Akwaaba to Ghana!



Our welcome party on the dock



How to describe Ghana...  Wonderful, amazing, beautiful, fun, westernized.  The first thing we notice is the cleanliness of the port.  It's a huge, modernized port, no trash in the water, the docks are in good repair & there are street lights.  As we move out into the community beyond the security gates of the port, we see traffic circles, stop lights, toll roads & malls!  We almost have to remind ourselves that we are still in West Africa.  Then our taxis breaks down in the middle of traffic, & we feel right at home :)

Our time here in Ghana is a time to relax, enjoy the holiday & prepare for our next field service, which will be in Togo.  We got to take the week off between Christmas & New Years to "see the sights".  Our port in Tema is about an hour's drive from the capital of Accra.  We can take a taxis there to see the cultural museum, the craft market & to a real-live mall- complete with food court & movie theater!



Ginger by a Coke-Cola coffin



I find a fish coffin



Ghana is known for, of all things, their coffins.  As we drive down the road between Tema & Accra, we often see them displayed in shops.  At first we didn't know they were coffins, they can make a coffin to look like anything.  We saw giant coke bottles, cameras, cars, cell phones, an eagle, just to name a few.  We stopped at one of the work shops to see some up close (a little morbid, I know) & were amazed at the size & creativity of the coffins.



Canopy walk



The Davies Family on the bridges



One day we got very adventurous & headed out in a tro-tro (a van taxis) to Cape Coast, a 3 1/2 hour ride to Kakum National Forest.  This is a wonderful park that is home to a large herd of wild elephants & monkeys & other creatures of the rainforest.  Unfortunately, we didn't get to see any of these, but we did get to take the opportunity to do the canopy walk.  For about 15 Ghana cedis ($9), we walked at eye level with the forest's canopy.  Seven bridges, spanning from tree to tree 40m in the air was quite exciting. 



Its an interesting feeling being eye level with a tree



Trying to smile 40m up





The main gate



The female dungeon- held 150



After our "death-defying" walk through the trees, we headed closer to the coast to Elmina, the home of one of the castles used during the slave trade.  A very powerful & sombering feel to the castle, which was built in the late 1400's for trade of gold & ivory, before switching to human trade by the Portuguese, before it was taken over by the Dutch & then the English.  Even though, the castle hasn't been used for slavery since 1814, the feeling (& smell) still remains.  We took a tour of the castle, including the female & male slave dungeons & the Gate of No Return- a very narrow opening that the captives, chained together, left the castle to board the waiting ships, never to return.  A plaque is in place on the walls of this historical castle, remembering all those that lost their lives & their freedom within those walls.



Give you an idea how small the gate is



The Gate of No Return

My aunt & uncle have been missionaries here in Ghana over the years & had friends here.  Through their connections, I meet Donne & his wife, Gloria, who run a Bible college in the northern part of Ghana.  They graciously took me & my friend, Penny, out to see the sights of Accra & treated us to lunch at a very nice restaurant.  It was a nice day out & about.



Donne, Jen, Penny & Gloria



Blessings

Akwaaba = Welcome  (pronounced- ack-wha-ba)