A Village Vacation Retreat

Base Camp - Big Milly's Backyard

Welcome to Big Milly's Backyard! This was our home away from home while in Ghana. I spotted it my my travel book and looked it up online as well. It wasn't until one of our school parents had vacationed here over Fall Break and reported back to me that I booked our reservations. I would describe it as bohemian, laid-back, casual, friendly, worry-free. Donn and I were on the "old" end of the age range for the patrons. Most people staying here were backpackers and volunteers looking for a great place to hang out. A few families showed up as well, but the atmosphere catered to the 20-40 year-old range. Donn and I fit in just fine!

http://www.bigmilly.com/

Open-air everything! Vendor store by day, entertainment venue by night on the left. And the bar (middle right) is open 24 hours a day!

The first person we met at Big Milly's was Junior, one of the bartenders. We arrived late from Accra (11:30 pm) and he took good care of us once we checked in (and he had the key to our room). I have to say that all of the staff were excellent and friendly; we felt welcomed and appreciated, and not in any superficial way. Big thanks to Thomas, Idia, Yvonne, Robert, and especially Wendy!

We stayed in two different rooms during our time there. Both rooms had air conditioning and toilet/shower. But, no hot water! Actually that was just fine with us. We didn't really need it because the actual water temperature wasn't cold at all, it just took a little getting used to each time, kind of like swimming in a lake in late August. Well, you get my point, I hope.

The restaurant was open for three meals a day, which we did at the beginning. By the end of our time there, though, we switched to simple breakfasts and regular dinners, choosing to purchase for lunch what we could find and felt safe to eat from the vendors on the beach. Dinners had to be selected a couple hours ahead of time. We usually had 5-7 options to choose from and were big enough for Donn and I to share. We often went for the fresh fish dinner; we often saw the fish or seafood in the baskets on the beach earlier in the day!

Outside our room, Donn's relaxing after spending a tough afternoon relaxing on the beach.

Wendy, the proprietor, is having more of the porches (cabanas?) built. They are very comfortable to hang out in, especially in the morning or late afternoon. We were lucky to find it empty.

Donn's "view" across the way.

If Big Milly's was filled to capacity, there would be about 100 vacationers there. Rentals can be anything from a self-contained house for 12 people to a patch on the ground for a tent. There are open-air showers (private, of course) and public toilets, so the cost can be quite low. We went mid-range, about $40 a night, but we could've gone lower.

One opportunity that Donn was hoping to cash in on was a drumming class. Unfortunately the drum academy advertised in the travel book closed up last year. One of the teachers lives in the area, so Thomas, one of the accommodations staff, made arrangements for Simon to come and teach Donn. Donn wasn't satisfied with just one lesson, so after two hours he came back with a huge smile, as well as a sweaty shirt and red hands. Simon eventually sought Donn out later on in the week for two more lessons (free!). He felt compelled to teach more technique. Donn went from the "kindergarten" level to about "3rd grade". Sadly for Donn, we didn't purchase a drum.

Simon and Donn at the beginning of the lessons, playing the kpanlogo.

Our first day at Kokrobite was a "down" day, which we used to get adjusted to our surroundings and just relax after a LONG bus ride from Cotonou. Up the beach from Big Milly's was tide pool area, so of course we had to go and explore. The flora and fauna at this latitude are totally different than what we find in the Pacific Coast tidal zone. It was fun to look for creatures, though.

The boy on the far left with the red shirt is carrying eels he found in the tide pool farther out. I stepped a bit more carefully after I saw his catch. I wondered what else might be hiding in the pools!

We were inundated with the plying of wares from the vendors on the beach. Some walked around with items to sell from the platters on their head, while others had stalls set up closer to the buildings away from shore. The stall vendors' children were often around as well, either helping out in the stall or waiting for the nets to be brought in. 

One such vendor, very persistent I might add, has this beautiful little girl who befriended me. Givke (sp?) is her name. She saw me often enough that she felt comfortable with plopping down next to me. "No pictures!" she exclaimed when she wanted to see my book (Game of Thrones). The only pictures were of the book covers for the rest of the books in the series. So we checked out Donn's book, Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol. Aha! At least Donn's book had symbols in it, which she then proceeded to identify. Bright girl! I think she's about 7 years old.

Givke and I had a great time going for a swim and body surfing. We eventually talked with her mother. She wanted to know if we knew anyone who might be interested in adopting Givke, to give her a better life outside of this fishing village where there's really no options for moving up unless you have money. We felt like she was asking us in a round-about way to take Givke. Well, my heart just about broke. Later, we met Givke's sister, who had just come home on holiday from a boarding school in eastern Ghana. We felt a little better about Givke, knowing that her mom (and dad?) value education enough to save and scrimp for the older daughter. Hopefully the same will happen with Givke.

Givke's giving the book a look.

Big Milly's comes alive on weekend nights, to say the least. Our first experience was the Saturday night before Christmas. By the time the band set up by the bar, I felt as if we had been transported to Jamaica. Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff all showed up along with a few others (Eric Clapton and Phil Collins; Jamaica was a UK colony, you know.).

http://listverse.com/2012/01/10/top-10-greatest-reggae-singers/ 

I'm usually not one to go out dancing, but there was no way to escape the easy-going lyrics and rhythms of reggae. We danced all night it seemed!

Entertainment for Christmas Eve and Christmas night were also part of the deal. Christmas Eve performers were a local, amateur group, perhaps 25 members strong. We heard traditional drumming and songs and saw traditional dances. There was even audience participation! I couldn't hide from the group leader, even sitting behind a coconut tree.

http://youtu.be/u7_DRpAcgCA

Christmas night entertainment was a different reggae band. More dancing and fun times that night as well.

So, if you're ever on the coast of Ghana, go to Big Milly's Backyard!

Seriously, we had a fantastic time on our first Christmas holiday in Africa. This is such a huge continent to explore. How does one balance these pockets of peace and tranquility in the midst of so much "other" (war, poverty, religious intolerance, human-trafficking, disease, famine, malnutrition)?

We developed some good, simple relationships with locals, people who might find themselves in the cross-hairs of the "other". I am moved by their friendship and acceptance of who we are and truly value the time they took to make us feel welcome in a new place.

Elmina and St. George's Castle

Elmina and St. George's Castle

En route to St. George's Castle, Elmina, Ghana

Our next adventure in the Cape Coast area took us to the big fishing village (town!) of Elmina, about 15 km west of Cape Coast.

St. George's Castle, built by the Portuguese in 1482, is the oldest European building south of the Sahara. It was built as a trading post during the height of the gold trade. Eventually, the slave trade became more lucrative, and the Dutch seized control of the castle in 1637.It became the African headquarters of the Dutch West Indies Company and was used as an Atlantic slave trade post until 1814. It wasn't until 1872 that the British took over the castle and used it for administrative purposes. Now it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmina_Castle

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/34

Coincidentally, the tour group from Kumasi that we joined with at Kakum was also at St. George's Castle! We toured the castle with them as well!

Entrance to the castle

Dry moat for defense

Inner courtyard of the castle

Our tour of the castle officially began in the courtyard. Here we learned that the main level was used for cargo storage (Portuguese), slave holding (Dutch), or administrative offices (British), depending on the ownership of the castle. For the Dutch, the second level rooms were used by the sailors and ship captains during the slave trade times. The top level of rooms was used exclusively by the governor (Dutch) and his officials.

Death Room for unruly slaves

One prominent room off the courtyard was the Death Room, reserved for slaves who didn't cooperate with the traders. Slaves never came out alive from this room; it served as an example to others of what might happen to them if they didn't cooperate. Slaves were left in the room without food and water until they died.

Slaves were brought to the coast from the interior of Africa by slave catchers from the local tribes. The slaves were often bartered for from the local chiefs and kings. In exchange from the Dutch, the slave catchers would receive payment in various ways, including textiles and horses. The idea of local tribesmen buying slaves from chiefs and kings of the interior tribes and then selling them to the Europeans is new to me. I had never really thought of the process of how the slaves were captured or brought to the ships.

Men were separated from the women and children and kept in different holding areas until shipped out to central and South America. The slave ships would then bring raw materials from South America to Europe in exchange for goods brought to the African coast and sold or traded there.

Female slave hold

Small courtyard in slave hold area

Large slave hold room for women

Secret stairs to the Governor's quarters

From the upper balcony surrounding the small courtyard, the governor would choose a woman and have her come up to his quarters using the stairs.

When a ship was ready to leave Elmina, slaves were ushered through other rooms and eventually left through "The Door of No Return", where they were loaded onto the ship and lowered into the hold for the long, often deadly journey to slave sellers in the western hemisphere.

Room leading to "No Return"

 

Descending into the "No Return" rooms

 

Door of No Return

 

View looking out from No Return

During the slave trade, the ocean level was much higher. Ships were moored right outside this door and the slaves were loaded onto the ships from here. The Wikipedia link has a pictorial example of what the castle looked like with water around it.

Our tour continued with exploring the castle's other levels.

Elmina from east side of the castle

 

Looking east toward Cape Coast

 

Taking a break from building a new boat!

 

Looking west toward the port at Elmina, full of fishing boats!

Fort St. Jago

Fort St. Jago was built by the Dutch between 1652-1662 to protect the castle from inland attacks by African chiefs and kings.

Nautical compass used by ship captains prior to embarking on journey

Based on my short time researching the info, an estimated 15-20 million Africans made the middle passage (from Africa to the east Atlantic colonies). Approximately 10 million survived the voyage. Information and estimates vary, so feel free to look up the information yourself if you feel inclined.

This tour was very informative, yet sobering and exhausting as well. Our tour guide did a great job of mentioning that what we learned on the tour was not an indictment on any particular group of people. All parties involved shared the culpability of what happened there as well as many other venues of the slave trade. We were reminded that human trafficking is still practiced in many countries, either openly or on the black market. Man's inhumanity to man, powered by greed and self-domination, exists in many facets today.

Kakum National Park

Kakum National Park

One place we wanted to explore outside of Cape Coast was Kakum National Park, about 30 km northwest of Cape Coast.

A faded billboard just outside of the park

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakum_National_Park

http://www.conservation.org/learn/culture/ecotourism/destinations/Pages/kakum_canopy_walkway.aspx

The draw to this place was the possibility of viewing the rainforest from a series of suspension bridges, a canopy walk of sorts. If we went early enough we were told we might see monkeys and tropical birds in the trees! The canopy walk is a guided tour, about 1 1/2 hours long, designed to give the participants a brief informational overview of the forest as well as an actual overview from the suspension bridges. We joined a church group of young adults who had driven to the Cape Coast area from Kumasi for the day. There were about 30 people in their group. Great, we thought, noisy people from the city.

We walked on a stone path, with a major incline, to get to the suspension bridges.

Our guide, Ben, told us about the importance of many of the trees of the forest. The trees were used by "Grandfather" and "Grandmother" for medicine, furniture, weapons, utensils, food, water, and communication.

Here's Ben explaining the uses of our friend, Ofram (Terminalia superba)

This particular tree pictured above was/is used for furniture and guitars! When Ben hit the buttress, it made an interesting, hollow sound that was often used to communicate where one was in the forest.

Entry structure to the first bridge

The canopy walk consists of seven bridges and seven viewing platforms. Some bridges are up to 30 meters above the ground.

The first bridge

 

Can you see me on the viewing platform?

 

I think this was the longest bridge.

 

Surprisingly, I felt quite safe on the bridges.

 

Apparently I needed an escort. These two were with me along the entire walk!

View of the forest floor, well, where the floor would be were it not for the dense tree cover!

 

Group Shot!!! Most of the Kumasi group is in this photo, just after getting off the last bridge. Did you find us?

As we suspected, we didn't see any animals from the bridges. The group was too noisy. We even lagged behind, hoping to glimpse something. We did hear lots of birds, but didn't see any.

I am hesitant to compare this national park experience to the many others I've had in the United States. It has to do with perspective, I guess. This park was created at the insistence of the local population, to help preserve the area from deforestation. Kudos! There were no sweeping views of mountain ranges, or impressive waterfalls, or deep purplish-blue lakes. There was, however, a sense of pride from our guide, Ben, for making this little part of Ghana (357 sq km) available for others to see and experience. And what a way to experience it, from above!