Zebrafish

Dancing and drumming at AMA

Oct 10

Within 24 hours I was working on a website for beer and dinner! for Nii & Beatrice the hotel owners where I'm staying. Hotel Marymart

I've chosen some dark blue patterned batik cloth and the woman at the hotel is making me a long sleeve blue african shirt. should look real good when it's done. It's also much cheaper here than i first thought, the currencies were downvalued again when the euro came out so an hour on the internet costs about 40p.

It's great seeing women bound for market carrying baskets on their heads, lots of people wanting to talk to you in the street and school kids laughing at you when you talk to them. The food is good too I've had a filling meal called Red Red, which is grilled fish covered in spicy black eye beans and with plantain fried in palm oil at the National museum for under 2 quid. Also Palm light soup with Fufu, a spicy palm soup with huge pieces of goat meat, liver and a large dollop of Cassava dumpling called Fufu. Last night I met up with George, the brother of a friend of Diana and Monica's in London, we went to the Bus Stop bar and drank locally brewed 7.5% Guiness.

I plan to travel the same itinary but clockwise instead because of weather and border crossings. Next I will visit Kokrobite for a while to learn the drums and relax on the beach, then visit Cape Coast to see the UNESCO slave forts. At least 12.5 million slaves possibly up to 50 million left Africa under the collaboration between European and African traders.

Oct 17

The traveller hostel there puts on a traditional Ghanian music and dancing evening, the previous week had been the Ghanian Aklowa group and I met several of their group. This area is near the African Music and Arts Acadamy where I watched another show, tried some Ghanian dancing and had a couple of bongo lessons.

Fishing nets near Kokrobite

Fish catch near Kokrobite

I'm then travelled with a Andy a medical student from Cardiff who had been working in Kumasi. We went to visit the UNESCO slave forts at Cape Coast and Elmina. It's hard to describe in words what went on here but it's really interesting and important to visit here and to make sure humans are never again allowed to treat other humans in such a horric way.

Cape Coast beach

Slave fort, Cape Coast

Cape Coast

Female cells in Elmina fort

Elmina Fort

Tro Tro in Elmina

Had a brief stop at Kakum National park for a rainforest ropewalk and lunch in a restuarant surrounded by a crocodile lake where I had pork and peanut soup, before catching the evening Tro Tro to Kumasi. Tro Tro are like small minibuses which are packed 5 people across. They are cheap and convenient, you wait up to an hour for them to fill up with people, then the driver winds his way across the whole road avoiding potholes.

Oct 24

The next morning I travelled to Tamale and then onto Mole National Park where 4 of us went on a series of 4 bush hikes. We saw 5 elephants at a distance of just 20 metres, monkeys, baboons and 4 types of antelope. On the last day we visited the ancient mosque in the small rural village of Laraganga. I have created a website for Kony there to promote his eco-tourism project which is helping to build a school and provide sanitation for his village.

http://www.geocities.com/larabanga_ecotourism

ancient mosque in Larabanga

Larabanga kids

Elephant in Mole National Park

It can be quite difficult travelling here sometimes because there is a lot of poverty and it's hard as a European to think about this as we are so obviously priviliged by where we were born. But I believe I am travelling for the right reasons and if I can help along the way with a website then I feel a bit better about myself.

Oct 28

The next day went back for their new year festival, there was 2 big talking drums in the middle and about 30 to 40 people dancing around it into the night. Some wearing metal shakers on their feet to add to the rhythm of drums and chanting. Amazing atmosphere and the dancing was really good, cant wait for it to catch on in the nightclubs at home!

I was also recognised by the local deaf school pupils whom I had visited the day before where a American Peace Corp worker called Linda I had met in the Tro tro station the day before teaches. So I spent some of the evening learning and trying to communicate in sign language with them.