Weekend at Cape Coast & Elmina

The NYU in Ghana program has coordinated a bunch of different activities and excursions for our group during the next four months. They're all optional, but they're included in our tuition, so there really is no reason not to take advantage of them! Especially being in Ghana, I really don't know where I want to go or what I want to do, so it's nice to have a few highlights already planned out for me. I mean, I fully intend to pick up that Ghana guide one day and check out a few local hotspots that peak my interest, but my experience at Cape Coast & Elmina this past weekend has locked me into going on every NYU in Ghana organized excursion this fall!



It was only two days, which I was apprehensive about at first, because with everything on the itinerary it looked like we were in for a long weekend! We left bright and early Saturday morning. Okay, it was like 7am, which I get isn't ridiculously early, but for Noelle on a Saturday morning, it was tough. Plus Frances and I stayed up late the night before baking cookies for the bus ride. Of course, almost half of them never made it to the next morning, but that's to be expected when you live in close quarters with almost thirty other college kids! I slept most of the bus ride there, but was awake long enough to see the beautiful country side. It was seriously out-of-a-movie spectacular! Forests upon forests of palm trees, and colorful fruit stands lining the sides of the road...just gorgeous!

As was the hotel - the Coconut Grove Beach Resort at Cape Coast - where Will Smith has stayed, ahem ahem! We were welcomed with a buffet breakfast, then settled into our guestrooms, and sauntered along the beach until it was time to get on the road again. We headed into town to a festival in honor of thanksgiving. The group splintered off, and several of us girls found some seats amidst fifteen or twenty Ghanaian children who had gathered on some stairs to watch the parade. The parade lasted almost two hours, ending with the Ghanaian tribal chiefs parading through on chairs held up high, with large umbrellas to shield them from the hot sun.



The children we sat with were absolutely fascinated with our digital cameras, which was exciting because I was able to get some really great shots of them! After the parade we met up with some of the other students at the beach, where I met the cutest little boy who wanted his picture taken about a million times. He was SUCH A HAM! I really wish I had brought a Polaroid camera with me, so I could give the kids a copy of the pictures I take of them. I also wish I had brought some sort of souvenir from the States, like a key chain or something, to give to the kids here. Most of them ask for something to drink or eat, which gets difficult because if you buy for one you have to buy for all. And granted, key chains aren't edible, but it would be nice to be able to give them all something.





We made it back to the hotel in the afternoon for a couple hours at the beach. The waves were pretty rough, but I toughed it out. Once a beach girl, always a beach girl. Nothing could have kept me from getting into the water. The water was really pretty there too, and clean, unlike the beaches here in Accra, which are full of trash. After the beach, we all showered up and got ready for dinner. The food here is awesome. Some people have had some stomach issues, but I (KNOCK ON WOOD!) have been fine so far. Which is great because the food is pretty much all carbs, which is right up my alley! Lots of rice and fried plaintains, and bean stew, and chips (french fries), and vegetable stew, and fish kebabs. I'm not a huge fish person, but Accra is known for its seafood, so I can't resist having a taste or two! They also served us palm wine at dinner, which I wasn't too impressed with, but it's all part of the adventure! After dinner, we lit a bonfire on the beach and danced and danced until our legs could no longer carry us.

And that was only day one! Day two began with buffet breakfast again, said our goodbyes to the lovely Coconut Grove, and got on the road to Elmina to visit the slave castle. The experience was quite jarring, especially coming back from such a day of luxury at the Coconut Grove hotel. To see first hand the dreadful living conditions, and to hear the graphic detailed account by the tour guide, and to smell...well, you get the idea. Many of the students were brought to tears, and I was surprised I wasn't, because I tend to be the kind of person who wears her emotions on her sleeve, but it was still very moving nonetheless.



After the slave castles, we ate at this restaurant called Hans Cottage, which is situated on stilts over a crocodile pond. So cool - enough said. Then we drove to Kakum National Park, where we walked across a 366 meter canopy walk, 40 meters in the air! My friends Molly and Lisa are scared of heights, and they were right behind me, and they definitely made things more interesting! It was so beautiful up there. I didn't get to take many pictures because my camera batteries died - side note: always bring rechargeable batteries and a charger, because regular ones die in digital cameras SO QUICKLY! Hopefully the pics here will convey the essence for you!!