Cape Coast and Elmina

This weekend I took a little trip with three other volunteers to Cape Coast for the weekend. We got to go by air conditioned tro tro which was pretty sweet. Even though it was just one of those Ford 15-seater vans, I felt like I was in heaven because it was so different from what I’ve been riding in for the past week.

So, what is Cape Coast you ask? During the 1600s, the Dutch came to Cape Coast to trade with the Africans and built Cape Coast Castle. It became an integral part of the slave trade for decades after. We took a tour around the castle and into various slave cells and heard haunting stories of things that happened where we were standing. People taken as prisoners of tribal conflict, by European soldiers, and many others were taken from their homes in countries like Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and other mostly western African countries and were marched for up to two months until reaching Cape Coast. Upon arrival, they were branded and hundreds of them were crammed into small rooms with no light, no toilet, poor ventilation, and little food and water. Many people died. Many women were raped. They remained here for another three months until being loaded onto ships, known as floating coffins, destined for Brazil, the Americas, and other locations. They would exit the castle through what is known as “the Door of No Return”. In the 1990s, two coffins containing the remains of descendants of slaves were brought back to Cape Coast and through the doors from the sea to the castle. There is now on the outside labeling it “The Door of Return”. Here’s a picture for y’all:



We also visited Fort William, which is on a hill right above the castle. It had a wonderful view of the city and the castle down below.

The next day we went to the Elmina Castle and fort Jago, which are about 4 km away from Cape Coast. The castle was originally built by the Portuguese but was then taken over by the Dutch. After visiting these places, and seeing and hearing about the conditions in which these people had to live, it is hard to believe that all of it really happened for centuries and no one cared. Buying and selling people like cattle and treating them worse. Unbelievable.

Anyway, it was nice to get out of the city for a while. Cape Coast is a lot more relaxed and less busy than Accra. The weather was nicer too because it was right on the beach and there was a nice breeze most of the time. Here are some more pics from the weekend: