Cape Coast and Elmina

One of the reasons – okay, one of the many reasons – that everyone kept laughing when I told them I was going to Africa this summer is because I don’t camp. Well it wasn’t “camping” but I stayed in the worst lodging accommodations of my life last Friday.

After Kakum we headed to Cape Coast where we stayed at the Oasis Beach Resort. Nice right. Wrong. I mean I was only paying $5, so I kind of knew what I was getting myself into. I probably got about three hours of sleep, and I really can’t believe I got that much. I stayed in a little hut, shared a double bed, had zero air circulation, used a mosquito net and sweated to death – and of course cursing that I was there. (If you think I'm just being dramatic . . . Kelli . . . you are wrong.)

Thankfully it was light at about 6:30am and this was the view out my itty-bitty window.



While I was cursing that we chose location over accommodations, the location could not have been better. In fact I’m pretty sure I’ve never stayed closer to the beach. It made for a perfect morning of drinks, reading and lounging on the beach.



Next we went on a humbling and educating experience to Cape Coast Castle. Cape Coast was the first capital of Britain’s Gold Coast colony, an important trade harbor and throughout the 18th century the heart of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Cape Coast Castle was one of the largest slave holding sites in the world and one of the largest and best-preserved buildings of its type in West Africa.

A little something I learned about the Atlantic Slave Trade, taking place from the 1500s to 1870s. Within scholarly circles, the estimates range from a total of 12 million to 25 million Africans. Brazil received one-third of Africans; the Caribbean islands received another one-third; and the final third was spread through the rest of the Americas. Scholars agree that the smallest number of Africans came to the United States and Canada. Still, estimates range from 1.5 to 2 million between 1620 and 1860.

The dungeons were dark and cramped with stones still marked by the desperate scratching of those imprisoned within them. There is a Men’s Dungeon, Women’s Dungeon and the Door of No Return exit to the sea.












Some more Cape Coast shots.







The crab is the Cape Coast symbol. They even have a statue.



After Cape Coast, we headed over to the neighboring town of Elmina for a few hours. Compared to Cape Coast, Elmina is a much smaller, quaint fishing village. It was just as important of a harbor for the Portuguese and Dutch as Cape Coast was for the British.



The Elmina Castle is the oldest existing European building in Africa. It was very similar to the Cape Coast Castle, but the Door of No Return was much more dramatic. You go into the first room, then go through a second doorway that is about four feet tall into a smaller room, then through a shorter doorway into a smaller room and then directly out of the castle onto the boat.





On Sunday we went to church in Cape Coast and can I just say how much I love going to church in other countries. The people were amazing. They laughed at each other, questioned things and were just all-around fabulous. Oh and this is the view across the street. It wasn’t a bad Sunday drive out there.