Well, we had a good night’s rest and never heard anything more about the fire. In fact to our surprise we really didn’t see any evidence of how close the fire actually got except for all the ash on the grounds Saturday morning.
We drove Northeast from Ho to Hohoe and then off to the east to the Wli (pronounced Vli) Natural Reserve to see the falls. On the 45 minute walk to the falls our guide pointed out vegetation and trees along the way. The first two pictures are coffee beans.
The stream behind us is from the falls which we crossed nine times during our walk.
The second picture below I am laying on my back trying to give you an idea of the height of the wawa (obeche) tree behind the banana tree. These trees are incredibly tall. The third picture is a bush pineapple and will get large like the pineapples you see in grocery stores.
Finally the Wli falls. The guide said they are 90 meters (270+ feet). It was very pleasant; cool but not cold.
On the way back we came across the local villagers doing their wash in the stream. Two little boys hammed it up for our camera. Obviously they are used to the tourists.
On the other side of the bridge, just upstream, youth were filling their buckets and pans with water from the stream. These little girls were 8 years old carrying the buckets of water filled to the top that weighed more than they did.
On our way back we stopped at the Tafi-Atome Monkey Sanctuary where we had the opportunity to feed the Mona monkeys. The monkeys are really quite friendly and gentle unless threatened.
The next picture is the blossom from one of the may varieties of “Forget-me-not” trees. We learned that these trees are planted around and among the headstones and graves of their cemeteries. The picture on the right is the oldest tree in this village which the guide said was 100 years old, where the villagers gather at the request of the local chief.
The below picture is of a mother getting water and teaching her young child to help get the water. She is very young, and you see little water in the bucket, but she is learning an important duty. Some of the bore holes (wells) have been contaminated with salt water. We asked the guide who put the well in and he said someone from the US. It was not labeled to give credit to the organization who installed it but these are the type of wells that the Church has installed throughout West Africa as part of the Welfare Program. We have a volunteer couple here whose job it is to oversee installation of wells and other humanitarian efforts.
The last picture shows the BYU supporters, the others we were traveling with, listening live to the BYU vs. Baylor basketball game that was broadcast that night via computer and ipad, out on the balcony of the hotel. It was a great game in spite of the unpopular final score.
Until next time….and another blog about our trip to Ho!
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