Final Day in Ghana -- Sad on Many Levels
This morning we awoke in Cape Coast after a bone jarring ride on tough roadways with potholes large enough to swallow a VW. Henry, the bishop's driver is very skilled at his job but we still put our lives into God's hands. We pray before and after every car journey. Maggie is with us as she and Annie will stay in Accra for a few days to hopefully obtain a Visa for Maggie to visit the US. It was so good to smell sea air when we arrived. I'm very much a water person and feel more grounded near the sea.
But this part of the sea has a sad past. Cape Coast is on the Atlantic coast of Ghana. We stayed in a small hotel for about 25 dollars - with breakfast, a shower (cold water) and a room light that worked! Shangri-La! Cape Coast, once the largest slave-trading center in West Africa, was the former capital of the Portuguese colony named Cabo Corso.
We visited Elmina, a nearby fishing village. It is home to St. George's castle built in 1482. Here the captured people were kept in grim dungeons before being cargo loaded onto ships. We took the tour of the castle and were moved to tears. It was the first time Maggie had been here and I kept watching her to see if she was OK. None of us were OK. It was the most shameful time in history. We stood in the small hardly ventilated dungeons trying to imagine hundreds of people kept there. We stood on the same stones where they had been imprisoned. I put my hand on the wall and prayed for forgiveness. The 'Door of No Return' was a mere hole in the wall where humans were sent down a 'chute' to the dark cargo holds of ships. Good Lord forgive us. When the British were in control they captured the Asante king and held him here for four years in a small upper room until they sent him to Sechelles Islands for longer imprisonment. There is much more to that story, but for a later time. The remainder of our final day in Ghana was spent driving to Accra and enjoying each others company. Trudy and I are now at the airport awaitIng flight to Amsterdam - the beginning of an endless way home. I'll visit this blog when I am back and post a wrap-up and more photos (looking forward to be away from a Blackberry keyboard! My thumbs are tired). Thanks to all who sent comments - it was so good to hear from you while so far away from home.
-- Jane (or Auntie Jane as they call me here)
But this part of the sea has a sad past. Cape Coast is on the Atlantic coast of Ghana. We stayed in a small hotel for about 25 dollars - with breakfast, a shower (cold water) and a room light that worked! Shangri-La! Cape Coast, once the largest slave-trading center in West Africa, was the former capital of the Portuguese colony named Cabo Corso.
We visited Elmina, a nearby fishing village. It is home to St. George's castle built in 1482. Here the captured people were kept in grim dungeons before being cargo loaded onto ships. We took the tour of the castle and were moved to tears. It was the first time Maggie had been here and I kept watching her to see if she was OK. None of us were OK. It was the most shameful time in history. We stood in the small hardly ventilated dungeons trying to imagine hundreds of people kept there. We stood on the same stones where they had been imprisoned. I put my hand on the wall and prayed for forgiveness. The 'Door of No Return' was a mere hole in the wall where humans were sent down a 'chute' to the dark cargo holds of ships. Good Lord forgive us. When the British were in control they captured the Asante king and held him here for four years in a small upper room until they sent him to Sechelles Islands for longer imprisonment. There is much more to that story, but for a later time. The remainder of our final day in Ghana was spent driving to Accra and enjoying each others company. Trudy and I are now at the airport awaitIng flight to Amsterdam - the beginning of an endless way home. I'll visit this blog when I am back and post a wrap-up and more photos (looking forward to be away from a Blackberry keyboard! My thumbs are tired). Thanks to all who sent comments - it was so good to hear from you while so far away from home.
-- Jane (or Auntie Jane as they call me here)
