Day 2: in Ghana - August, 13th, 2024                                                        My Immediate Impression / Having Fresh Coconut                                          Paying Heartfelt and Deep Respect to the souls                                                        at Elmina Castle & Slave Dungeons                                                                                       Lemon Beach

I can't find a word to describe, so I will use a few here to simply try to paint a picture:

Warm breeze during the day, pleasantly cooler at night.  Quiet in the small communities even quieter in the evening.  Very peaceful / calming really.  Walk out to the main road absolutely unequivocally immediate "Sensory Overload".  Absolutely crazier then the craziest day I have ever had in New York hands down.  Not even in the same league.  Hang out on the street you will hear in a concentrated area of say 100 feet, multiple directions of recorded music playing loudly, next to an evangelist preacher testifying, next to literally hundreds of people shopping at densely packed individual shops (like the size of a 8' x 8' metal storage container).  imagine being at the largest, dense, most intense farmers market or flea market now multiply that by 1000 and you start getting the picture of the energy level that is happening and then you add in incredibly dense traffic and then on top of that every "Tro Tro" (what they call private owned taxi, but it's a 10 passenger flat front van) that goes by you has a person hanging out a window or door yelling out the next stop they are going to in case you need a ride.  This of course is coming from a van already filled over the capacity of what they should probably be carrying as far as weight is concerned.  Get into one of those "Tro Tro 's" and now ladies and gentlemen it is "Sensory Overload on Steroids".

Why - Unless you are on a freeway and even then you are not assured that the roads are stable your driver will literally be speeding down the road, only to slow down quickly because the road has crumbled apart, washed out, or there is debri they have to navigate, or another driver is cutting you off, or driving down the center of the road, or a person is just simply waving their hand to slow you down because they are in need to cross the road.  Which, as they are waiving their arms they are also crossing the street.  I guess, hoping you see them and are prepared to stop.  Oh, and by the way - there are no street lights so this, all this, continues throughout the night.  Every street you go on is randomly lined with virtually thousands of little hut size shops or stores.  Even in the rural areas.  Everyone is constantly hustling.  I know, there probably are folks in these areas that may not be, BUT I am not kidding when I say they are busting all day long, constantly.  Everywhere you go - whether it be the folks that have a shop, or that are literally walking the street, in traffic or along the side of the road, when the traffic slows down before you know what has happened you have been approached by everyone in that area that is selling something mobile.  Anything they can carry: in their fingers, hands, arms, head.   An example for you - bread, nuts, plantains, dried fish, flavored dried chicken, paint brushes, knifes, tool sets, plastic chairs, plastic storage containers, peanut brittle, snacks literally of every sort.  So much comes at you during these times you seriously can't process what is hitting you, because it is coming at you from all sides.

Sometimes little ones, I guess because we look a bit different - have come up to our open window (in a private "Tro Tro" that Zorkie has hired for us exclusively for our time here) with their beautiful little precious faces and these huge beautiful smiles to greet us and to just say hi.  So how do I feel = Deeply moved and truly blessed to have my life changed by what I have experienced.  Years ago I was brought to this same place in the Caribbean.  I was viewed at times as being wealthy.  I really did not like that feeling.  But here due to the massive size and the massive population, that experience I feel is literally a million more times more intense.

These folks are virtual forces of nature, driven to carve out their place, resilient like I have never experienced because of the absolute crazy that they have to exist in.  And they truly are remarkably inspiring.

- Thank you for reading my posts.  Here is a nice mix of photos and short videos of our day so far.

I really hope that I am giving you the right image in your mind.

Driving to Cape Coast / Jamestown from Zorkie's home in Ablekuma

Main Roadway to Cape Coast / Jamestown 

Enjoying my first experience of having Fresh Coconut - Mind Blown.  Stopped along the roadside of our route to a local merchant on our way to visit St. Georges Castle / Elmina Castle.  Had know idea what to expect.  Wow, really quite quenching and the coconut meat was perfectly sweet.  You just scrap and slurp it up!.  

The merchant weilding a very sharp machete, peeled the coconut, and then in a very precise strike opened the coconut up at the top end leaving a small spoon shaped section of the shell loose as an opening / closing lid so that you can drink the coconut water.  Once the coconut water was drank up, you snap off the small spoon shaped section at the top of the shell and hand the coconut back to the merchant.  They then in another precise strike with the machete split the coconut shell in half.  This allows you to then take that small spoon shape section and scrap the meat of the coconut out to then slurp it up!!!  Absolutely Delicious!!!