Kakum!

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Sunday, June 30^th

            Today was a simple, relaxing day.  After a proper night’s sleep, I packed my day pack and headed out to the street to catch a ride to Kakum with Keith and the students.  I hailed down a trotro, and all 7 of us managed to squish into an area “designed” for 4 people.  As we drove up the road, we passed several villages in wedding celebration and funeral mourning.  Wedding attire is typical – colorful dresses and shirts along with matching headscarves for women.  However, funeral attire is rather atypical and gorgeous.  Both men and women use a fabric that I’ve never encountered in the US – a sort of semi-glossy and matte combination, always black, lined with white or red.  Dresses, shirts, and pants can be made at the tailor, and it makes a funeral easy to spot from far away.

            We made it to Kakum, said hi to our friends James and William from previous trips, and headed out on our hike.  The destination was a series of suspension bridges that connect 8 trees, the peak hanging over 120 feet above the tree line.  I spent around half an hour taking in the forest, snapping a few photographs, and using my audio recorder as an amplifier for listening to the forest.  I let James try it out, and immediately he grinned from ear to ear.  He closed his eye, identifying bird call after bird call, remarking how pleasant it was to listen to the sound of nature. 

            After we made our way back to Hans, I took a shower, did a full load of laundry in the shower, and spent my afternoon reading Bell Hooks’ Feminist Theory.  I took breaks here and there to go swimming, photograph the complex, and grab passion fruit off the vines. 

 It was a pleasant day.  In the evening I watched the semifinals of a competitive soccer match between Italy and Uraguay, as well as the finals where Brazil dominated Spain.  Tomorrow is Republic day, marking the anniversary of the signing of the new constitution.