Day 56: Elmina Castle And The Road To Nowhere

Elmina - Well finally we made it to what seems like the most important tourist attraction in Ghana from an American and European perspective - Elmina and Cape Coast slave castles.  I have been avoiding these places for a variety of reasons.  I intensely dislike heavily touristed places because of the sheisty people they attract, and I was worried about how I would feel visiting a physical remnant of the transatlantic slave trade.  Turns out the hard part really was getting there.  Ridiculous moon crater roads (navigated expertly by Tim) and an impossibly narrow driveway (due to construction obstruction) choked with pedestrians and market women greeted us at the entrance to Elmina.  Once we made it through we were treated to about six different men of varying ages asking us in all manner of ways for money.  Some wanted to sell painted bracelets, painted shells, and one guy who we gave a ride to asked for cab money.  This was strange as he initially claimed when we picked him up that his destination was Elmina.  

Inner Courtyard view of Governors Rooms

The infamous "Door of No Return"

Dutch church located on top of male dungeons

View from Governors rooms

Elmina inner courtyard

View of fishing village from castle

The tour was adequate.  I was hoping for more information about the materials used to construct the castle, or about how the inhabitants were actually provisioned.  I was looking to get a feel for the entire industry and that included information about the town that supplied and traded with the owners of the castle.  Elmina was originally built to trade gold, but was later converted to trade slaves.  The dungeons had a greasy look and feel with a residual heavy odor.  There were bats hanging from the ceiling and very little ventilation and almost no light.  The door of no return was really tiny, much smaller than it looks in the photographs. The guide stated that this was to allow only one person to come through at a time.  What the guide did do well was to impress upon us the inherent hypocrisy of Christians who were slavers and who built their church directly on top of the dungeons.  He also took the time to acquaint us with the methods soldiers and the governor used to coerce females to have sexual relations with them, and with how the few who were made concubines were cared for in homes in the town.  Their offspring were educated in the castle itself.  The view of the beach was beautiful, especially from the governors rooms.  

Fast forward to Elmina Bay resort.  I urged Tim to try this resort but at the time we attempted to drive to it we were hungry, tired, and needed to use the facilities.  The road was incredibly rough, so we decided to turn back before we reached the end to stop at Coconut Grove, thinking that nothing good could be at the end of such a primitive road.  Coconut Grove was full, so we had to get back on this really muddy, cratered road.  Incredibly, at the end was an isolated, lovely resort with a truly pristine beach, pool, and restaurant.  The place was built in 2009, had modern concrete architecture and featured bedding and towels much like those one would find in a hotel in the United States. Again, the beach was stunning with leaning palms and clean golden sand.  In most places in Ghana people actually live on the beach.  However, the beach here was too narrow and the surf too strong for habitation.
  

view of beach adjacent to Elmina Bay resort

Elmina Bay Resort