Friday afternoon, Ilse, Morgan and I take a Trotro to Kakum. We tell the driver we want to go to the monkey sanctuary and he nods. However, he misses the place and we are lucky we saw the sign ourselves and can make him stop after a while. He apologises and helps us get a taxi back. It is already occupied by two men but we can squeeze in. Ilse and Morgan in the front, I join the men in the back. Then a third guy comes running towards the car. The men tell him to enter the car on their side but when he sees me, the obroni, he wants to sit next to me. They laugh. I don‘t understand what they are saying but I can imagine and laugh with them. The taxi drives off and my neighbour start asking for my name and my number. He is unlucky though, we soon arrive at the monkey sanctuary and alight.
At first we think we have bad luck because the gate is locked, but then a white lady walks towards us. Annette and her husband Dennis are the Dutch owners of the monkey sanctuary. Annette shows us around because Dennis is at the hospital. He has malaria, two different kinds at once, she says. Seven years ago they came to Ghana, fell in love with the place and wanted to build up a guesthouse and restaurant and later have some animals. The guesthouse is not finished and neither is the restaurant but the animals have some. They care for sick animals, animals left behind by mothers or whose mothers were killed by hunters. They have monkeys, turtles, crocodiles, snakes, parrots... and their trees are inhabited by hundreds of weaver birds. The place is like a little zoo - in and out of the house. The preserves and cages are placed on the slope of a hill. From the top of the hill, we have a fantastic view. Everything is green, we learn that what we see in the distance is Kakum, the National Park. After our round of the sanctuary, we sit together for a cool drink and a chat. Since the Dutch couple arrived in Ghana, they have not been back to their home. They haven‘t seen much of Ghana either. It has only been work. And it must be difficult work. No electricity. Annette says that even after seven years, she doesn‘t trust the locals in the neighbouring village. They had something like a war with the chief. But there must be something that makes them stay. Dennis comes back from the hospital and he doesn‘t look good. He looks tired. But still they look happy and content. I think nothing could make them leave. They try to get volunteers now to get more time for themselves and to travel. Not back to Holland, though. To Spain maybe, Germany. And definitely through Ghana.
