The Last Few Days

On Friday morning we headed south, saying goodbye to the family and goodbye to Mampong Ashanti. 

From Kumasi we went directly to Cape Coast. We arrived mid afternoon, so we did some exploring. We went to a few shops, figured out where the beach was and made plans for the next day. Kakum National Park. 

Kakum National Park was unreal! The main attraction there is a canopy walk. Where there is a wobbly rope bridge that lies 130 feet from the forest floors and suspends across 7 trees. It is terrifying. But so exciting. Some were shaking it as others were crossing, just to get a few laughs,  some were yelling to themselves, "I'm not afraid!" repeatedly, the majority of us just clenched the sides grabbed on for dear life and yelped every so often.

We also went on a nature walk where we learned about different plants, hiked, and saw some monkeys and snakes. Our tour guide showed us a river we could drink from and a tree with thorns on its trunks. She said, "This tree is a reminder to us. It has thorns protecting it from the bad things and people in the world. And if this tree is protecting itself what are we doing to protect ourselves from the bad in the world. Let this tree remind us. Thank you." The way people I've encountered here look at life, I just smile. 

We also bought some cocoa, coconut, and banana's. I've never eaten cocoa before, but its one of that area's main crops. We weren't really sure how to eat it but what you do is eat the white fruit around the seed and spit the seed out. Yeah I know sounds like a no brainer. The seed is what is used to make chocolate, and it is so bitter! Purple too. I have no idea how someone discovered how to make it into chocolate. But boy am I grateful for them. 

When we got back from the National Park we went to the beach and again to the shops. The weather wasn't warm enough to swim though. I'd say weather wise Cape Coast is like San Francisco. While we were out and about we noticed a pizzeria. Can you believe it! So of course we headed there for dinner, and the food was SO GOOD! But that was the spiciest pizza I have ever had in my life. I don't know what they did to it, but our mouths were on fire! Still good though. 






And there we have it, a packed day filled with tourist fun.