The Waves Must be Made of Happiness Here

Cape Coast weekend was: amazing, relaxing, mind-blowing, incredible, beautiful....

We started the trip with a tour of Elmina Castle which was the first European slave-port in West Africa. I don't know that I can even attempt to convey, online what it was like to be there, especially because it's probably a really personal experience emotionally. It was definitely impacting and worthwhile and I definitely recommend going for any Ghanaian travelers.

Afterwards, we went to Kakum National Park which was absolutely invigorating and exhilarating, and especially refreshing after the intense morning. Surrounded by green, of all different textures, shades and sizes, we walked along a path, unsure how long of a hike we had embarked on. After just 10 minutes, we were at the canopies!

Walking atop the tropical rainforest was absolutely incredible! I wish I could do it every day! The national park homes elephants, leopards, tigers, monkeys, bush babies and tons of butterflies and birds. A bunch of us want to come back and camp here and hope to find some animals. There's a giant film festival in Burkina Faso in late February, which would leave me unable to do anything too adventurous or costly during Spring break, making camping in the national park an excellent option! Who knows where these adventures will end up taking me.

After the canopy walks, we returned to our beautiful beach resort, where we were put in our own rooms and surrounded by beautiful forests of palm trees. My room was right on the beach, which was, absolutely gorgeous! I stole these from my friend, but I think they're absolutely beautiful. Just looking at the beach was relaxing, being on it...was out of this world.

After a few hours of relaxing, we had a delicious buffet dinner, followed with palm wine (a local wine made from palm plants) and a bonfire right on the beach! The next day we got to just relax by the beach and pool, it was serenity at it's best. A group of us woke up at 5:30 to watch the sunrise. Which, although ended up being anticlimactic, was still really fun and peaceful. We had an absolutely outstanding buffet breakfast, too which really topped off a great morning. Waking up early also allowed us to enjoy the maximum amount of this perfect day. 

After a four hour bus ride home, I got home to find out one of my friends who I've known my entire life was coming to Accra! He's doing Semester at Sea which is a program that travels to 11 different countries over the course of the semester. We managed to meet up and it was so great to see him! We had a really fun time, we went to the Art Centre where we all bought way too much stuff, and were probably overcharged no matter how much bargaining we got done. After that, I took them to Tawala, the trusty beach. Despite the luxurious, clean and exotic beach we were at this weekend, I didn't lose any respect for Tawala. And I finally got a few pictures in too!

Ghana, so far, has not ceased to amaze me. And I don't see that stopping any time in the future. Today, I couldn't stop smiling just at the thought of life itself, it was one of the most wonderful and refreshing moods I'd ever felt. I just wish it were possible to bottle up, save and share things like that (as Disney princess/fairy tale as that may sound).