Bush Meat

I went with Kenneth and his wife to the village of Ho, today. Kenneth wanted to talk to the physical therapist at the regional hospital there to inform him of the Step FaR organization. Kenneth’s vision is to come to Ghana every 6 months or so and do continuing education courses and in-services with the physical therapists at various hospitals in Ghana. Unfortunately, the head therapist was in meetings so we did not get to meet him. We gave them our information. Hopefully, we will hear from them so I can go there for a couple of days to help them out. The intern we spoke with says they need a lot of help!

After visiting the hospital we had lunch in Ho. I’m trying really hard to eat traditional foods. I’m getting use to the texture of the dough balls. The soups are usually quite tasty. However, the meat is just so difficult to eat. I have an aversion to fat and gristle on my meat!

I was pretty adventurous though and tried a bite of bush meat. It tasted very wild. Bush meat comes from the little varmints running around the bush. I guess they look like giant guinea pigs. The hunters set fires to the bush and then shoot the animals as they are running away from the fires. I guess you use to be able to get Bush Meat in NYC, but then they found cocaine in their stomachs. Obviously, the US government put a stop to that!

In the jungle surrounding Ho, we could see the hills burning from the hunters setting the fires to caputre the bush animals. It was rainy ash today! Also, it is so dry here right now that there was a terrible haze over the whole village! Many times the bush fires get out of control and end up burning down whole villages. They are illegal, but there is just no way the government can enforce many of the laws. Also, if you have enough money you can usually bribe someone. It’s sad, but that’s life in a developing nation.

The ride to and from Ho is very beautiful. We were on a mostly paved road winding through the bush and mountains. Spots along the road are very jungle like. We could see Lake Volta when we were higher up in the mountain; however, the haze from the dust and smoke kept me from really being able to see it.

Next month, I plan on going on a boat ride on Lake Volta! Until then I will enjoy my view while driving. Lake Volta is fresh water so I will not be able to swim in it. There are too many parasites to worry about.

I hope everyone has a safe and fun New Years!! Don’t drink and drive. I’m going to try and avoid cars tomorrow since there are no drunk driving laws here!

Love, Kari