Waterfalls and Things

Nsuo: Water (Twi, language of Ashanti tribe in Ghana)

As a young girl, my homies T-boz, Lefteye and Chilli of TLC advised me, "don't go chasing waterfalls, please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to"...well ladies, I respectfully disagree.  I'm used to the Schuylkill, the river that flows through Pennsylvania and my childhood memories. I'm used to the Potomac of DC, a beautiful backdrop to the monuments and government buildings.  I've lived on the banks of the powerful Mississippi River in New Orleans where we learn to respect its "muddy bosom" remembering Hurricane Katrina. Yes ...I've known rivers... But residing  inside of me is a  deep thirst to know and see and feel...more. Some call it Wanderlust... l'll call it Waterlust...I am an Aquarius! Now I'm chasing waterfalls in West Africa,  literally!

In Nigeria, I visited the Erin-Ijesa  Waterfalls in Akure. Akure is the capital city of Ondo State. We drive a little under 3  hours to the Erin-Ijesa waterfall. This is my first time seeing a waterfall of any kind...ever.  No I have never seen a waterfall (including Niagara falls) in the states. Yes I recognize the irony of traveling thousands of miles to see a waterfall when one of the most famous in the world was only 1 state away from my birthplace. My response..."you don't know ma life son" and "*blushing* well I plan to see it someday".
 Anyways,when we arrive, we pay our fare (all at the local price), park and are on our way. I planned to get a bathing suit when I first arrived to Nigeria and realized later that people (at least not the Nigerians in the towns) don't really do the whole bathing suit thing. I was relieved to wear shorts and a t-shirt by default at this waterfall, because that's exactly what everyone else wore. What I've learned in my time in West Africa is that modesty in attire is very important (a future blog post).  To get to the top of the waterfall, we had to climb stairs and hills. So I'm, what you'd call a plus sized woman. I lovingly embrace all of me, but yes I had some difficulties traveling to the top of that waterfall,  this girl was sweating. The steps were difficult but were not as bad as I thought. What was more difficult however, were the hills. On top of being plus sized...and awkward...I am also a huge klutz. So, I on certain occasions, was sliding down the side of these hills. Thank God Sister and her friends were there to help or I'd be rolling to the bottom.

 Erin-Ijesa Olumarin Waterfalls

When we made it  to the top, my jaw dropped! This waterfall was absolutely amazing. I watched in glee as the water, which seemed to come from heaven, cascaded down,  crashing violently into huge dark stones or dark bodies grabbing hold to one another to soften the blows.  I stayed at the bottom of the waterfall, where the  ferocious waters rested and transformed into a serene bath. That is the designated area for punks like me, I took pictures and watched the wonderful scene play out in front of me. Like netflix...on hd... surround sound... blue ray times 100. This is real!   What I notice about the people in the water is that they talk and play and laugh together as if they are all family. In the U.S., the tourists would be dividing themselves up and talking primarily to the people that they came with. We'd probably say a few kind words to someone sitting close to us but would we hold on to complete strangers so that everyone can stand together safely under a waterfall? Hmmm...maybe not, we are so obsessed with personal space if you are a stranger. Its understandable.  We are taught to protect ourselves so we won't become a victim of some horrible crime. But we are seriously missing out if we lock out every stranger. I will try to remember this lesson in the U.S. when I'm chillin' in my comfort zone and letting my potential friend/mentor/waterfall anchor pass me by.  We leave the Waterfall a few hours later.  Sister's friend points out a catfish swimming in the water by my feet as we are leaving and I run away like a little girl.

I went on a trip to a historical site called Idanre Hill. An English teacher named "Auntie Bola" two Homaj students ( Blessing and Toye) and I climbed to the top of hill. Once again, there were lots of steps , 660 steps to be exact. Lawd!!! Those steps though...at one point, I was holding my chest like Fred Sanford, and I was sweating so bad, it looked like I just had a shower. Every ten minutes I asked the tour guide what number step we were on. He annoyingly gave me a random number close to 600. I guess he figured I may quit if he said 300 instead of 583. I believed him because sometimes you need Santa to be real. I wanted to crawl at times, but I talked myself out of it saying 'girl have a little dignity'. This big girl was getting her fitness on. When I got to the top, I felt like Rocky. I swear I heard "eye of the tiger" I had the urge to do 'the wobble', and bite one of those goats I saw simultaneously. I ignored the crazy and simply said "we made it"instead.   The view from the top made it all worth it, it was spectacular! The entire village below was in view. The rusty red roofs and orange colored dusty roads made the town look magical.

Idanre Hill 

The stories is like this... for thousands of years, people lived on this mountain but because of pushes for modernization, most left their home and settled in the town below in 1928. There are still some people who live at the top but most come back annually to pay respect to the home that their ancestors left behind. During the tour on Idanre Hill, we passed a stream of water that was flowing through a rock. I'm staring in disbelief...how is this water coming from here? I confusingly look up at my tour guide who tells us the the water was known to be sacred and could heal ailments. He said when everyone lived on this hill, people would bring the sick to this very site and they'd be well again. We step in the water, it was rather chilly for such a warm day. I think about what the guide says about this water's healing powers and am happy to be standing in a place that meant so much to the villagers. I touch it lightly with my fingertips.  As we were exiting , we noticed some children further down the stream bathing in the water, laughing and playing. They see us and yell a greeting. Then they put their clothes on in haste and join us for the rest of the tour.  We see the Ancient palace, and its courtyard , we see a school, a jail, and a courthouse all from hundreds of years ago, all very fascinating...Then there was this huge stone sitting high in the sky. It had a message chiseled deeply into it. The writing is clear as day, but it isn't English...or Spanish ...or any language that we have in our modern world. The tour guide says that this is the "unreadable letters of the flood ". The people believe that this place is the site where Noah arrived after the flood, and those letters in the stone... some type of message for humanity.  I thought about this site all night, its mysteries made my mind wander...and off to sleep I went.

In Ghana, I visited a waterfall in the city of Kintampo. There were 3 stages of this lovely waterfall and very  few steps (thank you lawd). Stage 1 and 2 showed  the route of the water, stage 3 showed the waterfall's final destination. This Waterfall was very different from the one in Nigeria. The biggest difference is location. In Nigeria, we walked from the bottom to the top to view the waterfall. In Ghana, we started at the top and walked down to the bottom where the water fell off a huge cliff. Both views were amazing .  At Kintampo waterfalls, I found myself in a daze, the waterfall was just too beautiful. The trees, and the breeze, the smell,  the sounds , a soundtrack of laughter, roars of the water, the birds chirping and my own pulsing heartbeat providing the bass, was just too perfect. Have you ever convinced yourself that all that is in front of you is a dream? You reason with yourself because you know the disappointment of waking up, reality slapping you in the face, to find it all to be just a dream. Reality's slap is less painful if you know it isn't real way before you open your eyes. This is one of those moments... But all the reasoning in the world doesn't change the fact that this isn't my dream this is my LIFE. And I am indeed blessed. I don't know the specifics of my creation, I sometimes am confused by the whole religion question, but MAN...I can't help but  be grateful. A little ghetto kid born in Camden NJ, chilling in a Waterfall in Africa...unable to determine if she's dreaming or not. I can't help but to give this Creator praise whoever he,or she or it is.

Kintampo Waterfalls

So...this time I decided to be less of a punk and get further into the water...then I saw someone fall off the rocks. The rocks were very slippery and people were sliding everywhere.  They didn't seem to mind falling, I however  would probably kill myself. So I ventured further than I did in Nigeria, I got extra close but I did not make it under the waterfall with its slippery rocks...

You may be thinking, what the hell is the point of chasing waterfalls if you didn't actually go UNDER the waterfall? Well...good question...I thought about this myself. This is what I came up with...I chased the waterfalls, saw them with my own two eyes...took me a sip to satiate my thirst for adventure and guess what...I have no broken bones, or ribs, I'm in no pain. I say that's a victory for a klutz like me...don't judge me...you don't know ma life...SON. ;) And the waters flowing inside this Aquarius are electric because of these experiences.