Erica: Final Goodbyes!

Dear World:

Can't believe it's been a week since the five of us had left Ghana. This will be the final official entry on this blog.

After so many goodbyes, we said hello to the wonderful town of Cape Coast! A six hour drive through huge potholes in a squished and bumpy tro was well worth it, though Linh had to sit on backpacks and Emily had to survive sitting directly on top of the burning hot motor (which believe it or not, was right under the front passenger seat). Cape Coast is a coastal town, and as we approached the city, the salty smell of ocean water and fish hit our noses like a wave.

Upon arrival, we first toured Cape Coast Castle, the castle built by the British in the 1600s to store enslaved Africans before they were shipped off to the Americas for labor. Immediately as we stepped off the tro onto the cobbled stone ground of the castle, all of us cringed at the gloomy atmosphere. Our tour guide took us around, and we were astounded by how a tiny room about the size of a living room would store hundreds of people. The floor of many of the prison cells were lined with 400 year old human excrements. Simply, and utterly astounding. We were shown to a door outside the prisons that said: "Door of No Return", leading to the shipyard, and then proceeded to look about uneasily. Despite this atmosphere, one cannot deny that the view beyond the Door of No Return was beautiful, with the fishing boats lined up against the coast, the grey-blue waves hitting them gently.

After a meaningful walk-through of the castle, we headed off to the hotel we were staying at. We realized sooner rather than later that the hotel lacked running water in the evenings. We had to drag cold water from a tap downstairs up to our second floor bathroom. We managed to take our last shower with a bucket of water, soap, and an empty water bottle. None of us could wait for the hot running water back home. We all slept in the same room, not caring much because all of us were exhausted from traveling and from the work of the past two weeks.

In the morning, we grabbed breakfast and headed off to the canopy walk, a scenic collection of rope bridges  that lined the canopy of a forest nearby. It began to rain, making our trek uphill to the rope bridges a bit of a challenge. We tripped and slid around a bit, but the view from above the canopy was simply breathtaking. We were so high in the air, and the rope bridge was secure enough to hold our weight, so none of us were too worried.

After a quick stop at a crocodile park, we made our way back to Accra to catch our plane back home to America. The flight back was quite restful, since we knew that we had accomplished loads on our trip.

I would like to thank several people-- Thanks to my parents and the Semans Family for making this second trip for me a reality. To the entire Blue-Med Africa Team, whom I have come to love dearly and with whom I share a passion for providing care to the community, my experience would not have been this amazing without you all. Thank you to the other volunteers, for making me laugh and for working with us. To the staff in the Ho Municipal Hospital, the Volta Regional Hospital, and the Ghanaian Health Service, thank you for being my mentors and helping me understand the true meaning of patient care. To my four friends, Emily, Linh, Chandler, and Jen, who eagerly agreed to do the trip, worked alongside me in everything I proposed to do, posted on this blog, and helped me cope with every challenge I faced. Lastly, to you, the reader, who stuck by us as we traveled through everything. Love you all.

Signing off for now,

Erica

06.25.2012 #yolo