Cape Coast

We caught the sunrise

Two and a half hours later, we got to Cape Coast (record timing) and found our hotel

Cape Coast is one of the first cities settled by colonizers, and used to be the capital of Ghana when Ghana was still called the Gold Coast. It´s not the capital anymore, but a lot of the colonial infrastructure remains. 

We first decided to head to the city´s infamous Slave Castle, where Africans from all parts of West Africa were held before being auctioned and shipped to the Americas. On the way we saw some people sweeping the street...which we thought was kind of weird.

It later turns out that they were part of an organization that had organized a project to paint some cool blue fish on the street

It further turned out that the fish were meant as a walkway for children going to school in the morning to ensure that they would get there safely. It looked nice

Before we got to the castle, we were distracted by the beach

I love the ocean

We climbed on the rocks

Played in the water

I tried to carry some plantain chips on my head

We met up with Miss Emma Lalley´s friend Elena from Occidental!

Then we headed to the castle

It was difficult to find it beautiful as we heard all about its history

We toured the male and female dungeon. There were no lights, no ventilation, and only a tiny window as a source of light. 1000 slaves were cramped into a tiny space. 

This is the port where ships would load the slaves. The Door of No Return leads out to the port. On the outside, they recently hung up a new sign: The Door of Return

The tour was great. We were also told that the Obamas had visited the castle in 2009 and held a ceremony for some Americans who traced their heritage back to Ghana through this port. Too bad we missed them. Our guide also told us that the castle was also used for prisoners, but that the society decided that it wasn´t right to imprison people there given its history, so they were moved. The next day we headed to the Kakum National Park

The Kakum National Park is a popular tourist spot because of its Canopy Walk. To get to the Canopy Walk, you take a short hike through the rainforest

I love these trees

This was our tour guide. He disappeared once we got to the Canopy Walk, but he brought us there safely

Canopy Walk!

It was love at first sight. Probably one of my favourite experiences in Ghana so far

After a lot of photos, we made it to the end, and headed back down. We found this huge bouquet of bamboo

And this lizard

We were hungry, so we headed to this nearby lodge to eat

<3

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Ok I guess it´s kind of cute

There were a lot of cool birds

This one being my favourite

They petted the crocodile

Back to the beach!

There are always a couple people playing soccer

We got smoothies

I wanted to mix them

We had a big feast to accompany our smoothies and last night in Cape Coast. We encountered a street drum circle. On our way home, we decided to visit Cape Coast again soon