Call me Tarzan

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July 16, 2010

Koo Nimo is jamming in the background. Koo who you say? Koo Nimo the cool music teacher who (last week) gave us the best lecture because it was mostly music and dancing. No. I didn’t kidnap him and force him to play in my room. I bought the CD, which interestingly enough was made in Germany.

Today we had a blast at Kukum. You walk up a bunch of stairs to a series of rope bridges --- each one a little different than the other. I felt like a chimpanzee swinging above the trees, even the way I reached from rope to rope was sooooo ape.

Afterward, some of us took the nature trail option while the rest went to drink beer and eat lunch. It rained the entire time, which for me was just right. You should get water in your eye when climbing through a rainforest. It’s the best workout I’ve had since I got here. There are vines, roots and leaves everywhere. We saw ebony trees and a variety of cotton trees. I’d type the Akan names if I could only remember them. We also saw termite and scorpion nests --- they’re large, above-ground mounds. I thought one of them was elephant dung and poked a stick to see if it’d go through. Thank God it didn’t because that was a scorpion nest.

Our little group was interesting too --- there were five from our study group, a nun, a few Ghanaians (one woman was dressed in funeral cloth), and a French or Dutch guy who turned and went back a little ways in. I don’t know if it was the climbing or the rain, or the fact that everyone but him spoke English. What made it interesting was the Ghanaians added flavor to our guide’s stories --- not that he needed help, he was funny and informative. Besides, how often can you say you’ve walked through the jungle with a nun wearing a white habit?

The forest has elephants, monkeys, antelope and other animals, but we were told we wouldn’t see any of them. We did, however, run into something. I was real cocky, verving off the path to get past slower walkers, loving the freedom to touch massive tree trunks and moss, until our guide stopped dead in his tracks and waved us back.

I stood on my tippy toes hoping to see an elephant rubbing its rump against a tree trunk.

But then our guide hissed, “Viper.”

Next thing you know my hiney was rubbing against whomever was behind me because a friend of the viper I am not. All of a sudden every damned leaf and vine started looking venomous to me, and I did not verve any more. Let the monkeys touch those trees.

The snake was just a few inches away from us, chilling under a root and some leaves, just looking at us like we were invading his shower, which we were. Once I got past my fear, I appreciated his beauty, but I can assure all of you that if he offered me an apple I would not accept.

I joke about the apple, but you have to understand that being in the thick of the rainforest felt like Eden to me. I am not talented enough to paint its picture with my words. It’s as green as British Columbia’s forest, but it has more undergrowth and amazing roots and vines --- it must be an abstract painting from the gods.

Our guide and the fellow Ghanaians told us the medicinal value of the plants. One massive hardwood species has a soft bark. If you grind it up, mix it with water, dip the corner of your handkerchief into it and then squeeze the droplets into your nose you “will sneeze the flames away.” One guy swore that within five minutes your headache or swollen sinuses would feel better. There’s another tree with spikes on its bark --- they look like mini rhino horns. If you boil those and drink its tea it will help cure asthma, but you have to drink the tea your entire life. A nut or fruit from one of the trees (looks like a small, green, ovalish coconut) is used to cure constipation. I was totally into learning about these natural cures, until I heard that you take the seeds out of the fruit-nut thingy, and then use the rest of it as an enema.

Once we rejoined our group and finished our lunch, we planned our big event of the night --- drinking palm wine bought from those who live near the preserve. We wanted to drink it out of a calabash, like the locals do, but it was sold to us in recycled soda and water bottles --- we did not ask if they were washed beforehand.

Basically, from what I understand (and I don’t have time to google, so please check up on my facts here to get it right), the tree is cut and placed at an angle. One end is burnt, I guess to boil/ferment the sap, and the other is tapped, just like a beer keg. Cloudy, bubbly fluid comes out. We’re told it’s best to drink palm wine in the morning when it’s fresh because it ferments as the day ages (we didn’t get to it until early evening, and our bottles were swollen). It’s amazing that it is so fizzy. I swear to you it looks like milky soda.

Now, we were all dreading the tasting because it smells awful --- like rotten fruit. But much to my surprise it’s actually sweet and smooth. The best I can describe it is as a yeasty soda, maybe it’s a little like alka seltzer.

As for getting drunk on it, I don’t know. It’s supposed to sneak up on you, but so far I’m just tired, but good God I swung through trees then hiked under them, so I don’t think it’s the palm wine.

Most of our group is out to dinner (I’m not hungry and didn’t feel like spending any more time in the rain), so after signing off I’m going to lean over my balcony, inhale some more of that Gulf of Guinea breeze, get a little mist on my face and go to bed. Maybe I’ll have some freaky palm-wine dreams --- Maria, my bedmate, might want to cling to the top of our hilly bed.

p.s. I know you all want pictures, but I can't post yet. Our next place in Takordi allegedly has wireless. Hopefully, I'll be able to blast away all sorts of pics for you.

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