April 2006 photos

Read my monthly update HERE

I did some traveling in the southern half of the country in April. The main reason I went down was for a training workshop, but I managed to meet up with some friends to celebrate Easter as well as enjoy some of the sites in and around Accra.

After a long (and painful I might add) bus ride down to Accra, I enjoyed a nice, relaxing weekend with two other volunteers who I had not seen since we swore in last December. Just west of Accra (capital of Ghana) is Cape Coast, which by the 17th century had grown from a small fishing village to one of the largest and most important trading ports along the coast. Dixie (pic #3) is a volunteer at the nearby Kakum National Park. Cape Castle (pic #1) is one of the two large slave dungeons.

Not too far west of Cape Coast is a fishing village called Elmina. Back in the day, Elmina was at the heart of the West African gold trade. Elmina Castle, originally used as a gold trading post, is the largest of the two castles used for the slave trade. It was very difficult to tour and hear the horrors of what took place inside these walls.

They say at one time you could come to Kakum National Rainforest and see elephants and plenty other animals, but I don't know anyone who has seen them recently. What Kakum does have, however, is a canopy walkway that suspends 40 meters up in the air. I've jumped out of 3 airplanes and this was scary! It gets easier by the end, though, and you see amazing views of the rainforest from the different platforms. Kakum (and the slave castles) are probably the biggest tourist sites in Ghana. The girl is pic #5 is one of my closest PCV friends here - she name is Urji and her site is not far from Accra (i.e. really far from me!!).

I had a 5-day training at a fabulous place on the beach. Pic #1 is my group and a few of our counterparts who came down with us (mine could not come because she was delivering a baby that very week). Pics 2-5 are from a field trip we took as a group to meet the owner of this successful company in Accra. They produce and export African crafts and furniture. Their biggest clients are Pier 1, Cost Plus, and Target ... 3 of my favorite stores ironically. :) The last picture is just a shot of me on the beach - the lights you see off the pier in the background are from President of Ghana's house. Nice view, huh?

Board out of our minds and practically no money, a couple friends and I took a short excursion to the Botanic Gardens in Aburi (about 45 minutes outside of Accra in the Eastern region). Nice place - great views!!

While I was traveling, my counterpart delivered a baby boy. Mom and baby are home and doing great! They asked me to give him his English name, which is such an honor. I'm still deciding, so you'll have to wait until next month for my choice. The night I got back to Binaba, we had a very strong wind/rain storm that blew the roof off my summer hut (pic #3). I'm in the process now of getting it replaced before the rainy season comes!!