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‘The Floors Are Shaking’: A Tranquil Weekend in Volta

Written by McKenzee Manlupig for UO Media In Ghana Blogs

Wli Waterfalls in the Hohoe municipality of the Volta Region. The largest waterfall in West Africa, at approx. 100 meters.

Drake ended up giving us a personal concert, belting to my roommate and me at the end of our bed.

We had it the worst, being at the very end of the hall. A peer, four rooms down, said the noise was 88 decibels in his room.  Apparently it’s potentially dangerous to have long exposure at 85 decibels plus. 

At first I found it amusing. I wanted to make the best of the situation and at least go dance. So my peers and I sat at the restaurant, just chatting, waiting for the dance floor to fill.

It never did. 

At about 1:00 a.m. We pulled the tarp to the side and looked through the chain-link fence only to find untouched black tar. Not a single person, just the emcee swinging his mic by its cord

We were to leave for a full-day excursion at 8:00 a.m. the next day. 

My roommate asked the hotel attendants to turn it down, turn it off; there is not a single person listening to the music. The front desk lady almost giggled, saying there was nothing to be done. We couldn't even move rooms because apparently they were all booked up. 

We were almost delirious at this point, thinking of intricate solutions. Pouring water on the fuse box? Sleeping on the bus? Driving home? 

The music ended early, at 4:00 a.m., 10 hours later. It was supposed to end at daybreak, but I guess there wasn’t a big enough crowd.

The floors shook for hours. The TV glass vibrated within its frame.

Earthquake? No. Large, chunky speakers that roared, sitting right below our window. A dance floor, a wall away. 

We were visiting Volta for the weekend; a supposed peaceful countryside. 

We asked our professor if there were any fun places for a night out.

“No, it’s not like that,” he said. “Super chill and just naturey.” And this was true. During this trip, we swam under the biggest waterfall in West Africa, shook hands with monkeys exchanging bananas, and felt the breeze while boating down the Volta River.

A drastic change of pace, opposing the bustling crowds of Accra and Kumasi. 

It started at 7:00 p.m. 

We got home from Wli Falls, having witnessed hundreds of bats resting on the cliffside while thousands of tons of water thundered to the ground beside them.

At dinner, one chaperone told us there was a disco on the property.

My dream. I can dance all night and then just go to sleep when I’m tired. Don’t gotta wait for no Uber or nothing. Nice and comfy in my bed immediately.