Monday 9th June 2008 – trip to Kumasi

Today we took a trip to Kumasi with Andrew and our driver Charles in the clinic truck. We needed to pick up supplies like food and other essentials. The road was a little bumpy to say the least, trying to make it up the mountain but Charles was more than capable of manoeuvring along the road. It is a Ghanaian custom to greet everyone you meet so any person we met along the way was given a wave as they reciprocated, it is truly a very friendly custom in that sense. Also if you have a space in your vehicle and someone along the road needs a lift you must stop and help them out. So we had one passenger for a short part of our journey this morning.

Charles the clinic driver

Kumasi is approximately a 2 hour drive from the clinic and is the nearest large town where you can pick up pretty much anything you need. We visited a supermarket which stocked most products, many of which would be known to us in Britain but not by my American friends. We also visited a hardware store called Mercon which as Andrew put it is pretty much like ASDA and to a certain extent Tesco in the UK as you can pick up anything you could possibly need under one roof.

Lunch was pretty extravagant in a Chinese restaurant owned by a friend of Andrew’s and was certainly a welcome treat before back to the hustle and bustle of the busy city. It was strange to be in such a busy place after even only 2 days of the isolation and peace of the clinic site in Amakom and we were thankful to get back on the road to our ‘home from home’.

I know I’ve said it in nearly every blog but the lake is an amazing sight to behold. Especially as you reach the top of the mountain and begin the ascent down towards the village. Tonight was particularly spectacular as the sun was beginning to set by the time we were nearing home.

The view at the top of the mountain

This was even more spectacular by the time we reached the clinic as the colours in the sky were changing and moving every couple of seconds.

The view from Michael Bentum’s porch

Another first…I seen my first snake ever in Africa!!! Granted it was dead and at the side of the road but it was still a snake – apparently a black cobra?!

But all is well this evening in Lake Bosumtwe and it is great to be able to relax in the cool of the evening.

Blessings