Part III of III

Ok. Part III of III. This clearly won’t be as charged as Part I, and probably not as weird as Part II. Some of you have reacted to the information included in Part I, and I encourage that. Talk about it with your friends, with colleagues, do research on it, and think about it. Don’t brush it aside; let it hurt and sting a little bit, because it should. Part of coming to Ghana for me was to learn about another culture, and in addition to that, I’m learning history that shouldn’t be ignored, not only because it is true, but because it has contemporary implications. As I continue on my trip, I’m  going to keep using this medium to share the knowledge that I’m learning, and the experiences I’m having; both the fun and the serious. I hope you’re enjoying the updates so far, and I invite you into discussions about the topics I’m seriously talking about – they really do deserve it.

Canopy Walk, the Beach and Cape Coast(I guess I should have come up with some clever, witty transition from serious “think about life!” spiel to an airy, jealousy-inspiring description of palm trees and the ocean, but alas…)

So, after we saw the crocodiles on Saturday, we went as a group to what everyone kept calling a Canopy walk. We didn’t really know what that meant, but we arrived at Kakum National Park and began walking through the rainforest. There were so many crazy trees, absolutely gigantic patches of bamboo and just really cool looking branches and such. Next came the canopy walk. What they mean is that you walk along a series of bridges rigged between trees over the canopy of the rainforest, so above a majority of the trees. When I say ‘bridge’ I mean literally an aluminum, horizontal ladder about ten inches wide covered with wood boards with rope sides rigged between iffy wooden platforms between huge trees. We started low, and everyone was commenting on how they thought the bridge would be higher off the ground…they only had to wait about five minutes for that to be realized. All of a sudden, we were walking across this swaying structure of a bridge high above the tops of trees we knew had to be stories tall and yet there were still ones towering over our own heads. Looking out, all we could see was the misty top of the rain forest, with a lone tree poking out once in a while across the horizon. It was really amazing. We kept walking and crossed about six bridges before winding up close to where we started. It must have crossed out over a valley, and we came back to the ridge. It was just really really awesome. Kind of scary, but really cool.

That evening, we had dinner at the place we stayed right on the beach, and then watched as three guys lit a bonfire with a cardboard box, matches and a bottle of palm oil until the pile of stacked wood blazed by the ocean. It was a really relaxing night, though we were exhausted emotionally and physically from the day. Many of us used the evening to talk and process about what we had seen and learned earlier in the day; we continue to do that in small groups and classes throughout the week as well.

We could see stars! Where we live in Accra, because it is a city, the stars are usually shrouded in clouds and smog. Here though, on the coast, and isolated from any major metropolitan area, we could see stars as they faded into the black of the ocean.

This was an absolutely beautiful beach, and I’ve realized the ocean at night is one of the most calming experiences. Nisha and I got up the next morning to watch the sunrise, and were told that it goes from about 5 to 6. From five fifteen to six we hung out on the beach as most people slept, the sky got lighter and the ocean just kept on keepin’ on. The sun didn’t show itself until about 6:45, but it was totally daylight out by 6 or so, which was kind of weird. When the sun did finally show up, it just appeared out of the fog that had settled on the coast in a really eerie, silent manner. It was a great way to start the day.

Later that afternoon, we went into Cape Coast town, just a half hour down the road from Elmina, where we were staying. We walked around, talked to people, and played with little kids, and generally took in the scene. Most people were out and about, doing chores, laundry, cooking or just sitting and talking. The kids wanted nothing more than to get our attention and play and practice their English. Their parents smiled at us. Their grandparents, and clearly the elders of the town simply stared as we walked by. This is an interesting, but unsurprising observation. Ghana is an incredibly young country – it declared independence in the late 1950’s, so many people living in Ghana today were not born in “Ghana” because it was still under British colonial rule. Obviously there are different attitudes held by the new generations indoctrinated in a western-idealizing world where globalization and the West are valued above local goods and those born into colonial rule that have lived through the independence movement, four republics and three coup d’états. This is something that I often neglect to think about, coming from a country that is relatively much older than Ghana; America even considers herself a “young” nation, in comparison to the European empires established so many centuries ago.

So there we go. Part III of III. If you’ve managed to bear with me for the whole series, congratulations to you, I realize it was long. Feel free to comment, or email me – I’m always open to feedback, questions and general discussion.