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Published: October 12th 2009
Last weekend we ventured off again this time to the central region which is more west than i have ever been. we headed to cape coast where they have a very old castle that was used for slave trading hundreds of years ago. We stayed in a fancy hotel that came to about 7.5 CAD per night per person. No hot water of course but there was a fan and no bugs sop it was graet! Our goals were to see the two slave castles in the area and walk the world's largest canopy walk in Kakum national park.
We set off for Kakum early in the morning, about 7 because we had been tipped off that it gets quite busy later in the day. We met a travelling Aussie on the way which was fun. We were the only people on the canopy at the time of our tour which was fantastic considering that two hours later the park was swarming with hundreds of people. We managed to see some Daina monkeys along with several species of Birdies and butterflies. The walk itself was bouncy and a little nerve racking.... we were 50 meters in the air bveing suspended by a few nets and ladders. They assured us it was safe: the walkways was constructed in 95 by Canadians ahd Ghanaians and no one has ever died!
After the canopy bit we had a guide who took us around and told us the medicinal and cultual uses of the trees in the tropical jungle. There is one tree whose name translates to the incest tree, apparently because its sap is used to make a perfume so sweet that one can be convinced to sleep with ones sibling. JJAJAJAJAJ!
The dying processes were also explained to us and we learned the significance of the funeral clothing which is all red black or white through this explanation. These colors were the only ones available in ancient times through the dyes they had. Therefore, at funerals the ancient ancestors as well as the recently deceased are respected by wearing outfits of these traditional colors.
The slave castles were interesting to tour around, but i felt that i didnt understand the true significance of them in the way that a Ghanaian would. Also, the castles have had many uses since the time of the slave trade including the governor's mansion, and an international west african police training center. Obama Gave his speech from the Cape coast castle and many people are still excited about that. Obama himself is legendary here to say the least, but ill get into that some other time.
Ill put pictures up soon!
Thanks for the notes everyone, Im glad you are back to playing tennis Grandma! Tiitta, its so great to hear from you, i hope Sanna is enjoying her erasmus!!
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Dad
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Matt and Rachel say hello
this is from Rachel: it has been cold lately down in MN. How are you doing? Have you had fun lately? this is from Matt: How is your field trip doing? Did you make any friends? How cold is it? If want to write Sheila directly to respond, her e-mail address is "shera55125@yahoo.com"... Have a nice day! love, dad