Our First Family Pilgrimage to Ghana
CAMILLE GORDON-TAYLOR
Truly living a beautiful life can be as simple as exploring your backyard or an extensive journey across continents. My family is a solid mix of small island vibes, myself, Camille from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and my husband Adrian from Trinidad and Tobago.
We have always been driven by the need to travel and experience what the world has to offer. The warmth of our Ghanaian friends and Adrian’s penchant for history; made Ghana the first country to visit in Africa.
As a natural planner, I designed a trip that would take our family (Roslyn, Zoe, Vivian) on an educational journey that would fill our minds, souls and bellies.
We launched from Orlando, Florida, to Accra, Ghana, via New York City. On landing, Ghana’s aura felt familiar; like going home to the Caribbean, but the City of Accra was nothing like the Caribbean.
We started our educational journey with a visit to the Ghana National Museum – I was shocked to see Anansi the spider in the museum ceiling, which meant it is a major part of Ghanian education. The cultural history of waist beads and the Sahara trade route resonated with our daughters, Zoe and Vivian.
We were off to Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and then the Independent Square. Life is full of coincidences; we later learned that as we were learning about Ghana’s first prime minister Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and how he influenced the world.
As the President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama was pitching a resolution of the atrocities of the Transatlantic Slave Trade to the world at the UN General Assembly in New York City, we were visiting the notorious dungeons of Cape Coast Castle in Ghana.
The rough unfinished roads from Accra to Cape Coast weren’t kind to us, but we knew the trip would be worth every bump we endured. Our family visit to Cape Coast echoes the children of those who refused to die after passing through the doors of no return.
And yet, we returned! The injustice done to our ancestors cannot be measured, but as we left the castle’s ground the words of Frederick Douglass reminded us to take note that, “It is easier to build strong children than repair broken men,” and “Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave.”
Next was a trip to the scary, yet adventurous Kakum Canopy Walkway. It was so much fun hiking and traversing the canopy above the treetops.
Back in Accra, the (Accra) Art District provided multiple activities, and our family jumped into Batik making. Adrian, Zoe and Vivian were able to flex their artistic abilities of using wax to create a beautiful textile design.
We then headed to buy professionally made souvenirs at the Arts Cultural Center, then, on the spur of the moment, visited a food festival to climax a busy day of creating and shopping.
At the food festival, we were introduced to palm wine, fried octopus and beef pies – need I say more. The food was delicious, hot and spicy. Upon inquiries, we learnt that our experiences in Accra wouldn’t be complete without visiting the busy and noisy Makola Market. Overwhelming!
Compared to any market in the Caribbean, this market is on steroids! You would need a couple of days to explore this massive labyrinth of a market. Chaotic, exciting and yet, we felt safe!
Knowing that Ghana is the second largest exporter of cocoa beans in the world, we knew we had to experience a slice of this world. If you are a chocolate lover like my family, the Bioko Chocolate bean-to-bar chocolate making and tasting would be an instant hit.
We explored the Boti Waterfalls in the Eastern Region, where we basked in the serenity of the waterfall, and its history. The descend to the waterfall was its own experience of huge millipedes, centipedes and tall, beautiful trees. One feels the spiritual vibe as one sit in silence, listening to the flow of the water.
Koforidua, the capital city of the Eastern Region was next on our trip, where we explored the Bead Market. Our daughters loved it as they shopped for assorted beads, they would need to create their own bracelets and necklaces.
We could not have given up the opportunity to visit the beach on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean and so we chose Bojo Beach, in Accra. The beach could have been truly amazing but for pollution in the water. Irrespective, we dived into the waves, for we did not come this far to just let the opportunity slip by.
Learning the history of Ghana’s cocoa at the Tetteh Quarshie Cocoa Farm was surprising. We were able to stand next to one of the first cocoa trees planted in Ghana in 1879. It was truly amazing. Aburi Botanical Garden is another gem of Ghana.
I felt the connectedness with the garden and could easily return to it over and over. While some of the tropical trees were familiar to my mother-in-law, Roslyn, (after being exposed to them growing up in Trinidad), others were new, foreign, exotic and exciting.
We learned so much about how our ancestors’ used trees and plants as medicine; and were one with nature. I was amazed by the color of the soil, a hint of orange or burnt red, just mesmerizing as you look across the landscape and think to yourself “there has to be something special in this soil”.
As a family, we explored and discovered so much, we even scheduled a family photo shoot on our rest day. Individually we all acquired our own pieces of golden knowledge and knew we did not even scratch the surface of Ghana.
So many ethnic groups with varying cultures – languages and food, among others – The proverbial Ghanaian jollof rice, banku and kenkey with okra stew, fufu with light/peanut/palm nut soup, nighttime kelewele, mackerel dishes, as well as adaakwa and meat pies are just a short list of foods we feasted on.
“Akwaaba!” our brothers and sisters welcomed us, and all they needed was a simple “medaase”.
Thank you to all our friends who assisted in the planning of this adventure. Thank you, Akwaabadise Travels, our superstar tour guide Kwame for a great time.
And thank you, Ghana for your hospitality. To quote Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, “I am not African because I was born in Africa, but because Africa was born in me.”