Ghana 24 Aburi and howto get there.......

At the hotel. Finlo and I enjoying a break... 

Aburi is only about 45 kilometers form Accra.  We went on the Sunday and you can see from my last posting it is hardly a mountain but really a small rolling hill. As I also said I should have more photos but.....................  We'll stop there.

Ghana 23 Day out in Aburi Gardens

Had lots of photo to upload but.... Wanna lost my phone.  That's another story which I'll write about on another day.

Needless to say fortunately I still have plenty more.

We went up to the local mountains in Aburi. Mountains is putting strong emphasis on tall hills. But it was cooler than Accra and got us out of the house.  Passed Rita Marley's House. Did you know she had moved back to Ghana... Well you do now. The Marley House Ghana.

We went up the hills with our friend Finlo, to the old colonial gardens. Needless to say they were in a state of disrepair but never the less you could feel the cool breeze and the air of calmness around the place. There were some lovely old trees and on one in particular. It has a long time ago had a creeper which in itself turned into a self supporting tree like structure.  The original tree inside has since died and left a big hollow.  Wanna went up inside to have a look. Fascinating.

There was also an old helicopter laid up.  No idea why. But again something to look at.

We then had a wonder around and relaxed. Stopped at a local hotel which had a lot of funny signs around the place. One caught my eye.

Go on smile.

Ghana 22 Time flys

True. The time is flying by. Seems only yesterday I was sitting in Eden Island having Christmas lunch. And now Jan 2018 so again its nearly Christmas again....

Took a few more drone shots. Quite amazing the file property records the machine keeps. Size, location and a link to google maps !!!   I've added a screen shot.

Only thing it does not seem to do is record the altitude and that would be a cool and useful thing to save.  Photos today are taken between 20 and 35 meters from ground level.

Accra is a very flat place and little relief for back drops etc. Clearly I do need to get out and about a bit more. These photos I took with the drone and for me the amazing thing is it took off from the balcony and I controlled it all from there.  Talk about lazy drone flying.....

Ghana 21 Turtle update

Last month we saw the Mother Turtles come ashore to lay eggs.  Eggs are hatching and the new little fella's are finding their way back to the sea. Isn't nature amazing !!!!

Ghana 20 New Year Drone Pics

We're in the dusty season.  Called Harmattan where the sand dust from the desert seems to suspend itself here for months.  Horrible and for me with a susceptible chest this is not so good.

Even my drone picks up the dust when flying.  I took a few shots today and you can see the haze.

View out over our Condo complex.  See the dust everywhere.

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If interested.......Extract from Wikepedia (Abridged version)

The Harmattan is a season in the West African subcontinent, which occurs between the end of November and the middle of March. It is characterized by dry and dusty northeasterly trade wind, of the same name, which blows from the Sahara Desert over West Africa into the Gulf of Guinea.

Effects

Harmattan haze over Ho, Ghana

The air is particularly dry and desiccating when the Harmattan blows over the region. The Harmattan brings desert-like weather conditions: it lowers the humidity, dissipates cloud cover, prevents rainfall formation and sometimes creates big clouds of dust which can result in dust storms or sandstorms.

The heavy amount of dust in the air can severely limit visibility and block the sun for several days,^[8]comparable to a heavy fog. 

Humidity drops to as low as 15%, which can result in spontaneous nosebleeds for some people.^[7] Other health effects on humans may include conditions of the skin (whiteness and dryness of the skin), eyes, and respiratory system, including aggravation of asthma.

Ghana 19 New Drone

Just got a new Drone.  Last few disappeared into Condo buildings or just simply fell apart.

But this time I've got a good one.  Parrot Bebop 2 Power... Sounds good right.

Now all I need to do is learn to fly it.  Unfortunately I also have to read the Manual.  I know RTFM  is a must.  This one is a way more expensive drone which translates in better reading of said manual before saying "Yes,  I know,  I'll be fine"  followed by BANG !!!!!!

So first tentative flight today.  Fish-eye lens but can do video and normal photos as well.  (Read that in the manual !!!!!!)

I plan to use it for work and general round and about stuff.  It has a  Return to Home mode which I can see myself using a lot. Unfortunately.......

Ghana 18 Happy New Year and Coffee.........................one day

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year. We did !!!!! Flew bye. No time for Bloging....

Christmas in Seychelles and New Years eve in Ghana.Fantastic time with family and friends. I think 2018 is also going to be a good one...

Christmas is a time of giving and receiving.  I was given a fabulous gift. DIY Coffee. (Thanks Sarah).  Very thoughtful. Simple thing but will be a lot of fun to follow.  I do s somehow doubt in spite of my constant optimism that I will every get to the point of grinding my own coffee beans but heck lets give it a go.

10 Coffee seeds/beans

Lovely little kit of coffee beans, growing pot and coconut fibre grow material.

Yesterday on getting back to Ghana one of the first things I did I've opened  the box.  Instructions are clear. Soak seeds in a warm place for 24 hours.  Done that.  Hence the Blog !!! Interesting some sink and some stay floating.

Soaking the Seeds

Now all planted and sitting in a dark room.

Side of box tells me I have to wait a few months for the seeds to germinate.... that's conveniently written in small print. Wait a few months, me ?????    !!!!!!!!!!  That's for germination and another  ? years before I get me coffee beans..... So watch this spot in 2023........  Till then I'll keep you updated and write about other faster things..... I used to think watching lettuce growing was slow but this........ puts a whole new concept on the idea of slow.....