Exotic and Exuberant

An outpost uses its instruments against hip-hop and reggae

August 08, 2004|Benjamin Gedan, Globe Correspondent

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Peace Corps guidance also helped the village establish comfortable living quarters with powerful fans inside cement huts. Though a good night's sleep is interrupted often by the monkeys thumping overhead, and evening drumming has been replaced by local television, visitors can enjoy a close-up wildlife encounter.

Animals are tougher to spot at the Agumatsa Wildlife Sanctuary near Hohoe, though to be fair, we lost the energy to swivel our heads during the steep, two-hour hike. The trek includes lengthy breaks under mango trees, and views of the mountaintop, always distant, with thousands of fruit bats circling the peak. During our visit, gunfire from Togolese huntersoccasionally drowned out the rumble of the 1,600-foot-high Wli Waterfall. We learned later that only 10 percent of visitors climb to the upper falls; most prefer a casual stroll across 10-foot bridges to the equally impressive lower falls. (The misty breeze is less refreshing at the lower falls, but with benches provided by the Chances Hotel, it's worth the sacrifice.) The view from up high, however, is stunning, given the region's rolling topography and the proximity of Wli, a nearby village.

Because of its popularity with Ghanaians, Lake Volta has the most organized activities in the region. A cruise aboard the Dodi Princess is promoted by the Ministry of Tourism, and the lakeside roads, which service the country's hydroelectric dam, are some of Ghana's best. The sprawling lake, formed by the Akosombo Dam in 1966, covers 3.5 percent of Ghana and supplies almost all the country's electricity. Buses entering Akosombo cross the single-arched Adomi suspension bridge over the Volta River, an impressive bit of infrastructure.

Ghanaian passengers, however, are not eager for lectures on civil engineering, and staff members have little science to impart. Instead, the three-deck ship with capacity for 250 passengers offers pure maritime entertainment. On our trip, non-Ghanaian passengers included mostly British and German volunteers, as well as 40 US Marines singing ''Sweet Home Alabama" with the King's Anchor Band, and later wrestling in the kiddie pool on the main deck. Every Sunday, the ship also stops at Dodi Island, its rocky, uninhabited harbor filling with drummers and local residents offering 20-cent rides on wooden pirogues. The festive atmosphere of the Dodi Princess, with its chicken barbecue, dance floor, and chilled Ghanaian Star beer, continues on the island and on the slow return trip past miles of deep green hills.

Unfortunately, outside of the luxury hotels, Akosombo remains underdeveloped. The chop bars, or informal restaurants, on its main street serve day-old fufu (pounded cassava and plantain served in spicy tomato soup) with goat meat for dinner, and night activities are scarce.

''They do make something out of tourism here," said Xenia Salpius, 27, an Austrian doctor who climbed the Wli Waterfall in a camouflaged bathing suit. ''But as always, the last step is missing."

Benjamin Gedan can be reached at gedan@globe.com.

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