This day was the end of the first cruise and the beginning of the second cruise up the west coast of Africa. Over 100 of us are staying on so they offered some tours to fill our day while they did a deep clean of the ship in preparation for getting on a whole new group of passengers. One of the tours was the same as I had done the day before so opted for “Nature and Culture in Aburi & Accra.

Our port of Tema is about a 45-minute drive from Ghana’s capital of Accra. Again, without our police escort, it would have taken twice as long. Our first stop was at the Aburi Botanical Garden. We divided up into small groups and had a local guide take us around. Our guide was so informative and entertaining. The grounds were beautiful.

We learned about how the leaves of the teak tree can mashed between your fingers to produce a natural lipstick.

We learned about strangler figs, they surround the tree. Eventually they kill it and the original tree rots away leaving a hollow center.

We learned about nutmeg. The outer shell looks almost like an apricot. Inside, the red netting stuff is mace and can be used to create pepper spray. Inside that is the nutmeg that you dry then grind up for the spice.

This is the fruit of the Cinchona tree – the bark is used to treat malaria.

There were lots of bromeliads growing in the trees. They only use the trees for support and to get up off the ground.

He called this a monkey pod but can’t find it on the internet so not sure what it was good for.

These are palm oil seeds

Papaya tree – wish we could get some on the ship!! Had some last cruise for two days but none since. We see a lot of mangos for sale along the road but we haven’t had any of those to eat either.

Millepede - not poisonous 

Sky Gods Tree

Boat Lily

Another kind of lily

Ceiba or Silk Cotton Tree. The fibers were used to stuff pillow, mattresses, etc.

The oldest tree they had, but it fell down. It’s “baby” was next to it.

Beautiful carving of a dead tree.

Nature retaking over

Cocoa plant and pod

Pretty flowers

Araucaria or Norfolk Island Pine – a very old genus – been around since the dinosaurs.

Travelers Palm

Can’t remember the name of this one. But some legend about a mother and a child.

Such a pretty place – planted by the British in 1890. The first curator was from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in England.

We then drove to downtown Accra – the capital of Ghana. Again, without our policewoman leading the way, we never would have made it. We had lunch at a very luxurious Movenpick hotel. Again, a nice buffet.

After lunch we went to Independence/Black Star Square and Arch. In 1957 Ghana became the first colony in sub-Saharan Africa to achieve sovereignty. The square often hosts the annual Independence celebrations as well as other national events and is the site for all civic and military parades and other national gatherings. It was completed in 1961, in time for the state visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Ghana.

The next stop was a walk through a district called Jamestown. Apparently, this area is very historical, but it looked just like another poor neighborhood. It was hot and humid, so I opted to just stay on the bus.

Our last stop was at one of the fantasy coffin workshops. These have become very popular and famous in Ghana.

The ride back to the ship was not too long so got back in late afternoon – time to shower and get ready to meet the new passengers, expedition staff and department heads. We lost some of my favorite expedition staff but this tour company that brought on 70-80 guests brought five biologists with them so will see what they are like.

So caught up and now ready for Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire – country #85!