My Return to Ghana and a Visit to the “Original” Gold Coast

I returned to Ghana on Thursday July 15^th and was met by Mr. Mensah at the airport. I spent the morning at Auntie Ellen’s where she made me try on her wonderful hat she had made for David and Emifah’s wedding in August. It is quite beautiful. Later I met Jeff and Lauren in Osu for a not so relaxing afternoon in the arts market (a tourist’s worst nightmare!) On Friday we went to the school where we spoke with the nurse about how we planned to take the student health information that was gathered last week and begin to create a simplified medical record database for the school. The idea is that each term she will return to perform a general physical exam and help to maintain an updated record of the students. We also hope to create a checklist of vaccinations for all students under the age of 5 currently enrolled in the school or to be enrolled in the future. In the afternoon we left for Cape Coast and took a spacious Ford tro tro for the two and a half hour ride. We decided to spend the night at a place called Sammo Guesthouse. Because Lauren was feeling under the weather Jeff and I ventured out for some grub at another hotel along the coast. Along with dinner came an unexpected acrobatics and fire show by a local performer.

The following blurb is courtesy of Lauren:

Saturday, July 18, 2008

We wanted to make it to Kakum National Park early before the crowds came, so we ate a quick breakfast at Sammo’s Guesthouse where we were staying, and rode out to the park. The National Park is home to hundreds of species of butterflies, birds, and even elusive forest elephants that are rarely seen, except at night. We went for a small hike through the rainforest, and then to the hanging bridges. There are 7 suspension bridges at different levels in the canopy that we walked across and view different parts of the forest at various heights. The bridges were very narrow with ropes to hang on to. (I was obviously the only one who was scared, not of the height but of the narrow wooden planks with missing screws and wobbly rope – Jeff and Lauren were not making it any easier by shaking the ropes to frighten me.) After our hike, we took off to a Monkey and wildlife sanctuary that we saw a sign for on the roadside that looked pretty interesting.

It was such a great idea to stop at this sanctuary, we met a man and his wife from the Netherlands, who came to Ghana on vacation and loved it so much they decided to stay and start a sanctuary to rescue injured or abandoned, or illegally captive wild animals. (Actually the husband, Dennis, came on vacation to Ghana and loved it so much he went home and told his wife he was moving to Ghana and she could either come with him or stay-either way he was going!) He has a permit from the government to rescue animals, and has several monkeys that he rescued that were held captive and on a short leash and kept under really poor conditions. He has 11 monkeys, several wild cats that look like mini leopards called civet cats, antelopes, and baby crocodiles. He is building a small guest lodge where travelers can sleep in small huts around a campfire or in various camp sites around his 43 acres of property. He is also in the middle of building a small lake with an island where the monkeys can live and have more space to play.

For lunch we stopped at Hans Cottage, a hotel with a restaurant situated near a large lake full of crocodiles. We were lucky to get a table on a gazebo located in the middle of the lake that you access by a small bridge, and had lunch as we saw huge crocodiles cruising along in the murky waters. There were crocodiles sitting still on the banks of the lake, sunbathing, some of them with their mouths open! A staff member told us we could approach and touch the crocs if we wanted, so we faced our fears and touched a crocodile. I was really scared that it would snap an arm off, but the croc just opened its eye and looked at me as I pet its tail and leg.

The last part of our trip was to Cape Coast castle, and it was such a powerful and touching experience to be there. Obama came to see the castle during his visit to Ghana, and it is a vital part of understanding Ghana’s history. Ghana was colonized first by the Portugese, and then a succession of other European countries (France, Holland) before the British eventually gained control. Before the trade in slaves, Ghana was one of the major sites for gold mining, which is the reason for its old name, the Gold Coast. Cocoa is another major export from Ghana, and continues to be harvested today. With gold and cash crops becoming less profitable to the British, they looked for another source of revenue to support the enormous cost and burden of colonialization. They hoped that Ghana as a colony would become self-sustaining and they soon found another, more profitable trade- in slaves. For over a hundred years, Ghana and West Africa became a major site for the export of slaves to the Americas. Interestingly, only about 1/3 of the slaves were sent to North America. This was part of the Triangular Trade between Africa, Europe and the Americas. The slaves worked on plantations producing cotton, sugarcane, tobacco, coffee, etc, that supplied the European world, and the Europeans traded manufactured goods and weapons to Africa. At that time in history, Ghana was composed of many warring tribes who raided and captured enemies from other tribes and worked with the European slave traders. Africans were not united against the colonial rule, and African chiefs were responsible for the sale of Africans from all over the country to be sent away to slavery. The British brought these slaves to Cape Coast castle, where they were crammed into small dungeons under horrible conditions. The British separated men and women, and between 50 and 100 people were kept in a dark room smaller than the size of my apartment. People had to sleep and sit in their own waste and there was only one small window to let in light and air. They did not have a chance to shower the entire time they remained (which could be up to 12 weeks) before sailing across the Atlantic, and it was so sad to hear how the people suffered under such degrading conditions. The women who were allowed to bathe were those chosen by one of the British men before they raped the women. Our tour guide showed us around the male and female cells, and brought us through the “Door of No Return” the last door the slaves went through before they were loaded on the ships, never to return to their home country. With the abolition of slavery, and the recognition of the suffering and cruelty of slavery, a sign was created on the opposite side of the door that read “The Door of Return” to symbolize the freedom of the people and understanding of this tragic event.

: View from our hostel at Cape Coast

: Welcome to Kakum National Park

: About to brave my first hanging canopy bridge

: Gorgeous view of Kakum National Park from the hanging bridge

: After completing the 7th and final hanging brige! phew

: Adorable monkey at the Monkey Reserve run by Dennis, the Dutch guy who moved to Ghana 6 years ago to start an animal reserve for many almost endangered species in Ghana

: Crazy Civet Cat that when in a group can attack and kill a lion

: There were over 46 turtles in his pond and apparently they are the noisiest animals when doing …

: Baby monkey (apparently the sleep with the animals when they are young to provide warmth)

: Lunch at Han’s Cottage with the Crocs

: Jeff being brave…

: me, terrified!

: Cape Coast Castle

: Tour guide for the 200 person tour

: Fishing community on the coast – incredible sight

: Door of Return

: Door of No Return

: Lauren and me

: Akwaaba Obama – these signs were all over the country especially in the capital and at Cape Coast where he visited during the two days he was in Ghana!