Canopy Walk and Accra

Tuesday-Wednesday, March 4-5              Canopy walk and Accra

We left Elmina and drove about an hour into the interior of Ghana to Kakum National Park, a tropical rain forest.  Fortunately, we had no rain.  We hiked about a half hour up to a part of the forest where a canopy walk has been created, and took the walk.  It was quite wonderful to see the forest from 100 feet up:



We then continued our drive to Accra, the capitol of Ghana, on the Gulf of Guinea:

We arrived in the late afternoon, and went to Black Star Square, a large space on the water where sports events as well as military and civilian celebrations are held:

It is dominated by Black Star Gate, erected by Kwame Nkrumah, the Prime Minister of the Gold Coast (prior to independence) and the first president ant prime minister of Ghana after 1957:

The next morning, our last day, we had only two activities.  First we went to a lovely art gallery where Kathy had interest in a large Dan figure of a man, but had trouble making a decision quickly for such a big purchase.  We left to go to a remarkable place—a coffin maker!  The Ga people believe that a coffin should be a reflection of the person it holds, and those who can afford it get one here.  We were told that Jimmy Carter was given a peanut coffin!  Here are coffins for an airline pilot, a fisherman, a banker and a pepper farmer:



At this point, Kathy wanted to see the Dan figure again, so while the rest of the group went to a small local museum, she and I went back to the gallery.  With a lot of haggling, especially over the shipping, she bought him.  Here’s the gallery owner measuring him for his shipping container.

The DHL man came to pick him up in… not a DHL truck, but an Uber.  Go figure.

The trip home the next day was long but uneventful.  Kathy and I and a couple on the trip from Cincinnati took a nonstop from Accra to JFK where we connected to our flights home.  It was truly a memorable trip to places I was so glad to learn more about.



Comments

  1. Ralph LockeMarch 18, 2025 at 5:09 AM

    Oh, I've never been in the "leaf" level of trees--what an experience! And the imagination shown in the sculptures and coffins is impressive. So many things you've experienced over just a short time! Welcome back and thanks for sharing with us.

    ReplyDelete
  2. xctravelerMarch 18, 2025 at 1:52 PM

    It is a thrill to get up into the canopy. We have for it in a couple of places. The places you experienced add a new frame to how to see the world i"m sure. Every trip like this broadens your outlook.

    ReplyDelete

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