A day of travel

Stephen collected me from Winneba mid-morning and we travelled to Cape Coast, formerly the capital of Ghana (during part of the British colonial period) in order to visit the castle which was part of the Atlantic slave trade.  We had a short tour and visited the dungeons where slaves were kept before transportation to the Americas and the Caribbean.  

'Spy-hole' into the tunnel through
which slaves passed as they
were taken to the ships.  This is
one of two such holes, the only
sources of light in a tunnel
about 50m long

Male dungeon.
One of four such rooms, about
200 would be held in each
with barely room to stand.

It was here that President Obama visited five years ago and was visibly moved after the experience.  Stephen had visited previously but remarked that there is always something new to appreciate, and it doesn't change what happened all those years ago.  The photo's don't really do justice in terms of appreciating the conditions in which the slaves were kept, basically with little more than just enough room to stand in and having to do all bodily functions where they were.  One statistic I hadn't really appreciated before the visit was that for every slave successfully transported and sold, in the order of 10 or 15 failed to make the journey.  Enough said?

Sampling the (avocado)
pear before purchase.

Following our visit we drove to Accra which took somewhat longer than anticipated due to the traffic levels, particularly on the outskirts of the city.  We stopped off en route to buy some fruit (which we sampled as a snack) at the roadside, also enjoying a drink of fresh coconut juice straight from the shell.  On arrival in Accra, I had the new experience of eating in a Ghanaian restaurant; having not had to choose my meals during my stay to date, the wide range of choice was a challenge and also brought home to me some of the extremes of life here as very few Ghanaians would ever have the opportunity to eat out.

Stephen and Grace at
Cape Coast University.
Grace was a member at
Wesley Methodist Church
in Reading.

The day closed with another welcome, into Stephen's Ghanaian home, which is very well appointed and therefore another contrast for me yesterday.  We travel together to Kumasi today and onto Amankwatia tomorrow.  Your prayers would be welcomed for us as we travel and meet those involved in the Wesley project there.