Sunday, April 09, 2006

Burkina Faso, April 4-7






One of the goals of this trip was to visit a place that neither Nancy nor I had ever been to. With that in mind, we headed for Ghana's French-speaking neighbor to the north, Burkina Faso. In the capital of Ouagadougou, we were welcomed by John and Rose, friends of our friends, Ken & Mimi, from Eugene, Oregon. Rose works for the Peace Corps, while John teaches at the international school and freelances as a journalist. They were incredible hosts! Burkina is even hotter than Ghana, with daytime highs reaching 110 degrees! In addition to the differences in the weather and the langauge, Burkina has a decidedly different feel than Ghana. Burkinabe, like Ghanaians, are wonderfully warm people. There are even more motor scooters there than in Tamale. In these photos: a traditional painted house (as seen in southern Burkina), street scenes, a typical house compound, and our great hosts, John and Rose!

Larabanga, April 2-3






To get a taste of rural village life, we spent a night in Larabanga, just outside of Mole NP. We toured a mosque, claimed by the villagers to be the oldest in Ghana, ate TZ (pronounced "tee-zed", maize that is grounded, then boiled), and spent the night on the roof of our guesthouse because of the soaring temperature in our room. In these photos: the Larabanga mosque, some local kids standing by a traditional Muslim calendar wall, a girl pounding fufu (a popular Ghanaian food made of yam and sometimes plantain), and kids carrying water back from the community water source.

Mole National Park, March 31-April 2






Just southwest of Tamale (read: a 4-hour bus ride down a terrible dirt road) is Mole NP. It's one of the few parks on the continent in which you can view wild animals on foot. A few of the bolder elephants have been known to enter the hotel grounds unannounced! We spent two days here in order to take full advantage of the guided hike and a viewing deck overlooking two popular watering holes -- not to mention our air-conditioned room, the pool, and a few cold beers. Because it is the dry season in Ghana, the animals regularly congregate around these holes. In these photos: elephants in and out of one of the watering holes, monkey, warthog, and a monkey and the hazy evening sun.

Tamale, March 29-30




The city of Tamale is set in the dry, arid plains of Ghana's Northern Region. No humidity, but 100-degree days and a hot sun! Predominantly Muslim, Tamale contains numerous mosques that announce the day's prayers. This is also a city where bikes and motor scooters rule the road (crossing the street is much like the old Atari game "Frogger"). In these photos: the hotel manager's son, a roadside seamstress mending Nancy's pants, and Fati, an old SIT friend of Sean's mother.

Kente Weaving in Adunwomase








We traveled to the kente weaving village of Adunwomase, located about an hour's drive outside of Kumasi. We took a tour that led us through the weaving process from start to finish: selecting thread, spooling, warping, weaving, sewing the kente strips together, and learning how to wear the finished product. Fascinating!

Around Kumasi, March 24-28





While in Kumasi, the historic capital of the Ashanti people, we walked through the overflowing Kejetia Market (the largest in West Africa), visited two Ashanti museums, and explored numerous side streets and back alleys. Kumasi is a vibrant, energetic city, yet noticeably calmer than Accra.

Saturday, April 08, 2006

Time for an update!

We're on our way back south again, spending a day or two in Kumasi (fun to feel in familiar turf!). We're headed to Accra, and from there we will head to the Volta Region for about a week. I'm going to post a bunch of pictures (I hope) over the next few days of places we've been in the last two weeks...

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

We made it to Burkina Faso! Believe it or not, its even hotter here than in Ghana!

We hope to post more pictures in the next week, or Kumasi, Tamale, Mole National Park, and Ouaga. We are doing well and still having a fabulous adventure...