After the frenetic pace of Kumasi, a nature break was needed so I treated myself on my birthday to a day trip to nearby Lake Bosumtwi.

About 30km southeast of Kumasi (i.e. 45 min in a taxi), Lake Bosumtwi is the largest natural lake in Ghana and lies within a crater formed by a meteorite impact. The lake makes for a beautiful escape, surrounded by mountainous crater walls in vivid shades of green perfect for walking, bird watching, and canoeing.

Besides its natural beauty, there’s an ever present mystical feel in the air accentuated by the soft fog over the lake, stillness of the water and complete silence apart from the occasional flapping sound made by the local fishermen.

Considered sacred by the locals, the lake is supposedly where souls of the dead come to bid farewell to the god Twi. Due to these local beliefs it is only allowed to fish from wooden planks (padua) on the lake and is considered taboo to touch the water with iron or any metal (i.e. modern boat).

Fishermen use their hands, or plates in their hands, to propel themselves.

Kids too are enjoying ‘surfing’ on the lake using the paduas.

There are a few guest houses around the lake and I highly recommend where we stayed, the Lake Point Guest House.  Set in beautiful landscaped grounds, the self contained bungalows are really charming, super clean, and just a few steps from the lake and a small beach where you can rent a boat or just relax in a hammock.

A true oasis of tranquility where the only sound you’ll hear are birds hiding in the trees and tropical plants.

Another excellent reason to stay at Lake Point Guest House is the food which is some of the best I’ve had in Ghana, and definitely the best around the lake. They miraculously serve real coffee (not that Nescafe you get everywhere in Ghana!), delicious crepes with syrup for breakfast and a tempting dinner menu written on a black board offering local specialties. Get the tilapia freshly caught from the lake…you won’t regret it!

Lizards of all shapes and sizes roam around the property.

Dragonfly on the lakeshore

Group of Pied Crows

Looking up you can easily spot tons of colorful birds and tropical fruits hanging high from the trees such as bananas, papayas, etc.

The guest house is surrounded by cocoa trees which are perfect for taking in some shade or even a nice nap.

While a tarmac road links Kumasi to the main village of Abono on the northern shore of the lake, you need to drive on a dirt track to get to any of the guest houses so there really aren’t many cars around here.

Though the path doesn’t go all the way around the lake, you can walk a pretty big section of it to take in the views on its hills and go through picturesque villages of which there are about 30.

We even had a local kid tagging along and entertaining us with the myriads of legends about the lake and the local beliefs.

One more reason to stay the night is for the chance to see the lake in the golden hour, the sunset turning the roads deep orange and casting a beautiful warm glow on the vegetation.

I’m getting used to having kids dying to pose in front of my camera…

One can’t travel around Ghana without hearing about the Ashanti empire and its capital since 1600, Kumasi. The second largest city in Ghana, Kumasi is filled with culture and historical sites associated with the Ashanti culture and with over 1.5 million people is a bustling and unsurprisingly chaotic center well worth a visit.

The traffic here is legendary and you can see street vendors selling anything from food to toys, dvds, coffee tables, housewares, etc. to stopped vehicles. Traffic jams can last for quite a bit so it’s the perfect time to ‘window’ shop…

Busy streets everywhere you look

It’s actually in the middle of all this chaos that I think I sort of fell in love with Ghana, precisely while wandering through its gigantic market…

Kejetia Market is supposedly the largest open-air market in all of West Africa and I have no trouble believing that! 12 hectares and over 10,000 traders make for a crazy sight, almost as if a shanty town had magically landed in a valley right off the city center.

It can look pretty intimidating from the outside, but once you step into the market it’s a whole other world, one in which you can easily get lost for hours.

I can’t really say how many hours I stayed inside, but I sure never felt like such a celebrity. My friend and I were the only two Caucasians on the site and were called every 5 seconds to chat to super friendly traders, all smiles, wanting to know our names, where we were from, and mostly what on earth were we doing there, lol! I’ll always carry fond memories of the fish ladies, by far the nicest of the bunch.

Squeezing into the narrow alleyways, looking at everything you can possibly imagine on either sides is pure enjoyment, and now on my list of ‘out of this world experiences’.

Kumasi is not all chaos though and one can find a rather nice urban center. It’s not called the ‘Garden City’ for nothing after all.

The opposite of a visit to the market would be one to the National Cultural Center which is also a must when passing by Kumasi.

The sprawling complex hosts a small though comprehensive museum on Ashanti history, an exhibition hall, and a few very good craft shops where you can watch how they make those beautiful wood carved stools, drums, custom furniture, etc. and buy a few presents to bring back home at very good prices.

There’s also a good restaurant on the premise called Kentish Kitchen where you can sit comfortably in a shaded courtyard and enjoy some basic Ghanaian fares such as Red Red, a delicious bean stew served with fried ripe plantain and in this case fried fish.

The Manhyia Palace is the seat of the King of Ashanti and the Royal Family members and is where the current King resides although he lives in a more modern building now than the former palace which you can visit. The short tour will give you a feel for how an Ashanti ruler lived, which is surprisingly a lot more modest than you would think.

The REAL reason we were in Kumasi though was for the chance to see Ghana’s football team, the Black Stars, play against Egypt in the World Cup qualifying playoff. The match was held on Tuesday October 15th at Kumasi’s Baba Yara Stadium and we all decked ourselves in Ghanaian colors from the memorabilia sellers on the street before braving the crazy crowds.

The sight was a loud and colorful bunch of over 40,000 fans, filling in the stadium hours before the match to get seats and get the party started. I got there 3.5 hours early for an afternoon filled with burning sun, national chants, blowing horns, and finally a heavy downpour which left us completely soaked minutes before the start of the match.

The Black Stars goalkeeper seconds before the match…clearly not knowing his prayers would be answered tenfold today.

Game is on, the enthusiasm of the crowd getting an early push with a first goal for Ghana after only 4 minutes and a second one following at the 22nd minute.

Food vendors navigate the crowd with tempting snacks and most importantly cold water.

Fried cassava balls with coconut

Black Stars’ youngest fan

They really did give a magnificent performance, one which should ensure their presence in Brazil next year as they literally crushed The Pharaohs under the rapturous applause of the crowd. I couldn’t have wished for a better match to attend.

Final score: Ghana 6 – Egypt 1…or what the press quickly titled ‘The Massacre’! Congrats Black Stars!!

Ghana is most famous for its coastline which is where the majority of tourists will spend their holidays, though the best beaches lay way out west, too far for a weekend getaway from Accra. I was luckily able to find an exception to the rule in a relatively undiscovered piece of paradise in the East going towards Togo – a gorgeous palm-lined and rustic beach near the fishing town of Ada Foah…and decided to give it a try one weekend. Best. Escape. Ever.

Traveling ‘short’ distances in Ghana is best done by tro-tros which are beat up mini-vans squeezing in as many passengers as possible. They’re everywhere and can take you also just about anywhere, dropping and picking people up along the road. Though not super comfortable, it’s a great way to travel with the locals and super economic as well. Our ride to ‘off-the-beaten-path’ Ada Foah took a little more than two hours and costs us about $3 each – a bargain to reach the dreamy coastal town.

We arrived in Ada Foah in the hot midday sun on a Saturday, greeted by a buzzing market right by the tro-tro station.

We waited in the shade of the market for our local pick up which would bring us by boat to our beach accommodation, observing in the meantime the locals doing their groceries of fish, fruits, and vegetables.

The fishing town has the particularity of being right at the point where the Volta river meets the Gulf of Guinea. We had a boat waiting for us on the river for a beautiful 10 minutes ride down to the peninsula where we would be spending the night.

After the long and stuffy tro-tro ride, this open boat ride felt like a dream. None of us had expected the river and surrounding vistas to be so beautiful and we quickly reached for our cameras to capture some gorgeous scenery along the bank.

Ada Foah is home to Ghana’s sailing club and apparently a favorite destination of wealthy Ghanaians who own secondary houses here for weekend getaways.

I never expected to see such posh villas around these parts.

The Volta river is a busy commute with colorful boats whisking locals away and back and…transporting disco boys??

Soon the posh villas gave way to little fishing villages and houses made of palm leaves.

The riverbanks were full of life with kids playing on the beach…

… and family going about their shores, washing laundry in the river to dry it in the hot sun.

We soon saw our final destination, right at the tip of the peninsula where a thin barrier of sand is the only thing standing between the calm river and the raging ocean.

Welcome to Maranatha Beach Camp! A true piece of paradise, easily noticed by the palm trees painted in red, yellow, and green – the colors of the Ghanaian flag.

Accommodations are simple beach huts on the sand, all with a different country flag painted on their door. And no, I didn’t get to stay in Canada… 🙁

Sand floor, double bed, mosquito net, little crabs, and the roaring sound of the ocean nearby… I couldn’t wait to sleep there! At 10$/night, this is a rustic and ideal room for volunteers on a break.

The bar/restaurant was where we hung out most of the time, so comfortable in the shade especially with cold beers an arm’s length away.

The food was amazing for such a remote place though patience was required. Meals could take at least 1 or 1.5 hours to be ready so we learned to order dinner at lunch time and breakfast at dinner time…not a big issue, just the chilled way over here.

Waiting for food meant lots of time for contemplation, and there was always a lot happening around us like adorable puppies hiding under the tables…

…beautiful babies hiding behind the bar….

….but mostly local kids vying for our attention. Seems they learn to dance before they can even walk and love to show expats their best moves!

They even dance when they walk…oh, and this will be a big bonfire tonight!

Local fashion showdown on the beach.

Nothing better than a fresh coconut on a hot day, and these kids will not only climb up the palm trees to get you one, they’ll also cut it up with a machete – a scary sight!

Ping Pong game on the beach.

Water polo match in the river?

When you eventually get tired of sitting down, walking around the camp will stretch your legs and present quite a few good photo ops whether you like the calming view of the river on one side…

…or the rough waves of the Gulf of Guinea on the other, literally just a few steps away. Pretty cool to be standing on top of that thin strip of land and seeing both bodies of water at the same time.

Abandoned fishing boat

Beach crab

My hammock siesta companions….

Of course there was going to be a sunset pic… A bit too many clouds but still quite the sight.

The evening was a bonfire party with music and locals shaming us with their dancing prowess. The night in the pitch darkness with the sound of the crashing waves was one of the best I’ve had since I’ve been in Africa. We all slowly woke up for breakfast on the beach (which we had ordered the night before!) and a lazy morning thinking how much we didn’t want to go back to Accra…

Before heading back though, we asked the camp’s manager Winfred, whom we’d just met the night before, to give us a tour of the land and the community. On top of before a super cool beach hangout and in my opinion one of the best weekend getaways from Accra, the Maranatha Beach Camp actually is a lot more than that and serves a greater purpose than entertaining expats and locals. Beyond a small lagoon at the back of the restaurant lies part of a local community which we got a glimpse of…

The beach camp is attached to a fishing community pretty much cut off from the bigger cities and lacking a lot of services including a good school to send the kids to. Buildings in various state of construction line the shore, waiting for more funds to fulfill their purpose.

Founded and built by Winfred, a local boy who grew up in the community, the beach camp generates revenues to help fund the construction and maintenance of the local school, a project that Winfred started a few years ago and is still in need of a lot of work to be fully functional.

Some basic education is already taking place, but most of the classrooms have yet to be completed, there are no toilets on the premises, no money to get competent teachers to come on a regular basis, and Winfred would also love to add a library.

An insight into a Natural Science class for the primary level…

So many projects to get done and seeing the beautiful grounds I felt like just rolling up my sleeves there and then and get to work! I know many of you reading this would love the adventure, and Winfred is looking for volunteers to contribute their time for as little as two weeks and more if they want. What could be cooler than staying in this mini paradise for a long holiday while giving back? Email Winfred at maranathabeachcamp@yahoo.com to inquire about volunteering…I promise you won’t regret it!

Good thing to know all the money from our stay this weekend would go towards the school and reason more to come back and visit which we all promised we would. I can’t think of a better reason to spend a weekend at the beach, and interacting with the local kids made our visit even more special.

Winfred & Moi…a true inspiration.

I’ll be back…

I’ve always primarily discovered a country through its sights and food, but now I’m truly discovering Africa through its craft and culture thanks to the wonderful fair trade organization I’m volunteering for. Global Mamas has been empowering women in Ghana for 10 years now, providing sustainable work for women entrepreneurs and much happiness to their families by helping them reach prosperity.

By creating unique, high-quality, hand-made African products for export, being paid a fair wage, and getting the training needed to expend their business, these women can become financially independent and get their family out of poverty.

I recently traveled to one of Global Mamas production facility in Ashaiman, a municipality outside of Accra, where batik products are being produced from beginning to end. A fascinating process to watch, it really does give meaning to buying fair trade products and will surely impact my shopping habits as I got to see where it all came from and most importantly the great impact it has on these women. Here’s a visual insight into the beautiful and labor intensive art of African Batik:

A batiker is preparing the first dye bath

A large piece of fabric (white cotton cloth) is then dipped into the cold dye bath, swirled around and lifted to help the oxygen change the color of the fabric, a task often performed by volunteers to help the batikers.

The dye bath is then drained in the most colorful bathtub I’ve ever seen…

…and the now dyed fabric is hung to dry in the yard.

The next stage of the batik process involves applying wax to parts of the fabric to create a batik pattern/design. Wax is heated up in a cauldron over fire…

…before a batiker dips her chosen stamp design in it. Thick foam blocks are carved to create wax stamps of every shape and size imaginable.

The batiker stamps the fabric with the wax in a symmetrical pattern before leaving it out to cool and dry.

Then the 12 o’clock lunch bell rang (!) and all the Mamas went out in the streets of Ashaiman to grab lunch during their hour-long break.

Unassuming bars (called spots here) and eateries painted in blue were packed with locals.

We went for a traditional workers’ lunch at ‘Thy Grace Food and Spot’, a cheap and cheerful local hangout serving generous portions of Ghanaian staples.

It was a first for me seeing the dish they call ‘Face-the-wall’, similar to many dishes here yet having its very own components (and reputation!). Originally called Kokonte, this staple made of pounded dried cassava helped a lot of Ghanaians survive during the famine of the early ’80s and is therefore seen as the food of the poor. Its evocative name of Face-the-wall refers to the people eating it outside having to hide from passerbys by ‘facing the wall’ out of shame…

I really enjoyed my dish of Fufu, boiled cassava which is pounded to a dough-like consistency. It was served submerged in Light Soup, a tomato-based soup with peppers and in this case chicken. The traditional way to eat Fufu is to take a small ball with your fingers, dip it into the soup and swallow it whole. While I got the eating with my fingers bit, I couldn’t help but to chew on it which was actually pretty good! A very satisfying lunch for less than a $1…can’t beat that!

Back at the facility, batiks from this morning were out for their final drying time, adding a colorful backdrop to the otherwise naked yard. We can see the magic of the second dye bath on this one which darkened the background while leaving the pattern where the wax stamps were the original color. This process can be repeated as many time as you want to obtain a series of different colors and designs.

More batiks were on their way, some having gone through two different wax stamping sessions and waiting to be hung to dry before being thrown in boiling water to get rid of the wax and create the final fabric.

This is what three baths and two wax stamping sessions will create…

This one is ready to be boiled to remove the wax – see the crackling of the wax stamps on the fabric, a true mark of an original batik print.

Finished fabrics are folded and stored, waiting to be cut and sewn into one of Global Mamas colorful batik clothing, accessories and home decor items.

Being part of Global Mamas also means receiving training and business development coaching to improve their business and their profits. These seamstresses were attending a training session on a new pattern for making small baskets for the home.

They were soon applying the new pattern which will improve productivity and reduce fabric waste.

The finish product is available in the Global Mamas store in Accra or to purchase online. One of my first assignments was actually to photograph all of their products in their Accra store – you can see my photos on their Facebook page.

The Global Mamas store in Accra, in the Osu neighborhood.

So this is the fair trade way my friends and the best way to spend your dollars, knowing they’ll all go directly towards the Mamas and creating new jobs so that more women in Ghana can improve their standard of living – truly inspiring.

After a few weeks in the sweltering heat of Accra, a day trip to the cooler hills north of the city was a very welcome treat. Just 45 minutes drive away, the town of Aburi not only has a ‘chilly’ climate all year-round, it is also home to the famous Aburi Botanical Gardens, a favorite weekend getaway of Ghanaians.

One of the most peaceful place in Ghana, the Gardens have been opened since March 1890 by the British on what was initially the site of a sanatorium for government officials. Although they’ve since lost some of their former glory, it’s still one of the most beautiful place to wander around and one can’t help but be taken by the grandeur of the Palm Walk which stretches from the main entrance to the car park.

The Royal Botanical Gardens Restaurant is a pleasant venue to grab lunch outside surrounded by the lush vegetation and a plethora of birds and butterflies flying by.

Grilled tilapia and couscous

A slow walk around the grounds is the best way to enjoy the fresh and much cleaner air and fully appreciate the enormity of the trees surrounding you which are for the most part ginormous!

A few decrepit buildings add to the mystery and charm of the place.

Look at those roots!

One of the main attraction here is the ‘Strangler Ficus Tree’ which you really can’t miss walking on any of the main paths.

An old sign explains that, back in 1906, a parasitic plant took over a larger tree “Afzelia Africana” and successfully ‘strangled’ its host, taking its place since.

What’s left is a pretty cool looking hollow tree big enough for you to step inside.

Other exotic specimens fill the grounds reminding that the Gardens were originally an agricultural research station and a habitat for plants from around the world.

You can take a guided tour around the Gardens learning about the medicinal purposes of the plants and trees or you can freely walk on the lawns and make your own assumptions from reading the aging signs and taking a close look. Although not very well kept, some of the edible species are still producing and you can see star fruits (below), papaya, pineapple, bread fruit, etc.

While some buildings have been left untouched and only to be admired from afar…

…others have found another life like this old and charming colonial hotel smack in the middle of the Gardens.

Little paths branching out offer shade and magnificent serenity with splashes of rays through the leaves.

Looking up, you might be lucky enough to spot a hooded vulture, quite frequent in the Gardens.

This one was just begging to be climbed…

A carved tree is a true work of art, depicting everyday citizens “climbing” the tree to the leader/monarch to ask for support and help.

Another must in the Gardens: A 2nd World War British helicopter makes for great photos and a playground for the kids.

So whether you’re trying to escape the hustle and bustle of Accra, looking to cool off, have a nice little pique-nique on the grass or like to feel dwarfed by a group of giant trees, the Aburi Botanical Gardens are the place to be and by far the most beautiful place for nature lovers near the capital.