Thursday january 21

Thursday January 21, 2016

Fourty years ago today since my Mom died. She would have loved to know that I made it to Africa. Jim and I  toasted her with cold beer!

A couple of days ago we met Rachel Garbury, and Dyalla Popatia, fellow Canadians on a street in Ada Foah. Rachel noted Jim's Blue Jays tee shirt and before you could blink, we were invited to supper last night with Auntie Emily and Matt Howard, Rachel's partner. It was an absolute delight. We took the beer and they made a marvellous Ghanian meal. Banku is a fermented dough of casavaha and corn, dipped into a fresh fish stew and eaten communally with clean fingers on the right hand. Just what we needed was an introduction to eating Ghanian style. We also had rice and stir fried veggies, and great conversation. This morning we visited the community radio station where both Rachel and Dyalla are working.  It is a marvellous project for community development and social change.

Yesterday we also had a couple of hours at the market. I love one of the sketches I did of an older broom selling women. It is loose in style and captures "her". Hopefully I have enough material to do something further with this image.

Yesterday, we also did a boat trip around the Volta Estuary and the mangrove swamps. It was hard to get our boat people to skip the crocodiles in captivity, the gin making and all the other sales gimmicks but somehow we managed. I got the great photo of the school girl in the water, showing her joy that school was out for the day. 

Taxis are all shared and it is interesting to be in a full car and then fit in three more people. The high light for me was that I  got to hold the beautiful sleeping black baby!

Late this afternoon, we walked in the huge heat to coco loco beach resort. It didn't look like this place had been open in a long time.  Jim and I are thinking that we are the only tourists here.I  tried to order something to eat, with no luck. We tried to get a ride back to Ado Foah with no luck. But we did have a beer! On the way walking back, I managed to flag down a motorcycle. As I arrived back, I was worried about leaving Jim so I  gave the motorcycle driver 10 cidis and asked him to go back for Jim which he did.  Jim paid him too so the motorcycle man was happy and Jim and I relived the motorcycle rides of our youth. We were happy.

Tomorrow, we are up at 5 am to walk to the ferry up the Volta. Every day is an adventure.