Fishing boats as far as the eye can see

Day 12

We sat by the sea while having breakfast before we made a short drive westwards along the coast. The first visit today was the Dutch cemetery in Elmira, dating from 1806. Many of the men were in their early 20s.

En route we passed the Posuban, shrines of the old Afaso companies:the warriors who used to put their offerings on the statues.

Next we walked to the fishing area and here hundreds of colourful boats were moored up. Each day the colourful canoes are guided by a skilled crew of fishermen across strong waves and currents.

Our final visit was to Elmina Castle, a fortress built by the Portuguese in the 15th century. It is the oldest European building in Africa and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At first the fortress was used as a warehouse to trade gold, ivory and eventually slaves. We had a an excellent guide who spoke perfect English and explained everything so clearly. He refused to call the building a castle - it is St George’s slave dungeon. We saw the places slaves were incarcerated and we stooped lower and lower to go through passageway entrances till we reached “the door of no return”. Here at one time had been steps that led down to the slave ships. The guide was very insistent that we should learn from the past and work for world peace, equality and justice.

It was really hot today. We stopped for lunch at a pretty beachside restaurant on our way back east to Accra (a 4 hour journey) where we spend our last night in a swish hotel with fast wifi and aircon but no soap.