Cape Coast Castle

I am flying home today and while this trip was incredibly short, I was lucky enough to accomplish many things (work and fun). 

One of the best days was yesterday, despite the insanity that I wrote about from the afternoon. 

Early in the morning we made the three-hour journey out to Cape Coast Castle, which was used to hold slaves before they were shipped off to the Americas. 

The grounds are bright and beautiful with an excellent view of the ocean.

But below the castle, where soldiers were stationed and where many people even attended church services, are dark dungeons where the captives were held. In "rooms" no bigger than my apartment, people were held in the masses. Approximately 150-200 people were crammed into a small space for anywhere from two weeks to three months before being shipped away. They had a tiny source of light, no washroom and were fed very little.

We were also taken to the "door of no return," which is exactly what you imagine it to be. The rocky pathway down to the ships was thought of as the last time the slaves would be in Ghana. Most would die along the way and many more would never return to their homeland.

Now on the other side of the door is the every day hustle and bustle of fishing life.

Our tour guide was absolutely incredible. He was very knowledgeable and provided great insight into a very dark period of time.

Despite the intensity of the tour, he even did a little photoshoot for me and Beth. It felt slightly inappropriate but we had fun and got some good shots from it :)