Cape Coast

What an incredible adventure! Emily, Crystal and I left our humble abode in Teshie-Tebibiano Friday morning and took a bus up to Cape Coast which is in the Central region of Ghana. We arrived and went to the Cape Coast slave castle. It was sooo eerie and intimidating. It's located right on the beach and there are cannons pointed in every direction. We walked through the various slave dungeons and I could not believe the conditions they were forced to live under. The dungeons were underground with thousands of people packed into these small rooms for months at a time. There were 3 1x2 foot windows for both light and ventalation. On the walls there were markings indicating the level of human waste that had built up. This line reached above my waste. We saw the door of no return and the condemned cell which housed the trouble makers and once you went into the cell not one would come out alive. It was a sobering and informative experience. After the castle we made our way over to Kakum national forest where we were able to sleep in the rainforest. We slept on these little platforms with mosquito nets for walls and a tin roof over head. All night long we listened to a various array of birds and monkeys. We watched the sunrise and went on the Canopy walk which was incredible. It was a serious of swinging bridges connecting to different platforms all along the top of the rainforest with the highest point reaching 40 meters. I got some great pictures! (My camera got fixed by the way! woot woot!) We saw monkeys on the canopy walk which was very special and rare. I couldn't get enough of the scenery and when we finished the walk I was totally ready to do it all over again! Then we went to the El Mina slave castle. This castle was erected by the Portugese and it was a lot smaller and different. I stood where the women slaves were presented to the Govenor and he would select which one he wanted to rape that day. I stood in the cells which still reaked of human decay and waste. I saw the incredible differences between the slaves quarters and the govenors emaculate living conditions. Again, it was a sobering and informative experience. After the castle we had lunch and I had my first sea food dish. It was really really good! Even though the tail, eyes and teeth were still intact. We made it home safely and I can't wait to show everyone all my great pictures!