On Thursday morning we set out for Kakum National Park. Along the way we stopped at a watch cassava processing and wander through a fishing village. Cassava is made from yams that are pulverized and pressed. They are sold for less than 1 cedi (1.30 cedi = $1.oo US). You eat cassava like grits. It's a student staple. A wise crop with University of Cape Coast nearby. Just a side note, there is no such thing as babysitting in Africa. The children are always with their parents. There were two adorable children sitting with the women as the made the cassava. When the community members showed up to clean the orphanage, several women had babies strapped to their backs. And at least one teacher at the school we visited had her baby strapped to her back. The children are quiet and stay pretty close. If they wander too far, mom usually gives them an earful. There are more pictures on flickr (link under "for more...").
Kakum National Park is a preserve for plant and animal species and rainforest-type conditions. Home to monkeys, elephants, butterflies, all sorts of lizards and insects. We didn't see one animal. The guide suggested we come back and stay overnight to increase our chances of seeing something. The reason is that Kakum was a hunting reserve at one time, so the animals have learned to stay away from the visitors. Also, groups of tourists make a lot of noise. Rats. I really wanted to see an elephant.
The highlight of Kakum is its canopy walk, 100 meters (330 feet) above ground. That's the other reason I didn't see any of the animals. I was too busy trying not to look down while walking across the rope bridges. There were seven total. I was thankful for the boards underfoot, but the "bridges" swayed and bounced when people stepped on. Even with the netting one either side I was still uneasy. Heights are not my favorite thing and the adrenaline was definitely flowing, but I was glad I did it.
After Kakum, we lunched at a local restaurant over a crocodile pond. The Aussies said these were very small crocs compared to Australia. Three of us headed back to Accra to catch an early morning flight on Friday. I tried to catch a picture of the road side stands that dotted the coastal route back to Accra. They sold oranges, pineapple and grilled grass cutter. A grass cutter is a rodent that looks like a plump beaver with a rats tail. A few enterprising gentlemen even provided a before and after view for prospective customers. The grass cutters feed on sugar cane, so they're supposed to have deliciously sweet meat. The driver offered many times to stop so we could sample a grass cutter. I found these images on the internet:
http://growabrain.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/04/02/grass_cutter.jpg
http://respectrefugees.org/ezine/images/grasscutter.jpg
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