Ghana, 2025

Back from Ghana and on my way to Porto today. After arriving in Accra on Friday evening, we visited the Saturday street markets, which were a sensory delight. On Sunday we relaxed around the hotel pool and went out for dinner at a local restaurant on the beach called La-Tawala, where the wall art celebrates African voluptuous buttocks and bellies.

On Tuesday, we attended the conference and on Wednesday we went on a day tour out of the city. Our first stop was Boti Falls, where we enjoyed a dip in the natural pool, a power-shower under the waterfall and a short canoe ride through the spray. Next, we did a little hike in the vicinity of Umbrella Rock and soaked up the spectacular views.

The visit to a cacao farm was fascinating, showing us how cacao is grown, the fruit harvested, and the beans fermented and dried. The raw cacao was far less bitter than I expected. The first two cacao trees that were planted in Ghana in 1879 were still surviving and producing on the small farm.

Our final stop was the Aburi Botanical Gardens, with an informative guided tour by the resident botanist. He showed us how kapok trees were used as drums or echo chambers for long distance communication, how poison from a particular vine was used for darts and arrows, and how mimosa leaves close when touched.

We also saw how the ficus parasite strangles and kills its host, resulting in enormous ficus trees that are hollow through the centre, where the original tree used to be. A highlight for me was a beautifully carved ‘tree of life’ sculpture containing hundreds of animals and people representing different elements of society and nature.

Returning to Accra after almost 20 years, I had the impression that there has undoubtedly been development, with better roads, more international brands and a thriving business sector, both formal and informal. Even so, social and environmental challenges remain pervasive, such as the impacts of illegal artisanal mining.