Lena Gyamfi Writes: #3DaysInTamale- Adventures From The Northern Region

I have always wanted to travel outside the confines of my home, feed my eyes to beautiful sceneries, and experience people and their diverse cultures. I had no idea living and cherishing such moments could also mean being chased down helter-skelter by a famished looking baboon until my Mole National Park experience.

I believe we can all agree that it sometimes gets frustrating seeing the same faces every day, doing the same things all the time and experiencing a routine again and again. Most often than not, all that is needed is a break from the norm to relax, learn and get our thoughts together even if it means flying at an altitude of 10,000 feet.

So years 5 and 6 were scheduled for a three day trip to the Northern region, Tamale to be precise. Since the beginning of the school term, the momentum was not lost on any of us until it was take-off time.

Is it just me or does everyone feel this sudden fright anytime the plane jets off? Well, this time was not different but my mates made the entire hour and 2 minutes flight an unforgettable one. Watching them itch with uneasiness with pebbles of sweat on the foreheads of a few of them brought me comic relief. Before you think I am insensitive though, remember it is comforting knowing you are not the only one dealing with a particular situation. Now, Let me shift my feelings aside and delve into our first destination when we touched down in Tamale.

The Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art founded by the renowned Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama was the first destination right from the Tamale airport. The SCCA  is a creative space made available for artists to display their timeless pieces. Our tour guide, Mr Selom Kudjie was exceptional. He did not miss much and made sure we combed the length and breadth of the place, pointing out that performing art and performance art is not the same although people so often use them interchangeably. At the SCCA, we fed our eyes to a whole compilation of images from familiar games like Minecraft and Roblox.

We proceeded to the Red Clay Art Studio, also founded by Ibrahim Mahama and walked through the quiet halls of the ‘Parliament of ghosts’ whiles descending and ascending the historic aeroplanes which serve as cinema rooms and only travel by land. These discoveries were so profound and I believe the pictures will be worth more than the 1000 words I can come close to writing.

Whereas it was not my first time being away from mummy and daddy, it was my first time spending two nights with people who were not family and sharing a room with a classmate. What I am saying is that it was the first time I was going to be on my own without mummy’s supervision so I needed to be independent, time conscious, tolerant and not freak out in the middle of this insightful and educative adventure. I honestly thought it was going to be weird during bedtime but it was great because Jeyads Lodge came with the comfort anyone could ask for after a long day of touring.

We kickstarted day two with a three hours drive to the Mole National Park, after a heated workout and a well-balanced breakfast of course. Upon arrival, we had lunch which was characterised by considerable scenes of drama. Whiles lunching, several baboon families who are triggered by smell started moving toward us. Most of us took to our heels when they started approaching. A couple of my classmates, Abigail and Hadassah, unfortunately, could not run with their plates and the baboons made a meal out of it, gobbling on their lunch with no mercy at all.

Meanwhile, my eyes were almost flooding with tears at this point. I was scared so much that I couldn’t be moved by the battle between the baboon and the warthogs. Perhaps, if I wasn’t zoophobic, I would have found some pleasure in that. In the end, the warthogs claimed victory, and the three baboons fled to their trees soaked in embarrassment. Their facial expression read nothing but next time, victory will be ours.

Whiles my mates basked in the Mole sun with the dust spreading unevenly on them during the safari ride, I was stashed inside the rickety jeep because I dreaded coming into close contact with any animal. I could only peep and hear. I heard elephants survive on 200 kilograms of food and 250 litres of water daily and they spend 18 hours feeding on it— so my question was, do they feed on the entire food in the United Nations World Food Programme?

We carried our tired legs to Mecca of the West, the Larabanga Mosque I mean. As for the history behind this building, I will leave that in the capable hands of Wikipedia.

The mystic stone was our last destination. The stone is believed to be a source of blessing. The mystery here is that it always returned to its resting place after several attempts to move it. I immediately tapped into the blessing and before we left, I said a prayer or two for my favourite people.

The flight back was not as exciting. I couldn’t wait to get back home and sleep in my bed. Tamale was insightful with a bag of mixed emotions. And oh, the next time you find yourself up in the skies, do not forget to look down— everything looks beautiful when you are in the air.