The reason Cape Coast is Stop #1 for so many obrunis is because it has essentially the only real “tourist” attraction in Ghana: the Cape Coast Castle. This huge castle right on the ocean was the seat of the British colonial government for about 200 years, and incidentally, at the same time, a major port for slaves headed to the Americas from West Africa. Unlike the fake “Door of No Return” in Dakar, this door actually saw about 4 million slaves pass through it. This obviously makes the castle a pretty solemn, highly depressing place that’s also super interesting.
It’s hard to describe the feeling of standing in the tiny “condemned” slave cell, which has no ventilation when the door is closed. This is the room where slaves that tried to escape were thrown, and, well, never let out of. To physically be standing within those walls is almost sickening. All I could think throughout the tour was the old cliché “if these walls could talk.” And then to contrast that with the truly lovely and spacious governor’s quarters, with beautiful panoramic views of the Ghanaian coast. Because that’s one of the true ironies of the Castle, in that it’s in a truly beautiful location, jutting out into the bright sea, with waves breaking all around and beautiful beach stretching in either direction. Today, of course, the view is even more special with the always colorful fishing boats and groups of young Ghanaian kids frolicking in the ocean in view.
One of the more interesting parts of the tour was how they emphasized the role that many Africans themselves played in the slave trade. Europeans rarely left the confines of the castle, and certainly weren’t marching into villages and dragging Africans from their homes. Rather, they bought slaves from chiefs who had captured members of their rival tribes. Obviously this doesn’t make the whites any less at fault for the catastrophe of slavery, but it was an interesting revelation all the same. Also fascinating was the discussion of how the first “church” in Ghana was a room in the castle directly over the largest slave dungeon. As our guide said, it was a clear lesson in heaven and hell.
Overall, my visit was definitely valuable, contrary to what several friends who called it an “overpriced waste of time” had warned me about. So much of what I’ve learned about and conceptualized slavery is very rooted in what happened in America, so it was definitely enlightening about this side of the horrors of slavery. And plus, I got to follow in the footsteps of the Obamas (the whole family visited the castle in 2009), so hey, that was reason enough to visit.
The castle, however, was only part of the reason why I visited Cape Coast. Anne, one of my German housemates, had studied for a semester at the University of Cape Coast, and wanted to go back to visit. We ended up staying with one of her friends from University, Eugene. Eugene had visited us in Accra a few times and is an absolutely HYSTERICAL guy, so it was great to see where he is from and meet his family. They live in this small village outside of Cape Coast, and it was super cool to experience that side of Ghana firsthand.
I often think that my neighborhood in Accra feels like a small town, in how everyone knows each other, but it really doesn’t compare to this village. We, as white outsiders, were MAJOR news. When we walked through the village to Eugene’s house for the first time, we attracted an entourage of about 25 kids. However, unlike some other kids I’ve met who run up and grab your hand, these kids seemed equal parts fascinated and terrified of us. Anytime we looked back or waved, they would scream in delight and then run away as fast as they could. Throughout the weekend whenever we sat on Eugene’s front lawn they continued playing the game of who could get closest to us without us knowing, and then running away as soon as we looked. It was pretty funny and definitely reminded me of the games I used to play as a kid.
But it wasn’t just the kids – we were sitting on Eugene’s porch on Sunday morning, drinking coffee and Milo, when we realized that we were right on the path to church. There was suddenly a parade of people, all dressed in beautiful clothes, going to church, and everyone stopped and waved to us. A few even took pictures. We definitely felt kind of like celebrities, although part of that is simply Ghanaian friendliness. While in Accra this kind of attention tends to annoy me, here it just felt very genuine and sweet.
We also got to help pound fufu from scratch with Eugene – a big step up from our fufu powder disaster previously described. That was definitely fun, although I seriously don’t know how Ghanaian women do it. My arms hurt for about a week afterwards, and I only pounded it for about 1/6 of the time (Yes I know I’m weak. But still.)
Anne wanted to walk around her old campus, so I also got to see what one of the top universities in Ghana looks like. It was really pretty, with lots of trees, green open spaces, and big white buildings (although of course nowhere close to Princeton. Whatever I’m a snob). It did soundly beat Princeton in one area though. I used to always say that Princeton should have outdoor libraries, since good weather used to always correspond with midterms or finals or thesis, etc. A certain roommate of mine used to roll her eyes at this, BUT IT EXISTS IN GHANA! They have these giant outdoor spaces (covered with roofs but open-air) full of rows of desks, and they were populated with many students silently working. THIS IS WHY GHANA IS AWESOME. Literally there is NO part of life that does not take place outside.
Ok sorry that was just really exciting for me. My time in Cape Coast was a really cool weekend for lots of different reasons, and definitely worth the 7 month wait.
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