by phil | Sep 6, 2010 | Mali, Music, W. Africa
Economically speaking, Mali is one of the poorest countries on earth. Culturally, it is one of the richest. Bluesy, hypnotic guitar, soaring vocals, mind-bending melodies – Malian music is some of the most powerful in the world. Here are a few extraordinary...
by phil | Sep 4, 2010 | Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana, Stories, W. Africa
My last post ended with a shared taxi on the way back to Takoradi. A British volunteer, an American journalist probing oil companies in Takoradi, and myself. Before getting in the car I had one of those unpleasant near vomit burps that scorched my esophagus. Things...
by phil | Sep 3, 2010 | Ghana, Stories, W. Africa
Leaving Takoradi, I took a tro-tro to Agona Junction, a traffic circle that has become a small village. From there I needed to find a car to Akwidaa, the fishing village closest to where I was headed. The tro-tro (there is only one that goes to Akwidaa) had left...
by phil | Sep 1, 2010 | Ghana, Stories, W. Africa
Blazing out of Accra, red earth, two story termite mounds, and green everything else. On the bus to Takoradi, I was pleasantly hypnotized by the scene outside my window when the driver decided to let a pastor on board. The pastor yelled into our ears for two hours....
by phil | Aug 29, 2010 | Ghana, Stories, W. Africa
This post is automated. As you read this I am either here, here, here, or somewhere in between. I did not plan on spending two months in Accra. To be honest, I thought I would be here a week or two. Time plays tricks irrespective of where you are. One day becomes two,...