Kumasi, Ghana

After our tour at Cape Coast Castle we drove to Kumasi where we spent three days of our trip in Ghana. We had a great time of relaxation, eating and sightseeing while we were in Kumasi. Kumasi is also known as the Garden City because of its abundance of beautiful plants and greenery.

My parents are from Kumasi, Ghana so we stayed at my parent’s house in Kumasi. The property has chickens and turkeys which I really enjoyed seeing. When we drove around Kumasi I would see that chickens and turkeys were free to roam wherever. So I asked my dad how people knew which chickens or turkeys were theirs since they were free to roam. He looked at me like it was the dumbest question and said that the chickens know their homes so they always went back to their home. Oh, OK.

We walked around their property which was massive and had some parts under construction.
There are also tons of plantain leaves which I thought were so beautiful.

Really loved these trees!



Butterflies! ♥

While we were in Kumasi I spent a lot of time with my cousins. The last time I saw them Esther who is now 21 was only 4 and Reinhart who is now 26 was 9. It was really nice to get to spend time with actual cousins and get to know them a little better. We've continued communication since we've been back and we're hoping to get them to visit us one of these days!

Me and Esther.





Me and my uncle.



Me and my dad.



Esther and Reinhart

We went to church Sunday morning with my dad and had a bit of a start when we realized we had no electricity. Getting ready was quite the experience especially when a girl has to do her eyebrows, lol. Sean and I wore these outfits that my mom bought us on her last trip to Ghana. She never did get to see us wear them together. I know that my mom would have been so excited to show Sean all around Ghana, it’s just the way she was with him. She didn’t have any boys so she always called Sean “my boy”. When Sean suggested that we wear the outfits in Ghana I gave him the biggest hug because the thought to me was just the sweetest thing. I’m hoping that somehow, someway, she saw us and smiled.

During dinner one evening, my uncle shared a picture of me and my three sisters on our last trip to Ghana.
I could not believe how young we were.



Oh and maybe a little random but the oranges in Ghana are green and soooo delicious!

I asked my dad why they are called oranges if they are green.
Oh you know, just another question I think my dad didn't find very clever, haha.

On Monday we finally got our hands on some cedis (Ghanaian currency). We went to Kumasi City Mall which was a really beautiful mall. We (Sean and I) didn't do any shopping (my dad bought some new shoes) as I wanted to shop in the markets but we did grab some lunch. We had Chinese food and it was so delicious, quite possibly the best Chinese food I’ve ever had. I had some shito (the brown sauce in the middle) with it that gave it the best spicy kick and now I'm convinced that all Chinese food must be eaten with shito.

A hotel in Kumasi that I found beautiful from the outside. Golden Tulip.



My dad had Sean take a picture of this billboard of the King celebrating 20 years on the throne.

After the mall we went to Kumasi Adum market to buy several things. I picked up shea butter, headwraps, earrings and several souvenirs for friends and family. The African market is really such a great experience! Everyone is trying to pull you to their direction but as long as you know what you want you'll be fine. Also have to make sure you know how to bargain. Never accept the first price you're given!

After the market we went to my aunt’s (my mom’s older sister) house. I was so excited to see her because I wanted all the stories about my mom when she was younger. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. My aunt is still grieving my mom and tears welled in her eyes when I asked her about my mom so I didn’t get any information. I was so disappointed that tears ran down my face when we got into the truck to leave but I understand. She never did get to say goodbye in person to my mom.

After the trip to my aunt’s house we stopped at my grandma’s (my dad’s mom) house but the electricity had just gone out. I was told that this is actually a regular occurrence in Kumasi. Having no light to really see each other made the visit a bit challenging but either way it was so nice to breathe the same air as my grandma.

We used the flashlight on Sean's cellphone to get the image
below and although it is a very poorly lit picture it is one of my favorites of the trip.

After that we went to see my dad’s sister and her husband. That was a really fun experience as she has such a lively and awesome personality. She was not fazed at all with the electricity being out and at one point she actually put a flashlight right up to my face to see if I still resembled her. I was told that I resembled her a lot when I was younger but I don’t think I resemble her much anymore. She asked tons of questions and it was a really nice visit.

Below are scenes that were taken throughout our three days in Kumasi.
** A true reminder for me that life doesn’t have to be extravagant to be extraordinary **

Our trip to Kumasi had come to an end as we were heading to Accra (the capital of Ghana) for the remaining days we were in Ghana. I can't wait to go back to Kumasi; there's still so much I was unable to see and do.