A weekend of contrasts

First of all, Chris has arrived! Woo-hoo!

This weekend we decided to travel to the Cape Coast Region, specificly the town of Elmina. Cape Coast is a popular tourist resort destination for Ghana, and has beautiful beaches lined with palm trees. It is also infamous for being the center of the slave trade.

Driving to Cape Coast from Kumasi took us through some of the poorest villages in the area, particuarly the mud huts in the fishing villages. We stayed at the Coconut Grove resort, a posh (by Ghana standards) hotel, where we ate dinner under a canopy three feet from the beach. After a lengthy breakfast and the arrival of Chris and Diane, we traveled to Elmina Castle. This was the main castle used by the Portugese and the Dutch for their slave trade. The English castle is in Cape Coast proper. We were led through the dungeons were hundreds of slaves were kept standing for months at a time, to the "Door of No Return," were they were led out to the beach to be loaded on ships.

We then enjoyed a soft drink at the hotel and drove to Kakum National Park. They have a "canopy walk," which is composed of rope bridges connecting seven trees that lead you through the forest, 120 feet off the ground. We then enjoyed another dinner by the beach.

My white liberal guilt was indeed in full gear this weekend. Not that it prevented me from drinking a pina colada by the pool after we drove through such poverty. Nor did it move me to actually purchase something from the hawkers who stood just outside the hotel property, trying to lure us with necklaces and hats. Our tour guide at the castle repeated pointed out that it wasn't just Europeans driving the slave trade. The Ashanti kingdom did much of the rounding up of villages to feed it. But one does not stand at the principle site of one of the worst events in world history and not feel reflective.

But, like the true obnoxious American tourist I am, I felt better the next morning, after another prolonged beachside breakfast and my fourth cup of Nescafe.


In other events, when we came home today was were greeted with a large swarm of ants and termites crawling over the walls of our ground-floor at the guest house. Yes, for those of you who have read it, our lives are starting to imitate "The Poisonwood Bible." We used enough African-strength Raid to send Chris running out of the building with an asthma attack, and were moved to a room upstairs. All is well.

Recent Religious Sign: "'If God Says Yes, Who Can Say No?' Pork Products."

Recent Advert: Sign at the entrance of the hospital: "Vasectomy - Give Yourself a Permanent Smile!"

Recent Local Food: Black Star (the restaurant's name for it), a concoction of greens, spicy pepe sauce, meat, and some sort of grain, served with fried plantains. Mmmmmmm...