13 January 2015

Elmina, Ghana

On the way to the coast we tried to find Kakum National Park.  It wasn't the best sign posted so we gave up and headed to Elmina to spend 2 nights on the coast before Accra.  I had visions of Ghana having lots of sun and blue sky.  In reality we have hardly seen the sun which has been hiding behind a thick haze which is pollution from all the fires burning inland.  Steve says its common in the dry season not too have blue sky and he wasn't expecting to see it until Cameroon!

We visited St Georges castle in Elmina getting a great guided tour around it.  The coast is full of castles but St George is one of the main ones.  It was built in 1482 by the Portuguese as a trading centre for ivory and gold.  The Dutch took over in 1637 and then the British in 1872.  Over time the ivory and gold trade was replaced with slaves.  The storage areas for goods were converted into slave dungeons and the upper floors of the castle the living quarters of the governors.  The church was also converted into a slave market. The tour was very interesting to hear about the slave trade and also about the many uses of the castle which most recently was a police training school before it became a museum.

Our last day in Elmina was spent doing a full truck clean and a bit of lounging around before heading to Accra the next day.

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