My Trip to Northern Ghana- Paga and Bolgatanga

Well…in Paga the Chief has a special pond. Inside this pond are sacred crocodiles.

The crocodiles have a long history of helping out the ancestors of the Paga people. The crocs don’t hurt the people that live around then and even swim in the pool with them. In return the crocodiles are not killed, they are feed live chickens from time to time, and given proper funerals. I am fine with seeing wildlife in the wild and in many ways the crocs were. This pool of water is there home and they aren’t being hunted. But the crocs are a source of entertainment and revenue for the people of the area. I have done my best to keep my blog positive and non-judgmental, but Paga was hard. So why did vegan Alison go to the crocodile pool? My friend Jessie was dieing to touch a live croc…it was pretty amazing.

I told her I could do without it, but she paid for me and I had the experience. I touched a 95-year-old crocodile. Then he was feed a live chicken.

It was bizarre.

After the crocodile pool we headed across the street to see the compound of one of the guides.

It was neat to see the different style of mud buildings



and hear more stories about the culture.

Above I am lying on a bed in the coolest place (cool= low temperature) I found in the dry and hot north. It was a mud hut that was degrees cooler inside. It was great.
I was instructed to put on the old warrior gear because as he said, “it will make a good picture”.

If there is anything this guide knows…it was how to take good pictures.

He was better at taking pictures with my digital camera then many people I know.

After these tours we hopped in a shared taxi and befriended a Ghanaian heading to Accra. He was funny, friendly, and married to a woman he told us all about. It was so sweet to hear this, days before Valentine’s Day. Our shared taxi broke down so we all climbed in the next taxi that came.

A wonderful surprise we got when we found he had paid out taxi fare! It was so nice! Thank you where, ever you are.

Jessie and I got a room at the Sand Gardens Hotel in Bolgatanga and it was exactly what we needed…a/c. I guess I failed to mention that it had gotten to 120 degrees F when we were at Mole. Thank goodness for the pool.

The following morning, Thursday, we took a Metro Mass bus to Kumasi. Below are some chickens we met eating eggs at the bus station. It was strange.

Then hopped aboard the bus.

Once we arrive we booked a room at the Guestline Hotel. It was cheap and had a fan…until the power when out. But it was a stone’s throw from the STC bus station where we left the next morning at 6:30am for Accra.

All and all the North was a great trip. If you are in Ghana during the dry season you must make it up to Mole!