Northern Region - Part 3

Tamale - Our Home Base

Tamale is where we stayed most of the nights we were in the Northern Region. We stayed at the Tamale Institute of Cross Cultural Studies (TICCS), an institute associated with the Catholic church. The major form of transportation in Tamale, and much of the Northern Region, is bicycles (and motorbikes). Tamale even had wide pedestraian/bike paths along the major roads. The first day we were in Tamale, we rented bikes to explore the city. The bikes weren't very nice...kindof old with baskets on the front. Joel, Chichi and I rode in a group. We wanted to get outside of the city because the paths were full of people so it was really hard to ride without hitting someone. We rode out past all of the schools and into a very rural area near the city. We rode around that area for a while and say a sign that said "Ghana 2000 Network" and something about development, so we decided to stop at that place to see exactly what it was. We talked to the guy who was in charge of it and we found out it was a shea butter soap making place. There were four or five people inside making the soap and it was pretty cool to see them doing their work. On the way back to Tamale, we stopped for a Coke, because it was really hot. We got our bikes back safetly and then got some waakye at Zelias (a place that was recommended to me by someone back at the University) for lunch. I explored the city on foot a few of the other days we were there, seeing the market and the many mosques in the city.
One day, we also visited World Vision. We learned a lot about their organization and what kinds of things they're involved in in Northern Ghana. They are a really good organization and I respect how they do things.
A lot of our nights were spent hanging out at the Jungle Bar at TICCS. We played cards, watched a little TV, and talked. It was a nice place to hang out, except for all the bugs. I also got my first hamburger since being in Ghana there...it was pretty dang good. One night, a bunch of us also tried out a nice restaurant just down the road that had Indian food. It was really good.