Door of No Return

I finally made it to Cape Coast! We choose this particular weekend to go to Cape Coast because an annual independence festival was going on. The streets were crowded with people to the max. We saw the president of Ghana addressing the people from afar.

We made our way over to see Cape Coast’s slave castle. It was so horrific to hear about the conditions the slaves endured. As I was standing with my eyes closed in one of the cells listening to the guide speak, trying to imagine the unimaginable, a sense of revulsion besieged me. One woman finally asked what had entered everyone’s mind: why didn’t they just kill them? Imagine more than a thousand slaves stuffed in a small, windowless concrete block, going months and months without ever seeing sunlight or breathing fresh air, sitting in their own feces.
The last door we encountered was labeled the “door of no return” because when slaves past the door they were then traded and shipped out to places all over the world. Ironically, the door led to the most beautiful view of the Atlantic Ocean.

After the tour of the slave castle we went to eat at a more touristy restaurant right next door. It was hard to get over the eerie feeling of the mixing of modern life with the backdrop of the haunting slave trade centuries ago. At first I was guilt stricken by my present surrounding but then I remembered that I should take celebration in today, that that part of history is history, which seemed remarkably fitting on Cape Coast’s independence festival.

We went out later that night, all eight of us. We drank and danced and were merry (haha). We came home in the early a.m. and a couple of us snuck out of our motel rooms (past the guard) to enjoy the ocean. It was so incredible swimming in the ocean and running along the shore. It was my first time actually swimming in an ocean and I was immediately struck by how salty it was.

The next day we enjoyed a complimentary breakfast at the Coconut Grove motel which was probably one of the best dining experiences I have had here. I ate cereal, toast, an omelet, fruit, oats, loads of pastries and drank hot chocolate, pineapple juice, and tea. Oh how I loved that free meal.

We ended our Cape Coast vacay with a stop at Kakum National Park to try and survive the canopy walkway. To get to the canopies was a decent hike and I after purchasing a bag of popcorn at the last minute beforehand I was in the back of the group. That’s when I saw two older woman, probably well into their 80’s, slowly but surely joining us in our brave walk. By the time we reached the canopies one of the older woman had decided she had her fair share of thrill but the other woman kept going. There were two walkway paths, one was a shortcut that had only three canopies and one a longer version with seven. I of course, chose the longer one. As for the scare factor, it gave me quite a rush but nothing really to say it was that scary (in my opinion). Sonya however, didn’t join us because last year she changed her mind in fear after the first section of the walkway and started to cry. The views of the forest were absolutely beautiful from that height! To see trees rights next to you, above you, AND below you was so cool. I gave the older woman a congratulatory hug after she came down from the canopies. I was so amazed by that woman. She told me afterwards that she would never do it again but she’s so happy to have done it.