Cashew Eco Lodge – Boats, baskets, buckets and loads more!

The Cashew Lodge is owned by Jolanika tours and before I go any further let me say that this travel agency is one of the best I have ever used. Cindy and Apollo are both amazing and do everything to make your trip memorable. For further details of everything they have to offer in Ghana, Benin and Togo click here.

The second best thing about Jolanika for this overnight trip was my guide/driver James. What a totally awesome person he turned out to be. Popular with the children especially Ali who was a young boy with learning disabilities, and who quite literally never left his side.

The lodge sits on the river bank in the village of Atsiekpoe which aptly translates to cashew tree. Its less than two hours from Accra and involves a rather nice crossing by a small boat.

Once you arrive you can take part in several activities. The village as you would probably expect is based around fishing and farming. I joined some local fishermen and even caught my own dinner of a rather tasty Tilapia.

If you are prepared to get up early you can also help to take in the shrimp catch, the traps which will have been laid the night before.

Don’t miss a walk around the nearby village to see how the local community live. Most of the homes are made from termite clay with thatched roofs, often with goats sitting around the perimeter.

The village has its own blacksmith who will be happy to explain his trade to you. The best part of any rural village has to be the people, be it the village elders or the mothers and babies.

The elderly especially enjoy a chat and I even flirted with this lovely gentleman who said he was 105 years old.

In principle you can swim in the lake but as there is a risk of Bilharzia then it really is at your own risk.

Another activity is the basket weaving. I was basically useless!

By far the most amazing activity is the drumming and dancing which takes place in the evenings.

It’s an extra charge of about $20 but I would have paid for a second night had I been staying.

As you would expect the lodge is rural and the shower is a bucket but don’t let that put you off. This was one of the best experiences I had in Ghana.

The food is cooked by a local lady from the village called Yayira.

And James was on hand to provide an excellent babysitting service while the dinner was being prepared, although he looked hungry enough to eat that babe Hypothetically speaking of course.

The dinner was delicious.

Tinyteddy’s feedback: “An awesome experience despite a bit of teddy manhandling among the kids but that’s the price you pay for being popular. Check out the dude with the glasses. Cool!”