This weekend has definitely been my favorite part of the trip. On Saturday we woke up early for the 3 hour drive to Cape Coast. I was surprised by how much I slept on the bus! Brother Kwame (our driver) was not messing around on those roads and was even weaving around cars! But we stopped at our hotel for brunch and the hotel was beautiful. It was a resort (complete with a golf course!) and it was really really nice.
Our hotel: Coconut Grove!
Where I ate my breakfast. It was gorgeous!
After we dropped off our bags, we headed to Elmina Slave Castle. Elmina Slave Castle was originally a place that was supposed to serve as a fort, then a missionary and then housed slaves before they were put on boats and taken west. It was a really powerful and surreal place that reminded me of how awful humans have been to each other in the past. When it was used to house slaves, they would sometimes stay for months. The governors held them there to see who could survive to be taken to the new world (like a survival of the fittest test). They were kept in small, dark quarters with no ventilation, often sleeping and living in feces, dirt, vomit and blood from menstral cycles. The women were only taken out to be 'chosen' by the governor as his mistress. He would look from a balcony, choose a girl, have her washed by his men in the open and bring her up to his chambers. The woman was often sexually assaulted by his men after the governor was done with her. And the women wanted to be chosen and taken from the filth because the living conditions were that bad.
Where the governor would look down to choose his woman. There is a cannon ball on the ground that they would use to chain women who rebelled or fought against the men.
The stairs the women went up when they were chosen by the governor.
The men's dungeons were outside of the women's and just as bad. There was even a cell with a a skull and cross bones. We found out that men who were fighting back and being rebellious were put in that cell and didn't come out until they were dead. Sometimes the guards would leave a body in there and put a new person in there with the body. It was really sad and must have been horrible to know that you would never leave the cell.
The death cell
The most powerful part of the Slave Castle was the "point of no return". They were led is through a tiny doorway into a dark room. They were chained together and once they passed through the door and out of the castle and onto the ship, they would never come back to Africa. And as bad conditions were inside the castle, they were worse on the ships. It was really really moving.
The Point of No Return. The doorway is really skinny too, and our guide said that even people who came into the castle overweight left being able to go through the door without a problem because they were starved. The water used to be up to where the grass was so the ships would be right outside the door.
When we got to the top of the castle, it had such a beautiful view of Elmina. It was weird to be in such a beautiful place where such ugly things happened.
Again, so beautiful! But it was hard to appreciate the beauty in such a horrible place.
After the castle, we went to Kakum National Park which was a completely opposite experience! There was a canopy walk there that was 40 meters (100 feet) up in the air! There were 7 bridges in all and it was really, really fun!
The start of the canopy walk!
Going on the canopy walk!
The planks. It was literally a pice of board on a latter in some ropes. Not sketchy at all!
The view of the rain forest! It was like we on top of the trees!
Me and Alyssa!
Halfway done!
Darci and I switched phones so we could each have pictures of ourselves so now I have a lot of Darci selfies on my phone!
I survived
After the canopy walk we went back to the hotel and were able to swim in the pool and check out the beach before dinner.
This was the sunset as I was swimming in the pool. It was so beautiful!
There were some ladies walking on the beach during the sunset so I took this picture!
Another view of the sunset. It was so gorgeous!
After dinner (which was delicious!) we were treated to a bonfire. They put the wood right on the sand! They also gave us palm wine which is a local drink. Our guide Abigail showed us some traditional African dances songs! It was great!
Abigail teaching us to dance!
Most of our class at the bonfire!
The moon in the palm trees! So pretty!
After the bonfire and some wine we went to bed. It was such a full, important, amazing day!
wow! this all sounds so amazing! I am so happy you are sharing your journey with us! I like living vicariously through you.
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