Ghana: Land of the Happy

I just want to begin by saying:  I LOVE Ghana!  It is most definitely my favorite port so far.  ☺

Yesterday morning I woke up and we had docked in Takoradi, Ghana.  I couldn’t sleep much the night before so I got up around 9:15 and had a granola bar and got ready for my day trip that was leaving at 10.  My trip was with SAS and it was an FDP (Faculty Directed Practica- I am required to do a couple of these for my classes) called “Castles and Slave Dungeons”.  We all got on the busses (such a big trip, we had 3 tour busses…) and headed off to the Elmina Castle.

The bus ride took about 90 minutes and on the way there we drove by many small towns and villages.  SO many people would see the bus, stop what they were doing, and wave to us.  It was amazing.  Especially coming from Morocco where people would avoid looking at you or talking with you at all costs.  There were so many kids around the schools playing in their uniforms together.  When our busses would drive by they would run towards the bus and smile, wave, and some even flexed for us, haha.  ☺  So cute.  There were also women out and about everywhere. 

That was also a huge difference from Morocco, where you rarely saw women out and about and it was almost impossible to find a woman working outside of the home.  The people in the towns had little stands where they sold various products and services.  Everyone was outside and women were walking along the street with huge bowls of water pouches or fried plantains.  It was so cool to see.  I can’t believe I’m really in Africa.  I know Morocco was Africa too, but this seems much more like the Africa that I had pictured.

When we got to the castle and got off the bus a bunch of townspeople came up and asked some of the SASers to write their names down (I did not do this).  A lot of people in the group wrote their names down…

We went into the castle and followed out tour guide through the hallways and courtyard.  He told us about how the slave prisoners were kept.  It was very humbling and to think that this was where so many had lived and died in the era of slavery.  One especially harrowing scene that the guide described to us was when all of the women would be marched out from the dungeons and were made to stand in the courtyard.  The governor would come out of his private residence on the top floor and stand on a balcony overlooking the courtyard.  He would select a woman that he wanted to have his way with and she was immediately bathed, usually in front of everyone, and sent up to the governor’s residence.  He would rape her and sometimes she could become a servant for him afterward.  If she became pregnant, she would often be freed. 

We went into the female and male slave dungeons and both were very small, hot, and cramped.  Some of the people in my group were crying and really emotional.  So when we came out of the castle and were walking to the bus, all of the people who had written their names down were bombarded by people selling them seashells on which they had written their names and “Welcome to Ghana” or something of the sort.  Haha.  We drove on the bus to the place where we were going to have lunch.  I think it was called “Coconut Grove Resort” or something.  It was very touristy, but really nice and pretty.  We had a buffet of traditional Ghanaian food on the beach.  It was really good.  I had some yams, fried potato, some sort of chicken, rice, and a few other things.  During lunch a group was drumming and dancing and it made for a nice lunch.  We walked along the beach and got back onto the bus for the second half of the afternoon. 

We arrived at the second castle, The Cape Coast Castle, and it looked pretty similar to the first one.  We went on another tour and it was pretty similar to the first.  It was another sobering experience.  After we got back to the ship I showered, regrouped, and ate dinner.  Then a couple of friends and I went to the duty-free, which is literally 10 feet from the ship, and bought some snacks and juice. 

Today, my roommate Nathalie and I and our friend Howard decided that we wanted to go to Kakum National Park.  We got up at 6:30 and had breakfast and walked out of the port.  It’s a pretty long walk to the end and it was raining and we were all pretty wet by the time that we found a taxi driver to drive us for the day and to take us to Kakum.  We negotiated a good price and the taxi was so much nicer than the ones in Morocco.  It was about a 2 hour drive from port to Kakum and our taxi driver talked to us the whole time and he had some funny and interesting things to say.  We were asking him questions and he said that his favorite movie is Titanic and he loves to listen to R. Kelly, Puff Daddy, Michael Jackson, and Nelly.  Hahaha I was pretty tired so I was in and out of sleep.  When we got there it was only sprinkling and we had to wait a little while before we could start our tour.  Of course, a giant group of SAS students (which we kind of wanted to get away from) on one of the tour busses showed up and we had to do the tour with them.  It actually turned out really great. 
There was a short, but uphill hike to the area where the treetops began and, as we were hiking this, it started pouring rain.  It is the rainy season here in Ghana and the forecast is rain every day for the next week.  Anyway, we headed through the rainforest and got to the ladder that started the canopy walk.  Once I got up to the top, I was awestruck.  We were above the top of the trees and everything was SO green and it was raining.  It was amazing.  We crossed about 7 or 8 rope suspension bridges (like something out of Indiana Jones) and stopped at little decks built into the trees to take pictures.  It was raining so hard, but it made it so much more fun.  I would come back to Ghana just for that again.  ☺ I had the best time ever.

We left the Kakum forest excited, but hungry and soaking wet.  We had our taxi driver take us to a restaurant that one of our friends had told us about the day before.  It was on the water, with a pond with crocodiles on the side.  We got there and ordered and about 5 minutes later the same group of SAS students from the canopy walk showed up and they were served a delicious looking buffet of Moroccan food.  We watched and waited for our food to come, but it took a very long time.  Howard’s food came first, then Nathalie’s… I waited an hour for my chicken kabobs and when they finally came, they were measly and cold.  I ate a bunch of everyone else’s food and we walked around the pond and looked at the birds and the flowers.  Nathalie went bird watching with a group of SAS students for 30 minutes, while Howard and I went to the internet café to check email.  It didn’t work out too well, but I wasn’t too concerned. 

We had our driver take us back after that and he had some more funny things to say on the ride back.  He had watched a lot of American movies and was asking what a stripper was and what a gangster was.  It was interesting trying to explain those things, but Nathalie did most of the talking.
When we got out of the cab, we were immediately accosted and surrounded by Ghanaian men trying to sell us personalized bracelets with our names on them.  After being surrounded and not being able to leave, my friends and I bought bracelets and paid them only a little of what we had.  I got back to the ship and ate a quick dinner before rinsing off. 
Nathalie and I had been planning to go to the water village (houses on stilts and is only accessible by boats) tomorrow and we decided that we would just go on the trip independently.  Well, it turns out that we found 2 free tickets to the village in the ticket donation box with SAS.  That NEVER happens!  People crowd around like vultures to see if there are ever any donations in that box!  Haha.  So both of us are going on the Semester at Sea trip to the water village for free! (The trip originally costs $85).  Yippee!!!  ☺ 

In summary:  I really really am having a great time here in Ghana.  I love the people and I think they really are the nicest group of people I’ve ever met.  The weather isn’t even too bad and the food is good.  The scenery is beautiful and the transportation isn’t so bad either.  I would love to come back here one day.  Well I still have 2 full days here and I want to get some sleep!

Oh and the Ghanaian people love to talk about how they beat us in football during the world cup and I just think it's so funny.  They aren't mean about it, but they are so proud.  They LOVE their soccer here.

Michaella