An oldie but a goodie! We visited Accra and the Cape Coast with friends back in 2007 and had a great time. It was a welcome break from Lagos, a chance to enjoy the outdoors and a safer environment.
View of one of the forts along the Cape Coast. If I remember correctly, it's Elmina Castle and was originally erected by the Portugese in the 1400s. The fort was erected to secure the Portugese trading position along the Gulf of Guinea.
It was also a major transit point for the West African slave trade. Slaves were held captive in the castle before exiting through the "door of no return" (above) to be moved and resold in other colonies.
Kakum National Park (not far from Elmina) is home to a vast rainforest and quite a bit of wildlife. It is also home to an impressive canopy walk that was constructed in the 1990s with funding from the USAID. During our brief hike to the starting point, we were reassured that the canopy was tested each day. Rounding the corner though, we noticed the responsible staff....snoozing. Well, we went for it anyways. Though we'd received no instruction, a friend who'd previously done the walk told us that he was instructed that there was to be no more than three people at a time on each set of ropes. As the thirty-odd people before us surged ahead in longer groups, we waited behind to make sure that we were adequately spaced out. It was simultaneously gorgeous and terrifying. We were so high above the treetops that I almost forgot how high off the ground we were. When I walked over a clearing, it was a little nauseating to see the distance below.
The fort and forest tours were sandwiched between a visit to Accra and to a Cape Coast beach town. All parts were wonderful and Mark and I left deciding that we would happily live in Ghana for future assignments.
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