One our second day in Cape Coast (Feb 5) we went to Kakum National Park and did the Canopy Tour and a Nature Walk. Erik would have loved the canopy tour. We walked across rope bridges 125 feet in the air. The forest was simply amazing! It was a cooler day too (about 30-35 degrees) so we weren't uncomfortable. The landscape was so lush and refreshing. We did the nature walk after the tour, but there were over 25 of us doing the tour so we could barely hear what was being said.
We headed back to the botel to relax by the pool after the tour. It was nice to just relax for a bit because we'd been moving around so much and seeing so many things. It wasn't hot enough for my liking though and the sun was already behind the building, but we did enjoy relaxing by the pool.
We took a little walk around the Botel and saw how run down it was. That's just what happens in Africa. I'm sure it was so majestic in it's prime, but things aren't kept up so they just fall apart and no body really cares. Well it may not be that they don't care, they just don't have the resources to fix things.
We see it all the time when we are driving through - abandoned houses that look like they were once lovely, but nobody lives in them. There are mud huts being lived in 10 meters away but nobody goes into the cement house. I don't understand it, but then I haven't asked anybody yet.
I am most excited for meeting people and actually learning about the culture and the customs rather than just observing. I'm excited to get a new perspective on things rather than just making assumptions and having so many questions! I'm sure not all my questions will be answered and many of the answers won't make sense, but it will be interesting to learn and experience.
We were invited to a restaurant to watch the dancers from the previous evening put on an actual show. Our cab driver brought along his 2 year old daughter when he picked us up so I got to snuggle with her the whole way to the restaurant. She was adorable!! And so little.
The dancers and drummers were phenomenal! I enjoyed the first night more because they had their families and villagers watching them and at the restaurant it was just tourists. By the way - it is so strange to see white people. I actually don't like it. It's fun being the only white people around!
Back to the dancing. It was amazing. And the men were so good-looking! Seriously. Every single one of them. During their final dance the power went out and it was pitch black. People were pulling out their cell-phones in an attempt to illuminate the dancers. I thankfully had my head lamp with me because I pulled it out and we could all see! Sinbad (our ghanaian brother) mounted it where the spotlight had been and we were all able to enjoy the rest of the show. One of the drummers came and borrowed it afterward so he could see what he was doing while he was cleaning up the drums. It was pretty cute to see him wearing it proudly and seeing a couple of his buddies coming to inspect it. It is much stronger than I thought it would be, but then I have never tried it somewhere that there is no light source. I was impressed.
One more quick update for today - Kumasi!
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