I’ve always had a wanderlust, from my early teens when I’d hitch hike to the beach, or even walk the ten miles to Exmouth. But it was many years before I was able to really indulge myself. One of my favourite places so far is Ghana, the country of smiles, I’d love to go back.
Cape Coast, three hours west of Accra is a lovely place with miles of beautiful beach,
The sea is rough and you’d have to be a far better swimmer than I to venture in.
Much better to sit and enjoy the view of Elmina across the bay. Elmina is peaceful now, but has a horrid history, it was one of the places where slaves were sent, before leaving their homeland forever.
The port was very lively, I could have spent hours there. But we had to travel on,
There were cocoa pods to see, and taste the inside of!
Maybe three hundred miles north of the coast, Lake Volta stretches a vast distance. From Yeji, the crossing is quote short, but the hour or so it takes can be rough and the lake has taken many lives. When I went, the water was flat, and the air was scorching -n Volta is just a few degrees north of the equator, and very silent.
These homes are on a sandbank, and at risk of being flooded. I wonder if they’re still there, maybe Celestine will know?
After a croissant filled with coffee flavoured mascarpone, it was time to go out into the Placa Comercial,
Where preparations were underway.
And then it began.
In the background, you can see the first layer climb on the shoulders of the base level, or Pinya as it’s known. The Pinya is wide and formed by the strongest of the group, to make a base that can support the weight of the rest and be a safety net should anyone fall.
Once there, she gives a very quick wave, the crowd cheer and she’s back down the six layers beneath her, in just a few moments. Three troups performed that day, in competition, and each time I saw the wave, but my camera didn’t.
I’d seen an 
The clouds performed rather well for a monochrome image, so I hope 
Lucid Gypsy 