Blogs from Central, Ghana, Africa - page 8

The Cape Coast Castle. Better known as the major slave trading fort on the Ghanaian Coast (and African Coast, for that matter.) I wasn't sure if i was going to be disappointed like I was in Mole last week. Matter of fact, the emotional and historic weight of this "tourism" trip meant I didn't know at all how I would feel after. The result, somewhere in the middle between an average tour and total emotional release. If that sounds vague, as it covers most any emotional possibility, it's meant to be, as I can't really wrap my head around all I've been thinking the past few hours. Walking through the underground dungeons in near darkness--even at 3 in the afternoon--the place felt empty, and it's hard to believe that a single dungeon room, about 30' x ... read more

Some of you have been asking me to tell more about the Orphanage I'm working at. There is soo much to say!! Where to begin... well it is in better condition than what you can see on youtube. The place has developed a lot since the last year when the videos were taken. Anna Smith, an English girl, had raised a lot of money for the place. It was her and another volunteer who made the videos. Her boyfriend is trying to setup a website for Royal Seed. In fact, she is currently here and the 2 of us get on really well! Another girl is coming to volunteer and she heard of the orphanage through the website! Anyway, the toilets and wash cubicles (there are no showers, we use a bucket and cup) were donated ... read more

Emelie, Linda (another English volunteer) and myself spent the 17th and 18th weekend at Cape Coast. It took us about 2 hours from Kasoa to Cape Coast by tro tro and only cost us GHcedi3! That's about 1.50 pounds lol. There were lots of white people in the city. I think it's the old Western style castles and the palm-fringed beaches that attracts them. However many of the beaches here in Ghana are covered by rubbish. Cape Coast Castle sits in front of the sea. We visited it after eating in the popular continental restaurant next door. The Castle had a depressing history of keeping Ghanian slaves before sending them to the West. Thousands of men and women were kept in separate small pitch-black rooms. Although I wasn't feeling very well at the time, I'm glad ... read more

So all of us volunteers from SYTO have moved on to our different placements around Ghana. We all enjoyed each other's company and felt we would miss each other. There was a kind of secure feeling us Europeans being together, learning about Ghana, but now we are placed in the middle of culture! In our Orientation week we learned a bit of Ghanian cooking; fried plantains (bit like bananas), beans, and palava (spinach like sauce). We also did some drumming, the rhythm which I found really hard to grasp, and we did some dancing (that mades us all really sweaty in the heat!). Although we were tired, it was really fun. We have also hung out by the beach a few times. That was refreshing. And the tro tros (small buses) are fun to drive in; ... read more

At the insistence of several avid readers of the blog, I have concluded that I am long over due for my next entry, so here it is! Since I last wrote, I have had the privilege of having my lovely Mum come to visit me! She arrived just before Easter weekend to kick off her 8 day visit to Ghana. The reunion at the airport was sight to behold with both of us waving frantically at each other over the crowd and then meeting in a crashing hug, of course with a few happy-Mummy tears! We decided to stay at a guest house not too far from where I live in order to make sure that Mum was comfortable (in keeping with the needed “creature comforts”!). We spent the first night chatting until the wee hours ... read more