I felt sad as we sailed away from Ghana. It meant that we were sailing away from Africa. We were leaving that great continent, to cross the Atlantic to the Americas. Back in January we crossed the Pacific to Asia, then sailed on to India, then Africa. I know India is not a continent, but somehow it seems like one. So we visited three parts of the world that are so different in every way – so exciting. We saw peoples and cultures, to say nothing of landscapes, that challenged our understanding and stimulated our imagination. It has been so exciting. Sometimes it has been a bit scary. As one of the lecturers said, we have been travelling outside our usual comfort zone. But being challenged in so many ways has only added to the excitement. I said to Maggie the other day, it almost feels as though the real journey is over. Brazil feels like a ‘ps’! It is after all in the American continent, part of the ‘New World’, whereas we have been immersing ourselves in the ‘Old World’. What a snob I am! But I am open to finding Brazil very exciting in its own way – I hope so.
Back to sharing my experiences, emotions, and thoughts about Ghana with you. Experiences first. Day 1 we did the standard City Tour of Accra. Did I say standard? – hardly!! To begin with the port is not in Accra, but an advertised 45 minute drive away. I say ‘advertised’ because the time was so unpredictable because of the traffic – which was also unpredictable – from slow, to stop-start, to periods of complete stasis. The ship had organized a shuttle service to run once an hour to and from the dock to Accra. Everyone on board was charged $10 for this service, but it didn’t work!! Luckily Audrey and I weren’t affected, but there were folk stranded in Accra for hours. Yesterday there was an apology from the powers that be in the ‘Deans Memo’, also announcing that all our $10s were being refunded! If I say this is just so ‘Africa’ I’m not being critical. You have to take Africa as it is, a crazy chaos. You love it for the people, you accept the chaos.
Day 1 we escaped the shuttle bus chaos, because we were on a special ‘Ship Trip’ with a chartered coach. Mind you the coach just didn’t show up on time , and we all stood around on the dock, wondering. Then about half an hour after we were supposed to have left we were guided to another coach that had been designated for a later trip. God knows what happened to that trip! So we set off for Accra. The streets were crowded with traffic and I noted the chaos at the side of the roads. Some recognizable modern buildings next to buildings in every stage of construction, surrounded by piles of bricks, girders, and what looked like rubble. It was as though so much had been started and then just stopped. And then, filling every available space were random shacks and stalls, goats, and even cattle, and people everywhere. As soon as the traffic actually stopped, vendors would rush into the road trying to sell their wares to the drivers and passengers of the cars. I tried from time to time to take pictures from our bus, but it was not easy. Big vehicles were getting in the line of vision, and we were swerving and stopping and starting. The couple of photos I got seem to be without enough people, but it will give you some idea.
As you might already know, Ghana was the very first sub-saharan state in Africa to gain its independance from its Colonial ruler – in this case guess which one – Britain. In 1957 Nkrumo became the first African ruler of the Gold Coast and its name was changed to Ghana. The present day Africans are still incredibly proud of this fact and see Ghana as the inspiration of all the independent movements which followed. They have built a huge monument, with statue and fountains to honour Nkrumo.
His body lies in a special mausoleum.
There were moments when I questioned the appropriateness of all the expense involved in such a lavish display, when so much of the city was obviously in such a state of disrepair. They have one short stretch of motorway, repairs to which are scheduled to be completed in three years (they say!). The street lighting along this road stopped working a few years after it was put up and has not yet been repaired. A rail service has been promised for years. Meanwhile the traffic snarls are as bad as any I’ve seen anywhere on this trip. Furthermore Nkrumo was accused of amassing a personal fortune (does Kenya come to mind, David?) and toppled by the first of many military coups which have plagued this country for over 50 years. It is now two years since the election of the latest ‘democratic’ leader but who knows how long he will last? Incidentally the dwelling of the president equals if not surpasses the monument to Nkruma! No photos – we drove past too quickly.
But then, I decided it is crazy to judge Africa by the sane and sensible (?) standards of the west. It is carried away by it’s own romance. We were told by our tour guide that Africans love to show off their wealth. They love to build monuments and palaces and hang gold around their necks. And who is to say they are wrong? Or any more wrong than the CEO’s in the West who amass their millions. We are all a greedy lot we homo-sapiens. At least the Africans display their wealth with a certain flair.
I think I have fallen in love with the African people, just as I fell in love with the Vietnamese. Almost all the Africans I met in Ghana were so kind, so happy, so ready to laugh. As you used to say David, of the Kenyans, their default mode seems to be happiness. And the happiness rubs off. I felt happy when with them. I look forward to when I am back and can talk to you all severally about some of these feelings. Writing on this blog makes everything too simplistic.
Day 2 was an entirely different experience. We went on another ship organized trip. This was a much longer bus ride – 4 hours - to the Kakum National Park, one of West Africa’s surviving tropical rainforests. I’m going to quote from the advertising blurb: ‘Kakum’s most popular attraction is the Canopy Walkway, which consists of seven bridges extending 350 meters and hanging 40 meters above the forest floor’. Believe it or not AUDREY AND I DID IT. Here are the pictures to prove it.
Yes, the figure in the distance is Audrey!
Our tour guide followed by Audrey.
Me! At the very end. Red of face and dripping with sweat, but oh so happy to be at the end!
Actually it was the climb up to the canopy walkway, and even more the climb down, which I found most challenging. The path was very steep, with huge steps every few feet and the surface was rocky.
This shot is at the bottom of the path that eventually leads UP, UP, UP to the canopy. You can see the roughness of the stones at the right of the picture and it got much WORSE, WORSE, WORSE!
So both Audrey and I were only too glad to be helped; she by the tour guide and I by one of the life-long-learners called Richard. The rest of the group had to wait for us and I felt a bit guilty, but they all applauded us for having done it and I think we deserved it! We each bought 2 Tshirts with a picture of the walk and a logo on the back saying ‘I SURVIVED THE WALKWAY. The shirts are pillar-box red! When we are both wearing them we get quite a few comments from the students. Apart from the challenge I really loved being so high in the trees. I was also happy that I could do it despite my agoraphobia. Yes, it was obviously safe, but it was pretty far off the ground!
I have decided to send this part of my Ghana blog now. Part 2 will be about the craft market and the fabulous visit to the village – big ceremony puit on for us – dancing and drumming etc – lots and lots of photos. It will all come to you never fear.
As always, lots and lots of love to you all.
Liz, Mum, Granny
xoxoxoxo
Reading your terrific blog about Ghana took me back to Kenya, as you must have known it would. All I can say about Kenya is that, if all the people I love most in the world had not been in Canada, I would still be there. Which means, of course, that I would almost certainly be long dead! As you knoe, I fell hopelessly in love with Africa and Africans. They are incredibly disorganized, unpredictable, totally untrustworthy and everything that I, as a Brit, was brought up to believe to be unacceptable. But it wasn't until I was privileged to live among them that I realized all of these undesirable qualities are rendered completely trivial by humans who are convinced that the reason for being alive is to be happy. Did I ever tell you about the incident which occurred between me and the wonderful old gardener at the hotel in which I (and you) lived - The Sirikwa, how could I have forgotten its name? I probably did, but I'll tell you again anyway because I want to tell me - you can just skip this bit if you like! I was trying to learn some Kiswahili, with not much success. One morning I met this old chap in the hotel garden. He spoke hardly any English and we had conversed until then almost entirely by sign language. So I took the plunge and said to him "Habari gani, rafiki yangu", which means 'how are you, my friend' (and after all these years I have almost certainly completely misspelled it). The old guy looked completely stunned; then burst into tears. I was horrified and thought I must have got it wrong and said something terrible. THEN I realized that he was crying because he was HAPPY. He stopped crying, shook my hand wildly and laughed ALL OVER with pleasure. I don't think I had ever seen anyone laugh from head to foot before. I wish I could do it, it must feel really great. I think Africans - well, Kenyan Africans, I don't know any others in the way I got to know them - are BEAUTIFUL, in the true sense of that ridiculously misused word. I know you felt the same, even though you were only there for a few weeks. I remember one morning, when we went down to the open-air market in Eldoret, seeing you laugh all over, just as the old gardener had done. I think that consuming happiness may be what living is for. Things like success, money, winning, power don't hold a candle to it, do they?
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, how I am going on going on aren't I? I'm sure this is not what blogs are supposed to be for.
Did you know that we are having the most amazing weather here in S. Ont.? Three weeks ago the daytime temp went up to a record 26C!! And every day now it goes well up into the teens, at least. The plants are positively galvanized into action. Nearly all the trees are in full leaf. Peoples' gardens are full of flowers that shouldn't be seen for another two or three weeks. All the birds are singing with astonishment. My private chipmunk has come out of hibernation. The Canada geese are courting franticly and risking life and wing by striding about the motorways. And I have ventured into shorts weeks ago. Well, not every day and not at night because the temp drops like a stone at night, of course. I have never seen anything like it in the forty years I have been here.I realize it is not the dramatic equivalent of what is happening to you but it is pretty amazing, and very pleasant indeed. I really must STOP, this blog is getting out of hand. But I must just tell you that my astonishment at your high-wire act in Ghana was only matched by my admiration of your courage. I'm not surprised that they all applauded. If they had known about your fear of heights they would have given you a standing ovation. Now I really will stop. My love to both of you. David.