Another flowering tree

This is another of my favourites.

Plumeria rubra (Apocynaceae)

The trees look half dead but aren't. When I first saw them at the height of the dry season last year, I thought they were just struggling through their 'winter' and that when the rains came they would leaf up. But no, they persist like this all year long. I have seen one or two of these trees covered in leaves, but mostly they have this airy look to them.

The flowers are usually yellow and white, but a few have this deep crimson colour. And like all the flowering trees I've encountered, they bloom whenever the urge sets in.

Right now there are several wonderful trees in bloom that I hope will still be magnificent when Anna-Marie returns from Spain with the camera.

World Wide Kids

I think kids everywhere are the same. At least, they share a lot of the same interests and desires (apart from the obvious ones, like sugar). Here's a desire that couldn't have existed before 1839. Being photographed. Everywhere we go, kids love to be photographed, love to pose for photographs, and love to look at themselves photographed.

Being photographed

Posing

Looking

Flowering trees

I've been collecting pictures of flowering trees. They are everywhere. And they don't seem to have a season. Trees, like bushes and flowers, just bloom whenever their bit of soil gets enough rain. The field around the Guest Centre burst into white blooms last February when we had the first major rain after my arrival. The field did it again this February when we had a good deluge. 

But there is less regularity with most of the trees. Suddenly,  all over campus one kind of tree will be covered with flowers, but a few months later the same species (different specific trees) will be in bloom. This means we don't have the spectacle of a temperate zone spring, that 'finally winter is over' display. Instead we are treated to an ongoing display, but one that reflects very local rainfall.

As I collect the images I have tried to identify what each tree is. This has proved very difficult. So, while I would like to make these images educational, I'm afraid for the most part they are just colourful displays.

Here is my favourite tree.

Cassia fistula (Golden Shower tree)

The clusters of flowers (like hanging lanterns) can be about the size of my chest.

High Prohibition

I've mentioned in previous posts the diversity and abundance of garbage in Ghana. It's nice to know that there is some sensitivity to the problem. 

The fine works out to about $3.00

This odd pair of signs are stuck in the corner of a parking lot for one of the University Halls (residences). Despite the concentration of the signs in this one spot, they are ignored. I suspect the garbage came first as most of the garbage around the parking lot is right here. It seems typical that effort was put into erecting two signs, but none into removing the garbage.

Elmina's market

We spent only about 48 hours in Elmina — Saturday morning to Monday morning. The big event on the first day was a tour of the castle. On the second day we toured the town. In between we walked on the beach, swam, and ate good food.

Here are a few images from the Elmina market.

Kids are an integral part of life in the market. This is the weekend, so even the older kids are not in school. And when the parents, indeed the whole adult family, heads to the market, so do those that need supervision (of a sort).

Elmina 1

Another road trip we took was to Elmina, a bussling little city west of Accra. Ghana's coast is dotted with places like this, made industrious during the gold and slave trades. Many have thriving new economies, some have fallen on times harder still. Elmina has both a booming fishing trade and an industry extracting seasalt from the saltwater lagoon behind the town.

Double parked along the river

Given the commodities and the foreign governance, the coast is also scattered with castles and forts, build to protect their European occupants from other nationals, both West African and European.

Elmina Castle

Elmina has both a castle and a fort. The castle was built by the Portuguese, the first Europeans to venture along the coast. The castle is built on the seaward side of a river that meets the sea at an oblique angle. The town is across the river on the landward side.

The view from the castle across the river to the town and fort

The Portuguese enjoyed unrivalled dominion over the gold coast until more removed European nations caught up. The Dutch attacked the castle by dragging guns up onto a hill in the middle of the town and shelling the Portuguese until they surrendered. To prevent a repeat of their strategy, the Dutch then built a fort on the hilltop.

Let the good times roll

Ghana is an über-religious society. Early in my stay I was told Ghanaians don't care what god you believe in, but you must believe in some god. Canadians could learn a lot about religious tolerance from Ghanaians (except for that no atheists thing — though I have met some here).

Dominant among the religions is evangelical charismatic christianity — exported from the United States. On a percentage basis this is probably the most widespread religion, but even if it isn't, it wins hands down on the visibility front. One manifestation is the posters:

At a conference last year a linguist presented a paper on locally acquired foreign accents; that is, Ghanaians who speak with an American twang, acquired from watching so many American evangelical programs on TV.

The posters are quite intriguing — especially for an outsider. They advertise religious events, always with a theme and usually of marathon proportions. Herewith a sample:

Seven Hours of Prayer Wrestling

Fourteen days plus two mega alnights [sic]

 I started photographing the posters after missing out on capturing one with the theme of 'provoking God'. I forget what they were going to provoke her into doing but was intrigued by what seemed the audacity of the venture. 

The posters even come with local flavour and endorsements:

Saving Legon

Saving the Psych Dept.

And finally, variations of this one went up as soon as the exam period started:

Why study when you can pray