December 14 – Time to Leave the Treehouse
Good day. December 14th. It was time to leave the Treehouse. When you’re traveling like this, you have to keep moving. Yao had set me up with a connection in Keita, a town along the coast that’s still very much Ghana, so that became the next stop.
Goodbyes and a Coastal Departure
The day started with a delicious pancake breakfast, followed by saying goodbye to everyone. Ash even stopped by, which felt fitting since he was the one I had run into in town who reminded me that I should be going to the Treehouse in the first place. It was really good to see him again before wrapping things up and settling the bill—however successfully that may have gone.
Once on the road, following the coastline was a beautiful experience. It never gets old.
Fishing Boats and Coastal Life
I’m always mesmerized by the sheer number of fishing boats along the coast and how many people are involved in fishing. Getting fish is never an issue, and in many cases it’s already cooked. All you really have to do is eat it, which is actually pretty nice.
Arrival in Tegbi and Meeting Julius
I drove toward Keita, stopping first in the town of Tegbi, where Julius Sowu had invited me to stay. Even though I knocked on his door for a while before he woke up, I eventually made it inside.
Julius is now taking care of what his father started before he passed away: a small group of condominium units. At the moment, Julius is the only occupant, and he’s slowly but surely working on getting the place back into shape.
There’s a massive mango tree on the property. This year the mangoes were smaller than usual, which Julius figures is due to the late rains.
Julius’s Story
Julius is part Irish and part Ghanaian and spent about 35 years in England. Despite having an engineering degree, he ended up running British pubs during that time, managing several of them over the years.
After two heart attacks and other health issues, he decided it was time for a quieter life and moved back to Ghana. Now he’s here, offering travelers like me a place to stay. It’s all pretty basic and definitely needs some work, but that’s exactly what he plans to focus on in the coming years.
A Simple Evening and a Good Night’s Rest
We grabbed a beer at his favorite local hangout, and despite my minimal appetite, he knew a surprisingly good place for a salad. Salads aren’t usually the first thing you go for while traveling through Africa, given concerns about freshness and illness, but this felt like as good a place as any.
The salad turned out to be delicious. Even though everything was simple, I slept well and ended up having an absolutely amazing day, especially thanks to everything Julius shared.
Thanks for coming along, and catch you later.
