Cabo Corso - Now that's my kind of town!

I spent the last 3 days in Cape Coast, formerly known as Cabo Corso. People here got a kick out of seeing my name, but didn’t quite believe it when I said that made me Queen of the town.

We arrived on Tuesday, the “we” being myself, two AFS volunteers from Accra, and two of our students from the US, Aurelia and Ellice. We were bringing the students to their new host families, where they will be staying for the next 10 months. After that was taken care of, AFS dropped me off at my hotel – the Oasis Beach Resort, which is the only place to stay that is directly on the beach. And from that point on, I was on vacation! Yeah!

I’ll admit, I was getting a little spoiled having AFS cart me around and help me navigate my way through Ghana up ‘til this point. I expected Cape Coast to be more provincial, with a lot more remnants of the past founders and inhabitants, the Portuguese and the British. What was once a major trade port (first gold, then unfortunately, slaves) is now mostly a fishing village, with some tourism and assorted businesses. Most of what was built during its earlier life was replaced with faceless concrete buildings fronted by various sidewalk market stands. There are still a few stately churches well placed on the hills, a handful of crumbling old British era buildings, and of course, the Cape Coast Castle which dominates a large area of the ocean front. Castle really isn’t the right word – this is the fort that was used during the trading days, and the rooms that used to hold gold and other goods for trade were converted to holding cells for slaves that were to be shipped off to Europe or the Americas. A rather dismal place in the end.

While my days started out by walking out of my bungalow, all of about 20 feet from the beach, and eating breakfast while watching the local fishermen drop nets in the ocean and then slowly pull them back to the beach trapping all sorts of fish and ocean life. It is a slow process and dozens of men are involved in the process. When the nets get closer to shore, the women show up. Some to help sort the fish, others to sell drinks and food to everyone working and waiting. Then the next boats go out and the process starts all over again. The same thing occurs up and down the coast line, dozens of boats in sight one moment, then they’re all back at shore loading up for the next run.

Wednesday was spent on a very important task… getting a dress made for Saturday’s gala. Anastasia, the wife of the resort’s owner, was great help in this task. First, I needed to go buy material – 4 yards for a formal (full length) dress. I went to about ½ dozen shops before settling on a material I liked. Then I went back, got Anastasia, and she took me to her dressmaker. The dressmaker had dozens of posters with models in various dresses. In a nice twist, most of the models were not the stick thin American type, but rather curvy (probably size 16-18 US) gals. I picked a neckline from one dress, bodice & skirt from another, and sleeves from a third. Measurements were taken, details were discussed (with help from Anastasia, since the dressmaker spoke mostly Fente, a local language), and money was exchanged. I was told everything would be ready by 4:00 Thursday. That was just over 24 hours away. And, I was actually ordering two dresses. I really liked another material, but it wasn’t quite right for a formal dress. So I have a fun short dress for casual wear, too! 2 dresses, 24 hours, 146 cedi (about $40 US).

Thursday morning was spent at Kakum National Park, about 40km north of Cape Coast. The park is known for many species of birds, monkeys and other wildlife. About 15-20 years ago the Canadians came in and build a canopy walk – a series of about 10 rope bridges going from tree to tree. The hope was to encourage wildlife observance and preservation. Unfortunately, the animals have all figured it out and tend to avoid that exact area of the park, so while the canopy walk is a fun adventure, there are no animals to be seen. A fun way to spend the morning, though. The afternoon was spent lunching at Baobob House, another guesthouse near the castle, which has its own farm and does only vegetarian and vegan meals. Then back to Oasis for some lounging Oceanside. I was met there by Aurelia, Ellice and their AFS advisor (and local teacher), Ben. Aurelia and Ellice have already learned that some aspects of Ghanaian living may be harder than that in the US, but the view from Oasis (a short trotro ride from their homes) certainly makes up for it!

By 4:00, my new local friend, Issac (about 10 years old, sells dried plantains and hits up tourists for money to pay for his school) was reminding me it was time to pick up my dress. He’s the Ghana equivalent of Siri. But in a nice twist, the dress came to me. I tried it on, asked for a few adjustments (the casual dress fit perfect, though) and marveled at the ability to do so much in so little time.

Today I decided to move a little closer to Accra, just to cut up the trip a little. I’m staying in the little town of Winneba, about an hour & half from Accra. Also on the ocean. A nice place to chill for an afternoon before hitting Accra tomorrow. From there, maybe on to Togo. Will figure that out on Sunday.

PS - tried adding pictures, but having upload issues. Uploaded one batch already - go to jenniferinghana2014/shutterfly.com/