Kpatawee Waterfall

This weekend we visited the Kpatawee Waterfalls near Gbanga. We drove up Saturday morning with two other missionary families. The drive is about 3 hours of driving on paved but pothole filled roads until you reach the Phebe Hospital, then about 10 miles to the north on dirt roads to the waterfalls. We arrived and started to set-up camp to the background noise of thunder and lightening. Luckily it didn't rain too much, since a couple of the tents we were provided with were not equipped to handle rain.

We got up Sunday morning and had an Easter service. Here's a picture of the service and one of Blessing taking a picture of herself during the service.

Making water for coffee Sunday morning.

The area we camped near the waterfall had a large Cotton Tree. I've mentioned the Cotton Tree before when we visited Marshall for the first time. They are large softwood trees that have large buttress roots and similar to north america's cottonwood sheds large cotton seeds. They are often the center point for villages and the location for village sacrifices.

The surrounding area Sunday morning.

Here is part of the main waterfall by where we camped. It was difficult to get the whole waterfall in with the trees around.

We also hiked upstream for 45 minutes to a second waterfall area.

Christopher and Jared posing for their waterfall picture.

One of the most interesting features of the upper falls was a series of holes that had been eroded through these rocks. The water shoots through from up above.

And a picture on the way home. Efficiency in transportation.

Mount Coffee

I posted a couple weeks ago about the team that came out from the US to help with the power grid here at ELWA. The first weekend they were here we took a trip up to Mount Coffee to tour the old hydroelectric dam. Before the war the Mount Coffee facility powered Monrovia and much of Liberia. During the war the staff had to flee the area as the fighting reached the dam and water breached the earthen dam around the spillway and destroyed it. In the subsequent 20 years much of the facility has been looted.

We started off the trip Sunday morning and stopped on the way at an SIM affiliated church in the Todee area. Here are a few pictures of the church service.

Jamie and Blessing attracting a crowd as usual.

Then it was onto the dam. The pastor actually served as our navigator to reach the dam, when we got to the front gate we picked up a local friend of his to give us the tour. Here we are approaching the building that used to house the turbines.

Inside the building. There were 4 turbines that used to fill the large holes in the floor.
Underneath the main floor are 3+ basements full of stairways and passageways.
Dr. Sacra checking out one of the turbine holes.
Plenty bats in the basement levels too.
Here's a good shot of the edge of the hydroelectric side, post washout.
Looking back at the building that housed the turbines. They said the large overhead bridge crane was still in the building until 2005, when rogues came and stole it. They cut it and let it drop from overhead, leaving a large impact spot on the floor below.
After looking at that facility we headed out on an almost 2 mile hike to the other dam that controlled the river level. It was a hot day...
More hiking.
And we finally reached it. The large gates controlled the water level behind the dam.
With parts from Wisconsin.
Everyone relaxing after we made it back to the car. Did I mention it was HOT.
And one picture I couldn't resist on the way back home. We're still trying to figure out what "Open Free Defecation Town" really means?