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RHYTHMS OF GHANA March 15-April 2, 2012
THU, MAR 15 - DEPART ATLANTA Our African adventure begins this evening as we board a Delta Airlines jet bound for Accra, Ghana. FRI, MAR 16 - ARRIVE ACCRA We arrive in Ghana's capital city shortly after midday and transfer to our hotel. Remainder of day at leisure. Coconut Grove Regency (D) SAT, MAR 17 - ACCRA-ELMINA Today we drive along the southern coast to Elmina, with several stops en route. Apam, with its picturesque fishing harbor laden with colorful pirogues, is the site of Fort Patience, built by the Dutch in 1697. Mankessim has a wonderful Saturday market and a famous posuban, the largest shrine of its sort in Ghana. Anomabu's skyline is dominated by Fort William and a large sandstone church; several of Ghana's most notable posuban shrines can be found here. An impressive cluster of the fish-smoking ovens typical of this area dominate a roadside slope at Biriwa. Cape Coast Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is said to have been one of the largest slave-holding sites in the world during the colonial era. Here, Ghanians, many of them traded to the British by Ashantis in return for alcohol and guns, were held before being deported on cramped merchant ships to a life of captive labor. The area around Dawson's Hill is one of the best-preserved parts of the old town, boasting several Victorian buildings characteristic of Cape Coast in the mid to late 19th century. At Assin Manso are the graves of two slaves who were returned to Ghana to be reburied alongside the river where slaves were bathed and checked for fitness before being taken to the coast for shipment out of Africa. Coconut Grove Beach Resort (BD) SUN, MAR 18 - ELMINA / SOUTHERN COAST A full-day excursion today along the coast west of Elmina. Shama's Fort of St. Sebastian looms imposingly above the central market. The twin cities of Sekondi-Takoradi feature Fort Orange (built by the Dutch in 1690 and still in use as a lighthouse), a busy central market, and a harbor bustling with fishing boats. The beach at Busua is magnificent, and the village and fishing harbor are particularly colorful. Fort Metal Cross is a focal point for a visit to Dixcove, and it's also interesting to see the colorful fishing boats on the beach. The centerpiece of Prince's Town is the fully restored Fort Gross Friedrichsburg. Axim is the site of Ghana's second oldest fort, the triangular Fort Sao Antonio, probably dating to around 1515. Here, we also visit the Western Heritage Home orphanage. We pass rubber and palm plantations before arriving at the seaside village of Beyin, site of Fort Apollonia, the last fort built by Britain on the Gold Coast. Coconut Grove Beach Resort (BD) MON, MAR 19 - ELMINA The town of Elmina started life as a fishing and salt-producing village roughly 700 years ago. In its economic heyday, however, Elmina lay at the heart of the West African gold trade. Colorful pirogues sail in and out of the lagoon in front of the oldest European building in West Africa, St. George's Castle, founded in 1482. There's a wonderful view over the fishing harbor and town center from St. Jago Hill, where in 1637 the Dutch dragged four cannons to its peak and bombarded the castle, forcing a Portuguese surrender. Several posuban shrines can be found in Elmina, as well as a Dutch cemetery inaugurated in 1802, a Catholic church and mission buildings dating from the 1880s, a fish market, and an arts and crafts market. The Butwaku traditional drum and dance group rehearses weekdays 4-6 p.m. The afternoon is free for exploration on your own. Coconut Grove Beach Resort (BD) TUE, MAR 20 - ELMINA-KUMASI We depart this morning for Kakum National Park, which protects one of the most extensive rainforest habitats in Ghana. The main tourist attraction is the canopy walk, an 1150-foot-long wood and rope walkway varying between 90 and 130 feet in height, suspended between seven trees and broken up by a number of viewing platforms. It's a rare opportunity to look into the forest canopy, and quite exciting for birdwatchers. At Mosomagor, we tour the village and enjoy the Nyamebekyere Kukyekukyeko Orchestra, which plays traditional music on instruments crafted from bamboo. Lunch is at a restaurant built on stilts over a small lake and connected to the shore by several wooden walkways. Crocodiles inhabit the lake, as well as colorful agama lizards and a variety of birds. We continue north to Kumasi via Lake Bosumtwi, situated in a meteorite crater and held sacred by the Ashanti. Since there's a taboo on traditional pirogues, local fishermen get around by lying on customized tree trunks called padua, using their hands as paddles. Royal Basin Resort (BD) WED, MAR 21 - KUMASI / GREATER ASHANTI Today we visit several craft villages and traditional fetish shrines of the Ashanti people. Kofofrom is known for its brasswork, Akwiaa for woodcarving, and Pankrona for pottery. At Adanwomase, we tour the village and see the famous kente cloth produced from spun thread through to the finished strip. Ntonso is the major center of adinkra cloth design and manufacture. Though the importance of fetish houses has diminished, most of the extant shrine houses are still inhabited by a fetish priest consulted by those requiring spiritual advice. The few 19th-century shrines that remain are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites for their significance as the only surviving examples of traditional Ashanti architecture. Besease Traditional Shrine, fully restored in 1998, is one of the most important. Atia Kusia Kwame Shrine and Aduko Jachie Shrine are elaborately decorated with murals and well maintained. Royal Basin Resort (BD) THU, MAR 22 - KUMASI-MOLE NATIONAL PARK We continue our northward journey, stopping at the mud-and-stick parapeted mosques of Banda Nkwanta, Maluwe, and Bole, evidence that the modern road approximates a much older Islamic trade route. At Larabanga we transfer to 4WD vehicles to enter Mole National Park, Ghana's largest and best wildlife sanctuary. More than 90 mammal species and at least 344 bird species have been recorded in Mole. Current estimates stand at about 800 elephants, more than 1,000 buffalo, and significant numbers of hippos, warthogs, and antelope species. There's good opportunity here to see elephants and other large mammals at surprisingly close range. Game-viewing is done from the viewing platform at the Mole Motel, where two waterholes are clearly visible below, and on guided game walks at the base of the cliff on which the motel is located. We take our first walk this afternoon. Mole Motel (BD) FRI, MAR 23 - MOLE-BOLGATANGA An early-morning walking safari before departing for Mognori Eco-Village, where we tour the village and enjoy a performance of drumming and dance. At Damongo we see the palace of the Yogbonwura, the seat of the paramount chief of the Gonja traditional area. Larabanga is known for its mud mosque, mystery stone, and traditional flat-roofed mud kraals. Saakpuli was one of the region's most important slave-trading centers in the early 19th century. A stand of massive baobab trees, to which slaves were chained, still overlooks the former market and several trees are scarred with human marks. A small museum contains some notable slave-trade artifacts. Ex-Tee Crystal Hotel (BD) SAT, MAR 24 - BOLGATANGA / NORTH TO BORDER We begin with a visit to Bolgatanga's busy market, best known for fine leatherwork, basketry, colorful straw hats, and striped cloth shirts produced by the Frafra people. Our full-day excursion takes in many sites in the Upper East Region. Tongo is known for its striking balancing rock formations, the rocky hills venerated for their many sacred Talensi ancestral shrines. The small town of Bongo lies at the heart of a truly memorable landscape of smooth rocky outcrops, magnificent baobab trees, and round-hutted compounds covered in painted figures. Sirigu is known not only for the superb pottery and basketwork produced by its women, but also for the elaborate symbolic wall paintings which decorate the Sahelian flat-roofed adobe houses. Also very striking is the complex facial scarring practiced by the local Nakarisi people. Navrongo is notable for its traditional homesteads, often painted in monochromatic geometric patterns. The town's predominantly Christian feel in a mostly Muslim area reflects its claim to fame as the home of Catholicism in northern Ghana. The cathedral, built in 1920, features simple but beautiful frescoes painted on the pillars by women from Sirigu. The border town of Paga offers several sacred crocodile pools, Paga Pia's sprawling mud palace complex, and the old Pikworo Slave Camp. Ex-Tee Crystal Hotel (BD) SUN, MAR 25 - BOLGATANGA-TAMALE Wulugu is notable for the traditional Zayaa Mosque, a fort-like two-story building of rich red earth that rises in surreal isolation like a gigantic sculpted termite mound. At Gambaga, the kukoa (witches' camp) provides refuge to an estimated 150-200 women who have been cast out of their communities after having been accused and found guilty of witchcraft. Perched on the highest point of the Gambaga Escarpment, Nakpanduri is a striking collection of circular traditional compounds interspersed with massive baobab trees. Asempa Lodge (BD) MON, MAR 26 - TAMALE-TECHIMAN Tamale's large central market is interesting for its fetish section, fabric and beads, and Gonja cloth weavers. At the pungent open-air tannery in the suburb of Zongo, hundreds of sheep, goat, and cow hides lie drying in the sun. Nearby stalls sell sandals and other leatherwork. Kalpohin offers an opportunity to see Ghanians making traditional products using the same methods they have for centuries. We watch women work shea butter, palm oil, groundnut oil, and groundnut paste, as well as spinning cotton which the men make into Dagomba smocks. Lunch here is accompanied by local drumming and dancing troupes. We stop at 80-foot-high Kintampo Falls before arriving in Techiman. Premier Palace Hotel (BLD) TUE, MAR 27 - TECHIMAN-KUMASI We continue southward to Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary. Two monkey species -- the mona monkey and the black-and-white colobus -- occur here in significant numbers. These monkeys are regarded by local villagers as sacred; so serious is the taboo against killing them that a formal funeral service and burial are given whenever a monkey dies. Near Tanoboase, the Tano Sacred Grove protects a variety of mammals and birds. Patas monkeys and baboons have multiplied since the sanctuary was created, and there's a fruit bat colony in the trees. After a cultural visit to the village of Baafi, we drive to Kumasi. Royal Basin Resort (BD) WED, MAR 28 - KUMASI-KOFORIDUA Kumasi, the modern capital of Ashanti Region, is Ghana's second city with a population approaching 1.5 million. This morning we visit the vast, sprawling Kejetia Market. Reputedly the large open market in West Africa, it has been restored to its gloriously hectic former self after being partially destroyed by fires in 1995 and 2009. Some 10,000 traders operate within its confines and spill into the surrounding streets. It's a great place to photograph and buy clothing, textiles, food, pottery, metal, meat and fish, curios and crafts. Within the National Cultural Centre complex, the Prempreh II Jubilee Museum offers a good overview of Ashanti history. The Okomfo Anokye Sword marks the spot where, according to tradition, the Golden Stool descended from the sky 300 years ago and is an important symbol of Ashanti unity. Legend has it that the state would collapse if the sword were ever pulled out of the ground. Royal Plaza Hotel (B) THU, MAR 29 - KOFORIDUA-AKOSOMBO Koforidua (called Koff-town locally) is of specific interest for its Thursday morning bead market, held on the football field. This assembly of bead makers attracts craftspeople from all over Ghana, as well as the occasional merchant from beyond, trading in antique beads from throughout West Africa. Aburi is an excellent place to buy curios; at the row of stalls at the junction with the Accra road we find drums, fertility dolls, stools, etc. sold in a far friendlier atmosphere than in the capital city, and at better prices. Also of interest in Aburi is Studio 1, a recording studio founded by Bob Marley's wife, Rita, and painted with brightly colored murals. We then head north to Akosombo, with stops at several bead factories. A great place to see traditional bead makers at work is Cedi's Bead Factory, which exports its products worldwide. Here we can watch the centuries-old process from start to finish. Volta Hotel (BD) FRI, MAR 30 - AKOSOMBO / VOLTA REGION The town of Akosombo was built in 1961 to house workers constructing Ghana's largest dam across the Volta River at Akosombo Gorge, thus creating the most expansive artificial lake in the world (its shoreline measures about 3,000 miles). Our full-day excursion takes us north to the Ewe village of Ziavi Dzodze, where we see a performance of the Ziavi Zigi cultural troupe. We stop at the stunningly situated village of Biakpa and the kente weaving village of Tafi Abuipe. The Kpando area is known for its hand-molded pottery, traditionally made only by women and often claimed to be the finest in Ghana. Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary was formed in 1993 to protect the sacred mona monkeys that live in the forest surrounding Tafi Atome village. While there are about 350 monkeys split into four troops, the habituated troop numbers about 70 and they're generally most active in late afternoon, when they often descend to the ground and can be approached quite closely. Volta Hotel (BD) SAT, MAR 31 - AKOSOMBO-ACCRA Heading south toward Accra, we visit the Saturday market at Agomanya, a vast expanse of stalls which would rank among Ghana's most worthwhile markets even without the beads which are an important part of the traditional Krobo bead industry. Along the Atlantic coast near where the Volta River empties into the sea, we visit several fishing villages that are being buried by the encroaching waters, and see the salt-mining village of Boni Krope near Songor Lagoon. We continue on to Accra, stopping at the city's original fantasy coffin workshop, Kane Kwei, to view coffins carved posuban-style in whatever shape a family prefers -- elephant, boat, minibus, whale, cell phone, you name it. Coconut Grove Regency (BD) SUN, APR 1 - DEPART ACCRA The morning is at leisure for last-minute packing or shopping. This afternoon's city sightseeing includes the colonial architecture and whitewashed lighthouse of James Town, Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, and the AACD African Market. After an early farewell dinner, our journey through this remarkable West African country ends as we transfer to the airport for our return flight to the U.S. (BD) MON, APR 2 - ARRIVE ATLANTA We arrive in Atlanta this morning and connect with our respective flights home.
Note: Included meals are indicated by B, L, and D for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
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