Before we move on...

...I have a few more things to share from Accra! In addition to Ablade Glover, I mentioned that I found many other artists of interest at the Artists Alliance. One artist, in particular, whose work repeatedly caught my eye was Seth Clottey. His paintings (see two examples below), which are mostly of busy markets and everyday street scenes, have great energy--thanks to a combination of his lively brush mark and the vibrant colors with which paints.

Another must-share from the Artist Alliance is their display of custom coffins--a very unique art form, I must say! See a few examples below of the Nike shoe (shown opened and closed), the eagle, and the tro-tro (mini-bus, more on tros later). All of these coffins are extremely intricately carved and painted. From what I understand, people pick out their own custom coffin in which they later want to be buried.

In Accra, I also had my first encounter with West African cuisine when I tried banku with groundnut (aka peanut) stew (see photo below). Banku is a gooey mixture of fermented corn and cassava, which is often served with some sort of stew. In theory, to eat like a true Ghanaian, you should eat this with your hands--pulling a piece off with your fingers, making an indention with your thumb and then using it to scoop up some stew. In practice, I felt like I was using sticky, sour mashed potatoes (or maybe Playdoh) as an edible utensil for spicy peanut soup. Filling as it is, banku is not something I will be seeking out, though I have a feeling it (or its close relative fufu) will find me again in these next 10 days...

Apologies that these photos aren't within the text (& seem to be all out of order). I know it'd probably be easier to follow, but I'm new to blogging and trying to do it on an iPad with often-spotty Internet hasn't been the easiest. Bear with me (& hopefully you can figure out what goes with what)!