Day 14 - Volta Region Trip

Today, we are headed to the Volta region to see Wli Waterfalls, the tallest waterfalls in West Africa.  It is a 4 hour drive from Accra.  First, we stopped at Akosombo Dam which was completed in 1962 and provides more than 60% of Ghana's electricity.  The dam also created the largest man-made lake in the world, Lake Volta.  Today, it is second to the man-made lake created by the Three Gorges Dam in China.  We got a brief tour of the dam and our guide explained all the details about the history behind the dam construction.

Lake Volta in the background

Akosombo Dam on the Volta River.  Turbines and the river in the background.

The Volta Region is very green and mountainous as you head north.  Our final stop was the little mountain top village of Amendzofie where our hotel was.  The ride up was breath taking and a bit scary at the same time but the views were unbelievable.  

Our hotel/guest house at dusk and in the morning

Once we got settled in at the guest house, it started raining which provided such a pristine and natural setting.  We were far from major cities and there was such a quietness to being up in the mountains.  However, the rain brought an unexpected visitor, or hundreds of them to be clear.  Mang Mao insects/bugs come out of the group as soon as it rains and they die within a few hours.  Dozens of them got into each of our rooms thru the cracks in the windows.  They were everywhere.  They are harmless insects that are just a menage at best and people in many tropical environments are accustomed to this.  Geckos are also common in tropical environments.  They are found inside buildings are are part of the natural/human environment.  Although the maintenance people at the guest house cleaned up all the dead bugs, the sight of a few more was just too much to bear for several of our students.  We had three days left.  We had traveled a good distance in Ghana and dealt with bugs in almost every place we stayed in so far.  Some of the students had a hard time sleeping knowing that there were geckos on their wall hunting a few remaining bugs.  It was an uncomfortable setting.  We were towards the tail end of our trip and we were all tired, so we decided that the following morning we would return to Accra to the comforts of a bit more of a modern life.  

Day 13 - Children are Always so Joyful

We've had two of our best days so far, in Cape Coast.  Today, we are on our way back to Accra.  First, we stopped by a K-3 school in the village of Brenu Akyinim to interact with school children and see first hand the school conditions in Ghana.  Ashanti African Tours, our tour company, as part of their "Ethical Travel" philosophy have built several classrooms for this school.  We met with the headmaster who took us to the various classrooms while informing us about all that they do.  It is mind boggling to think about how few resources most Ghanaians have compared to people in the western world, or for that matter, affluent people in other developing countries.  The tiny students in each classroom sang us a welcome song each time we entered their classrooms.  My students were really moved by this kind gesture.  The local students were so happy to see us.  We got a chance to interact with them, play with them, and of course, take pictures.  The kids especially loved taking selfies of themselves.  When they saw themselves in our phone screens, they were beyond jubilant.  Most of these poor children have probably never seen a smart phone.

Jubilant kids seeing themselves in selfie mode

We were able to pool our resources together to collect about 400 Cedis ($100) to donate to the school as a small token of our appreciation for allowing us to spend time with them.  Every small amount can make a difference under these circumstances.

We were sad to leave them because they were so happy and excited to see us.

Next, we visited Elmina Slave Castle which was the largest slave castle in Ghana owned by the Portuguese, the Dutch, and eventually the British.  It was built in 1482 and is the oldest European building south of the Sahara.

Elmina Slave Castle

We grabbed a quick bite for lunch and headed on to Accra (3 hours drive) for the last few days of our trip.
     

Day 12 - Canopy walk, Chocolate, Naming Ceremony, and Retracing Roots

Today was another busy day.  A few students had slight stomach upsets so six of us decided to carry on with our activities as our compadres rested to gain their strength back.  Our first stop was Kakum National Park which is famous for the canopy walk.  The canopy walk is high across trees that are hundreds of years old and over two hundred feet tall.  The boardwalks themselves are around a 100 feet high.  As soon as we step on the walkway, high above the ground, you hear a thud that can be intimidating.  As you start walking farther out on the boardwalk, the bridge wobbles unstably and this was a bit nerve racking.  Once we got past the first bridge, we felt confident.  We completed the seven bridges as we enjoyed the thick tropical rainforests from a beautiful vantage point perched high up in the trees.

Kakum National Park - canopy walk

After the canopy walk, we went to a nearby small-scale cocoa farm to see how chocolate was made.  Ghana is the second larges producer of cocoa and it is a very important part of the country's economy.  Our guide described how chocolate was produced from the trees to the pods to the drying and roasting and eventually grinding and mixing of chemicals to make chocolate.  It was a unique experience.  Next, we stopped by a palm oil production farm where local women were making palm oil from the pods.  This was another unique experience.

Cocoa farm, palm oil farm, petting goats

After this we had lunch at a waterfront hotel that had crocodiles in the pond.  We were actually able to pet a crocodile with the help of a guard.  After lunch, we made our way to Simiw village to experience the naming ceremony of an African American couple from the US.  It was the gentleman's birthday so the village elders decided to give him his Ghanaian name.  There is a whole ceremony and rituals that are involved.  We were lucky to be there so my students also got their African names.  We sat in a hot room with numerous people but my students really enjoyed this emotional ceremony.  This was followed by a drumming and an acrobatic performance by a local performing group.  They were exceptional.

Crocodile petting

Naming ceremony and drums and dance

This brought a conclusion to our day so we headed back to our resort to relax for the rest of the evening.  Sitting on the beach, eating food, socializing with others, and enjoying the dancers perform was a perfect ending to the day.  The last two days were probably the two most fun days so far because of what we experienced and also because we were at a very good resort (Coconut Grove African Village) with excellent facilities.

African drumming and music at night

Enjoying the resort at night

Day 11 - Cape Coast: Slavery, Ancestry, and an Indefensible History

As I sit under a cabana in a wonderful beach side resort, sipping on my so-felt much earned beer after a hot day's worth of visiting historic sites, only one question comes to mind.  How could have slavery existed?  How could man do what he did to fellow human beings?  I can feel the cool winds brought on by the crashing Atlantic waves.  I can hear them roaring and crashing against the rocks and sand.  The only difference is, I am sitting in a resort as a free and privileged human being, enjoying the beautiful setting.  The ancestors of some of my students were locked up in dungeons hearing the same waves that I hear knowing well they were at the point of no return.  Slavery was rooted in racism, justified by the bible, and promulgated by Eurocentrism.  Whites felt that other races, but particularly Black Africans were not equals but rather sub-humans.

Local children enjoying the beach using styrofoam as surfing boards

Cape Coast Castle

Cape Coast Castle

We are headed from Kumasi to Cape Coast - our base for the next two days.  About an hour from Cape Coast, we stopped in Assin Manso, a small village that was a stopping point during the slave trade.  The river here was used to bathe and clean the Africans who were captured by or sold to Europeans.  They were then branded to be auctioned off and taken to Cape Coast.  I wonder what was going through my students' minds as we hiked thru the forest path to the river knowing that their ancestors walked in these same footsteps, except in iron shackles, bonded, weak, and defeated?  Our guide gave us an emotional history lesson about the Slave River.  As a non African American, it was beyond upsetting to me.  It was clearly visible how emotional this was to my students and I simply cannot comprehend how they felt.

Assin Manso Slave River

After the Slave River, we headed on to Cape Coast Castle.  Initially, it was a trading post in the 1400s.  Eventually, it was used to house slaves.  Our guide walked us thru the hallways, the male and female dungeons, holding cells, the church (how ironic), and the entire castle.  Even abused animals cooped up in enclosures had better living conditions than these slaves.  They were often kept in dark dungeons for up to three months, defecating next to each other, urinating and vomiting on each other, struggling next to dead bodies of their comrades, and praying for divine intervention while the Europeans prayed, preached, and sang right above them in their church.  Talk about irony!  The "Point of No Return" was the castle or the door that led to the Atlantic.  Once Africans went thru this door, there was no returning back.  They had to leave behind their families, their friends, their way of life, their culture, their mother land, and their dignity, only to face a two month perilous journey packed like sardines among disease infested neighbors, and dead bodies of friends.  Ultimately, they ended up in a new land - a land of opportunity, a land of freedom, the United States which only applied to whites.

Point/Door of No Return

After visiting Cape Coast Castle, we headed on to our resort right on the Atlantic Ocean.  Today was an extremely emotional day.  The Trans-Atlantic slave trade was one of the gravest sins committed in human history.  As we get settled in, we will have time to reflect on what we experienced today.

    

Day 10 - The Ashanti Region: The Cultural Hub of Ghana

We are in Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti region - the cultural hub of Ghana.  The Ashanti is the largest ethnic group in Ghana.  They sit on the the second largest gold mine in Africa - the Ashanti goldfields in Obuasi which is where I conducted my master's thesis data collection back in 2004.  Gold is very important in the Ashanti culture.

Dressing up in Kente cloth

It was pouring this morning.  We have not spent much time in southern Ghana, yet, so we have not experienced the rainy season so far.  It rained hard for a good hour and I told my students to carry their umbrellas every single day here on out.  Our first stop this morning was a Kente cloth making center in the village of Bonwire, an hour from Kumasi.  Kente cloth is widely used in West Africa and it is an important part of Ghanaian culture.  People generally dress up in their best Kente outfits for special occasions.  Our guide showed us how they made the cloth from scratch.  We found it amazing that none of the people at the center used modern machinery so no electricity was required.  All equipment was made of simple material such as wood, rubber, and stone.

Next, we headed to another nearby village called Ntonso where Adirinka symbol printing was done.  Adirinka symbols represent various meanings and are mainly used on clothing.  Western clothing generally have no cultural meaning whereas Ghanaian clothing and the symbols on them represent different cultural elements.  Our guide walked us thru all the steps from preparing the dyes to imprinting on the clothing.  Several of my students purchased some clothing and imprinted them with symbols they choose.  This was a fun activity for the students.

Adirinka Printing

We then headed to the Kumasi Mall and had lunch.  It is the only mall in Kumasi, the second largest city in Ghana.  In fact, there are fewer than five malls in the entire country.  After lunch, we went to the Ashanti Palace which is where the Ashantehene (Ashanti king) lives.  It is a museum now and our guide gave us a thorough tour and history of the Ashanti people.  This was a great cultural lesson for all of us.  After the palace tour, we headed back to our hotel for the evening to relax and pack up for our drive to Cape Coast tomorrow morning.

Day 9 - Larabanga Mosque: A Different Environment

After yesterday's high of finally seeing an elephant, we were ready for the long drive back to Kumasi.  The nearest town to Mole National Park is Larabanga where the famous Larabanga mosque is located.  It is a Sudanic style building that is over 500 years old. It is built entirely with sticks and mud.  It is believed to be one of the oldest mosques in all of West Africa and purportedly houses one of the oldest Quarans in the world.  A local guide gave us a brief history and tour of the outside of the mosque.  The entrance into the mosque was only reserved for non-Muslims.  The cultural and physical environment in the North is so very different than central and southern Ghana.  Here, in the north, the majority of people are muslim.  They also speak different languages than the in the south.  The way they dress is even different.  Geographically, the environment is dry and you find mostly shrub-land rather than the large tropical trees you see south of here.

Larabanga Mosque in northern Ghana

After visiting the Larabanga mosque, we headed back to Kumasi to start the second half of our trip.

Over the past two days, we've had some down time and my students have had plenty of vibrant discussions about American politics, slavery, poverty and the state of current affairs in Ghana.  It is great to see my students interact not just on a social level, but also from an intellectual level.

After arriving in our hotel in Kumasi, I enjoyed a much needed Ghanaian beer, spicy talapia and banku (traditional dish) and some mangoes (12 for 50 cents) that helped me catch up on our blog posts.  Time for some sleep in a cool, air-conditioned room :-)

  

Day 8 - African Safari at Mole National Park

We've driven so far, all the way up north, two thirds of the country, an area that most foreign tourists do not visit, just to see elephants in the wild.  Mole National Park is one of the few places in Africa where you can see wild elephants.  When you think of safaris, most people think of East Africa or southern Africa.  Nobody thinks of West Africa or Ghana.  During our early morning safari walk, we were not lucky to spot any elephants, even at the usual watering hole.  We did, however, see a Nile Crocodile, several types of deer/antelope, birds, baboons, and other monkeys.  We were very disappointed to say the least.  Generally, people are able to get up close (50 meters) to the elephants in this park.

Early morning safari walk with our armed guide, Robert

We also did an afternoon tour in our mini-bus.  We drove around for two hours hoping to see elephants.  We were able to cover long distances by vehicle so we felt confident we would spot elephants.  Unfortunately, again, we did not see any elephants.  We did see all the other animals from this morning, but, no elephants.  We felt inflated and I could tell frustration was creeping up in my students, and myself.  We decided to do a night tour as well to see if we would have better luck.  The night tours are on the top of a jeep, in the dark.  We knew this would be a different experience but we were not optimistic that we would see too many animals and especially elephants because of the dark.

We did see a some animals in the dark due to their peering and glowing eyes that reflected off our bright flashlights.  Most animals during the day ran away as soon as they saw us.  During the night, they just stared at us, even when we were much closer.  The saying "a deer in headlights" is true.  We drove for over an hour but still had no luck spotting elephants.  I guess it was just not our day.  As our guide mentioned, it is rare to not see elephants in Mole National Park.  We definitely enjoyed the night safari on top of a jeep.  We could see the clear sky and all her twinkling stars, hear the sounds of the night and see the darkness that can really scare people.  As we were heading back to the information building where our tour started, our guide got a call on his cell phone that a local had spotted an elephant near the worker's homes a few minutes away.  The guide told me, but not the students.  We quickly drove in that direction and as soon as we arrive, there it was!  A lone, massive, male elephant.  He was peacefully grazing on the grass in the surrounding area.  His tusks were nearly three feet long.  Our guide told us that it was okay to flash our light at him to which the elephant did not care.  We finally saw an elephant, in the 11th hour.  This was unbelievable.  I could sense the excitement, joy, and relief in all of us.  We watched the elephant graze for almost 15 minutes before he went back into the bushes.  We could not have been happier.  What an ending to our day and visit.  Tomorrow, we drive back to Kumasi.