Trip to Ho

I went to the town of Ho, the capital of the Volta Region of eastern Ghana, last week to interview the area's minister for a story for next week's paper. (See map)

Because the drive was almost three hours each way, the reporter I was working with and I took a fancy tro-tro with air conditioning. These tro-tros, which are newer and therefore less likely to break into pieces on the highway, are all new Ford vans (and, in fact, the only Fords I've seen on Ghanaian roads) so when you go to the lorry station, you ask around for the "Ford to Ho." Which just seems funny to me.

The drive was a lot more comfortable than some of the other tro-tros I've taken, although the good condition of the van seemed to encourage the driver to travel at much more insane speeds than regular tro-tros would dare to travel.

Here are a couple of photos of the route on the way there. This is just south of the dam at Akosombo. (I didn't see the big hydroelectric dam, but Jason and I are planning a trip there.)



A series of these mountainy type things (which I'm sure have a proper geography-class name ... anyone?) dotted the landscape starting about an hour north of Accra. They kind of remind me of the Canadian shield.



How did I get such steady, in-focus pictures from the speedy cramped confines of the tro-tro, you might wonder? It's easy: all you need is for your tro-tro to get a flat tire.

We're travelling along at 120 on the highway and suddenly -- pop! swerve! -- and we're pulled to the side of the highway in the middle of nowhere for a half-hour while the driver changes the tire. I'm glad we had a spare!



In other news, I'm informed Joan and Jim had their baby! It's a boy: Luke.

And my sister sent me this picture of Nathan, which I can't resist sharing because it's so damn cute: