TD (traveler’s diarrhea) has officially arrived…

G takes me to the forts that are located in the center of town…i am sporting my new sandals that i bargained for at the Adisadel market place the night before… it is not the wisest decision to walk up the hill in them and i am cursing myself…

we first venture up Fort Victoria which is the smaller of the Cape Coast forts….the forts were created to oversee the town and protect the castle from intruders – a lookout..unlike the Castles, the forts do not offer tours or guides but most likely have overseers which live in and around the area… we make it up to the top of the hill, but in order to actually go inside the fort we must climb over the wall… a frail looking ladder is our other option but i dismiss either option and simply take in the view of a lovely mango tree nearby… G decides to relieve himself by the tree – a common occurrence for men in Ghana to simply relieve themselves wherever they pretty much please…

we then head over to the larger Fort Williams which is much easier to ascend to….we are also able to head inside the fort and up to the top …there i am able to take in an incredible view of the town and bask in its serenity and beauty….G points out all the distinct areas of the town (which i cannot remember their specific names)…i feel like i could be there for a whole day, but the forthcoming rain imposes a shorter timeframe….

we head back down and go back to the hotel for banku and fish and kool-aid – i accidentally brought a pack with me (i had leftovers from my koool-aid performance piece in my suitcase) and stir up a batch for G….he doesn’t like it too sweet so i dont add much sugar…he savors its tanginess as he surmises that ‘ kool-aid is from Babylon, so it will not make you mighty!”

the afternoon is chill…watching Ghanain tv where the latest news tell of somewhere in Africa a woman’s house is torched and she is harassed for wearing trousers…

at night we are back at Adisadel where G and a Rasta brother get in a heated conversation …G translates what the brother says in Fanti ” he told me he would end my happiness’ is what G says the Rasta brother yells at him…i try to dissuade them from continuing this heated arguement and we move on to another area to clear our heads…. i also hear about the vendors’ frustration with the frequent blackouts and lack of sales….in particular two Rasta brothers who speak in Fanti about how they are tired of seeing me but i am not buying anything from them… i later speak to them about their frustration and ask them why they couldn’t simply talk to me instead of speaking in Fanti ‘behind my back’…they are apologetic and i STILL dont buy anything from them…i continue on with G throughout the village and meet R and B two hip Ghanaian vendors creating fusion design and later have a more in-depth conversation with R…seeing that G is tired i tell him that R can escort me back to the hotel, so he can go home if he wishes…i agree to meet G tomorrow morning so we go to Church…R and i continue our dialogue for another hour and then he escorts me back to the hotel…

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