So I've been back from Ghana for about 10 days. All done with my malarone pills. (Proud of me, Ros-in-Brussels?) I suspect I may have a parasite since I've been eating like a fiend since I've been back, plus some other symptoms that I won't discuss, but it probably is just my excuse to be a glutton.
I've uploaded and sorted most of the photos that I took. I still have tons of video to process, thanks to my handy flip video camera. Here's one with the cutest children I met, and a couple of B-rolls to whet your appetite: Kumasi street-360 and
View of village road from taxi
For those who don't want to click through the various albums some of which have more extensive descriptions (linked below), the photos are compiled here. Most have captions, and usually a map link to indicate another area I visited.
To briefly orient you, the lot consists first of city street scenes in Accra and Kumasi, including central market (or Kejetia market). Photographs of the sheet metal (re)working area at the market are followed by photos of Suame Magazine, reputedly the largest artisan engineer complex, with between 100-200K workers. I asked the folks at ITTU to introduce me to the female mechanics/workers. They thought for a good two minutes and then took me to a body shop. Alas, she was gone for the day.
Adventures in Koforidua, where I was "kidnapped" by Reverend Freeman Opoku, who led me to two different large markets and a funeral in the next town are posted here. Unfortunately, I visited Koff-town before I realized Bikes Not Bombs had an outfit here that has trained six mechanics, including one female. Well, OK, I met here in Kumasi when she and another colleague visited IDDS.
The kente weaving village I visited was Bonwire, about an hour northwest of Kumasi (don't ask me about distances!). I was told there was one female weaver there, but she is in such "high demand" because she is so rare, that she usually tours. There are also pictures of adinkra cloth printing. The young man who showed me around town is supposedly on his way to Detroit for college this fall. And he said he attended UMass Boston a couple of years ago!
The Besease shrine is one of a handful of rebuilt/intact shrines in the area. The wiry caretaker assembled a bunch of tortoise(s) (shells) while I looked around. So cute!
I visited both Elmina and Cape Coast "castles". So much sadness. So much resilience. So much history, not only the painful part, but the glorious kingdoms and knowledge of Africa, that we don't teach or learn about. Grateful to have attended one of the Panafest events, that both honored the past and emanated hope for a brighter future.
(gear change) The penultimate set of pictures consist of my serious R&R at a tranquil seafront hotel in Akwidaa, (blog post here) and then the good people at Pokuase who will take care of Science Club for Girls in Ghana the coming year!
This is essentially the travel itin. Reflections will take a little while...
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