Weekend in Cape Coast

On Friday morning I left my home in Swedru to meet the rest of the volunteers in Cape Coast.  I arrived early, since Swedru is closer to Cape than Accra.  I spent some time exploring the areas in close proximity to our guesthouse, and then took a stroll down to the ocean.  Once the rest of the group arrived, we headed out for dinner to a place by Cape Coast Castle and after that to a local bar.

The following morning we were up much too early to head into a forest reservoir for a canopy walk.  It was a great opportunity for me to face my fear of heights and of less than acceptable safety standards.  But fears (and joking) aside, the view was gorgeous!

After the canopy walk, we headed to a place called Hans Cottage for lunch, where we were able to see (and pet) live crocodiles.  The very idea of this made me uneasy (it made the canopy walk look like the safest activity on earth), but I figured it could not be any worse than having the snake around my neck during orientation week. And so, after everyone had taken their turn petting the croc, mine was up.  And just as I went to touch him, he started thrashing (read: moved his leg slightly), and sent me into a fit of sheer panic.  Entertaining for the group, horrifying for me.  Next time I'll pass on the picture opp with the reptiles.

After lunch we headed to Cape Coast Castle.  It was good to finally do some historical sightseeing and to learn about the significance of Cape Coast as a slave trade port.  We had a tour of the dungeons, a holding cell and several other rooms in the castle.  A very informative, but chilling experience.    

Sunday morning we headed to a beach resort and spent the day relaxing in the sun.  It was the perfect conclusion to another great excursion.  I always love the weekends away, but this one was especially sweet, as I had been missing the group since I left them last week.   

I returned home to Swedru on my own late last night.  I hate being out after dark due to the obvious death-by-snake-bite factor.   I am sure you can imagine my relief (read: horror) when I got home and found out that a snake had been spotted around our house over the weekend.  Great.  And as if I wasn't scared enough, this morning I found out that one of our chickens was killed last night by said snake.  Really great.