|
The Nigerian Field Society |
||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
|
|
Ghana April 13 to 16, 2006 On the eve of Good Friday we were 12 to gather at the Lagos International airport for a trip to Ghana. We flew safe, with Aero Contractors. The delay at the airport was longer than the flight. Those new to Ghana marveled at wide boulevards, marked lanes on the road and people respecting them, working traffic lights that were obeyed, new buildings, … . One could have thought we were in Abuja! We stayed at the Golden Tulip Hotel – nice accommodation, good food and nice pool.
The afternoon tour was to the Aburi Botanical Gardens north of Accra. Established by the English over 100 years ago it had a fine selection of jungle trees, medicinal and herbal trees, fruits trees and cocoa, an important Ghanaian export. The journey gave us a glimpse of the urban spread of Accra, a town of 4 million. Then it was back to the hotel for dinner, a quick sleep before an early departure.
Saturday started early. We headed out for Cape Coast and Elmina along Ghana’s central coast to the west of Accra. The highway, part of the trans West Africa highway, is a 4 lane dual carriageway where it is complete and is being worked on to bring it to that standard along much of the remainder of the route we took. Timing estimates by our guide, Ashford, we quickly learned were approximate – a 2 hour drive took us closer to 4. We passed by Winneba, home to an annual antelope hunt where the prey is caught by hand. The south, central coastal area is agricultural with crops of pineapple, palm, coconut, cassava and more. The coastal communities are dependent on fishing. The area is also known for its universities and high schools. No trip to Ghana would be complete without a tour of some of the castles built up along its coasts. The oldest European structures built in sub-Saharan Africa are to be found
In the afternoon we toured St George’s castle (Elmina) – built by the Portuguese, captured by the Dutch who stayed for over 200 years before finally selling it to the British. Again a tour of the slave holding cells but with a guide that gave a balanced view of the “trade” in human lives. From this castle one has a view on the nearby Fort St. Jago, the fishing port, Mpoben, and the coast. A quick tour of the fish market and the town (Dutch cemetery, old European dwellings) and we were back o the hotel for a well deserved swim.
Lunch was at a beach resort in Anomabu, a decidedly popular place. A fine buffet spread was provided. One last stop before reaching Accra was o see a posuban – a shrine and meeting place for the Asafo, former native military units. And finally John, our able driver, delivered us back to the airport for an uneventful return to Lagos.
Many thanks to Phil Hall for the organization of an inclusive and memorable trip and to Mike Newton for ably shepherding a group with diverse interests.
|
|||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
| ŠThe Nigerian Field Society | ||||||||||
Lagos Branch
April 14 and it is Good Friday. Having loaded up at the breakfast buffet we left for the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park but not before a stop at a large market with a wide selection of cloth (kente) and arts & crafts. Nearly everyone found his or her pleasure in the market. The view on the sea was nice too. Nkrumah was the first president of an independent Ghana (1957). The memorial represented his 3rd, and presumably final, burial place. The monument had a certain communist flavour to it. We finished the morning in Accra with a tour along the shore towards the east. Some fine resorts for anyone wanting a weekend away from Lagos. We stopped to see some fanciful funeral caskets. A fortuitous WC stop brought us to an art gallery that would have done some museums proud – both for the art and crafts on display but also for some of the antique goods on sale. Paintings by the Ghanaian artist, Glover, were on sale at prices far below Lagos prices. An art lover’s delight. Lunch was by the sea, a little long in coming but well appreciated when it did.
here. Many European nations came to partake in the trade in gold, ivory and slaves. Cape Coast castle was originally built by the Swedes, captured by the Danes and finally held by the British for over 200 years. It served as a staging point for the shipment of slaves to the Americas. An impassioned guide gave us a tour of the holding cells with vivid descriptions of the wrongs committed. On a less morbid side the views from the castle along the coast and of the ishing activities of the town were fantastic. We continued some kilometers further east to Elmina where we checked into the Coconut Grove Hotel.
On Easter Sunday we missed the bunny and left for Kakum National Park, about 30 km in from the coast. The park itself is 357 square kilometers of not so virgin forest. Still it has a fine collection of animals but these are mostly nocturnal – we did see the head of a cobra. The pride of the Park is a canopy walk consisting of 350 m of cable and rope walkway among the treetops with fine views of the forest anopy. Not a lot of bird life was in view. All made it around the canopy walk, congratulations Elsa and Ida! An additional bonus was a guided walk through the forest with an explanation of the medicinal uses of various plants and some fine specimens of mahogany and ebony trees.