Lots happened over the last week, so I'm going to break this up into a few sections. Normally I'd spread it over multiple posts, but I don't want to spam RSS feeds or FaceBook profiles (see, I'm considerate like that). Check it out on the original site, because I'm not sure the newly added alt-text is going to work in FaceBook.
Trial at Tarkwa
On Thursday, I travelled to Tarkwa (approximately five hours outside of Accra) to observe a Ghanaian trial. The case was being heard at the High Court in Tarkwa, which is roughly analogous to the superior court of a province (or, for the Americans following along, a US district court). The court house building wasn't exactly beautiful. In fact, when I was snapping photos, a passerby inquired as to whether I was here to renovate the building (much to her dismay, I wasn't). I tried to not let the aesthetics of the place distract me from the substance of the legal proceedings.
It's worth mentioning that, much like Canada, Ghana inherited the British legal tradition, including much of the old pomp and circumstance. For example, just like in Canada, the lawyers referred to the judge as "my lord", and were wearing robes and tabs. A mildly hilarious quirk that (mercifully) didn't stick around in Canada (or the UK, AFAIK): wigs. All the lawyers appearing at the High Court have to wear wigs (which, for added comedy, are also light blond). This includes our CEPIL lawyer, Prince, who was the one arguing in court. You can see that he's tabbed and holding his wig, as well as his robes.
The court house also had some pretty hilarious signage. For example:
The court case itself was a little difficult to follow. Not necessarily because the legal system is foreign - in fact, most of the actual proceedings mirrored the Canadian system very closely. However, the physical realities of the court room made it very difficult to hear what was happening. Most significantly, the judge had a really, really soft voice. As in, on-board-the-Red-October-during-a-sonar-scan soft. Like many buildings here, the court room is "naturally ventilated" (meaning that the walls are designed to let air through, with the unfortunate side effect of also letting noise right through). So, on top of our soft-spoken judge, there was a rooster that had inconveniently placed itself directly outside the courtyard. This isn't some cartoon rooster that crows once at dawn, either. Oh, no - this little bugger managed to crow pretty much non-stop throughout the entire case.
When you represent an entire community, you tend to have a lot of clients. This means you're going to have to do a lot of explaining after the proceedings conclude. Here you can see Prince talking to the residents of the mining community, and explaining to them what exactly had taken place in Court that day.
Fort Victoria
On the way back from Tarkwa, we had to go through Cape Coast. Taylor and I decided to get dropped off and spend the weekend doing some sightseeing.
Right next to our hotel (the Mighty Victory Lodge, which struck me as a little grandiose for a hotel name) was Fort Victoria, which really struck me as more of a watchtower than an actual fort. The weather when we arrived was kind of dark and stormy, which really added to the atmosphere. Fort Victoria is actually situated on the highest point in Cape Coast, which is what gives the fort its strategic value. You can't really see it in the photos, but there were black birds (crows, perhaps?) circling the whole time.
Kakum National Park
Early the next morning, we set off for Kakum National Park. The main attraction of a visit to Kakum is the canopy walk. After a mild upwards hike, visitors are suspended about seven stories above the rainforest floor. The height didn't actually bother me, because you can't really see all the way to the bottom. Your view is obscured by the treetops, so it didn't feel like we were very high. Of course, that's just my opinion ... my traveling companion was unable to look down, and instead marched forward in straight line without once letting her eyes drop. The bridges (seven in total, connected by little "rest stations" anchored to the tallest trees), however, tended to sway and bounce with each step. Although we were assured that the Park has never had a fatality on the bridge, I am positive that more than one traveller has lost their digital camera on that walk.
After the canopy walk, we opted to take a brief nature walk. Our guide (who was awesome) would explain the various traditional medical uses for the bark and sap of the trees and plants that we passed. He didn't constrain himself to making a briefly explaining that "Tree X helped treat Ailment Y", either. Instead, he provided us with detailed instructions on how to prepare and administer the correct treatment (I'm pretty sure that I can now heal an infected compound fracture with some hot water and tree bark). Some of the trees that we saw were amazingly huge. Here's a picture of Taylor standing next to the largest one. That's not a wall behind her, oh no. That's a tree. A large, large tree.
I also really enjoyed this tree, because I think plants with natural defenses are awesome. I'm hopefully that one day it'll evolve into an Ent.
Castles at Cape Coast and Elmina
After getting back from Kakum, we rested for a moment, and then headed out to Cape Coast castle.
The castle is located right along the ocean, and was a major commercial hub during the slave trade. We participated in a guided tour that took us through the various dungeons and holding cells contained within the castle. It was quite a chilling experience, particularly when our guide would close the door to briefly simulate the conditions faced by the slaves. Of course, any simulation could not approach the horror of the dungeon's original purpose. We were in a group of about 25 or 30, and we felt claustrophobic being in that confined space. I can't even fathom what it would have bene like for the 300 men who were forced to eat, sleep, and excrete waste within that same space. I tried to take a photo or two, but pictures of walls don't really convey the visceral feeling of confinement.
After exploring the Cape Coast castle, we took a taxi over to Elmina (the town that is only forty-five minutes away from Cape Coast). The castle at Elmina is actually the oldest extant European building in sub-Saharan Africa.
It was constructed in 1482 (!) by the Portuguese, subsequently taken over by the Dutch, then later acquired by the British. Even more so than Cape Coast castle, it was a major part in the Atlantic Slave Trade.
The population of Elmina seemed to really depend on tourists who visited the castle, much more so than Cape Coast. At the immediate exterior of the castle, there was a huge throng of teenage youths trying to sell various baubles. It was a pushier atmosphere than even the pushiest market in Accra. One particularly clever scheme involved a couple friendly youths approaching and befriending tourists as they entered the castle, and then presenting them with a "gift" of a seashell with their name written in marker. They would then ask for a 10 or 20 Gh¢ "donation" to their "football club".
On our way out of Cape Coast and back to Accra, our original plan was to stop by an ATM to take out enough money to pay our hotel bill. Of course, none of them worked (ATMs are notoriously unreliable in Ghana, which is something I should have had the foresight to realize ahead of time). Anyways, we were about 15 Gh¢ (or about $11 Cdn) short of settling up our hotel bill. I was growing a little distraught, since literally each of the town's four banks was either a.) without an ATM b.) without an ATM that would accept my debit card (x2) c.) without an ATM that was not temporarily out of service. Thankfully, we were able to borrow some money from a fellow traveller by the name of Andy Crawford.
Sidenote: Andy Crawford = Patron Saint of Awesome
Who exactly is Andy Crawford? A saint? An angel? A time-travelling cyborg from the future, programmed to teach humanity the moral lessons that will enable our species to avoid nuclear extinction and continue thriving in the twenty-third century? Or is he simply a kind-hearted Irish fellow? Sadly, we may never know the truth.
Some random, but really cool, pictures
Check out this awesomeness:
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