Week 8 - Green Turtle Lodge

Beach Lovin

I've heard of the Green Turtle Lodge (GTL) from the first couple days of my arrival in Ghana but really had no clue what it was all about. Almost all who I've talked to about it praised GTL for its "incomparable beauty". Curious about what makes GTL so amazing, the crew and I decided to check it out on our eighth week. We departed Friday morning on a trotro from Takoradi and headed to Agona. From Agona we picked up a cab which drove us down to the GTL situated right before the little town of Akwidaa. I can't begin to tell you how bad the road was. I felt that the car at any point during our drive was going to break down due to the harsh conditions of the seemingly endless dirt road. After half an hour of motion sickness we finally arrived.....to paradise! The harsh ride was totally worth seeing this secluded beach resort!

The sun was beaming bright, the ocean wind was blowing, and the water and sand for the most part was the cleanest i had seen yet. And just to put the cherry on top of it all, there was a basketball net right down by the beach. I can't count the number of times i had told everyone that "this was ridiculous!" Even more interesting about GTL is it's ECO-Tourism status.
Green Turtle Lodge is an Eco-tourism site which adhere to the principles of Eco-tourism, encouraging guests to be responsible tourists. GTL defines Eco-tourism as Environment and Community Oriented Tourism, abbreviated from ECO-Tourism. I find it fascinating to see an establishment such as the GTL abiding by the principle of "responsible travel to natural areas which conserves the environment and sustains the well being of local peoples" while still maintaining the quality of a five star resort. The lodge is environmentally friendly being powered entirely by solar energy. In addition all the toilets are self-composting and also re-cycle shower water to feed plants. GTL also maintains a commitment to maintaining the local community of Akwidaa as all staff are employed from all levels of the local community. Part of the GTL profits are paid into a community fund which is controlled by a local committee who decided where the money should be spent. Having said all this, I'm sure I've made it clear that GTL is fun you can have without feeling bad about it!