Day 7: Cape Coast & Area (January 14, 2011)

Warning! There will be lots of photos today because what I saw was very visually stunning. And fun.

One advantage to not booking hotel rooms ahead of time is I can decide at the last minute to stay where I am another day and not lose any deposits. I like Cape Coast, and knew there was more I wanted to see, so I stayed today too.

My first stop was Kakum National Park, a rainforest whose main attraction is the Canopy Walkway, suspended 40 meters above the ground and about 10 meters above the treetops below (although many trees soar above the walkway too, and hold the walkway aloft). Apparently there are only about 10 canopy walkways in the whole world! Walking on them somehow felt both safe and dangerous at the same time. My footing never felt secure and I couldn't have let go of both ropes at the same time. But my body was also certain it wasn't going to fall. I'll let the photos and captions speak for themselves, and hope they manage to convey the height of the walkway and the trees:

See the people in the upper right?

Kakum has its share of wild animals, most of which come out only at night, but we came across these critters on our way up:

The never-ending column of ants.  It's about 3 inches wide.

Snaaaaake!  Sorry, no badgers or mushrooms.

Sadly, I learned at my next stop, the Monkey Forest Resort, that a lot of the animals in Kakum are hunted, even when they are not allowed to be hunted. And the killed animals leave behind babies, which will die with no one to take care of them. But about 7 years ago, this Dutch couple decided they liked Ghana, and they bought some land near the Park and set up an animal sanctuary, housing orphaned baby animals until they can be returned to the wild. A few examples:

 

And they have some unwanted animals on their land too-- the termintes living in this giant termite mound. It's about 5 feet tall. And creepy. Creepier than the ants.

I didn't get enough sleep last night, so I crashed at the hotel for a couple of hours then finally made it out to see some nightlife. Depending on my destination, it usually takes me a few days to want to venture out at night.  But even I want company once in a while.  So with one of the staff of the hotel and a couple of his friends, I went to The Oasis, an open-air bar near the beach that attracts locals and tourists and volunteers. It was my kind of place: Not too loud to talk, some music, plenty of seating and space to move. And on weekends, this dance & drum troupe performs. They're local people who I gathered do this semi-professionally. Unfortunately, most of my photos of the dancers are a blurry mess, but this shot of one of the more acrobatic dances came out OK:

I'm pretty sure that dance floor was concrete. Every time the dancers leapt or did a backspring or sommersault, I cringed, thinking of what it must be doing to their bodies. They're probably used to it, but still. It also reminded me of a documentary about North Korean gymnasts training for the annual Mass Games. Tens of thousands of gymnasts all across the country train all year for this event (it's called "Games" but there aren't any games. It's just a showcase of the miliary and rhythmic gymnastics... a strange combo lol) and most of them have to train outside on the concrete. I know, I know... that has nothing to do with Ghana, but I was thinking about it anyway. Go rent the movie--A State of Mind--it's very compelling. G'night!

Here's to being outside after dark!