The village of approximately 8000 people is located on the riverbank of the Volta and used to be an important trading center, profiting from the river's fantastic location. From there, goods were transported to uncharted areas by canoe. The economic activities reached a peak around 1901 when a transportation system called the Volta River Transport System was launched. Ada's decline started with the construction of the harbor sea port in Takoradi (mentioned in April 2023 general conference by Elder Renlund) that made transport on the Volta River unnecessary. Today, Ada is not as popular as far as social life and economic activities are concerned. Hardly any traces of physical structures such as factories and shops remain. We did see fields and fields of tomatoes, and baskets lining the roads with fresh tomatoes for sale.
While talking with some of the locals, we discovered that their largest source of income now is oyster mining and basket weaving.
Upon arriving at our accomodations for the evening, we realized we had entered a little bit of heaven on earth. The grounds of the Aqua Safari Resort are beautifully manicured and well kept. Although not really considered safari animals - horses, donkeys, peacocks and many other creatures wandered the resort. A very large pelican is not to be missed! Many of the buildings are covered in green vines and everything is quite lush.
We had dinner by the river and watched an almost full moon rise over the water. It was beautiful. The next day we took advantage of a few of the many "included activities" at the resort: bike ride, segway ride, archery, putting green, boat rides, lawn tennis, ping pong, swimming, etc. It was a fantastic get-away and a good "sharpening the saw" activity for us as we left the office behind for a few days.
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