17.12.2018
07:00 was breakfast today and it was not as busy as yesterday, however, it was slightly better than yesterday. But Oliver made some blahblah with the waitress because he did not get enough butter … What? Get over it! TiA – This is Africa as Leonardo used to say in one of his movies! They only have butter for tourists! – I had a second helping of the pastries, they were good today, but even with those somebody had to complain about something … Oh well …
At 08:00 was departure and we were due south. We would go all the way to Cape Coast today. Driving down the N 8 highway, we stopped at 3 minimarkets in search of Shit-o sauce for me before leaving the city … But we had no luck.
The road was a good asphalted highway and traffic was busy, but fluent. Our first stop of the day was at a palm oil mill near the village of Hwiremoase. Ghana’s first international commercial trade in oil palm took place in 1820. Starting from the wild palm harvesting, oil palm evolved into an agricultural crop and plantations were established by 1850. This led to palm oil becoming the principal export from the then Gold Coast and by the 1880s, palm oil accounted for 75% of the Country’s export revenue. Malaysia, which is currently dominating the world palm oil market, started the establishment of oil palm plantations with planting materials from Ghana. Ghana currently has a total of approx 350000 ha of oil palm. More than 80% of this is cultivated by private small-scale farmers. But although West Africa lies in the center of the world’s oil palm belt, it produces less than 5 % of the palm oil consumed worldwide. Malaysia and Indonesia have become the dominant powers in palm oil production and presently supply more than 70 % of the palm oil consumed worldwide.
Palm oil is derived from the mesocarp – the reddish pulp – of the fruit of the oil palms, primarily the African oil palm Elaeis guineensis. Palm oil is naturally reddish in color, because of a high beta-carotene content. It is not to be confused with palm kernel oil derived from the kernel of the same fruit or coconut oil derived from the kernel of the coconut palm. The differences are in color – raw palm kernel oil lacks carotenoids and is not red – and in saturated fat content – palm mesocarp oil is 49 % saturated, while palm kernel oil and coconut oil are 81 % and 86 % saturated fats, respectively.
The oil palm produces bunches containing a large number of fruits with the fleshy mesocarp enclosing a kernel that is covered by a very hard shell. The oil extraction rate from a bunch varies from 17-27% for palm oil and from 4-10% for palm kernels. Along with coconut oil, palm oil is one of the few highly saturated vegetable fats and is semisolid at room temperature. Palm oil is a common cooking ingredient in the tropical belt of Africa, Southeast Asia and parts of Brazil.
The oil palm fruits are usually processed into crude palm oil using semi-mechanized processing equipment at a milling site. The workers usually do not own the milling equipment, but access such service from a mill owner for a fee. The majority of the processing operations at the small-scale mills are done manually without any equipment. The only operations that are mechanized are the pounding of the fruits and the extraction of the oil. Most use a digester with separate hand spindle press. Here they had one with a diesel engine – at least it looked to a non-technical person like me like one – since there was no power connection and it look like there was a diesel generator attached – but I might be mistaken. It was not running yet …
The fruits were brought first to the cooking place where they were cooked by boiling them in big metal containers for 1-4 hrs, depending on the amount of fruits. Cooking is usually done overnight on an open fire, some mills do it also only during the day.
We were here mid-morning and they had just finished cooking, so supposedly they had started very early in the morning, because there were some men just busy with emptying the cooking vessel and carrying the cooked fruits to the press. It was not far to walk for them, but nevertheless, they loaded the fruit in bowls and carried them on their head the 20 m across and dumped them in the holding vessel of the press.
Those cooked fruits are thrown into this mechanized digester for pounding. This is followed by the extraction of the palm oil by pressing the hot, pounded fruits that are confined in a metal press cage. We still saw the oil dripping out from the lot they had processed before.
Clarification is after that in principle the last stage of processing. A woman was already preparing a huge cooking pot over a wood fire. The extracted palm oil would be collected into big pots and then boiled for 1-2 hrs under low heat. During this process, the clean palm oil would rise to the surface and float over a mixture of water and solid particles.
The pressed, pounded fruits yield a fibre and nut cake. These are separated manually by the women after which the fibre is heaped tightly and stored for 1-2 days before the oil is extracted a 2nd time. The process is repeated with the stored cake and then pressed for a 3rd time. The latter extractions may be added to first pressing before selling the oil or is sold separately by the workers. The nuts are usually separated from the fibre and dried and then processed into palm kernel oil by the processors themselves during the oil palm fruit lean season or sold to other operators who specialize in processing these nuts.
We visited a very small-scale processing mill – palm oil produced in such places is usually of poor quality. It was very interesting to see, nevertheless. Along the road we had seen many stalls selling the reddish fluid in plastic canisters or recycled glass bottles.
Back on the van we drove on and soon we passed a region where they have many cocoa plantations. Near the village of Kojo Nkwanta we stopped to look at some cocoa trees. It was a small plantation, but we could not see a house nearby. We just walked through the ditch and were surrounded by cocoa trees. I even found a pile of collected cocoa fruits.
Theobroma cacao – also called the cacao tree or cocoa tree – is a relatively small 4-8 m tall evergreen tree in the family Malvaceae, native to the deep tropical regions of the Americas, but is being cultivated also in Africa. Its seeds – cocoa beans – are used to make cocoa mass, cocoa powder, confectionery, ganache and chocolate! World production was approx 4.5 mio t per year in recent years and was led by Ivory Coast with 33% of global production and Ghana with 19% of the total. Chocolate is made from the beans through a process of steps that involve harvesting, fermenting, drying and then extraction.
The flowers appear in clusters directly on the trunk and older branches – this is known as cauliflory. They are tiny – only 1-2 cm diameter – white with pink calyx. While many of the world’s flowers are pollinated by bees or butterflies, cacao flowers are pollinated by tiny flies – Forcipomyia midges.
The fruit — called a cacao pod – is ovoid, 15-30 cm long and 8-10 cm wide, ripening yellow to orange to red and weighs about 500 g when ripe. The pod contains 20-60 seeds – usually called beans – embedded in a white pulp. The seeds are the main ingredient of chocolate, while the pulp is used in some countries to prepare refreshing juice, smoothies, jelly and nata.
I love cocoa trees, they are so special. I had visited cocoa plantations many times before. I remember, one of my first times was in 2012 while accompanying a world cruise across the Pacific Ocean and on some tiny island they also had cocoa trees. Part of the tour was explaining the cocoa tree and cutting a fruit open. They said we could try out the white fruit pulp. It was very nice, but we were supposed to spit out the bean. Only one man had not listened and he said – Oops, I just swallowed it … Well it was funny, but I have not heard if he had any problems afterwards … those beans are relatively big ….
And in Cologne in the Lindt Chocolate Museum they also have a cocoa tree in the green house – and in 2010 there was the first and maybe only one fruit that ever made it on this tree and got harvested. They say it had 32 cocoa beans inside and the chocolatier of the museum made 2 bars of 50 g chocolate out of them. The first ever that has been cultivated, harvested and processed entirely in Cologne Germany. It was a big thing back then. I am not sure if they ever had another fruit on this tree in the museum …
Driving along the road we saw many shelves were cocoa beans were laid out to dry in the sun in the villages. The small farmers usually sell to merchants and processing facilities. We also saw trucks being loaded bags and bags of cocoa beans.
The drive to the coast was otherwise long and uneventful and sure enough I took my nap before lunch today. We also were on the lookout, if we could find a place where palm schnapps was made. Maha said there are no fixed places – we just would have to look for where they had cut a palm tree. But we did not see anything … my eyes were closed anyway …
We reached Elmina and the Atlantic coast around 13:00 and all opted to have lunch before sightseeing. Flo was going to stay at a fancy hotel for a couple of days after this tour and we had to go there so Maha could sort out the payment. Everything goes cash here … We had noticed that already during the last days. First we were supposed to have lunch in a local restaurant, but to kill 2 birds with one stone I had the glorious idea to have lunch at this fancy Coconut Grove Beach Resort instead. Saves time – while we had lunch Maha could sort out Flo’s stay. I was looking forward to seafood for days already and had googled – yeah, my Ghana SIM worked perfectly – the menu there.
The resort was a couple of kilometers past the town of Elmina directly on the beach. It was the perfect location. The open air restaurant was overlooking the beach and was not busy. We got a big table and all sat next to each other to enjoy the view. Celebrating the day – I do not need a reason to party – I had a double Bombay Sapphire & Tonic. The view just called for it! I had a couple of geocaching travelling bugs which needed their photo taken as proof that they actually had been in Africa. This was the best place for it.
I was absolutely delighted to find all kinds of seafood on the menu – but there was no question what I would have! It would be grilled lobster! I ordered it with joloff rice and Natasha was right behind me. It was the small spiny lobster again, but we got 4 pieces on the plate and it was absolutely delicious! Never mind the price – it was still cheaper than in most places in Europe …
We had the best seafront seats and a nice ocean breeze came off the beach. This is vacation! Of course, some people are never satisfied and of course Natasha had to moan about the lobster … typical … never mind! I thought it was perfect.
I did finish all my Cedi cash now, though … When a souvenir seller set up his nice little statues right in front of the restaurant I had to pass … no money left!
We walked through the pretty garden setting of the resort back to the parking lot and found a very funny sign at the gate. I suppose it is pointing at lazy tourists getting driven around in golf carts all the time …
After lunch we drove back to town and visited the Elmina Castle. On the way Maha found a bank with an ATM machine fore, so I could get some money. Elmina is situated on a bay on the Atlantic Ocean approx 12 km west of Cape Coast and was the first European settlement in West Africa. It has a population of approx 33600 people and the traditional meaning of Elmina is “inexhaustible supply of water” given that it is situated on the peninsula between the Benya Lagoon and the ocean.
Prior to the arrival of the Portuguese, the town was called Anomansah – the perpetual drink. In 1478 a Castilian armada of 35 caravels and a Portuguese fleet fought a large naval battle near Elmina for the control of the Guinea trade of gold, slaves, ivory and melegueta pepper. The war ended with a Portuguese naval victory, followed by the official recognition by the Catholic Monarchs of Portuguese sovereignty over most of the West African territories. This was the first colonial war among European powers. Many more would come.
The town grew around São Jorge da Mina Castle – built by the Portuguese Diogo de Azambuja in 1482. It was Portugal’s West African headquarters for trade and exploitation of African wealth. Later the port expanded to include tens of thousands of slaves channeled through the trading post of Elmina.
The location of Elmina made it a significant site for reprovisioning ships headed south towards the Cape of Good Hope on their way to India. After years of Portuguese wealth on the Elmina Coast, the Dutch learned of the profitable activity taking place. The Dutch West India Company captured it in 1637 and in subsequent centuries it was mostly used for the slave trade. The British attacked the city in 1782, but it remained in Dutch hands until 1872, when the Dutch Gold Coast was sold to the British.
Elmina is also home to Fort Coenraadsburg on St. Jago Hill, built by the Portuguese in 1555 under the name Forte de Santiago it was used for commerce. In 1637 it was conquered and remained with the Dutch, after the conquest of Elmina’s main castle.
Today, Elmina’s main economic industry is fishing and tourism. We drove through the town past the fish market to Elmina Castle. It was erected by the Portuguese in 1482 as São Jorge da Mina Castle. It was the first trading post built on the Gulf of Guinea and is the oldest European building in existence south of the Sahara. First established as a trade settlement, the castle later became one of the most important stops on the route of the Atlantic slave trade. The Dutch seized the fort from the Portuguese in 1637, and took over all the Portuguese Gold Coast in 1642. The slave trade continued under the Dutch until 1814. In 1872, the Dutch Gold Coast, including the fort, became a possession of the British Empire.
Gold Coast, which is now Ghana, gained its independence in 1957 from Britain, and had control of the castle. Elmina Castle is now a historical site and was recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1979.
We visited the castle with a local guide who was actually very good – he spoke very Ghanaian English – but he spoke slowly and repeated everything twice. A bit of concentration – which was rather hard in this afternoon’s heat – and he was good to understand. The castle was not a museum with many exhibitions – there was only a small one in the former church of the Portuguese.
All the rooms and dungeons, where the slaves were kept before being shipped off, were restored and maintained. Everything was rather dark and gloomy – fitting to the story.
There were different dungeons of course for men and women. The women were kept closer to the quarters of the rulers and a secret door and staircase led up to those quarters. You can imagine why …
We also climbed in the small room with the Door of No Return. From there the slaves were directly led onto the ships. Nowadays there was a beach below and the view on the fishing boats was spectacular.
Of course we also visited the – unfortunately empty – quarters of the rulers. They had the best view over the coast line. In a couple of those rooms there was a gallery souvenir shop which had very nice paintings.
From the ramparts of the castle there were spectacular views over the coastline, the fishing harbour and the town. We walked all around enjoying the nice breeze that was blowing up there.
On the way out we came down a different staircase – of course we were led past some souvenir and handicraft shops set up in one of the castle’s courtyards. We were not so interested in the souvenirs yet, but there was a hand-loom set up and a man was weaving kente cloth. That was very interesting.
Coming out of the castle we walked across the harbor bride from where there was a spectacular view over the fishing harbor and the fish market. The light was great and there was so much activity there and so much going on. Some boats got ready to sail out. In other corners the men were sorting out the nets. Unfortunately we had no time to stroll over the fish market … Or maybe I just did not ask if we could …
We left Elmina and drove east along the coast towards Biriwa where we would stay in Beach Biriwa Hotel. It was not too far, maybe half an hour. But traffic was thick along the coast. We had fun contemplating how many people were hidden in that truck in front of us. I could make out at least 3 more faces behind the 2 guys standing.
Reaching the hotel around 17:30 we could move into our rooms immediately, check-in was none existent. The lady of the house – a rather miserable German woman living in Ghana more than 20 years or so – just gave Maha the keys and off we went. The location of the hotel right on top of a cliff overlooking the ocean was fantastic. I lucked out today – or maybe it was strategy hanging behind and not jumping at the first key being handed out while walking along the row of rooms. I got the end room closest to the sea. I had literally 3 sides full of windows – one overlooking the pool, the other onto the sea and the 3rd was towards a valley and the sunset. The room was nice, the bed at a very special design, AC was working and the shower water heater was turned on.
I went to the bar to get a beer and then sat outside my room to watch the sunset over the hills across the valley to the west. There was a nice sitting area and the view was great. I loved it. Flo said later, she liked this hotel better than the fancy one in Elmina and would rather stay here instead of there … No! The fancy one was cool! The people friendly, the beach beautiful and in general it was much better … She was not convinced.
Dinner was at 19:00 and we were the only guests in the hotel and the restaurant. Mind you, I think we might have occupied pretty much all rooms there. Since the 4 of us all had single rooms booked and paid the supplement and Maha also got a room there, I think there might have been only one room empty in the row, if I was not mistaking. The restaurant was open air, but there was not the slightest breeze. While near the rooms there was a bit of wind, here it was absolutely calm and therefore quite hot even in the evening.
I had paid Maha extra so I could have lobster again tonight. It was not on the menu of our included dinner, but what the heck! I chose Lobster Thermindor and also ordered a plate of Palaver Sauce extra to share. The others were not so adventurous – they not more than tried the Palaver Sauce, though. I did like it, but I was pretty full.
Lobster Thermidor is actually a French dish consisting of a creamy mixture of cooked lobster meat, egg yolks and brandy or cognac stuffed into a lobster shell. It can also be served with an oven-browned cheese crust, typically Gruyère. Unfortunately, what I got was not exactly what it was supposed to be. It rather looked and tasted not up to the price. But well, I should have known and stuck to grilled lobster instead … But I did eat it all up and half of the Palaver Sauce as well.
Natasha and I opted for a Orijin Bitter schnapps as medicine after dinner. It was a bit complicated to make the guy behind the bar understand, but pointing and gesturing worked well.
Coming back to my room I opened the lamellae of all the windows – no panic, there were mosquito screens! – and the wind blew through my room pleasantly all night. I slept very well.
18.12.2018
This morning I was up very early and went for a sunrise walk on the nearby beach. I just had to walk around the pool and down some stairs and was already there. The sun came up behind some clouds and it was very peaceful.
Before breakfast I sat outside my room again enjoying the view and the quiet. I checked out todays’ destination – it was supposed to be Kakum National Park and the canopy walk there. Natasha and Oliver had already said yesterday, they would not do it, but stay below, Flo was not sure and after seeing the photos I was sure I was not going to do it either. I am a little squeamish when it comes to suspension bridges in my old age. I would probably shit my pants, quite frankly.
Breakfast was good – after we had to listen to the miserable German lady of the house rebuke her employee that we would not have an à la carte breakfast, but a set breakfast as booked. Well as long as it had eggs, I was fine. Oliver was a bit – Oh, the poor boy, I am going to give him some sweets later. The boss was very nasty to him! – But probably she had told him already a few times what was happening and he still had not gotten it or whatever … That poor boy had probably earned the bollocking …
Anyway, breakfast was very good – juice, eggs, butter jam and the best bread rolls you can imagine! They were not British and not French, they for sure were German! They came straight from the oven and were still hot. Soooooooo, delicious!
During breakfast we all together decided to skip the canopy walk in Kakum National Park. There was no point in driving an hour there and an hour back for nothing – and there would not be much other than this canopy walk. Even Flo agreed, though, I am not sure if she really did not want to go.
Instead we went back to Elmina and wanted to visit the fish market – but believe it or not – just today there was no fish market! In every guide book it said the market was every day, but not so today when we came … The harbor was full with boats, but absolutely no fish market.
Maha asked somebody and they said something about a religious holiday or something and the fishermen had not gone out last night … or maybe the weather was not favourable offshore … or whatever … so no market was there today … Hmmmmm … Not good …
We did walk around the harbor, though, and there was surprisingly much activity. We watched fishermen repair their nets. Some of them even let us take photos of them or their hands.
We also saw some men repairing one of the wooden boots. It was laid up dry and they had a hammer and something like a chisel and hammered hemp string into the gaps between the planks of the boat. That looked like a very tedious work … especially in the late morning sun.
All the boats in the harbour were very colourful and had many flags. I took so many photos of the boats.
Many people were just lounging around, though. It was probably already too hot for them. Or they had nothing better to do on a day without fish market.
Walking back to the bridge and castle we passed some women selling crabs. They looked as if they were cooked already. Apparently, those were spotted box crab (Calappa rubroguttata). They occur in the Eastern Atlantic down the Western African coast from Mauritania to Namibia at depths from shore to 90m and burrow in sand or fine gravel, but also in bottoms with other sediment.
There were also women selling Fante kenkey – fermented maize dumplings – steamed in plantain leaves. Kenkey or kormi or kokoe or dorkunu is a staple dish usually served with pepper sauce and fried fish or soup. Making kenkey involves letting the maize ferment before cooking. Therefore, preparation takes a few days in order to let the dough ferment. After fermentation, the kenkey is partially cooked, wrapped in banana leaves, corn husks or foil and steamed.
We crossed the bridge taking another look at the fishing harbour from above – a shame so much garbage is floating around …
We then walked through the town for a while people watching. Much was going on mid-morning. There was a man pulling a cart with ice blocks through the streets to the harbour, women cooking food for their little restaurant, other people just people watching ..
We did visit the famous Posuban Shrines as well. They are unique to Ghana’s central coastal region. Posubans – coming from the English word “post” and the Fante word “ban” (fortification) – are eye-catching and often elaborately decorated concrete shrines that dot the urban landscape of many Fante settlements.
Several of these colourful shrines – they are a combination of the symbolic and mythical – can be found in the streets across the bridge in Elmina and not far on foot from the castle. The Asafo companies are militia-like organizations that once had military duties, but are now largely ceremonial in nature and undertake community service. Each of the shrines is dedicated to one of the Asafo companies, expressing the company’s guiding philosophy or proverb and its superiority over rivals.
Asafo are traditional warrior groups in Akan culture. The word “as” means war and “fo” means people. The traditional role of the Asafo companies was defence of the state. As the result of contact with European colonial powers on the Gold Coast – present-day Ghana, the Fante, who inhabited the coastal region, developed an especially complex version of the concept in terms of its social and political organization based on martial principles, and with elaborate traditions of visual art, including flag banners with figurative scenes.
In Elmina, Asafo companies emerged in the early 18th century out of the wards of Elmina that had existed since at least the 17th century. In 1724, when the Dutch needed the help of the Elminese to oust John Canoe from Fort Groß Friedrichsburg in Princes Town further west, they organized the wards into rank order, with each ward having a number and an established military formation. It was this occasion which gave rise to the domination of Asafo companies in the sociopolitical life of Elmina and of the 10 Asafo companies existing today, 7 were mentioned in 1724. These days they are perhaps more significant for their ceremonial function and for their activity and influence in the arts and local politics. Most towns in the region have between 5 and 12 rival Asafo companies, each identified by a number, name and location.
The shrines are eclectic concrete shrines created by those Asafo. Traditionally the companies were helping to keep the peace and fight wars. They kept their weapons and regalia in the shrine buildings. Nowadays the shrines serve as cultural and ceremonial heritage of the town. The most important shrines are multi-storey affairs decorated with up to 10 life-size human forms, and complex enough in their symbolism to keep you guessing for several hours.
The first shrine we visited, was indeed No 5 and probably the most impressive. It had a European ship on the roof with two sailors on either side. This shrine included a lot of symbolism. A man carrying palm nuts on his head showed the local abundance of produce, for example. It cannot be established when, why and how these elaborate Posubans were constructed. Most of the shrines look as if they took their present form in the post-independence era, though.
The “Adam and Eve” Posuban was first made public in the mid 1960s, they say. The company # 4 chose Adam and Eve as their symbol because they were the first company in Elmina, apparently. The 2 men in matching red and black uniforms are the chief’s guards.
We saw a couple more somewhat smaller of those shrines while walking through town and they all were special. Some just consisting of a couple of figurines on a balcony.
Doing some window shopping and more people watching, I bought a news paper and also found a small shop where a friendly lady sold Shit-o sauce – I had to have a glass to take home!
I like just walking around towns. There is so much to see and so many photo opportunities. When I am not on a tour, but travel alone, then I most of the time just wander through the streets, sometimes aimlessly, people watching.
“The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see.” ― G.K. Chesterton
Walking back over the bridge to the parking lot, we had a last view of the Elmina Castle and Oliver picked up an entourage of kids eager to take photos.
Back on the van we then drove to Cape Coast. Cape Coast is a city and fishing port in the Central Region of South Ghana and has a population of approx 170000 people. From the 16th century until Ghanaian independence, the city and fishing port changed hands between the British, the Portuguese, the Swedish, the Danish and the Dutch.
Our main objective here was to visit the Cape Coast Castle and we drove straight there. It was similar to the Elmina Castle we visited yesterday, but it was not as prominently built – at least we could not see it when we drove up. The main gate was right next to the street in more or less the center of town. It did sit on a rocky outcrop.
Cape Coast Castle is one of about forty “slave castles” – large commercial forts – built on the Gold Coast of West Africa – which is present-day Ghana – by European traders. It was originally built by the Swedes for trade in timber and gold, but later used in the trans-Atlantic slave trade like other Ghanaian slave castles include Elmina Castle and Fort Christiansborg. They were used to hold slaves before they were loaded onto ships and sold in the Americas, especially the Caribbean. This “gate of no return” was the last stop before crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
The large quantity of gold dust found in Ghana was what primarily attracted Europeans and many natives of Cape Coast used this to their advantage. In exchange for gold, mahogany, their own people and other local items, the natives received clothing, blankets, spices, sugar, silk and many other things. The castle at Cape Coast was a market where these transactions took place.
We went in for our visit – of course our Natasha skipped that one too and waited for us in the restaurant next door … Not, that we missed her … When we came into the courtyard, our Maha paid the entrance, but there was no guide immediately available for us and we were sent to the museum first to return in some 30 min. That was not really a problem for us … I do prefer roaming around by myself anyway. The museum was in fact very interesting. It documented the history of the slave trade excellently.
At the time slaves were a valuable commodity in the Americas and elsewhere and slaves became the principal item traded in Cape Coast. Due to this, many changes were made to Cape Coast Castle. One of the alterations was the addition of large underground dungeons that could hold as many as a thousand slaves awaiting export. Many European nations flocked to Cape Coast in order to get a foothold in the slave trade. Business was very competitive and this led to conflict. This is the reason why the castle at Cape Coast changed hands many times during the course of its commercial history.
Nevertheless, I walked through rather quickly and took a couple of photos, even though taking photos was not allowed. But this was certainly a very well maintained and interesting exhibition.
Since there was still time for the guide meeting I did walked around the rest of the castle as well. There were also underground dungeons similar to those we saw the day before in Elmina. Here in Cape Coast Castle, the underground dungeon was as well a space of terror, death and blackness. This stood as a direct juxtaposition to the European living quarters and commanding heights of whiteness above, who lived relatively luxuriously – those spaces now containing the museum and souvenir shops.
The basement of this imposing fortress was often the last memory slaves had of their homeland before being shipped off across the Atlantic, as this signified the beginning of their journey. The castle – or castle and dungeon – to give it its official name, was first restored in the 1920s by the British Public Works Department. In 1957, when Ghana became independent, the castle came under the care of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board and was restored in the early 1990s. The Cape Coast Castle and other forts and castles in Ghana are included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. There were great views from the castle walls down to the coast and especially the fishing harbor below.
Many rusty canons were still lined on the outer walls pointing to the sea. Funnily enough we saw as well many rusty cannons below on the rocks. Obviously they had been thrown out over the walls and found there resting spot. It was low tide and they were visible. Supposedly on high tide they would be under water. But being way too heavy and lying in the rocks they had never been washed away.
I met Flo and Oliver on my exploration round and together we went for another photo round. The photo opportunities were endless and the castle was not too crowded.
We all agreed – since the history is probably similar to that of Elmina Castle and we had wandered around the castle twice by now – that we did not need a guided tour anymore and would skip it. However, we had Maha point out the Door of No Return which we had not yet consciously found. In Elmina Castle it had been this narrow door-like gab in the wall, but here it was an actual gate – we just had not noticed the tiny sign above it.
The Door of No Return lead directly to the fishing harbor – supposedly it had been the dock for the small boats taking the slaves out to the bigger ships at anchor.
Today there was much happening here – nowadays fishermen have taken over the place. There were a few of them sitting and mending their nets.
The view over the coastline and the fishing harbour was beautiful. Today we could enjoy it – the slaves back then would probably not have noticed.
We watched a bunch of men heaving a rather large fishing boat ashore to dry land – it most probably needed repair. But there was no mechanical help – there were maybe 20 or so men heaving, pushing and pulling to get that thing ashore. It took them a long while …
It was very hot but cloudy today and after we had spent another few minutes watching them and walking around, we decided to call it a visit and head for lunch – that cold beer was definitely calling my name! Opposite the castle was the church, but we only had a distant look and went straight to the restaurant next door.
The Castle Beach Restaurant was right next to the castle overlooking the beach. It was rather dark – I would have preferred the more open restaurants further along the beach – but it turned out to be rather airy. Natasha was waiting for us, but had taken a seat in the dark interior – I immediately changed that and told her – and everybody else – I would only sit on a table with a view – even if I sat alone. Since we were pretty much alone in the restaurant there were plenty of tables available and most of them were lining the seafront. See, that is what I will never understand – why would you sit in an empty restaurant on a table in the dark center with no view, if 5 m behind you there are plenty tables with a view! And surprise surprise – there was a pleasant breeze coming off the ocean – natural air condition.
We ordered beer and studied the menu. I was delighted to find lobster on it and the first thing I did, was ask, if they had it and how big the portion was. I could live on seafood … Once I leave the African coast if would be a very long time before I can have anything like it again! So I had to have it. The guy said they had it and it was 2 small lobster tails – so I ordered a double portion. Everybody was shaking their head in disbelieve at me, but who cares?
While we all waited for our food there was a bunch of entrepreneurial kids – definitely used to the tourists frequenting this restaurant – who put on an acrobatic show on the beach for us to shorten the waiting time. And they were very good indeed! I am not somebody to give money to random beggars, but if people make an effort – make a show, sing a song, play an instrument or such – they deserve recognition. So, we did do the touristy thing and threw some small banknotes folded up into small balls down to them. They were anywhere not allowed to come up to the restaurant to beg. Maha had the right technique and practice and he did all the spot-on throwing for us. Only Oliver actually went outside to them to hand over his money – and I suppose a couple of gifts – personally.
That little show was well-timed with the arrival of the food – just when they ran out of figures to show us the food came. And the food was very good! I loved my lobster and ordered another beer with it. I did not even eat the side dish of joloff rice – I was absolutely happy with my 4 lobster tails.
Around 13:00 we left Cape Coast and started our drive to Accra – my circle would close there – for the others it was the first time they would see the big city. But leaving Cape Coast they all indulged me again by agreeing on a small detour to find another secret box. There was a geocache hidden just out of Cape Coast on a side road close to the main road and it was not really a big detour. But I did know that this geocache has probably been missing, because the fence where it was hidden, had been repainted. Therefore I did not even look for a hidden box, but quickly took a photo of the location and we were on our way to Accra.
