WEDNESDAY - APR. 27

TAKORADI, GHANA, AFRICA

Here we are, in Ghana, bordered on the west by the Ivory Coast and on the east by Togo, We sailed into the harbor right through the fishing grounds and the many traditional fishing boats.

We spent a full day with our Ghanaian guide, traveling for miles through villages, towns, and countryside in what had been the "Gold Coast" because of the trading in gold and slaves.

It takes many hands and lots of muscle to pull the heavy fishing boats up on shore.

The Cape Coast Castle, built by the Swedes in 1652, became West Africa's largest slave trading center. President Obama visited here in 2009.

The dungeons for men and women, the prison cells, "The Door of No Return" through which slaves filed one by one to the waiting ships - seeing these "castles" and hearing about the conditions of the slave trade was chilling.

Everywhere you look are slogans for God, Jesus and love. Names of boats and shops are no exception - if you can think it up, someone in Ghana already did. Precious Love Barber Shop, Hand of God Automotive Repair..

The is Wesley Methodist Cathedral, the oldest in Ghana. We were delighted to meet the current pastor.

In the fishing villages the men fish and the women smoke the fish and sell it.

In Elmina Township, up the hill from these street vendors, we visited Elmina Castle, built in 1482 by the Portuguese, also part of the region's slave history.

A family waits for business.