Not Hollywood, London or Butchart, but Aburi!

Despite myself, I am growing increasingly fond of Britain's rather sausage-shaped thumb print on this country (and, quite frankly, on the world). One of the high streets in Accra's city centre district of Osu is called Oxford Street and one can easily imagine that they are in London based on the British take on international flare that lives on this stretch. Carmilla and I have already re-instituted our prior ritual (from my teaching stint in Leicester) of evening tea. We even managed to find PG Tips at the popular ex-pat Max Mart, a grocery store with a whole lotta Britain goin' on (but more on food and drink in a later posting). It is amazing how much traffic one can survive (more on traffic...again, you'll have to stay tuned) when you know that the promise of a hot cuppa awaits. Alas, I digress and have meandered from the intended path...

We were a little surprised to discover that one of the jewels in Ghana's crown (if you'll pardon the expression), the Aburi Botanical Garden in the Eastern region, was planted (through, I'm certain, the not-so-discreet-or-amusing use of slave labour--no pun intended here!) by none other than the colonials who occupied this country prior to independence some 50+ years ago. A drive of about an hour planted us (now, please pardon the pun) in the midst of one of the most impressive gardens we've ever been privy to.

It would appear that even Douglas, our hired driver, is impressed by the cotton silk trees planted some 150 years ago. This picture reminds me of similar pictures I have seen and taken of Carmannah in BC. It is hard not to stand in quiet awe and contemplation when in the presence of the planet's giants.

Not far from the gardens, the first cocoa bean planted along the Gold Coast is still growing at the Tetteh Quarshie plantation. The industrious and well-travelled local man Tetteh Quarshie reportedly brought cocoa to the region and left his mark forever on this area of West Africa. This was our first close-up look at what is arguably the most important export--certainly from Carmilla's perspective--of Ghana (I know, we love our oil too...I mean what's not to love about oil?). From little professor Cohen's point-of-view, this praying mantis was a definite highlight!

While I am still learning the strengths and weaknesses of my new camera (and its user), this snap of one of the more brightly coloured sights at the garden will have to stand alone. Needless to say, Carmilla and I are already planting our Accra garden in our imaginations!

We lingered for a good, long while in the garden, and certainly felt that we got more than our seven Ghana Cedis worth (for the carload...Butchart Gardens eat your heart out!!). The air was cooler due to the elevation and the vegetation, so we were truly comfortable outdoors in a way we have rarely been as yet. On the way home, we pulled over and I snapped this hazy landscape picture of the northeastern edge of Accra.