April 9. Breakfast at the Four Villages, finish packing and settle up our bill. Joe Kwarteng comes by again for a final farewell, with his son, Joe Jr. we chat for a while and then Joe asks us to hold hands and he gives an extemporaneous prayer, grateful for our coming, for what we have done, for our friendship, and wishing us safe travels from Ghana and that we will see one another again soon. We feel very well looked after, as family members.
Steven, our driver, picks us up at 10AM, without Daniel, who spent the night in Accra. There is one advantage to not having Daniel–the car is much more comfortable with four than five. Joe kindly leads us in his car, Steven following, to three different places, at the third of which we are able to change more dollars for cedis.
Our 4-hour drive to Accra is over good roads. I continue to be fascinated by the landscape of shops, people and signs, and the picture they paint of Ghana culture. So, if you’ll excuse me, here are a bunch of photos that add to the montage of Ghanaian life that we experience.
Actually, a long drive provides opportunities for talking. Carol and I were telling Phoebe about our new book of poetry and photography on Southeast Asia, called WHERE FOREST TEMPLES WHISPER, which will be out at the end of the summer. Carol said that she was really frustrated that we’d been unable to find a publisher or agent for the children’s book we’d done a couple years ago, called CHILDREN ARE CHILDREN AROUND THE WORLD. We began talking about new ways we might approach getting this book out and have come up with a bunch of ideas that ought to keep us out of trouble for a while after we get back home. I think we’re happiest when we have a project that we’re invested in.
We get to our hotel, a Holiday Inn near the airport by mid-afternoon and have lunch. After lunch, Phoebe and I swim in the pool (Phoebe more than me). Carol joins us and reads in the shade.
Up to the room for blogging and games, then down to meet Daniel and Euther, the Chicago investor who came to look over the pineapple farm. We had a delightful dinner with Daniel and Euther, a Liberian-born University of Chicago-educated lawyer who used to work for Latham & Watkins and now is involved in venture capital in three African countries. Euther is married to an Ethiopian-born lawyer who works for Skadden and they are expecting their first child in June. Wonderful evening talking with Euther and Daniel, who were connected–how else?–by Dick Kiphart,
Leave a Reply