Last day in Ghana

My final tour in Ghana was originally scheduled to leave in the afternoon but because the traffic is so intense and the drive was longer than expected, we had to leave at 6 AM. I managed to grab a muffin from the dining hall at 5:30 and headed for the bus. The ride to Kakum national park took about 3 ½ hours. After that we took a short 5-10 minute hike into the forest to get to their famous canopy walk ways which hang 40 meters above the rainforest. The seven canopy bridges are surrounded by a net so it was impossible to fall even though I felt like I was going to the entire time. After completing the walkways we had time to browse the local gift shop. I really wanted to buy a shirt that said “I survived the walkway” but all they had was XS and XL. No larges or mediums.

We then drove about an hour to Elmina slave Castle which is situated in Cape Coast. The castle was built by the Portuguese in the 1400’s to house slaves that were going to be sold in the Atlantic Slave trade. It was the first European structure built in Sub-Saharan Africa and is also the place were President Obama spoke during his visit to Ghana. Despite the areas horrific past, Cape Coast contains some of the most beautiful beaches and scenery in Ghana.

Something I haven’t mentioned about Ghana is the street vendors. I’m not talking about people who set up shop on the side of the road (although they have plenty of those!) Traffic is crazy and often a 20 minute drive takes around an hour or more so Ghana has people that actually walk up and down the middle of the road selling items. Most of the items are food like Plantain chips, chocolate, bread, water, etc. However, they also sell really obscure stuff like ironing boards, binoculars, phone cards, ties, etc. Multiple times our tour guide would leave the bus and buy things. At first I wasn’t sure to think about this, but by the last day I decided it was wonderfully convenient! By the last day all of us were buying items! I bought two bags of plantain chips and three authentic Ghanaian chocolate bars. I wanted to buy my dad an ugly tie for Christmas, but I didn’t see any people selling them except on the first day when I didn’t have enough money.

This is the first port were I experienced true major culture shock. In Ghana, especially in Torgorme village, I was truly a minority being a Caucasian. Children would often stop and stare as if I were an alien. They would also point and say the word for “white person” (I’m not sure how to spell it.) This is also the first port where I really wish we had more time