Trip to the North part 2

Village school in Saakpuli where we saw evidence of the slave trade that existed here. Slaves were chained to the roots of a tree similar to this one, and several miles away were wells that were owned by different slave traders to provide water for their "property."



















My Dad in the Hyena Cave at Tongo Hills near Tamale. This area has large tumbled rock formations. This particular cave is used during festivals for the elders to meet and discuss pressing issues.














Traditional northern style home in Paga Pio's Palace, near border with Burkina Faso. Note the low doorway, you have to duck down and then step over a short wall to enter, this gives inhabitants the opportunity to knock intruders on the head as they try to enter. There are no windows, except several holes in the roof to allow light in and smoke from fires out. These holes are covered with pottery or calabash bowls to keep out rain.














Also in Paga, at one of the sacred crocodile ponds. This crocodile is being rewarded for sitting still while we pet him. I believe the fowl was dead when it was tossed to the crocodile since it did not wriggle even when it landed next to his head. The crocodiles, we are told, visit people in their homes at night but are not dangerous, lay their eggs in people's homes (the residents return them to the lake), and number quite a lot within a small pond (our guide said in the hundreds).















To get to Mole National Park it takes several hours to traverse the 86 kilometers of rough road. But the ride is worth it in the end.

Baboons in the village of Mole. I saw one steal food out of the hand of an unaccompanied toddler in the village, and they would take food left unattended on tables at the restaurant at the motel.

Elephant in the Mole village.

Same elephant having breakfast in village.

The guided walks take you down into a valley where there are two watering holes that can be seen from the motel. We encountered these elephants taking a cooling dip in one of the watering holes on a morning walk.

We also saw numerous antelope (bushbuck, waterbuck, and kob) as well as numerous warthogs (truly one of the ugliest creatures on the face of the planet).