Aburi (pronounced a-bree)

Since Chloee had malaria last week we bumped out Aburi trip to this weekend. Aburi is well known for their Botanical Gardens. They are a village up on a hill which overlooks Accra. Nkansah came with us and told us how cold it was. It is at a higher altitude so it was definitely cooler but I LOVED IT! I let Nkansah know how cold Utah gets and he thinks he would die. Aburi is also known to have one of the finest wood markets in Ghana.

The trip started on the bus to Koforidua and then connecting to Aburi by Tro Tro. This sign was at the front of the bus and made me laugh. I asked about it and it is legit. Apparently the women get scared if there is a problem and will oftentimes grab the driver. Because of this they are not allowed to sit there.

We got dropped off outside the Botanical Gardens. I would not say it was anything spectacular, but it was really pretty and quite relaxing. I am definitely glad we went.

Star Fruit

Random trees all over like these

This one is growing under its neighbor

Nate trying to be Tarzan

I have seen Shea Butter in lotions a lot, but now I see where it actually comes from.

This was by far my favorite tree in the gardens!

The Entire inside of the tree was hollow. (For some reason I do not have one of Chloee popping her head out)

Inside the tree

I decided to climb the inside of the tree. Nate is standing at the base so you can see how high it goes.

If you look close you can see my popping me head out higher up. I always wondered what it would be like to be a squirrel or some other animal who lives in a tree. Pretty cool!

Nate, Nkansah, and I…Great friends!

I didn’t realize Nutmeg came from a tree.

This is the FIRST real Clover plant I have ever seen. I looked but could not find a four-leaf Clover.

Nate, Nkansah, and Maddie just going for a stroll through the gardens.

I really thought this tree was pretty. It has a branch which stretches clear on the other side of the road at least 20 feet. It was pretty crazy.

I honestly have NO idea what this product is!

Random broken down plane in the gardens.

The end of the gardens.

There is a very fine fabric made in Africa called Kente. We walked by this shop where they were making it with Ghanaian technology on foot weavers. It was absolutely amazing to watch them. I got some video but it is too large to put on the post unfortunately.

You can see the amazing detail up close on this one.

I got my first Ghanaian ice cream cone. I bought it from a lady carrying it on her head.

This little girl was strapping her Elmo doll to her back like mothers do with their babies. CUTE!

One of the things we really wanted to do in Aburi was go to the wood market. We met some really cool guys and I got some cool souvenirs. This is a guy carving. As you can see he starts with a stump, then just takes a chisel to it. The skill they have is amazing to me.

My favorite was Nana. I bought a couple things from him. The best part are the prices are OUTSTANDING!

I am not sure why it is, but apparently Bob Marley built a house for his wife Rita. Here is is:

When we were in Koforidua I saw these Chuck Norris movies for sale. Nkansah LOVES Chuck Norris so I decided to get them for him as a gift from us all. I gave them to him at the end of the night when we got home. He would not hold still he was so excited. He kept dancing around. It made my day!