What a day it was. How a harmless visit became an almost official affair, I can´t quite remember. But somehow at some point we were in the middle of being declared a German delegation, with the whole shebang and the works on top. You think it sounds as if we were just on a very private half hour visit to see someone we know in a Ghanaian village? Bingo, you´re right. At least that´s what we had planned. Now, when you plan to visit a place, and there is someone from that place that you know and he actually happens to be there, because that´s the very reason why you planned the whole thing in the first place, and the neighborhood (i.e. the whole village) is informed of your coming, then the trip will be anything but private and low profile. It´s actually not so bad to be courted by a big community, but when the event turns (or is deliberately turned) into something of a "treat-your-sponsor-good-then-he´ll-sponsor-some-more" happening, then you know you should´ve hit the beach instead. But here we were, being welcomed by the village protocol. We were shown around, introduced to the fine art of coffee growing and harvesting, and presented the village water pump, the installing of which was a European project. After the first shock and awe had settled we began feeling more at ease, the normal state of relaxation, a typical Ghanaian custom, returned to body and senses. In the end it turned out to be one of the most memorable trips to rural Ghana. While we enjoyed a perfect day out, the village community shifted down it´s level of expectation without losing it´s verve. After all, we had just planned a half hour visit to someone we knew in a Ghanaian village.

Group photo with village elder. The man we knew, our good house and ground spirit Alex, to the right in the yellow

jersey of a South American football nation with cocoa bean in hand.

Village walkabout.

Drying the coffee.

Waterpump with goat.

Plantain vendors, or: the young enterprise.

Official photo with official garb.

Onlookers of the great occasion.

More onlookers.

See more cool pics of the visit.