Where in the World is Colleen?

After a snowy month back in Calgary, a blustery week in Newfoundland and a snowy/foggy day in London, I boarded a plane and made my sleepy way back to Ghana.   I arrived back in Accra a week ago, and stepping off the plane I was hit by that expected wave of heat and sun.

From Canada:

To Ghana:

It’s been a while since I posted anything.  I needed a break.  Too much travel, too many airports and buses, too many hellos and goodbyes. 

Until I head back to Ghana in January, enjoy some shots of Canada.

Ghana has a lot to offer in terms of tourism and travel. Beaches and good weather. The largest waterfalls in West Africa. Monkeys and baboons that casually stare at you as you drive by. Great music, local art, and national clothes for those inclined towards shopping and the artistic side.

But there is a somber side as well, coming from a turbulent past that is still remembered by the structures and history left behind: the old Dutch, Portuguese and British slave forts and castles.  Elmina Castle and Cape Coast Castle are the best known;  others are scattered along the coastline.

Like the castles of before the revolution in France, the ruins left behind from centuries of clan warfare and invasions in Scotland, the trenches and beach in Normandy and Dieppe, the holocaust museums in Poland, etc, the Elmina Fort and Cape Coast Castle stand as reminders of a dark past.

Like these other reminders of difficult times, there is a strange and delicate juxtaposition to be reached; between knowing your past and moving beyond it, letting it shape you while letting your path be shaped by your own time.  Elimna is trying to find that balance by educating about the past and pleading for it to never happen again, and forgiving and moving on.  In the words of our guide: “Let bygones be bygones.”   Not to forget, but rather to move forward together.

This is a hope we can all share and a good lesson to take away from an emotional experience.

(Fishing Village in Elmina featured in George Ayittey’s TED talk.)

About 3 hours west of Accra is Kakum National Park. It is an area that has been preserved from the encroaching deforestation for agricultural purposes. The trees are noticeably taller, moss covered with soaring canopies and dim lit paths below. There is a variety of wildlife and plants; more than you would expect to see in the surrounding areas. It gives you a sense of what the landscape might have looked like in the past.

Beautiful though it is, the main attraction is the Canopy Walk: a series of wooden and rope bridges that go from one ancient tree to the next, spanning the gaps below. They wobble, twist and move (as all good rope bridges do). It will elicit statements of fear and nervous laughter from those afraid of heights and rope bridges. It’s not quite like Tarzan, but it’s pretty close.

I’m always impressed by national parks. They preserve what we sometimes take for granted, often with little thanks and few resources. I’m impressed by this national park on two accounts:
○ Creating lasting national parks in a development context seems particularly difficult
○ Creating payment schemes that benefit the park and encourage local tourism is rare

There is a guiding spectrum of importance that is often referred to in development; this idea that food, clothing, shelter and safety are of utmost priority and must be addressed before anything else can happen. Environment, as a result, is usually addressed in conjunction with one of these topics (land conservation is taught along with better production methods). Generally, this makes sense, but it is not always the case. Ghana and Malawi both have their share of development challenges, but both countries have managed to create and sustain impressive national parks that preserve wildlife and the surrounding environment. (In Malawi, there is a tourist weekend where you can go camp out at a wildlife reserve and help them count the herds of impalas and zebras… tourism with a purpose!)

I’m impressed because in spite of the existing challenges, Kakum seems to be a thriving location and a destination for foreigners and Ghanaians both.

I’m sure the park is funded by government (both the local government and foreign donors), but it is also financed by the visitors who come to enjoy it. And what you pay depends on where you are from. Ghanaians pay 1 Cedi, foreigners pay 9 Cedi. That may raise your eyebrows (and tempers) at first until you see the number of Ghanaians enjoying the park. Friends coming on day trips; buses of school kids; families; foreigners and visitors from Accra, like us.

I’m impressed because effectively, changing the pricing scheme just made it possible for a whole lot more Ghanaians to come and enjoy their own environment and tour, while charging those who would still come with the additional cost of maintaining and upgrading the park. We too often ignore or take for granted what is in our backyard and easily accessible (why is it that so many Canadians go outside of Canada to vacation but don’t go see their neighboring province or the national parks/ski hills/lakes that we are fortunate to have?). For people living on lower incomes and who can’t travel beyond their borders, this costing scheme made it possible to enjoy what is inside a proud and beautiful country.

Part adventure, part thought in environmental protection, part lesson in financing, Kakum serves as an interesting example and experience that we can learn from.

Cue: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Road Trippin’

“Road trippin’ with my two favorite allies
Fully loaded we got snacks and supplies
It’s time to leave this town
It’s time to steal away
Let’s go get lost
Anywhere in the USA”

A few weeks ago, Isaac, Belinda and I were the only ones left in the office.  6pm on a Friday night.  Not a big surprise.

Isaac came over and perched on my desk with a big grin.

I: “What are you doing this weekend?”

Me: “mmm… nothing.  What’d you have in mind?”

I: “Do you want to go see Cape Coast?  I promised Belinda we would go.”

Me: “Sure!  What is it?”

With promises of canopy walks 50 meters above the ground between ancient trees in a rainforest, visits to old slave castles, lunch with Belinda’s family and a roadtrip, I was sold.  Tamara, another colleague joined us.

So the next morning, bright and early, we set off; tunes blazing, with some snacks, some water and a lot of laughter.

A road trip with new friends; it was a going to be a good weekend.

(flat tires were not part of the deal, but added to the excitement)