Glimpses of the Countryside

Well, it has been too long since either of us blogged.  We have been busy but we are back!

Today, let's take a little (small, small to use the Ghanaian expression) look at the countryside.  It can be different than the urban areas we are most familiar with.  Please note that descriptions are below the pictures they go with.

Certainly many things remain the same, but many do not.  I have never seen this in the city.  So, what is it?  Animal poop?  A twig?  How about a curled up leaf?  None of the above.  This is a well camouflaged caterpillar.  Effective concealment as not only did it keep predators from noticing him, it kept any of us from sitting or stepping on him.  It just looked like the kind of thing you wouldn't want to get on you.

While this picture isn't as clear as I would like it to be, if you look carefully enough you can see that this is a hotel with an interesting name.  Not sure that I would like to stay there, though.  (Buggie Hotel)

The place we did stay during this trip out of the city had its own wildlife, as captured in this photo.  One of the employees said that when the place was built the peacocks just moved in all on their own and have stayed ever since.  We quite enjoyed them.

They were quite at home and didn't seem particularly frightened by humans.  They would walk right up to doors, on to walkways, etc.

If you want to catch a cheap ride, these are available in towns outside of the urban areas.  You do not see these in Accra, for example.

You can see the traditional grass huts in the villages, but alongside concrete or mud-brick buildings.  The people normally live in the concrete block structures.  The grass huts and even mud-brick buildings seem to be more outbuildings rather than homes, now-a-days.

Here are more of the grass huts.  Notice the foliage.  It is so green and beautiful in much of the country.

Here is another, but notice the concrete block building behind it.  If you don't have air-conditioning, though, I expect sitting in such a traditional enclosure is much more comfortable than in the block structures - at least in certain parts of the day.

Not an uncommon sight.  The average family does not have a car and so what a practical way to deal with the family's transportation needs.  Carrying things on the head is common to both rural and urban areas in Africa.

Here is a scene that is close to the same almost anywhere in the world.  Moving the herd across the road.  This can be seen in places in Accra, but is more at home in a rural setting.  Notice the up raised hands of the herdsman.  He is waving hello.

Beautiful flowers grow from the trees and bushes.

Everyone said this looked like Pride Rock from the Lion King.  Unfortunately, there were no lions to be seen, perhaps fortunately depending on how you look at it.

This seemed like a classic scene along the banks of an African river, and so it is.  But, how different things look in the city.  That is something that is basically true around the world.

Elder Emfield