Friday, August 7, 2009

Week 10 - Barack Obama comes to Ghana!

During my tenth week in Ghana, I had been scheduled to join the trip to Kumasi organized by our program. But given the current circumstance with Barack Obama coming to Ghana, there was no way I was going to miss out on this event. Deciding to ditch the group trip in an attempt to be part of history, Tharani and I woke up at the crack of dawn in hopes of finding the perfect location to spot the Big BO. We hopped in a taxi, and immediately head to the International Conference Center (ICC) where Obama was going to make a public address.And so the day began. Excited and anxious in the back of the taxi for what the day could potentially bring, I couldn't help but zone out thinking and pondering about the sudden transformation of Accra. Within days prior to Barack Obama's arrival, massive billboards, posters and banners had been erected at every corner of the city. Every radio station in Ghana had been focused on this singular event as Ghanaian citizens called inn discussing political/social/economic possibilities and consequences of the visit of an American President to Ghana. The past week riding in trotro's blasting Ghana talk radio, i was intrigued at peoples concern and superior knowledge of not only local political issues but international issues affecting them also. The city was totally flipped upside down in anticipation of Barack's visit. I remember one day at work walking past a television and noticing a Barack Obama music video chanting "Obama, we love you, OGhana we love you" (while still maintaining the same amount of flash and booty shaking as other music videos lol)!
Snapping back to reality riding in the back of a taxi, I peered out to the street. It was apparent that security had been increased by probably a thousand times than on any other given day. Every 5-10 feet of all the streets we passed, there were police personnel standing heavily armed with what looked like Ak's, hand guns and batons (This is NOT and exaggeration!). The city was covered with an uncountable number of check points. We soon arrived to the entrance of the ICC and to our surprise, we were the first ones there. But it wouldn't take long for the street corners to be packed with Ghanaians and foreigners alike filled with shared anticipation and excitement. After some early frustrations of trying to secure a good location/view point, we finally set up base in front of the Accra Stadium where we waited patiently for several hours for BO to drive by. Every couple of minutes, we would see an entourage of vehicles passing with different politicians in each group. We saw the President of Ghana Prof. J. E. Atta Mills, former president F.L. General Jerry Rawlings, Political Opposition leader of the CPP and others who were unrecognizable to us. With each passing entourage the crowd got louder and more excited for the main event; A view of Barack Obama. But unfortunately, that never came. The vehicle which he was supposed to be in was empty and by the time we realized that he was riding in a different car, BO had already been inside the ICC preparing to make his speech. As others were disappointed, i do not regret our little adventure. We listened to Barack's speech right outside the ICC with Ghanaian locals and from the moment that Barack began speaking all the way to the end, the streets remained silent listening and hanging on to his every word. It was an experience that I do not take for granted and will remember forever.
"We will look back to places like Accra and say this was the time when the promise was realised; this was the moment when prosperity was forged, when pain was overcome, and a new era of progress began." Barack Obama July 12, 2009, Accra, Ghana.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Week 9 - TOGO

No matter what, we gots to go to Togo!

During the ninth week of my trip in Ghana, my Ghanaian Visa expired being valid only for 60 days. This was definitely a problem in need of solving so i began to inquire about the fastest way to process a renewal of my visa. Apparently i could renew it within a day at the Ghanaian embassy in Togo and being interested in seeing Togo anyways, i decided to go! Early Friday morning, the crew and I left Accra and headed to Aflao which is the city just outside Lome, Togo. Upon our arrival, we were met by dozens of hustling money changers who were trying to change our Ghanaian Cedi's into CFA's (which is the currency used in Togo). These guys were walking around with fat stacks of cash and were experts in finger magic making money disappear right before your eyes. The atmosphere of the border was as I describe it, "sheer chaos". Unfortunately for us being caught in the spiral of overwhelming confusion not really knowing the proper conversion rate, we all ended up being severely ripped off by the sneaky money changers aka thieves!

Pissed off and upset about all the money we had lost collectively, we decided to put it all behind us and move on across the border to Lome. As soon as we crossed the border (which couldn't have been more than 15 meters separating Aflao and Lome) it immediately became apparent that we were in a different country. All the street signs, advertisements and posting were written in french, motorcycles (motomoto: The term used in Togo) flooded the streets, and the roads were covered in pot holes and garbage. To make my matters of cultural shock worse, my inability to speak french hindered my ability to communicate with the majority of the Locals. For the first time, I really began to regret all those times that I threw pieces of erasers at people in french class!
Our first destination was the Grand Marche which is the largest open air market in Togo located at the center of the city. The Grand Marche is where you can find pretty much find anything and everything from cloth, food, rat poison, super glue etc. Nothing I encountered at the market really interested me until i ran into a woman who sold bean avocado sandwiches which are served in fresh baguettes! Mmmm how i could go for one of those right now! The Grand Marche was totally an exhausting day trip and after a long day we decided to call it a night.
Early the next morning, we got out of our hotel and decided to go to the fetish market just outside of Lome. This was probably one of the most creepy experiences I've had in Africa yet! Upon entrance into the fetish market you can't help but smell the stench of rotting, decomposing animals. There were heads of dead crocodiles, monkeys, horses, giant turtles, monkey paws, teeth necklaces, and much more. The market is dedicated to the sale of ingredients which traditional healers (Voodoo chiefs) say can make magic charms. The fetish market basically is a voodoo man's shoppers drug mart to put it in the simplest terms. Joseph, a healer from neighbouring Benin, says:

"This place is like a pharmacy for everybody in the world. When someone has a serious sickness and the hospital cannot help, they come here to the fetish market."

After having enough of the creepy fetish market, we left and head to Agbodrafo just east of the capital. Not having any reservations and with no place to stay, the crew and I walked along the beach in search of a cheap beach resort. After walking for some time, hot, hungry, grumpy and tired, we ended up finding the most incredible place. We found a resort called Coco beach resort where we lodged in straw huts on the beach, (a beach which was the most beautiful I've seen in my entire stay here in Ghana and Togo), ate delicious food and devoured coconuts. I know I've said this before in past blog posts, but this place was actually paradise! At night, we sat by the beach, enjoyed drinks with clear starry skies and watched the moonlight glimmer of the ocean waves. The entire evening was magical as I was enjoying the majestic view being surrounded by great company, people who I've grown to love and will never forget (you all know who you are)! This was the close to our weekend as we headed back to Accra the following day sadly saying goodbye to a piece of heaven on earth.


Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Week 8 - Green Turtle Lodge

Beach Lovin

I've heard of the Green Turtle Lodge (GTL) from the first couple days of my arrival in Ghana but really had no clue what it was all about. Almost all who I've talked to about it praised GTL for its "incomparable beauty". Curious about what makes GTL so amazing, the crew and I decided to check it out on our eighth week. We departed Friday morning on a trotro from Takoradi and headed to Agona. From Agona
we picked up a cab which drove us down to the GTL situated right before the little town of Akwidaa. I can't begin to tell you how bad the road was. I felt that the car at any point during our drive was going to break down due to the harsh conditions of the seemingly endless dirt road. After half an hour of motion sickness we finally arrived.....to paradise! The harsh ride was totally worth seeing this secluded beach resort!

The sun was beaming bright, the ocean wind was blowing
, and the water and sand for the most part was the cleanest i had seen yet. And just to put the cherry on top of it all, there was a basketball net right down by the beach. I can't count the number of times i had told everyone that "this was ridiculous!" Even more interesting about GTL is it's ECO-Tourism status.
Green Turtle Lodge is an Eco-tourism site which adhere to the principles of Eco-tourism, encouraging guests to be responsible tourists. GTL defines Eco-tourism as Environment and Community Oriented Tourism, abbreviated from ECO-Tourism. I find it fascinating to see an establishment such as the GTL abiding by the principle of "responsible travel to natural areas which conserves the environment and sustains the well being of local peoples" while still maintaining the quality of a five star resort. The lodge is environmentally friendly being powered entirely by solar energy. In addition all the toilets are self-composting and also re-cycle shower water to feed plants. GTL also maintains a commitment to maintaining the local community of Akwidaa as all staff are employed from all levels of the local community. Part of the GTL profits are paid into a community fund which is controlled by a local committee who decided where the money should be spent. Having said all this, I'm sure I've made it clear that GTL is fun you can have without feeling bad about it!

Friday, July 10, 2009

Week 7 - Aburi Botanical Gardens

I'm not really a big Botanical Gardens type of guy but i must admit, Aburi was spectacular. This place carries a rich history as it was founded by the British in 1890 and later occupied by western missionaries. These days, the Botanical Gardens is the main attraction of the Aburi district just north of Accra maintaining its beauty over each passing decade. There must have been over a thousand different plants and trees which were organized in the most incredible fashion. And aside Aburi Botanical Gardens being conveniently located on top of a mountain, the township of Aburi was an absolute spectacle. The street markets were flooded with giant mangoes, cassava roots, maize, yams, plantains, and all other sort of fresh fruits and vegetables. There were children running happily on the street as well as herds of goats, chickens and wild dogs wandering around. The place seemed like a dream to me being so different from anything that I'm used to in Canada. Check out the crew in the garden of sheer beauty!

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Tuff Gong Records

"One good thing about music, when it hit you, you feel no pain"

On one of our tours up to Aburi Botanical Gardens, we happened to get a chance to stop off at Rita Marley's Studio! Rita Marley these days lives in Ghana in a town just south of Kofuridua. Many of the Rastafarian's that I've met in Ghana say that they can take me to meet her; who knows, maybe one day before i leave i just might take them up on their offer.

Community Dunks Tournament!

Anywhere and everywhere...we BALLIN!

So you know I had to do it! After meeting a ton of people here at Legon University, a couple of friends decided that I should join their basketball team. Not having any expectation of what this Basketball team or tournament might be like, I decided to go for it. I arrived with my friend Wolf and Tintin to the tournament and to my surprise, this tournament was no joke. The tournament is sponsored by Sprite and Indomie and is TELEVISED on TV Africa every wed! We have weekly games which is aired on basketball TV Program. Each district in the city has a team and I happened to be on the Legon team. The atmosphere was nuts! There was an African drumming group which played throughout our basketball match which really made the whole experience surreal. We won our first game against Nima. Check out our victory pic!

Friday, June 19, 2009

Week 6 - Likpe todome


Caving in the Jungle Deep

Reaching the half way mark of our Ghana trip, the group and I just had to celebrate. And what a better way to do it than to go caving! Saturday morning we arrived at Likpe Todome which is a small village just off the east side of Hohoe, Volta region. We met up with our guide and without wasting anytime, began our journey up the mountain to the Caves. It's becoming increasingly apparent to me that if anyone wants to see/do anything in the Volta Region, there is an implied minimum walk of at least an hour and a half. After walking up the mountain reaching its peek, the tour guide began to tell us the story behind the historical significance of Likpe Todome.

According to our guide and other sources from Accra, many years ago the Ewe people were chased from their homes by the tyrannical rule of an ancient Chief (from the lands that are now Benin). Fleeing further and further, the Ewes finally arrived in a virgin bush, unblemished by the hands of men. There the people began a small settlement. In those days everyone fetched water from the river and did so at the same time. One of those times, members of the majority lineage killed a pregnant woman of one of the minority groups living on the fringe of the settlement. The murderers refused the custom of replacing the deceased with a member of their own tribe and, thus provoked, the plaintiffs began their preparations for war by sharpening stones used in battle. As a result, scouts from the majority party saw this action, known in Ewe as "likpe," and returned with the news of a pending conflict. Cognizant of the fact that they could no longer live in harmony with their antagonists, the Likpes fled to the hills into the caves hoping to once again escape the tyranny of their oppressors. For many years the Likpes lived in the caves on the modern border with Togo. After years spent in hiding, they finally emerged from the caves and founded the first of ten Likpe settlements known as "Likpe Todome" or "Sharping stones from under the mountain" because they came from the caves or "under the mountain." Today Likpe is understood as the people who live under the mountain Todome.
Upon each entrance of the five different caves, our guide explained its purpose to the Likpe civilization. There first cave was the gathering room, the second the bed rooms, the third the dungeon/prison, the fourth the watch tower and the last the the thrown and hide out of the Chief. It was incredibly interesting to find advanced sophistication in the lifestyle of the Likpe peoples who's existance must have dated back hundreds of years ago. And even more interesting was having a chance to meet their descendants of today. All who reside in the village were very kind and welcoming. From our arrival to our departure, I really couldn't help but feel the warmth and acceptance from those who live in Likpe Todome.