Thirsty? Drink Pure Wat-ah

I don’t think I’ve ever felt as hydrated as I did when I was in Ghana. Water is so accessible. Whenever I was thirsty, there was usually someone nearby that sold “pure water,” these little bags of water, ice-cold, ready for you to drive. At less than five cents a bag, it is definitely affordable.




These water sachets usually have cool messages or designs on top, but there are a few brands of “trusted” water sachets available. My favorite is “Mobile” water.

Apparently, some people (no confirmed sources on my end though) have conducted studies on these water sachets. They claim to find that about 70% of these water sachets contain some kind of contaminant. While I am unsure of what these contaminants are, I would like to say that I, personally, never got sick off of drinking a pure water. There will be times when these waters will taste a bit chlorinated, bleached, or rubbery, and if that is the case, DON’T DRINK THE WATER (I hope that was obvious..) So yea, use common sense.

When I first arrived though, I must admit I was a bit scared to try this. I never really liked the idea of drinking/eating/consuming anything out of a plastic bag except maybe a sandwich. However, it seems like everything comes in plastic bags in Ghana. Water, rice, salads, coffee, tea, fruit.. anything. If you want it, you can probably eat/drink it out of a small plastic bag. Also, I was scared of the quality of the water in these bags. Some of them lay lying out in the sun for days, and then when it’s time for them to be sold, they are put in an ice chest with a tub of freezing water. While I’m sure some plastics melt and have leeched into the water source, these sachet bags are the most affordable sources of water.

If you want to stay safe (and spend a LOT of money (relative to Ghanaian context)), feel free to drink Voltic bottled water. A liter of Voltic water is about 1 US dollar, although prices were on the rise when I left Ghana in June 2009. While it may not seem like a lot of money, when I was able to live off of three dollars a day, spending the equivalent amount on water seemed a bit silly and excessive. I rather spend it on amazing fresh fruit that is sold everywhere!!! (I wish I took a picture of this grand sight.)



I ended up spending my first two weeks on Voltic bottled water, but quickly made the switch to pure water two weeks into my trip. I found the transition pretty smooth. I don’t think anyone on my trip had any difficulties adjusting. There were a few people that resisted the bottle to pure water switch for safety reasons, but I think by month 3, everyone was drinking it. Pure water was much more accessible and affordable--people sold it everywhere and it was always five cents. Bottled water is harder to find, you would most likely have to go into a store to buy one, and prices vary per place.

I would drink about 4-5 pure waters a day to stay hydrated. I also cooked with it as well. Long live pure water! :)