Two trips, one to Bosumtwi and the other to Mole National Park, Savannah plants, numerous wart hogs, horses, a new container for the project, goat worming, delicious meals, a dozen elephants and one exhausting bus ride.
BOB IN GHANA – 1975 AND 2013
In 1975 Bob was caught on film wearing a ceremonial horned hat. 38 years later, he stumbled upon a similar hat in a market in Tamale and tried it on. Same as it ever was.
JUSTIN CAN DO
When Camille dropped her kindle on the ceramic tile floor the screen cracked and most of the ‘page’ was frozen. Justin asked if he could try fixing it. Jeremy offered to pay for the replacement screen. So Justin bought a new screen and the proper tools, successfully replaced the broken part and now Jeremy has a kindle!
FRESH AS FRESH CAN BE
Two gardens and hundreds of markets provide us with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Camille paid 25.5 cedis or about $13 for enough produce to last the five of us two or three days.
VEGGIE OMELETTES
With avocado and hot sauce. Nice way to start the day. Ingredients include Amy’s mushroom broth, turmeric, moringa leaf powder, onions, green pepper, garlic and cheese.
APONCHE GOES TO THE VET
We noticed a swelling in Aponche’s lower jaw, so Jeremy made an appointment with Dr. Dei at the West African Examination Council. After slipping a collar and lead over her head, Jeremy picked Aponche up and took her to Eric’s car.
And away we went. Aponche on a sheet to keep Mr. Twister (the car) clean. Dr. Dei diagnosed and treated Aponche for liver flukes and Jeremy purchased de-wormer for both goats.
PAPAYA SEEDS
Speaking of de-wormers, the vet also recommended we worm ourselves every three months or so. Amy did some research and learned that papaya seeds are a natural de-wormer. Sounds easy but the seeds is another story. She later found a recipe for a smoothie which included fresh seeds.
HARD AT WORK
Amy studies herbal medicine in her nook. Jeremy works at his elevated desk at the dining room table.
HARD AT PLAY
With temperatures in the high 90’s weekend trips to a hotel pool within walking distance are nearly mandatory. They charge a small fee and serve food and drinks which we enjoy under the shade of beach umbrellas on the lawn. The buoyant life savers are very fun to play with. We spent a long time pushing them down and trying to stand up on them.
A SHORT GET-AWAY
We spent two nights at Elodie and Kojo’s lovely Green Ranch at Lake Bosumtwi. More story and photos at: Green Ranch
ONE CONTAINER, PLEASE!
Men of action source, purchase and arrange for transport of a container at the biodiesel plant. More: February 2013 FS2BD
NORTH TO THE LAND OF THE ELEPHANTS
First stop, the tire shop and then on to the Asempa Lodge with its wall art and donkey doo. More photos of the journey and the destination at Asempa Lodge
MOLE NATIONAL PARK
We came, hoping to see elephants and within minutes of putting our bags down we saw them. A herd of a dozen bulls, cooling their heels in the water hole, slapping each other affectionately with their trunks, treating each other ‘as brothers’ in the words of one of our three safari guides. Bob booked us three nights at the park which was perfect. We went on guided walking Safaris each morning and hung out by the pool in the afternoon. Bob and Amy bought sun hats – a must in this hot, dry climate. Check out the wart hogs and more on this page: Mole National Park
TWO REALLY NICE SAFARIS
Park Guides Christopher and Osmond did a really nice job of introducing us to the wonders of the park. We got a good look at the elephants on the first morning and got up even earlier the next to find some birds. Please enjoy our photos at Mole National Park Safaris
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
This was an Oh My God moment if there ever was one! One minute we’re watching cute baby wart hogs foraging around on their little knees and the next a very large elephant is crossing the street towards us. Check out our third and Final Safari
WE HEART TREES
We love the animal kindgom but find the plant world equally mesmerizing. Take this beautiful heart-shaped Khaya senegalensis (African mahogony) for instance, one of the most important medicinal trees of Africa. And the Tubani tree (Piliostigma thonningii, Fabaceae) a natural first aid kit with its antibacterial leaves and flexible bark. Meeting Savannah Plants
VILLAGE SCALE SELF SUFFICIENCY AT MBANAYILI
Shea Butter processing, cotton weaving and pottery making. It’s all happening in this little village. See the whole story here: Mbanayili Village
TAMALE AND THE LONG ROAD HOME
We spent three nights in Tamale. Enough to get a feel for the nuances of the town. The main differences from Kumasi: the roads are in much better shape, people drive with more care, the women dress in even more brilliant hues, there are more bikes, motorcycles and scooters than cars and tros and more sheep than goats. Oh, and this was a first for us – a woman riding a bicycle with a pan of oranges on her head – no hands!
The return trip is a whole ‘nother story. We had hoped the airlines would have gotten ahold of some fuel during the week since we left Kumasi but no. So we got up early and naively borded a bus for the six hour trip home. Ten hours and four change of vehicles later, we made it. More photos here: Tamale
Read the blog posts about our long trip home, beginning with this one: An Unbelievable Bus Ride Part I – An Early Start
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THIS MONTH’S QUOTES:
“You can’t leave footprints in the sands of time if you’re sitting on your butt — and who wants to leave butt prints in the sands of time? If an elderly but distinguished scientist says that something is possible, he is almost certainly right; but if he says that it is impossible, he is very probably wrong.” – Arthur C. Clarke
“Always we hear the cry from teenagers ‘What can we do, where can we go?’ … My answer is, “Go home, mow the lawn, wash the windows, learn to cook, build a raft, get a job, visit the sick, study your lessons, and after you’ve finished, read a book. Your town does not owe you recreational facilities and your parents do not owe you fun. The world does not owe you a living, you owe the world something. You owe it your time, energy and talent so that no one will be at war, in poverty or sick and lonely again.
In other words, grow up, stop being a cry baby, get out of your dream world and develop a backbone, not a wishbone. Start behaving like a responsible person. You are important and you are needed. It’s too late to sit around and wait for somebody to do something someday. Someday is now and that somebody is you…” – A New Zealand Judge
“It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little.” – Sydney Smith
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