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| Wildlife of Aboabo |
We got up at 3:30,
packed with bags outside the door by 4:30 and left at 5 AM. We drove to
the north side of Kakum National Park to Aboabo and birded there until 11 and
then continued on to Asso Faso for lunch at a roadside restaurant. We
entered their A/C room and found a table surrounded by enormous upholstered
chairs in an almost La-Z-Boy position! I felt like a little kid as I
couldn’t put my feet on the ground. The walls were decorated with wild
curlicues of tinsel and shiny ribbons. We had the standard buffet of
rices, curries and French fries, and then got a plate of Kenkey, a Ghanaian dish
of fermented corn (I think the entire cob) mashed smooth and then baked in a
banana leaf and sliced. I can’t say I really enjoyed it as it has an
acidic taste, but managed some sprinkled with sugar - Not the traditional way
of eating it!
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| Kenkey |
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| Well-decorated lunch room! |
After lunch we drove to
the village of Bonkro, a rather remote village of huts, but filled with very
friendly people who greeted us warmly. They receive some income from fees
people pay in order to access the nesting sight of the Picathartes, a
quail-size forest bird with a bare yellow head, black back and white
undersides. It nests on rocky cliffs and is extremely shy and wary.
We started on the trail at 3 PM just as it started to rain. We had to
hike with umbrellas through dense woods ending in a steep climb of a rocky and
muddy slope 500’ high. I found it really rough going and got to the top after
most of the others. Two benches had been set up at the base of a large
rock under which the birds nest. The idea is to arrive in the late
afternoon and sit very quietly, hoping to catch a glimpse of the birds.
It had stopped raining by then and shortly some of us got a glimpse. As
we were all spread out on the bench it was very difficult to give directions as
to where the birds were. Finally one stepped out on the ledge and we all
got a great view of this weird and beautiful bird!
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| Waiting for Picathartes |
Jenny and I decided that that was enough and we started down very slowly with
the assistance of James and Andrew. It was slipping and sliding but we
made it without a spill! The others caught up with us at the bottom which
was a relief as I was afraid that they would have to come down that dangerous
trail in the dark! The little kids of the village came running over to us and
insisted on giving us “high fives” which was really cute!
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| Football game |
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| Local butcher shop |
Just as we left it
started to pour once again and we drove north for another two hours before we
got to the Royal Basin Hotel, just south of the city of Kumasi, for the
night. We were all still really soaked and had to spread out all our gear
in our rooms and shower, thankfully with hot water(!), in order to get
ready for a late dinner. We did the list, ate and just before collapsing
into our rooms, Bob couldn’t find his bird list - some panic as that is his
record of the trip!
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