Green Turtle Lodge

Just a heads-up: If you are a jealous-type who likes secluded beach resorts, then I'd recommend skipping this post. Otherwise, you're just going to end up hating on me.

The family reunited to spend the weekend at Green Turtle Lodge (unfortunately, Myriam had to leave early). Of course, it was awesome.



The Green Turtle Lodge is an eco-resort that was established by a British couple in 2003. It's located about five hours outside of Accra, and about one hour away from the closest town of substance (Takoradi). The Green Turtle Lodge is seriously beautiful, which is further magnified by its isolation. Pictures probably aren't going to do the place justice, but I'll try ...




I find ecotourism an intriguing concept. On one hand, the principles behind the practice sounds great - among them: reduction of environmental impact, sustainable use of the local biodiversity, and the sharing the benefits of tourism with indigenous communities. On the other hand, tourism of any kind is inherently intrusive (albeit to varying degrees), and I'm wary of industries and companies that "greenwash" for the sole purpose of increasing marketability.



Of course, I didn't find the Green Turtle Lodge to be of the objectionable sort. The six of us slept into a surprisingly spacious solar-powered clay hut, and used the self-composting toilets. Surprisingly, the smell was quite tolerable! (I've heard that the odor is mitigated by spreading ash). As an example of the type of experience we had: for supper on our last night, we purchased live lobsters from a fisherman in the nearby village of Akwidaa. We carried them back in a plastic bag (lobsters: not happy) so they could be cooked for us at the resort (result: deliciousness).



One of the cool things that we were able to do was rent Boogie Boards. The girls decided to abstain, but the guys threw caution to the wind (and strong undertows be damned) and went for it. Again, I'm not the best swimmer, but I still had a ton of fun on the board. The waves were pretty size-able (Thomas estimates that the big ones were probably 12-14 feet high), so we could ride them pretty far into the shore.



So, it was another really fun weekend with the family!



Next week: Togo!
Also coming soon: Cutting my own hair.
Oh, and: Obama on the 10th and 11th!