Fisherman were pulling in their nets as we were eating breakfast at Asaasi Yaa. Sometimes this process can take an hour or more, and usually passersby on the beach will stop and help pull the nets in for a few minutes.
All packed up on the bus ready to head to Cape Coast, Elmina, and One Africa House for the night. Look at those smiling faces! :)
Pictures from Cape Coast Castle...
The Obama family visited and toured Cape Coast Castle in 2009 and brought this plaque to commemorate their trip. Michelle Obama believes her ancestors once left Africa for America through this slave fort at Cape Coast.
"Door of No Return” - when slaves exited the fort, this door is the last thing they saw before being taken out to ships and sent out to sea on the middle passage. They had been treated brutally, were scared, and had no idea where they were being taken. It was very emotional for me to walk through this door to think about what took place here and at other forts like it in the area. Our tour guide is in this picture talking about the meaning of the door - he was an excellent and very knowledgable guide.
And this is what you saw after walking out of the door. It is both serene to see the ocean, nice to step out into the bright sunlight from the dark inside of the castle, and at the same time gut wrenching to think about what happened right in this very spot.
This picture is from a room that once served as a church at Elmina Castle, which was very similar in look and feel to Cape Coast Castle. Our tour guides at each fort explained that part of the fort was a church… that was directly above the captives enslaved and suffering right below them. This truly struck me as so upsetting and wrong - how can you worship God knowing all that is happening in the same place, right below you? This image stuck with me throughout the day and evening… along with the magnitude and awful nature of everything we had learned that day. It left me feeling emotional and sick to my stomach.
Here is a group photo that we took outside at Elmina Castle. We were all very hot and sticky with the high temp and humidity - the students were major troopers and persevered throughout the day despite the steamy weather that we Minnesotans are really not normally used to. Our SAGE guide, Sarah, is on the right in the turquoise dress - she has really been instrumental in making sure our trip is smooth, well organized, and a great learning experience for all.
After a hot and humid day of touring the Castles (and a yummy lunch overlooking the waves and enjoying a much appreciated sea breeze), we headed to our overnight spot, One Africa House. It is owned by an African American that moved to Ghana many years ago, and is a very peaceful and comfortable place.
Some of the girls wasted no time heading right over to the three hammocks near the patio for some R&R. The nice ocean breeze was a welcome respite to our warm day.
One Africa House - so peaceful!
There are lots of palm trees with coconuts around here. A few of the girls tried fresh coconut juice right out of the coconut after we left Elmina Castle. The vote was that the juice was really sweet and the consistency of the fresh coconut inside was kind of slimy… maybe not a favorite, but a fun experience for those who tried it. I'm really proud of the students for being willing and interested in trying new things on this journey! Even if they're not quite sure if they'll like it, trying new things is a great part of the learning experience on a trip like this and everyone is doing a great job.
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