Ghana

We have an astronomer at sea with us (who also teaches Infectious Diseases) and he occasionally arranges the ship lights to be turned off, and the view of the stars is pretty incredible. Below is the sunrise that came up while I was having the last of my coffee before heading to Office Hours at 8AM. I love this first light.
                
It is variable. When we pulled into Ghana, there was another great morning sky.

Our closest neighbor today is a ship full of Argentinians. A Ghanaian court has refused to free the Libertad, the Argentinian ship docked aft of us in Tema Port. The Libertad, on a tour of Africa, was seized in a debt dispute involving Argentinian creditors.  At mealtime we would watch them in full military uniform doing formations.

One of the most striking first impressions driving out of port was the way Ghanaians carry stuff on their head. The mat below is not shot at the angle to show you that it is longer than she is tall.

We walked to Jamestown, south of Accra, and looked over the wall to a very congested section of town down by the fishing boats. A local walked us through and showed where the tunnel came out of the fort where slaves had been held, and the waste would flow out to sea. We were greeted by joyful kids in the most impoverished setting I had experienced on this trip, as we respectfully passed
through. Fried plantains looked amazing, but we were walking with the ship doc who had cautioned us against buying street vendor food. :(.

The next morning we went on our adventurous day, and saw the Adome bridge, considered the most attractve in Ghana.

We got to the Volta Region and ascended our hike up Afadjato, the highest point in Ghana. No real switchbacks made it one of the more challenging climbs for me.

If you look in the center of the green photo, you see a waterfall. After descending the mountain, we headed over there next, and hiked into the woods to see this gem and stand in the spray. Most of the group stripped down to bathing suits to wade in.

Dinner in the village of Tafi Atome, and then drumming and dancing with the locals. These small villages are relatively self-sustaining with raising animals and vegetables, collaborative work, and reaching out for tourism dollars to provide money for school books and town projects.

Goats are everywhere, the way dogs or a cats might be in other countries.


We visited the mona monkeys in their sanctuary the next morning after our home stay.

On drives through Ghana, we would often see these bright strings projecting out toward the road. In Tafi Atome, I had a chance to walk in to see what was happening.

Here, a couple of young men were efficiently working on creating the kind of cloth sold prevalently throughout the markets.

One of the most fun parts of the village visit was the friendliness of the children. These kids were in a pre-K of 3-4 year olds, and came out to greet us and hold our hands and play.

On the way back to Tema and the ship, we stopped by a”resort” for lunch by the sea. This place has rooms for about $80USD, and is one of those sharp contrasts to the villagers’ lives. The serenity of this lake and watching a rainstorm come across while sitting under a secure roof, highlighted one of those amenities I usually take for granted. Back at the village, living quarters, while meticulously raked or swept out, were now mud, and when dried, would be raked or swept again.

A personal goal for this port was to be present and see it with fresh eyes, without having to compare or contrast it to other experiences. With that intention, I slow down, and when experiencing beauty, or challenge, or novelty, would end each thought with “in Ghana”. Look at these beautiful blooms I saw in the downpour, in Ghana!

More amazing carriers. So much small vendor business sustains people, as folks would carry their wares through traffic and the walkways. I was telling my fellow travelers about wanting to buy Black Soap here, but had not been in a market to see it yet. A woman walked by with cakes on her tray. Quick-acting Menseh, our guide, jumped out of the van and brought her back to us.  We bought her entire tray of big blocks, at 1cedi each (less that $1). That windfall made her day.

I was group leader to a panel with three very regal Queen Mothers. These women fulfill a role in the villagers as the wise ones, the social workers, mediators, and family planning experts. They described the experiences of being selected and groomed for the position. Character is the most important factor, over lineage or education. In fact, with the selection of Kings, a Western education is seen as a deterrent for these top positions. There is too much potential for corruption and self-interest at the expense of the village needs when influenced by an individualistic educational system. The Mothers are fundraisers and distributers for the sake of all residents they serve. In these modern times, they also hold day jobs, as a caterer, a Cement dealer, and a sales rep. The youngest on the left is texting and if you look closely, also has keys to her SUV. These are the garments they wear for official meetings. Even in more casual dress, they always wear a special chain on their left ankles.

I liked this experience a lot, because i felt like the conversations this morning got beyond the canned presentation of tourism guides, and I was able to ask about the experience as women in positions of leadership, its impact on them, and their personal families and careers They live with the same pressure of western celebrities, like foregoing stops for street vendor food and being aware that they are always a role model, whether they want to be or not.

Best of all about Ghana, is that the conversations back on the ship were very different than after the European ports. Ghanaians are genuinely warm and welcoming. More students did homestays, school and orphanage visits, and arranged couch-surfing visits with locals. A lot of people went to see where the slaves had been held, and got a piece of history that went so far beyond the textbook experiences that never present the kind of details they were exposed to here. Students stood in the spaces where men and women had been retained for months, before exiting through the Door of No Return. It is these types of experiences that push the conversations deeper, that challenge us to confront feelings that don’t have an accurate name or place. It is because of these types of being stretched experiences that I am glad to be part of this shipboard community and in the role I have.