Continued

After classes the young people in the region performed for us. When Kofi, our master drummer, learned to drum it wasn't an acceptable thing to do in the community. His father, an English teacher, stood his ground and supported what his son wanted. Now the traditional music is being taught to the young people. For the past two years this group has practiced three times a week. They are compelling to watch. Their dances tell stories of unrequited love, courtship and returning from war victorious. It's a different experience watching these cultural performances in the places they were created. They are an expression of their lives that is real and relevant and not something created for a tourist trade (we haven't seen a tourist for days and in two weeks I've seen less than a handful of white people).

My travels are traveling backwards...

On the way to Kofi's parents we were confronted by floods and crossed roads swollen with water. Water and cars and people everywhere. At one stage the van began to flood, the edge of the road was two metres away and the engine cut out. I slid the door open and was prepared to jump. A bunch of local men pushed the van from danger. Ha ha ha ha ha hmmmm... extreme sports are not my cup of tea. Popped a rescue remedy and we were on our way.

Accra the night before.... after Australia tied with Ghana we headed off for dinner, then to a night club. A young acrobatic troupe performed for us, followed by a series of solo dancers, including a beautiful dancer in a wheel chair and a transvestite. They all improvise. The acrobats were fearless, flipping, flopping and leaping with a concrete floor as their mat. Full of joy, talent and skill.. I could wax lyrical endlessly about the beauty with which these people move. I almost enjoyed the boys in the row up the back grooving more than the ones doing the impressive tricks.

How could you ever think of enslaving this energy?

The lack of infrastructure in the part of Accra we stayed in is appalling. There is no garbage collection, the roads are washing away and houses have fences with glass on the top of them to stop being burgled.