More Adventures in Africa: Ethiopia, Kenya and Ghana in Quick Succession

We spent our last night in Lalibela at a rustic bar overlooking the valley and then went to a traditional restaurant for a last night of Ethiopian food, music and dance. We had The Old Abyssinia House all to ourselves and the music group put on quite a show for us. We were both persuaded to get up and attempt the wild shoulder movements with varying degrees of success.

In the morning we flew to Addis and later on to Nairobi. Nairobi is a bit scary these days with the usual violence but now with the added fear of terrorist attacks which seem to be aimed at Westerners to try to destroy Kenya’s tourism business. I must admit to being a bit more apprehensive now that the State Department and US AID have pulled most of their employees out of the country and Peace Corps has evacuated all of its volunteers. We lined up a hotel and taxi in advance and the driver was waiting for us when we arrived. The next morning at the airport before boarding the plane for Accra, we were given warnings about ebola which seems to be spreading. According to the information, Ghana now has detected cases but no confirmed cases. I’m not sure what that means! When we arrived in Accra, everyone had on dust masks but these certainly don't prevent the spread of ebola. Anyway, we will be sure to stay away from everyone’s body fluids, which is the way ebola is spread.

Before coming here, we knew little about Ghana’s history. Very briefly, the Arabs came across the desert to trade salt and spices to the people living in what in now Ghana for gold and ivory. In the 15^th Century, the Portugese arrived and entered into trade with local chiefs. Gold was the major export. Other Europeans soon arrived as well-the Dutch, the Danes, the Swedes- and finally the British. In 1665, the British captured Cape Coast and started trading slaves, a practice that continued until 1807. In 1957, Ghana became independent. It was the first African colony to be granted independence. It is a republic and exports cacao, oil, gold, diamonds and bauxite.

We immediately took a taxi ride, a three hour bus ride and then a second taxi ride to the Moree Beach Resort near Cape Coast. "Resort" is a bit of a misnomer as the place consists of a few cottages which look very cute outside but are extremely basic inside. There are no other facilities except an outdoor restaurant. However, it is on the Atlantic Ocean (Gulf of Guinea) and we spent several days doing nothing more strenuous than walking to the local village and sitting on lounge chairs and relaxing. I took a stroll down the beach and observed many fishing boats out and boys loading sand. Everyone was working but us!

One day we went to Cape Coast to see the Slave Castle. There were three of these large slave castles in what in now Ghana. Visiting the site was a sobering experience. The guide was full of stories about the conditions experienced by the tens of thousands who lived in the prison from 2 weeks to three months and either died there because of the dire conditions or were shipped out on boats to the Americas. We were shown the “door of no return” where the slaves left the castle to be boarded on boats. Members of some tribes were captured by other tribes and sold to the British and the Dutch. The Europeans then kept the prisoners in cells under the castle, raped them, tortured them and many of the prisoners died before being shipped out. Unbelievably, a church was erected right over where the slaves were held. The British soldiers and governor praised God while standing over dying slaves. At the end of the tour, the guide asked us to remember that many different peoples from different continents contributed to the slave trade and also that people are still enslaved today and that we should all try to end it.

On Monday, we moved to the building of the African Initiative for Mathematical Sciences where David has been working. The organizations has centers in several countries in Africa with master degree programs for teachers encouraging them to use innovative methods to teach math. Danny who also volunteered in Ethiopia is here as well and some Ghanaan teachers and university students. Our job this week is to prepare for next week's camp. I was a lot less intimidated this time by these math squids and quickly volunteered to teach a lot of sessions, including one which I thought was about the spread of disease but I now find out is about some computer program, Gap Minder. I know you are all laughing out there!

Last night in Lalibela, Ethiopia: