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Bead Adventure! Thanks to John Haigh for putting on this fabulous trip. |
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Here I am with Tina at SYTO after getting our first day orientation.
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The first day we had an orientation, then met our tour guide Charles. Unfortunately everywhere he took us on the first
day, we weren't allowed to take pictures.
We also went to the bank. Here's a traveler's tip. Take dollars, not traveler's checks. I took large denomination checks,
and they were a hassle. You can change dollars many places, and get better rates. Theft is much less of a problem than in
America. Wear your valuables under your clothes and forget about it!
We tried Ghanain food at lunch - yummy! I had Bambera beans and plaintains. Thank goodness for the plaintains, which
are sweet and also familiar to me since they are common here in South Florida too. The beans, like a lot of Ghanain food are
very spicy. We all share bites of stuff and laugh at John who manages to get his fofoo all over his face, including on the
end of his nose. You eat fofoo with your right hand - and since it is in soup this is a little messy!
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Day 2.
We head from Accra to Kumasi. The trip is about 275 km, but takes 6 or more hours. The road is two lane, and traffic is heavy.
Anytime there is a go-slow, vendors - or "hawkers" as they call them here - will come up to the car to show
you their wares. We buy plaintans, oranges and groundnuts (peanuts). The oranges are juicy - you sort of squish them and suck
the juice out, and the plaintans are sweet. The groundnuts come in small bits of plastic bag. You roll them in your hands
(the nuts) and blow away the skins and other dust. Very tasty!
Here's a big hint from Trish - buy a hanky as soon as
you see one, you can use it for so many things! I used mine for everything, wiping sweat from my face, and washing too. Pour
a little water on it and use it to cool your neck down a bit.
Even though it is tiring, I enjoy the go-slows since you
get to see a lot of interesting things, the roadside and the people up close. Interestingly,
each town seems to tend to have multiple vendors of the same thing. There is one town not too far from Accra known as "Bread
Town" where everyone makes or sells bread. It seems anti-intuitive to this American, but this turns out to be quite common.
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| View of the road side from the van (click for larger version) |
We stopped here and got a closer look at the pots. They are for
grinding as the smiling lady demonstrates. She was in the middle of updating her do when we stopped.
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| Note the surface is textured for grinding. |
These bowls have an interesting raku like finish since they are
fired, not in a kiln, but in a fire.
Since I went for the crafts, you are going to see lots of pictures and comments about the crafts and the folks that make them.
Ghana is extrememly rich with crafts and craft heritage.
Here is most of our group at Bimbiri Butterfly Gardens. It is a research institute and hotel. From left: Carol, Nat (our driver),
Diane, Charles (our tour guide), and Trish. The bouganvilla is fantastic!
If you click on the picture above, a larger version will open in a separate browser window. This is a magical picture of Trish
and her cadre of yellow butterflies.
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| Click on any picture for a larger version |
The colors are amazing in Ghana. I am much taken by the painted bits here and there. A bright blue and green fence, a single
painted wall. The house of the current president, Kufour, in Darbaa, is an absolute luscious raspberry pink. This picture
is just a hint of the color combinations that charmed me.
Part of the nearby forest area at Bimbiri.
For a rest we stop at Bambiri Gardens which is a Research Facility and Butterfly Gardens. We
enjoy a tour of the nearby area and get to see some of the huge Kapok (Silk-Cotton) trees that are common here up close and
personal.For comparison, Charles is about 6'4". He is Akan, and it seems to me that all the Akan are quite tall.
Barbara's Beads
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