Ashanti Region, Ghana, Africa

ASHANTI REGION
Kumasi
We took a Metro Mass bus (privately owned as opposed to the STC buses which are government run) from Cape Coast to Kumasi in the Ashanti Region. Buying the bus tickets in Cape Coast was chaos. I went to the little ticket booth to ask when the bus to Kumasi left, how much the fare was, was the bus already full. Suddenly instead of the one guy in the ticket booth, there were five or six of them and they all had a different answer to my questions, or just as often, no answer or an exaggeration. For instance, I was told that the bus was leaving right now and that it was almost full -- we would have to hurry to catch it. That posed a problem since one of our party was at the Cape Coast Castle a few hundred yards away. When all was said and done, the bus wasn't nearly full, and it didn't leave until about 30 minutes after I bought the three tickets (which were about $7 each - undoubtedly the buroni* price). The Metro Mass bus sat 3 on each side with a tiny aisle in the middle. The seats were approx. 8" wide...a width that would never accommodate most Americans but seems to work just fine for Ghanaians. Hmm. My seat neighbors were a mother with a daughter on her lap and a 25-year-old artist/teacher, Augustine. The 3-hour ride between Cape Coast and Kumasi seemed much longer. The road was only paved in places and the rest was under construction and was incredibly bumpy. The bright red dust filled the air and coated all the trees along side the road.
*buroni = white person in the local language of twi (pronounced chWEE)

About half way through the trip, the bus driver stopped while a couple of kids and a woman got off the bus to use the bathroom beside the road. Other than my chatty friend Augustine, the rest of the bus' occupants were silent - even the children. Not one wiggle, peep, or whine from any of the infants, toddlers, or children for that entire trip. Thoughout our stay, we discovered that this was typical of the children in Ghana. When we finally arrived in Kumasi, there was a political rally going on in honor of the losing presidential candidate. Ghana had held its second democratic election just a week before. The traffic was atrocious, and when the bus finally stopped to let people off, we never did decide if it was the usual place to disembark or if the bus driver had simply given up.
Kente VillagesOne of the main attractions in the Ashanti Region is the weaving that has been produced here for over 300 hundred years. It is native to Ghana and is known locally as nwentoma. We visited the Kente Villages of Bonwire (pronounced BONweere) and Adanwomase (no idea how to pronounce this one!). Although the first is the most famous, the second was much more visitor friendly. Adanwomase had an official tour of the Kente weavers shop, the village, and the cocoa plantaion for the equivalent of $4 and for an extra $.40, you can take all the still photos you want. We spent much time watching the weavers, touring the village and talking with the children. Keep in mind that English is the official language of Ghana, so all the children (and most of the adults) speak it pretty well. Laurie especially had brought gifts for the children, and at one point practically caused an all-out riot handing our Bic pens. By this time I had learned and asked our guide after the tour was over to pass out my remaining gifts (Starburst and Sun Maid Raisins - neither of which the kids had ever had). I also bought a strip of Kente cloth that the weaver had been working on during our tour. It was perfect for me -- black with a red design of "H"s to celebrate my new, old name. The only big problem we encountered during this foray was the taxi driver who drove us from Kumasi to Bonwire. As usual, he said he knew where the village was, but quoted a price of 4 cedis. Shayla knew immediately that he had no idea how far the village was if he was only asking that much. She confirmed again where we were going, and showed him on a map. After consulting with six or seven people along the way, he finally figured out that he was in for an 80-mile ride. We made the trip in breakneck speed, and gave him postcards, popcorn (like kettle corn from the vendors that walk alongside the cars in town), and water. When we arrived at the village, we paid him 15 cedis (about $12), although he insisted he wanted twice that much. He argued with us and hung around until the weavers in Bonwire finally sent him on his way. Later, we discovered that the typical fare from Bonwire to Kumasi is only 10 cedis, so I don't know what his problem was. Another strange thing that happened in Bonwire is that the 25-year old Augustine I had spoken with on the bus the day before actually came to the village and waited to see me. Very weird, though I don't think he meant to be creepy. He never indicated he wanted anything other than to keep contact for the sake of exchanging ideas, but nonetheless, I gave him an incorrect email address and sent him on his way.

Central Region, Ghana, Africa

Kakum National Park from Canopy Walk

Since we spent time in the Greater Accra Region at the beginning and at the end of the trip, I'll complete my notes on Accra in a later post.

CENTRAL REGION

Cape Coast

The first photo above was taken from the bus between Accra and Cape Coast. (Excuse the quality of some photos...much of our time was spent in either buses or taxis, so you may see evidence of that.) These rooftops of Cape Coast give you a pretty good idea of what the housing in a smaller city looks like. Many of the houses are stucco or (what we called in AZ and NM) adobe...blocks fashioned from the soil, mixed with straw and then set to dry in the sun. The roofs are almost exclusively tin. The second photo is of Cape Coast Castle. The structure was originally built in 1653, but it is most infamous for being one of the largest processing centers for slave export in Ghana. The tour through the castle was well done. Unfortunately in a case like this, it shows very clearly humanity at its lowest and most shameful. For instance, our small tour group of about a dozen people was led into a dungeon where the men were held in chains and shackles after they were literally captured in nets and dragged from their homes and families. This room held up to 100 men at a time. It was approx. 150-200 sq. feet, dark and airless save a narrow rectangular window carved through the stone wall about 20 feet above the floor. There was another "watch" window on the castle side of the room that remained barred and shuttered closed except when food and water were thrown down to keep the men alive. The floor itself was uneven and had shallow-to-deep channels carved in it to carry out the human excrement, vomit, and blood when one group of men was led away and another group was brought in. The healthy men were led away through a long, narrow passageway to a room with a huge wooden set of double doors. These doors were known as The Gate of No Return...they led to the small boats in the treacherous waters below, which were then paddled out to deliver the enslaved men (still in chains and shackles) to the slave ships. The women's dungeons were very similar, with the addition of a trough dug through the center of the room. This is where women were required to stay, sitting, straddling the trough throughout their menses. According to the guide at the Cape Coast Castle, there were an estimated 10 million men, women and children taken from Africa for the purpose of being sold as slaves. Approximately 750,000 to 1 million of that number were processed through ports along The Gold Coast as Ghana was known until 100 years ago.

A Land of Bilk and Money
Since Cape Coast and the neighboring fishing village of Elmina are one of Ghana's main tourist attractions, the villages (especially around the castles) are teeming with young men trying to sell some little trinkets or scam unwitting tourists into giving money for soccer uniforms. Although being from New York, I knew full well that there were no soccer uniforms, I did give a young man 10 cedis (approx. $8) and my email address which he asked for so he could "keep me informed on the progress of his education." I was interested in seeing exactly what this would bring (trying not to be jaded), and of course it brought an immediate email from my "African son" to his "American mom" asking for money. Needless to say, that email address has been blocked! Although some of the boys were selling woven bracelets, others ran the following scam. They would introduce themselves to you, welcome you to Ghana, ask your name, how long you're staying, etc. By the end of your time in the castle or the restaurant, they would have painted on a seashell something like, "To my American friend Mary from your friend Frederick in Cape Coast, Ghana." Then play the sympathy card about having made it especially for you. By this time my patience had run out, though, and after I convinced the boy I wasn't going to buy his shell, we actually had a nice 10-minute chat. At the end of the day, however, I was really fed up and disappointed in people in general.

For the sake of all the rest of the lovely people in Cape Coast, I'll end on a positive note. The photo immediately below shows only a very small sampling of some of the most beautiful dresses I've ever seen. The women of both Accra and Cape Coast are always immaculately and tastefully dressed. The men, too, are almost always in slacks and a nice shirt. We didn't see jeans at all until we went further away from the cities, and even then you can bet that we were the most casually dressed of all those around us.

Kakum National Forest and The Canopy Walk

From Cape Coast, we started the day early by meeting our personal taxi driver in front of the Mighty Victory Hotel. He had driven us to the hotel the night before and Shayla, Laurie's daughter, negotiated a fare for him to drive us to the Kakum National Forest at 7am, wait for us there, and drive us back to Cape Coast when we were finished with the canopy walk. The fare was about $12 "and a dash" for the 25-mile round trip and the 3-hour wait. The "dash," a little something extra, Shayla negotiated to be snacks for the trip. He ended up with my NutriSystem peanut butter bar (hopefully not tainted with salmonella), some snacks from Laurie's stash, and a Coke before and after our canopy walk.

The Kakum National Forest is one of the few remaining tracts of virgin rainforest in Western Africa. The canopy walk, after climbing the mountain that leads to it, consisted of about 5 rope-and-plank walkways. The walkways were about 30 yards each, and were joined together by platforms built in the trees. The platforms offered unfettered views of mile upon mile of such a variety of trees that it was unimaginable, some reaching over 200 feet into the air. A few of the species include ebony, cocoa, pineapple, mango, shea nut, mahogany, baobab, and acacia. And a small public service announcement: tropical rainforests cover only 7% of the earth's surface, but harbor 50% of its flora and fauna species. I still can't find the name of the amazing trees that dot the landscape, towering above everything else. They remind me of the story my dad told me about the American Chestnut, which had already died out before his lifetime, but whose trunks and bare branches remained in the Maryland landscape as beacons and landmarks.

Greater Accra Region, Ghana, Africa, Planet Earth

The past 20 minutes I've spent trying to decide how to proceed with this blog entry. The best way to relay our trip, I believe, is to break down the journey by regions within Ghana, including the photos and notes that best represent my experience while there.

PERSPECTIVE
Above is a map of Africa with an overlay of the United States. I've positioned the state of Oregon over the country of Ghana to give you an idea of relative size. While in Ghana for 10 days, we covered only 25% of its land mass visiting 5 regions (Greater Accra, Central, Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, and Eastern) and 4 significant cities (Accra, Cape Coast, Kumasi, and Techiman) and a number of smaller towns or villages.

GREATER ACCRA REGION





Accra (ăk'rə, or ə-krä') - although it appears that it's proper to pronounce the capitol city either way, the locals say it uh-KRAW. As you can see from the photos above, there's lots going on here. The first photo is of the Madina Market (one of a number of outdoor markets we visited). It's crowded, colorful, musical, and is filled with young women and girls hurrying by with a variety of things balanced on their heads. You shop here for fresh fruits or vegetables, prepared food (wrapped in banana leaves not plastic), dried fish, spices, cloth (which can be made into a piece of clothing on the spot by one of many seamstresses), etc. You can't find souvenirs or the like. Ghanaians (I heard it pronounced both guh-NAY-un and guh-NEE-un) shop here like Americans would shop at a Safeway. The second photo is of car traffic through another Accra marketplace, but is pretty representative of what any busy street looks like. The 3rd photo is a line (or it is better described as a group) of trotros and taxis. Trotros (TRO-tro) are roughly equivalent to city buses, but are actually 15-passenger vans. I'm sure it must be written in Ghanaian law that they cannot travel slower than 50mph, must have at least 15 adults and 5 or 6 children on laps, and must be able to carry anything from a wooden bedframe to a goat lashed on top. They're dirt cheap, though. The cost for most rides is less than one dollar U.S. per person. The taxis are independently owned and, as far as we could tell, are not governed in any way. Most of the taxi drivers don't know the places where tourists would go (say a restaurant that serves Continental food or a hotel), but that doesn't stop them from saying they do know and then asking a minimum of 15 people along the way. We eventually got everywhere we wanted to go, so the system must work. You negotiate (a whole section of my blog entry must be dedicated to that word) the fare before getting in the taxi, so if it takes the driver 10 times as many kilometers as it should, he (and it's always a he) is the one who loses out. The final photo is of Riviera Beach. Ghana is a coastal country, and Accra is a coastal city. While in Accra, Laurie and I stayed in the Afia Beach Hotel - a beautiful resort - for a pittance. The hotel backed up to Riviera Beach.

I see I've started a book and haven't even scratched the surface. I'll publish this much and continue to add regions so check again over the next several days.

Into Africa

I'm not taking my laptop with me, so this will be my last entry until I return to Martha's Vineyard on the 19th of the month. Until then, "Kyeng song" (that's farewell in the Ghanaian language of Dagaare).

Sometimes only others can speak what we ourselves cannot...

Art Spander:

The longer you stay in one place, the greater your chances of disillusionment.

Anais Nin:

We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations.

Unattributed:

People generally feel indignant when they are accused of something they did not do. It is a difficult thing to deal with when you are misunderstood and misjudged.

Anne Frank:

Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands.

Mohandas K. Gandhi:

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.

Abraham Lincoln:

It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: "And this, too, shall pass away."

Gonna Go to Ghana

Duffel/Backpack and another bag about half this size will be what I travel with for this trip.

My project for today is to gather everything I need to take in one place and see if it all fits in the bags I want to take. I'm 50% there, now I just have to get energy enough to pack everything!

Here are a few facts about the trip and about Ghana (#16 on below map):

• Flight time between New York's JFK and Accra, Ghana - 10 1/2 hours
• NYC weather forecast for Wednesday (when we take off) - 40 degrees and rainy
• Accra weather forecast for Thursday (when we arrive) - 87 degrees and rainy
• Time difference - Ghana is 5 hours ahead of Eastern Time

Ghana is in Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire (The Ivory Coast) and Togo
Area - approx 148,000 sq miles (slightly smaller than Oregon)
Natural Hazards - dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts
Polulation - 23.4 million (about the population of Texas) divided as follows:

0-14 years: 37.8%
15-64 years: 58.7%
65 years and over: 3.6%

Literacy - approx. 58% of Ghanaians over the age of 15 can read or write (vs. 96% in U.S.)
Internet Users - 650,000 (approx 2.8% of population vs. 72.5% in U.S.)
Transnational Issues - illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; major transit hub for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin

More detailed info about Ghana

Suggested Packing List for Ghana Travel

(from the Cultural and Academic Travel Organisation)

Toiletries:

Bug Spray

Sun Screen

Band-Aids

Antibacterial Ointment

After-Bite

Chapstick

Shampoo

Body Wash

Toothpaste/Toothbrush

Deodorant

Individually Packaged Antibacterial Wipes

Individually Packaged Body Wipes

Individually Packaged Face Wipes

Pads/Tampons (as needed; bring enough!)

Mini Toilet Paper Roll

Medications:

Prescriptions

Anti-Malarial Meds

Pain Reliever

Anti-Diarrhea Pills

Allergy Pills

Tums or Other Antacid

Miscellaneous:

Towel

Sleep Sack

Flashlight

Money Belt

Brush

Hair Scrunchies

Documents:

Passport

Airline Tickets

Itinerary

Extra Passport Photos

Copies of Passport/Tickets/Credit Cards

Customer Service Numbers for Credit Cards

Clothing:

(Aside from the basic underwear, socks, shorts, and shirts)

Long Sleeved Shirt

Long (or Convertible) Pants

Cardigan or Light Fleece

(All for night protection against bugs)

Rain Jacket

Hat

Bandanna

Sneakers

Sandals

Flip Flops for Bathing

Other:

Day Pack

Journal

Books for Reading

Camera

Film or Memory Card

Recording Device/Mic

Blank Discs/Tapes

Batteries

Gifts for Hosts/New Friends

Up Island Bus Tour

House on Vineyard Sound

Aquinnah and Gay Head

Beach at Aquinnah

Fishing boat in Menemsha


Frozen pond in Chilmark

I was getting cabin fever the last few days, so today I decided to just ride the bus to get out for a change of scenery. It took about 2 1/2 hours to do the loop that starts in Vineyard Haven, goes through West Tisbury, Chilmark (including Menemsha), Aquinnah, and back. I enjoyed it thoroughly and for 90% of the ride, I was the only one on the bus. At one point I passed a farm with a couple of horses standing in the snow near the barn. One of the horses was basically a beautiful chestnut color but had several large splotches of white. I found myself wishing I could turn to Dad and ask him if that was what was called piebald.

Besides taking some photos, I had some time to think about how to achieve more quality in my writing. A few days ago I read a foreword to a section of the Childcraft Volume 1 Section called Children's Own Verse. The foreword was written in 1934 by an NYC professor who believed even then that children have a natural ability to speak in what we adults would call poetry or literature. I enjoyed reading the selections by children in elementary schools all over the U.S., and it made me realize that I don't need to be more sophisticated to write...I need to be less sophisticated and more elemental. So much of what we write is influenced by others, or by our fears of what others will think of us. Children are honest (although in 2009 they are more quickly "corrupted" than they were in 1934), and I hope to peel away the layers of protection we build up around our hearts as we grow up in order to get to the core of my writing style - that essential and innocent self.

Watercolors, Ice Showers, and Preparing for Africa

I got a great gift of a portable watercolor set from my cousin's family. Today I tried it out. The result looks very much like a 5th grader painted it, but I know by now in order to be good at anything, you have to practice. It was fun and when the weather warms up in the spring, I can definitely see myself taking the set out to paint.

Today was a bit warmer - right around freezing as the high. The shower froze, but with a few tricks, some patience, and good advice from a friend, all is now well. Tonight the bathroom gets either the space heater or a little hot water running through the pipes.

Earlier, the sky was the color of icicles hanging from the eaves of a house...not gray, but a kind of translucent silver. No one clears the sidewalks here, but it was pretty easy to walk in the streets and get around town. My prescriptions are now filled for Africa - I start taking the anti-malarial drug on Monday and continue it the entire time we're in Africa, plus a week afterward.

New Year's Morning 2009

The sun is shining brightly this morning and the sky is the pale blue of a robin's egg. The temperature is far from what a robin's appearance would herald in spring. It was 8 degrees when I awoke.

My sleep was fitful last night. The wind has so many characters: one moment it is a wolf in the full moon's light, the next it is a locomotive on a long stretch of prairie track, but most often here it steals the character of the sea from which it comes...roaring and pounding as if it were waves upon the shore.

I laughed at myself in the mirror yesterday when I returned from my walk to the Post Office, drug store, and bagel shop. An umbrella would have been useless in the wind, and I neglected to attach my hood to my coat so my head remained bare. It snowed the entire time...a wet, sticky snow. When I came back to the cottage and went to dry my hair, the snow had soaked it and then refrozen it in little strands with icicles hanging from the tips! It was a funny sight, but next time it snows I'll be sure to take the time to attach my hood before venturing out.