So my Senegalese colleague is going back on Tuesday after 2 years in Ghana, I have to say I will miss her. On first appearance you would think she was very quiet but she is a bit no nonsense like me, but with that fiery French temper, it’s not going to be the same without her.

A group of us decided to give her a send off in the mountains. About an hour out of Accra we went to Aburi for a different scenery and a spot of lunch. Well I say lunch but it was kind of in between lunch and dinner as although they got there at 1, me and my crew got there at around 2.30. I had one too many vodka martini’s the night before and although I was up at 6, it took a while for the affect to wear off and get out of the system. So although I was supposed to pick up my mate Junior and a couple of the guys from the guest house at 12, I actually set off at that time.

I brought along my friend Junior to even out the English to French ratio. Although the guys do their best to speak English, it is inevitable with it not being their first language for them to switch languages, and my proficiency level still hasn’t advanced much from ordering a poulet et pommes avec legumes, to an actual conversation, a lot of what is said is usually lost in translation, so it was nice to have twi/english speaking friend around when they were busily chatting away.

We went to a place called Hillburi, it is a restaurant but they are expanding to include some hotel rooms. It is Lebanese owned and I think part Ghanaian owned, nothing like Tulip but comfortable enough with a nice seating area, swimming pool and a good view of the mountains.

Previously you could just walk in and chill out but they have tried to create an air of exclusivity, so it is a members only type place. If you just want to spend the day there though, there is an entry fee of 5ghs or you pay a deposit of 20ghs which would be used towards your food and drink, if you don’t use up to that amount it is non-refundable, if you consume more than that then you pay the difference. But with a burger and chips being around 15ghs and a bottle of star coming in at 7ghs you are bound to pay more than the deposit so we chose the latter option.

The menu is not anything spectacular. You can have a green salad or greek salad costing around 14ghs, a burger and chips costing between 15-20ghs, fish with chips or rice at about 20ghs and seafood costing about 40ghs. Drinks start at 3ghs for minerals and water, a mini star costs 5ghs and large for 7, a non-alcoholic fruit cocktail costs 8 and an alcoholic cocktail (which is basically the fruit cocktail with a couple of shots of gin) comes in at 11ghs. Basically you are paying for the view, but how you for do. There is no real competition around unless you prefer the wooden structure down the road which sells palm wine, apio and fufu.

One thing though, the atmosphere was very calming, you can’t help but feel relaxed. It is only when you step out of Accra that you realize how stress you are, until the bill comes that is. Between the 6 of us we managed to consume 180ghs worth of food and drink. Its not like we had a lavish meal and drink too, burger and chips and a couple of drinks, but oh well, it’s not an everyday occurrence.

We left Hillburi at around 5 and left to go home. We took the route to Kwabenya as one of my friends lived out that way. Ghana roads, hmmm, potholes all the way from Aburi to Kwabenya, and they were not small holes, big deep craters, what would have been a 30 minute journey took a little over an hour as we tried to avoid the holes in the road and find a part of the road that my little car could drive with ease. This is the reason why most people drive 4×4’s, purely out of necessity.

But all in all it was a good day, good company out of Accra for a couple of hours.

I finally got home at around 7. A couple of episodes of Gossip Girl and then sleep, another working week ahead.