Hello everyone,

Boy, there is so much to share. The trip to Cape Coast was great. The visit to the castle was very unsettling and the trip to the park, very exciting, so our emotions were all over the place.

 

Yes, I did get emotional at the castle. I forced myself to video the tour and that helped. As we walked the tour route I could easily place myself back in time and feel how frightened those Africans must have felt. I am told that there has been some clean-up of the dungeons; however the smell of fear is still there and how hot it is under there cannot be cleaned up.  We are in the cool season of the year and it was still stifling in there, so I can just imagine how it felt in 100 degrees temperatures for thousands of human beings of all ages, sizes, shapes, nationalities, and physical conditions.

In one of the pictures of the dungeon notice the marks near the bottom. At excavation it was discovered that the original floor was not at those marks; but where it is now. From the floor now to the marks was a thick layer of fetes packed as though it was the floor. Can you imagine living for weeks, months under those conditions???

Near the end of the tour we pass though the “Door of No Return” and return through the “Door of Return.” In 1998 two Africans were returned to their homeland through the “Door of Return.”  One was from the Seville Great House in St Anns Bay, Jamaica. Sam and I have visited the site and saw the grave where he was removed. Little did we know then that we would one day walk through those doors ourselves.  And most importantly, little did I know that I would one day return Number 67 through those same doors. How thought provoking all this is.

 
The videos take so long to upload, so I am attaching links for you to get further insight. The tour guide was excellent. I could feel his emotion, even though I am sure he has done the tour many, many times.

Here are links to videos for more information:

·         http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJWQtxjT4Wc
·         http://wn.com/The_Door_Of_No_Return_Opens__The_African_Holocaust_of_Enslavement

As I reflect over my feelings, the dungeons had a huge effect on me; however the most heart-retching was to look at the shoreline, the rocks, the forceful waters, and hear the sounds of the huge waves coming and going. Here, as at the resort in James Town, Accra, I have a deep sense of furlong, thinking of how the Africans must have felt, forced through that door, onto ships, into cramped spaces, so many of them, not having a clue as to what lay ahead, and hearing the sounds of those waves crashing against the ship sides as they were taken away from their homeland. My heart aches each time I think of it, because I know the feeling I had when I was leaving Jamaica the first time we visited my other “homeland.”

·         An excellent site for information regarding the castle: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09192/983229-82.stm
·         The Obama’s visit to the castle: http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/frontpageFeaturedArticle/Back_through_the_door_of_no_return_-_Obama_in_Africa.shtml

I am going to close now for a bit. I will continue next with the trip to Kakum National Park. If you have any questions please “comment” and I will reply via email.

Here are pictures. More to come. Enjoy!!