CIEE Trip #1

This past weekend we had the pleasure of visiting the Cape Coast. We got up around seven, headed out around 8, and drove four hours to a beautiful beach-side resort called Anomabo. Fun fact about the Cape Coast- it is one of the most poverty-stricken areas in Africa, but also the most touristy. As a result, we saw a LOT of things. On the way there, I decided to make it my mission to take photos. So, in addition to putting some on Facebook as well, I will put up a select few here. I figured I would finally listen to boyfriend and document what I am seeing (I have been yelled at by him and my parents for more photos). I also took some videos too, so you can check them out on Facebook. 

See, the interesting thing about photos in Africa, is every one you take is a "token" photo like what you see on TV. And it's so easy to look at pictures and not actually take them in. So I took videos of some of the streets and villages we passed so you could actually get a feel for what I'm witnessing. Anyways, this is  a bus. Much different than a tro-tro. 

Well, it is pretty much just a larger version of a tro-tro. and less crowded. Here is what a normal tro-tro looks like:

Some are a little more beaten up, and almost all of them have a religious catch phrase on the back like, "God Saves All" or "Miracles Happen Everyday". The sliding doors always have trouble closing. I almost fell out of one this week...shhhh don't tell Mom. haha. The man who drives does not turn the tro-tro, but rather the "mate" does. He collects the money and is constantly yelling out where your tro-tro is headed so you can grab/drop off people on the way. We passed a toll booth on our way to the Coast, and I wanted to show everyone what the streets are really like in Africa...You can buy almost EVERYTHING on the street. 

 

The second one you can REALLY see how many people have stuff on their heads. While you are in traffic, they will come up to your window and try to get you to buy things. Anything from steering wheel covers and windshield wipers to ice cream and sliced bread. Its crazy. And its probably four times as many people as you see here. The way they carry things on their heads is actually the most amazing feat I have ever witnessed. Hopefully I will be able to get some more pictures that show more of what this attempts to showcase. 

So after fours, we reached our hotel room:

The place was amazing, needless to say. We had a working shower!!! With hot water! It was very nice. We got there and immediately got complimentary coconuts to drink from :). That was definitely not expected but very welcomed. We all had fun just exploring and being in disbelief from where we were. It's too bad the weather wasn't too amazing. All weekend we had rain and fog. That first day we had lunch on the beach (a really good beef stew) and started our daily excursions. We first journeyed to Assin Manso, the river where slaves during the Atlantic Slave trade had their last bath. Slaves were taken here for captivity. The strong ones were sent to bathe in the river with rocks and bamboo leaves while the weak ones were thrown against the bamboo and left to die. To make them look younger, many of them were completely shaved and rubbed down with shea butter (helps with wrinkles, smoothes the skin, etc.). 

This is Kim and Casey holding one of the chains that were used to bind the feet of the slaves together. The cannon ball in the box was attached to the other ends of some chains to create more resistance. The chain was very heavy. 

This is the gate going into the River. 

The picture depicted on the doors. Through these doors we walked another five hundred feet or so and meet this archway. 

It felt kind of eerie to be "welcomed" to such a sight. After walking through this archway we curved to our left and saw the river. Keep in mind, the pictures aren't the best quality because of the rain. 

The first picture is where the guide pointed to where the strong bathed. There was a ridge and then a steep decline to reach the water banks. Some of the students went down to since their hands in the water. Later someone mentioned how weird it was to voluntarily wash yourself instead of being forced. Cultures clashing. It was strange to be somewhere that had such a brutal history. It's hard to connect and actually take in what you are witnessing. Here is where the weak were thrown:

We walked back to the main building after this because it started raining too hard. Ironic, right? The day was very appropriately gloomy. When we walked back, our program director Mr. Gyasi talked about how when the slaves were summoned they began a 3 month walk to Elmina Castle. They were forced to walk regardless of their state of being- pregnant women, elderly men, children, etc. They were punished when they stopped walking. At Elmina castle they were held in dungeons and kept till the boats arrived to transfer them over to get sold. Our bus took us the long way to the castle so that we would be able to see the distance of which they walked. The trip took us through many villages, all of which were celebrating a funeral. Many of the people were wearing black, red and some white. These are apparently the colors designated appropriate for funerals. This was the castle:

Here was the opening drawbridge and yes, they were people selling things as usual. Jewelry, bags, etc. When you walked in through the archways you entered a large, open courtyard. It would have looked like a normal lovely castle if you didn't see the occasional sign on the wall depicting "cells". 

Yeah. It was strange. Even stranger, there was a Portuguese church in the square. Next to the cells. Next. To. The. Cells. And the pastors lived above the cells. What were they praying about while they were taking up residence in this castle? What hit me like a brick is what these enslaved captives thought about religion after seeing it there and how it tolerated such treatment. Some of the cells only source of insulation was a square cutout at the top of an adjoining wall into another cell. They saw no sunlight. Received little water or food. They never bathed. They had to sit in the dirt, blood, sweat, and other bodily fluids that all of their fellow mates had to share. Girls, picture getting your period here. Yeah. Also, speaking of women, some were chosen to service the governor in his quarters. If the women refused to comply, they were forced to stay outside, chained to a cannon ball- standing in rain or shine for days without food or water. They were placed outside of the governor's balcony so they could be seen by him every time he went outside. 

To add to the confusion of this structure, you would see beautiful stairwells and overhangs. Why?

Then you would turn the corner and see something like this:

Then you would be reminded of the seriousness of what you are seeing. 

The walls were all white, but you can see how the years have aged them. When walking through the courtyard you would turn down a hallway and feel instantly enclosed by tall walls. The structure of the building is very clever. Its easy to get lulled into the sense of the beautiful walls and openings to then be shocked by the fact that you have never felt so trapped in your life.  The fact that it was raining to made you feel moist and uncomfortable. It made me think of how gross they must have felt when they were stuck here months sitting in much more uncleanly fluids. Once that thought passed through my mind, I stopped feeling like I was disgusting and put it in perspective. Everything I experience here has a different side to it. We always have choices to make when encountering new things, experiencing a difficult event, meeting new people, etc. Everything here can be made difficult and seen as a challenge, or just seen as different and new. Now, the difficult part is making the right decision in the moment. Ah. the struggle of being in Ghana. 

This was named the Room of no Return. Unfortunately the name made me sing "The Point of No Return" from Phantom of the Opera for the rest of the trip. haha So unfortunate. 

This was one of the entrances to the room. The other entrance was decked with this sign:

The tour guide actually took us through the route the slaves had to take when exiting the castle to the boats where they were taken to get sold. We had to duck down through super low archways (one was only four feet high) and it was incredibly weird to be taken through the exact route. We actively participated and were refused to just sit and look. By going through the passage, you felt so enclosed. Everything was dark and damp, the only opening was this hole, made only big enough for one person to pass through. 

Off to the side was a tribute to those that were taken as slaves:

The entire experience through the Passage of no return was eerie and unsettling. I felt like my skin was crawling. This was the second time where I some waves of homesickness. Just because they talked about the separation of families and how many were not even allowed to say goodbye to their loved ones before being sold to separate countries and owners. It also happened to be the day where my Mother was moving in Wesley to school and Hurricane Irene was making an appearance. Ethan was also moving in, and all of my family (with the excepting of my dad) were together and hanging out. It made me miss them! But I knew it was because of what I was witnessing. Here are some other views from the castle that were stunning:

For some reason all of the colors and fogginess reminded me of Les Mis. Weird. 

Instead of prolonging this post to also include Kakum National Park and our lunch trip for the next day, I'll post that in a separate one after this. Stay Tuned!