The Village Built on Stilts & Other Adventures

Who would have thought that an entire village of 450 people could live on top of the water.  Well the people of Nzulazu do just that and have been for the past 500 years.  This past weekend, me and the 4 other volunteers got the privilege to go visit this unique place built entirely on stilts.

The great thing about Ghana is that you can always expect the unexpected.  Everything ordinary turns out to be exciting in some way and that is no less true of this 2 day long trip.  The traveling to get to Beyin (the town we spent the night in; near to Nzulazu) took 2 tro-tro rides (these big, ugly vans that hold anywhere from 12-30 people…you never really know till you get in) and 2 taxis to get to the town.  It would have been 2 tros and only one taxi, but the road to our resort was too rough for the  taxi we were in to go down…so we needed to board a different one.  And yes…it was a bad road.  It was a dirt road filled with SO MANY pot-holes!  And you have to imagine 5 of us girls plus the taxi driver squished in the taxi car that oftentimes felt more like a rollercoaster ride.

But we made it and spent the night at the beautiful Beyin Beach Resort. 

This is where we saw the breath-taking sunset over the ocean.  The African sky is truly phenomenal. 

The night was wonderful.  We watched the sunset and ate a delicious meal.  I had a BLT!!!!  Oh my gosh it was so exciting and so darn tasty.  It’s been awhile since I had something that I am used to eating from back home. 

The next morning I went walking on the ocean and again watched the sky do its color changing magic.  I saw an awesome pig chase (some dogs were chasing a pig all over) and some really cool structures in the town. 

Next we headed out for our stilt village adventure.  We had to take an hour canoe ride to get out to the village. 

Charles was our guide.  He was pretty awesome and at one point was singing “I like to move it move it” to us.  A true Ghana romantic. 

We canoed through man-made and natural water canals, lakes,

and what looked like the rainforest!

We got to the stilt village with mouths wide open.  It was SO cool!

It was unlike anything I had ever seen.  We got off the canoe and walked the length of the village.  It was described to us as having a “main road” and “side avenues”, each belonging to a different family. 

Most the structures seemed pretty sturdy to me and the walkways too.  There were 3 churches and a school and there was even a guesthouse where visitors could stay.  There were lots of cute little kids and women going about normal Ghanaian activities like hand washing their clothing, cooking stew, and taking care of their babies. 

I felt like we were somewhat intruding on their lives though…I mean think about living in a place that is basically a tourist attraction.  But most people were really friendly and the kids were all excited to see us and have their pictures taken. 

Then we canoed back land.  It was an incredible adventure…definitely a highlight of my trip here in Ghana.  It is really neat to see a different side of life, a different way to live.  And of course it was so much fun to spend some time with these awesome ladies (and Charles!).