New York (state)

Back in October 2017 we visited the US. A draft blogpost has been sitting there since then. I'm sure we had more to say at the time, but here are some photos :)


Brooklyn bridge seen from Brooklyn

 Saugerties

 Kenozia lake (near our airbnb)

 Haloween in Woodstock

 Time square

On top of Rockefeller center

Central park on a sunny Saturday

Grand central

 The Met

The high line

 Just some random buildings

Summer 2017 Belgium/Texel

2017 post languishing in drafts...

Summer holidays in The Netherlands and Belgium and briefly Germany.


Lon and Greg went for a bike ride and cycled through the water. (Google: Fietsen door het water, Genk, if you want to know more)

 Via Germany to the highest point in The Netherlands, the place where three countries meet.

West Vleteren, the 12 has been voted the best beer in the world, I think I can agree.
The other two are also in the top ten if you ask me.

With the parents to Texel, the most western and biggest of the wadden islands, the isles in the north.
A tour in the Waddensea on a shrimping boat (very Forest Gump)

Famous Texel sheep

On the way back a stop in Alkmaar, no cheese market that day. 

Hazels father also came to visit and we went to Wijk bij Duurstede. One of the oldest cities (yes it is officially a city) in The Netherlands on the river Rijn.

Lon went for an organised bike tour (sportive) in the east of the country. Here a photo on the 'mountain' Posbank.

And of course the obligitory visit to Utrecht. Here the Nijntje (Miffy) trafic light. Unfortunately the artist from Utrecht, Dick Bruna (born on the same date as Lon), died 16 Feb.

Dipo festival

On Sunday we had the immense privilege to witness part of the Dipo festival

This is a women's initiation rite held by the Krobo people. A fuller account can be found here https://bradtghanaupdate.wordpress.com/2013/04/07/dipo-festival-of-the-krobo-somanya-odumasi/

what we witnessed was some of the girls getting their heads shaven (for a few they remained with a full head of hair having paid a fine) - this took quite a long time, and was hot and rainy and didn't feel very anticipatory exactly...

the Queen mother - a very important role in Ghanian society

waiting round

 

selfies- with newly shaven heads

The atmosphere changed once the meal was ready.

Maize / corn are roasted whole, and then ground to a flour, which is then made into a mush, and served with a fresh portion of palm oil.  Some people also had a serving of a fish and vegetable stew added

queue for the fish stew

After the meal and the final heads were shaved the girls began to be dressed in the beads, by their ritual mothers / mothers / aunts

I was made to go and take a photo of the plump older girl 

The aunties would sing and dance and I think tell rude jokes, and have a few drinks too..

 Once everyone was dressed a long queue formed. There was a bit of jostling for the first girl to lead the ceremony - by the aunties not the girls - as the littles were placed at the front - round 6 years old, I don't believe that these girls were being made ready for marriage, but couldn't really find out why the young ones were participating too

The girls are holding a piece of white cloth for purity on their heads, and they are sprayed with clay water and given a leaf to hold in their mouths until they return to the village.  The girls are walked by their family to the sacred rock (we weren't allowed) where by sitting on it they proved their virginity

this is the priest who is leading the ceremony

After the sacred rock, the girls were carried back to the village - sometimes by their family, but other times by young men / suitors - when the audience would call and tease

This was when we left, I think the girls went then to the chiefs house for blessing, but by then we were tired and the highpoint had passed.  It was an incredible day, very much a womens festival, perhaps changing with the times, but still going on.