Cape Coast

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I'm back. I went to Cape Coast for the weekend with Michael, Eddie, Katie and Maya, so I couldn't access the internet. We took a metro bus from Kumasi, which was four hours of bumpy and extremely sweaty travel. The Metro is a coach with leather seats and they cram as much people as they can into one. It’s very packed and there’s no leg room at all. I was stuck between a big man called Issac and Eddie who was sweating a lot. You get on a first come first serve basis so you've got to battle to get a place. The conductor said a prayer before we set out. The coach was surrounded by people selling things through the windows.

We got to Sammo's guesthouse in Cape Coast around six in the evening; better than expected. We boys got a room with two double beds for twelve cedi a night, which worked out at one pound each. Cape Coast is a fairly large town with a beach resort feel to it. It’s got sandy beaches with palm trees and large canoe-like wooden fishing boats. Overlooking the beach is Cape Coast Castle; a washed European style castle with big dungeons underneath where slaves were kept for transportation to the New World. Cape Coast had the largest amount of slaves go to the New World in West Africa. Very touristy and the guided talk was all about the slave trade. It was still interesting to see. Further inland from the beaches there are the typical Ghanaian streets lined with stalls selling goods. I just can’t resist stopping and trying all the food and I’m spending far too much money!

Sunday we were up early for the hour trip to Kakum National Park with some German girls and a guy who was also staying in the hotel called Udo. We arrived around seven am and took a guided talk on the canopy walk and on a short walk through a forest. There was a tree top walk way that is the only one of its kind in Africa, or so the guide book tells you. It’s incredibly high up; you can see for miles across the forest. We saw monkeys below us, which, combined with the view, made it an amazing experience. We took a Metro home and funnily enough got the same conductor who immediately recognised us. On the way back I was sitting next to this woman who had a cloth full of roasted fish, which absolutely stank. Every now and again we’d go over a bump which sent everyone flying out of their seats and on one bump the woman’s fish went everywhere.

The weekend was good. I've come back feeling energised, before I think I was being lazy, not learning the language past just the basic greetings, no sketching and no fitness training. I’ve started running every morning at 5:30am and then hand washing before work: It makes me feel so much better. The works been slowing down, we even had some afternoons off.

I'm running out of time again, I’ll talk more about the work next time!

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Photos

Group Photo