My beleaguered bicycle sits atop the van to #Tamale because my visa deadline forced me to rely somewhat on public transport. (It's OK: this journey is not about the bike...that's only a bonus.) Pictured is Salaga's modest "Tamale Station." I have to admit, though: I enjoy public transport, and can easily envision a different version of this adventure undertaken via local vehicles and hitchhiking.⁠ ⁠ #Africa #EverydayGhana #Ghana #EverydayAfrica #AfricaTravel #Photography #TravelPhotography #StreetPhotography #Travel #Travelgram #InstaTravel #Adventure #Nature #AdventureTravel #AdventureCycling #Cycling #BikeTouring #Bicycle #Backpacking #Tourism https://www.instagram.com/p/B0WPOqZHs8t/?igshid=ot5ex0pnq44

The gorgeous view during my first full morning in Togo. ⁠Nicely paved roads, verdant hills, cotton-ball #clouds--what's not to love?⁠ ⁠ #Africa #EverydayTogo #Togo #EverydayAfrica #AfricaTravel #Photography #Landscapes #Motorcycle #TravelPhotography #StreetPhotography #Travel #Travelgram #InstaTravel #Adventure #Nature #AdventureTravel #AdventureCycling #Cycling #BikeTouring #Bicycle #Backpacking #Tourism ⁠ (at Kabou, Bassar, Togo) https://www.instagram.com/p/B0OSqpGnu1r/?igshid=1tburiutqpqe7

Men playing #oware, a pit and pebble #game of #Asante origin. Expert players move very quickly, and though I sat a long time with these guys I couldn't begin to sort out the rules. (I looked them up later on Wikipedia, and still don't think I get it.)⁠ ⁠ There were many groups of men huddled in groups, playing this game, or cards, or simply drinking tea as I rode my bike around #Yendi, on my final evening in Ghana. ⁠Thanks to Sadiq and his friends for introducing me to oware, and for an enlightening conversation.⁠ ⁠ #Africa #EverydayGhana #Ghana #EverydayAfrica #AfricaTravel #Photography #TravelPhotography #StreetPhotography #Travel #Travelgram #InstaTravel #Adventure #Nature #AdventureTravel #AdventureCycling #Cycling #BikeTouring #Bicycle #Backpacking #Tourism (at Yendi) https://www.instagram.com/p/B0LtKtjHODe/?igshid=po02zhv2juxl

A few posts back I introduced you to the incredible team at Vero's Oven--a wholesale #bakery here in #Techiman. This is the titular oven, the real deal. It's a hand-made, industrial #oven and it is the primary feature of Vero's shop. ⠀ ⠀ The whole #bakery is lit solely with natural light coming in through three large west-facing openings. I like the resulting shadowy, subdued tones.⠀ ⠀ #Africa #Ghana #EverydayAfrica #Photography #TravelPhotography #StreetPhotography #Travel #Travelgram #InstaTravel #Adventure #Nature #AdventureTravel #AdventureCycling #Cycling #BikeTouring #Bicycle #Backpacking #Tourism #Camping #Women #Empowerment (at Techiman, Central, Ghana) https://www.instagram.com/p/Byn0gGBHHU-/?igshid=1gcg3ugts0se4

I understand very well I'm on shaky ground when I present myself as a photographer. I'm an amateur, with no training, in a world teeming with incredible talent, skill, and creativity. Most days I barely know how the camera works, so I count myself lucky when, or if, I capture a realistic slice of (my) life. For the sake of improvement I've been taking countless photos lately--of anything, everything, and anyone I can. I've been doing it for weeks now, and everyone around me knows it.⠀ ⠀ As a result I've been getting lots of requests & demands from folks. Yesterday that meant photographing the #daughters of two women who work here at Dymn's Hotel.⠀ ⠀ I'm not making grandiose claims here re my skills. What I am asserting is simple: I found these photos--particularly the eldest girl's--beautiful. I was transfixed while editing--caught smiling and near tears simultaneously. This only happens to me when some slice of beauty strikes me in a visceral way. It happens rarely, and usually catches me off guard (and it's almost always music). Yet so it was, for me, with this simple portrait. Smiles & tears: like a #doublerainbow. Which leads to the double rainbow guy. Which leads in turn to the double rainbow guy's infamous non-rhetorical question: "What does it MEEEEEAAAAAaaaaannnnnn?!?!?!?!"⠀ ⠀ I dunno what it means. But here she is.⠀ ---jim⠀ ⠀ #Africa #Ghana #Bike #EverydayAfrica #Photography #TravelPhotography #StreetPhotography #Travel #Travelgram #InstaTravel #Adventure #Nature #AdventureTravel #AdventureCycling #Cycling #BikeTouring #Bicycle #Backpacking #Tourism #portrait #portraiture #everydayghana (at Techiman, Central, Ghana) https://www.instagram.com/p/BykgAPDF7lO/?igshid=a9anbthxbqly

My favorite #grain #silos, yesterday, early evening. Along with a quasi-functional conveyor and a lovely #sunset #sky.  #Africa #EverydayGhana #Ghana #EverydayAfrica #AfricaTravel #Photography #TravelPhotography #StreetPhotography #Travel #Travelgram #InstaTravel #Adventure #Nature #AdventureTravel #AdventureCycling #Cycling #BikeTouring #Bicycle #Backpacking #Tourism  (at Techiman, Central, Ghana) https://www.instagram.com/p/By3sK6GoLgi/?igshid=9jd8akilhlwf

I love street-level #commerce--the real way that trade evolves without the (criminal) influence of modern-day capitalism. It's present everywhere in the world that Western financial institutions haven't yet exploited.⠀ ⠀ This image is of a local #electrician in Techiman, Ghana, doing repairs on an old TV set. I found this shop a day earlier when seeking (yet another) repair for my tablet PC's power supply. In the USA, no one will fix it: "Just buy a new one," is the only response I get. Here, for $1.20, the guy quickly sorted out the issue, rebuilt (!) the connector piece, and sent me on my way, happy.⠀ ⠀ It's really important to realize that the West does NOT have the answers for...well...most things. You think you're more advanced? More civilized? More informed? More democratic? More free? You. Are. Wrong. That crap is media and gov't propaganda. Nothing more. Go see the world; see it for yourself!⠀ ⠀ #Africa #Ghana, #GlobalSouth #EverydayAfrica #Photography #TravelPhotography #StreetPhotography #Travel #Travelgram #InstaTravel #Adventure #Nature #AdventureTravel #AdventureCycling #Cycling #BikeTouring #Bicycle #Backpacking #Tourism #Anticapitalism #Community #Socialism #EverydayGhana ⠀ (at Techiman, Central, Ghana) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByiC2z0F9Tq/?igshid=ef4zr8pelbvr

Signs of late afternoon commerce along the coast of the #Volta--the largest artificial #reservoir in the world. These hand-made wooden #boats are loaded with timber, #bamboo (loaded on the carts bottom left), furs, and all manner of manufactured products for distribution to scores of villages along the banks of the river. There are many roads in the area, but these boats still represent the most efficient means of trade for those near the water.⁠ ⁠ This is the port town of #Yeji, where I spent one night before crossing the Volta and continuing north towards #Togo.⁠ ⁠ #Africa #EverydayGhana #Ghana #EverydayAfrica #AfricaTravel #Photography #TravelPhotography #StreetPhotography #Travel #Travelgram #InstaTravel #Adventure #Nature #AdventureTravel #AdventureCycling #Cycling #BikeTouring #Bicycle #Backpacking #Tourism (at Yeji) https://www.instagram.com/p/B0GDiRqAThQ/?igshid=8xwe55vh8abl

(1) Two women prepare the evening's batch of fufu--a staple of Ghanaian cuisine. #Fufu is a mix of boiled cassava and plantain, pounded into a viscous dough, then served in small balls with various types of soups and stews. These vivacious ladies run the small roadside restaurant Eye Awurade, next to the place I'm staying. Most evenings they tolerate my questions with grace. (2,3) This is the vat used to boil the cassava and plantain, In these pics the women are draining the water in preparation for pounding the fufu. (4) The same vats are used to prepare and serve the various soups that go with the fufu (5) Almost every kind of soup uses fish as part of the base, being prepared here. (6) The façade of Eye Awurade, an absolutely stereotypical roadside restauarant here in Ghana, and throughout most of West Africa. It may not look like much, but the food is good, cheap, and it's a true taste of Africa #Africa #Ghana #EverydayAfrica #Photography #TravelPhotography #StreetPhotography #Travel #Travelgram #InstaTravel #Adventure #Nature #AdventureTravel #AdventureCycling #Cycling #BikeTouring #Bicycle #Backpacking #Tourism (at Techiman, Central, Ghana) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByfBeIOgwga/?igshid=1i54f1bp5rs4v

Without really intending to, I've begun a series of photo-essays on People at Work. It emerged from an innocent visit to a local tailor, but the young women at Yorkee #Fashion Design were such a delight that I organized more informal sessions: at a local bakery, an electrician's shop, a local access TV station, a roadside restaurant, and a coffin-builder. And that's just for starters.⠀ ⠀ The girls (and one guy) at Yorkee were a tight-knit group, the vibe more akin to a girls' school than a workplace. Most were in their mid-20s and had been working here for an average of 3 years.⠀ ⠀ #Africa #EverydayAfrica #Photography #StreetPhotography #Travel #Travelgram #InstaTravel #Adventure #Nature #AdventureTravel #AdventureCycling #Cycling #BikeTouring #Bicycle #Backpacking #Tourism #Camping #Tailor #Sewing #Employment #Women #Empowerment (at Techiman, Central, Ghana) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bya2VLrAGnK/?igshid=b310n2ew6f2s

A couple of weeks back I borrowed enough money to watch the final season of Game of Thrones aka #GoT aka #GameOfThrones. Now, perhaps it's not realistic in the modern world to seek out Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion, but I tried. Even this far away from (the) West(eros). ⠀ ⠀ The best I could do was these three Guinea fowl, and that's only because they were hobbled and waiting to be sacrificed for the sake of human appetites. In other words, they were soon to be butchered and grilled by the local chop shop guys. Say what you want, but this ain't yo momma's factory farmed fowl.⠀ ⠀ Unlike Game of Thrones, all three of these "dragons" met their makers this fine afternoon. I have a nice snap of them after their inevitable demise, but I'll spare you that one. For now. #Techiman, #Ghana⠀ ⠀ #Africa #EverydayAfrica #Photography #TravelPhotography #StreetPhotography #Travel #Travelgram #InstaTravel #Adventure #Nature #AdventureTravel #AdventureCycling #Cycling #BikeTouring #Bicycle #Backpacking #Tourism #Camping ⠀ (at Techiman, Central, Ghana) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByaF8jXjFTW/?igshid=145mjsrc3e0to

The #catering staff for our local Mother's Day event. This was certainly the calm before the party's Feeding Frenzy storm. #Ghana⠀ ⠀ #Africa #EverydayAfrica #Photography #StreetPhotography #Travel #Travelgram #InstaTravel #Adventure #Nature #AdventureTravel #AdventureCycling #Cycling #BikeTouring #Bicycle #Backpacking #Tourism #Holidays #MothersDay #Food #Celebration #Jobs (at Techiman, Central, Ghana) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByY5fUhgduR/?igshid=164dnu9hh0pm0

Another benefit of lingering is having time to change minds. Don't know about hearts, but minds have changed. As in changing "NO! NO PHOTOS!" on Day 1, to "HEY! PLEASE TAKE MY PICTURE!" on Day X. ⠀ ⠀ In this case, it was completely worth the wait. This kind, jovial beauty is on staff at Dymn's Hotel in Techiman, and is one of the friendly faces I interact with every single day. ⠀ ⠀ #Africa #Ghana #EverydayAfrica #Photography #StreetPhotography #Travel #Travelgram #InstaTravel #Adventure #Nature #AdventureTravel #AdventureCycling #Cycling #BikeTouring #Bicycle #Backpacking #Tourism #Hotel #Portrait (at Techiman, Central, Ghana) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByYTSQ-hbPE/?igshid=1f3fqtnfxoq08

It's typical throughout urban West Africa to dispose of leaves and rubbish by fire. This is another tableaux--a common one--from my regular late-afternoon wanderings.⠀ ⠀ #Africa #EverydayAfrica #Photography #StreetPhotography #Travel #Travelgram #InstaTravel #Adventure #Nature #AdventureTravel #AdventureCycling #Cycling #BikeTouring #Bicycle #Backpacking #Tourism #Fire (at Techiman, Central, Ghana) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByXhch-DC1s/?igshid=1gxr2ko6gs1x4

Some of the many neighbors I've met during my perambulations. These kids are from the nearby high school, and were happy to practice their vogue-ing skills on my behalf. Although it is sometimes frustrating to spend so much time off the bike, not moving, there are serious upsides as well: I really get to know a place, and strike up relationships with the residents. ⠀ ⠀ The really cool textured background is attached to the grain silos I posted earlier.⠀ ⠀ #Ghana #Africa #EverydayAfrica #Photography #StreetPhotography #Travel #Travelgram #InstaTravel #Adventure #Nature #AdventureTravel #AdventureCycling #Cycling #BikeTouring #Bicycle #Backpacking #Tourism #Camping #School #HighSchool #uniforms (at Techiman, Central, Ghana) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByWUstqFmz5/?igshid=mb6opaktp1hh

If you want to dance, you've got to pay the piper. When traveling by bicycle through Africa, the piper means #Immigration, with visas being by far the most time-consuming and expensive part of the proposition. Thankfully I was able to extend my Ghanaian visa in Sunyani, for 30 days, in about an hour, for $2US. Score! #Africa #EverydayAfrica #Photography #StreetPhotography #Travel #Travelgram #InstaTravel #Adventure #Nature #AdventureTravel #AdventureCycling #Cycling #BikeTouring #Bicycle #Backpacking #Tourism #Camping #Nomad #Holiday (at Sunyani) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByVaCxkAZ6m/?igshid=1gv2y5kcfvdjb

Yet another visit to yet another bike mechanic, this time Ibrahim's shop in #Mim, #Ghana. Being a primarily #Christian country, I was lucky to find the industrious Ibrahim open on a Sunday. His shop was a typical example of a West African shop, filled (and surrounded) with piles of old bikes and littered with old parts. Ibrahim's shop had more cassettes strewn about than most. The barefoot mechanic was skilled, friendly, and talkative, sharing many thoughts--both political and religious--on the current political realities in Africa. ⠀ ⠀ Every stop, every meeting is a treasure trove of information and insight...if we just allow it to be so.⠀ ⠀ #Africa #EverydayAfrica #Photography #StreetPhotography #Travel #Travelgram #InstaTravel #Adventure #Nature #AdventureTravel #AdventureCycling #Cycling #BikeTouring #Bicycle #Backpacking #Tourism #Camping #Mechanic #Feet #Islam (at Mim, Brong-Ahafo, Ghana) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByU8ASQgfPI/?igshid=po5d6fokvhv2