We awoke to a beautiful morning on the beach at Green Turtle Lodge, to make our first journey north. As we leave the comfort of this tropical paradise, we are eager to see what will come as we travel further and further from home. First we must take the same dirt roads we took to get to our beach resort, which means about 7km of rough riding up and down mountainous and rocky hills. Margarita, being cautious this time, is taking it slow. We continue our journey with our humble new friend, Alex, as we make our way to the main road. As we ride, the clouds overhead are beginning to rumble, with flashes of lightning appearing and thunder striking our bones. Is it really going to start raining heavily just as we begin to ride? We’ll see... It actually was quite beautiful, riding through on this winding road, surrounded by thick vegetation of palm trees and other tropical variety, the sound of waves crashing from the beach alongside us was calming. It ended up only raining throughout this section of road, and by the time we hit the pavement, it was smooth sailing until our next destination. We were glad to meet nicely paved roads, after traversing the treacherous roads until then, and we were granted with just enough room on the shoulder to avoid vehicles as they sped by. We kept a pretty tight formation for the most part, and the ride was pleasantly refreshing, as the rain had cleared out the air and dirt. It was brisk, and we maintained a great pace, going up and down hills as we passed some of the most beautiful landscape on our trip. Riding was a breeze until we reached our destination, the mining town known as Tarkwa.
Immediately upon reaching this town, we were greeted by the chaos of hawkers and pedestrians left and right, and an endless stream of traffic that was almost at a stand-still for miles: angry drivers and shouting, along with the noise and exhaust from trucks and vans, we were definitely back in the city. Not really having any accommodation in mind, we continued our way to find a quiet place in hopes of meeting some people who could help us out. After taking some twisting roads along hillsides, we came upon a dirt road, which would be our next route towards Kumasi. Figuring we should stay along this road, we take a few moments to rest and hopefully strike up a conversation with someone. No one really cared to talk to us. Amidst this hectic scene of an endless wave of cars passing by us, kicking up dirt into the air, making it seem like we were in a sandstorm, everything surrounding us was covered by this red dirt. Sounds of construction sites and drilling filled our ears. Our initial plan was to see if we could maybe stay in an uncompleted building, where the workers of this project would stay throughout its construction. All seemed likely, until Margarita insisted (“Guys, just trust me on this one…”) that we follow her and this man who she had just met, named Simon, who promised to help us find accommodation. Tired and on the edge of frustration, all we could say was, “we’re not really looking for a guest house or hotel, we can’t afford to stay somewhere expensive. Maybe we can stay with you, or someone you know?”. “Don’t worry, just come,” is what he replied. We follow Simon for a few minutes and lo-and-behold! We stumble upon an oasis! This couldn't be a more accurate term to describe our accommodation for the night. Here we are, passing through this loud and chaotic town, dirt is sweeping through the air, along with car exhaust suffocating our every breath, and out of nowhere, we come upon this beautiful lake surrounded by green vegetation on all sides, with lush mountains encircling the area and a clean atmosphere with a feeling of peace and tranquility. A true oasis indeed we have found, Onyame Adom!
It happened to be that this place was some sort of guest house, terribly out of place. As if this weren't enough of a relief, Simon then proceeds to pay for two rooms for us to stay the night! It turns out that this man is the son of the chief in that area, and wanted to ensure that we have an excellent experience during our stay in Tarkwa. We couldn’t deny, as he insisted on this being the case, and then asked us if we each wanted a beer, took care of that, and then dropped an additional 12 cedis on the table for whatever other items we wanted, and then dipped out and said he’d be back later in the evening to see how we were doing (!). What a nice guy, very generous. How did we get so fortunate? This was just one example of how truly blessed we were during our entire trip. We then finally took to relaxing and spent some time washing our bikes of all the dirt and grime that had accumulated from our first off-road experience, getting them oiled and ready for the days to come. The rest of the evening goes swell, enjoying the sight of this beautiful scene, hearing the story of Hanuka from Evelyn on this 23rd day of December, 2011, the eve of Armando’s twenty-first birthday. We rest up early tonight, as we have to get up early again the next day and do it all over. Where are we going? North.
Immediately upon reaching this town, we were greeted by the chaos of hawkers and pedestrians left and right, and an endless stream of traffic that was almost at a stand-still for miles: angry drivers and shouting, along with the noise and exhaust from trucks and vans, we were definitely back in the city. Not really having any accommodation in mind, we continued our way to find a quiet place in hopes of meeting some people who could help us out. After taking some twisting roads along hillsides, we came upon a dirt road, which would be our next route towards Kumasi. Figuring we should stay along this road, we take a few moments to rest and hopefully strike up a conversation with someone. No one really cared to talk to us. Amidst this hectic scene of an endless wave of cars passing by us, kicking up dirt into the air, making it seem like we were in a sandstorm, everything surrounding us was covered by this red dirt. Sounds of construction sites and drilling filled our ears. Our initial plan was to see if we could maybe stay in an uncompleted building, where the workers of this project would stay throughout its construction. All seemed likely, until Margarita insisted (“Guys, just trust me on this one…”) that we follow her and this man who she had just met, named Simon, who promised to help us find accommodation. Tired and on the edge of frustration, all we could say was, “we’re not really looking for a guest house or hotel, we can’t afford to stay somewhere expensive. Maybe we can stay with you, or someone you know?”. “Don’t worry, just come,” is what he replied. We follow Simon for a few minutes and lo-and-behold! We stumble upon an oasis! This couldn't be a more accurate term to describe our accommodation for the night. Here we are, passing through this loud and chaotic town, dirt is sweeping through the air, along with car exhaust suffocating our every breath, and out of nowhere, we come upon this beautiful lake surrounded by green vegetation on all sides, with lush mountains encircling the area and a clean atmosphere with a feeling of peace and tranquility. A true oasis indeed we have found, Onyame Adom!
It happened to be that this place was some sort of guest house, terribly out of place. As if this weren't enough of a relief, Simon then proceeds to pay for two rooms for us to stay the night! It turns out that this man is the son of the chief in that area, and wanted to ensure that we have an excellent experience during our stay in Tarkwa. We couldn’t deny, as he insisted on this being the case, and then asked us if we each wanted a beer, took care of that, and then dropped an additional 12 cedis on the table for whatever other items we wanted, and then dipped out and said he’d be back later in the evening to see how we were doing (!). What a nice guy, very generous. How did we get so fortunate? This was just one example of how truly blessed we were during our entire trip. We then finally took to relaxing and spent some time washing our bikes of all the dirt and grime that had accumulated from our first off-road experience, getting them oiled and ready for the days to come. The rest of the evening goes swell, enjoying the sight of this beautiful scene, hearing the story of Hanuka from Evelyn on this 23rd day of December, 2011, the eve of Armando’s twenty-first birthday. We rest up early tonight, as we have to get up early again the next day and do it all over. Where are we going? North.
Editor’s note: Onyame Adom means “By the Grace of God”, in Akan (Twi).
By
Armando Vargas
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