This was our last official day of the tour and I had mixed emotions—we have seen so much and done so much, but I am really to leave the van behind and get started with the service learning projects. We started they day with a tour of the Akosombo dam. The well-hidden engineering nerd in me came out as we heard about the inner-workings of creating hydroelectricity. Before the dam was fully constructed and the water filled the valley, the country had to relocate more the 700 villages (80,000 people). I sure hope those people are enjoying the electricity produced by their sacrifices.
Hydroelectricity production at Akosombo Dam
On our way west towards Accra, we stopped at several little villages for Ernest and Sam to pick up things for the families. One town is especially known for making pillows with some type of fluffy, cotton-like plant, so there are little pillow stands everywhere. Sam also bargained for yams for his wife and mangoes for his boys. It was quite fun to all this go on.
Pillow production and sale in Juapong
Outside of Accra in the mountains is a beautiful and serene place, the Aburi Botantical Gardens built by the British in 1890 for medicinal plant cultivation. It’s now a space where lots of different trees and plants are grown and where people come to enjoy the open space. The temperature is remarkably cool at the top of the mountain. In fact, after a heavy rain overnight and fog in the morning, the coolness and humidity combined with being among the trees felt remarkably like Portland without all the white people. Among the various tree species were a cinnamon tree, an allspice tree and a bay rum tree from which we get bay leaves. I thought it was odd that I had never actually thought about the type of plant these spices are from, so it was fun to see the source.
Inside a strangler ficus at Aburi Gardens
On the way into Accra, we drove through the University of Ghana campus in Legon, just outside of the city center. They campus is a collection of lovely white buildings with red tiled roofs. Many of the main halls were designed by a Japanese architect and you can easily see the Asian influence in their design and surrounding gardens. Ernest asked us if we wanted fast food, not lunch but fast food. Our blood sugar was definitely ebbing so we stopped at the Osu food court which is not really a food court by American standards (fried chicken, ice cream, sandwiches), but they did have a pizza shop and eating melted cheese was something I hadn’t done in 2 weeks.
The Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum in Accra is the resting place of Ghana’s first president, a man who had tremendous influence on the push for independence from Britain. Once he was in power, he initiated many public works to benefit the people and he was a Pan-Africanist in he push against colonial rule for all African countries. Everyone always refers to him as “Dr. Kwame Nkrumah” and it’s easy to see the reverence people have for him today. Unfortunately, the mausoleum site needs some serious tlc. It was built in 1992 and it seems like not much has been done to maintain it since then. The stone monument over his gravesite is supposed to look like the trunk of a tree but, honestly, it looks like the Atari symbol. There are various trees on the grounds with plaques that mark the world leaders who visited and planted them. Robert Mugabe’s is looking small and sickly—definitely representative of the man.
Kwame Nkrumah statue and mausoleum
We stayed the night at the Mahogany Hotel, the same place we stayed the first night. We have come full circle.
