Day 2...The Dungeons

 I woke up at the LaBadi Beach Resort, we hadn't unpacked from the night before so gathering our things was easy.  We had breakfast (buffet style) at the resorts restaurant.  I was not feeling any better.  I managed to eat a few watermelon and pineapple chunks- this was almost immediately upchucked.  I knew I had 4 hours on our bus to get to Elmina and hoped that this impeding wave a nausea would subside.  We departed around 9am, but not before some guy managed to sell my husband a couple of really nice canvas paintings.  Within an hour after departing our hotel I was puking mercessly on the bus, but I sat in the back so the passengers up front were clueless.  During a brief restroom break I was able to clean up the disgusting mess I had going on in the 'Rosa Parks' section of the bus.  I knew that whatever "this" was wasn't going away anytime soon.

We stopped at a restaurant called Baobab House. Here we were served a fabulous vegan lunch! Now I did not get the chance to ENJOY this lunch.  By the time we arrived at Baobab I was dehydrated, dizzy, hot, dry heaving...here is where my out of body experience began.  I dismissed myself from the group and sat near the entry way of the restaurant where some of the staff offered me cold tea.  It was cold and refreshing, but I felt very little relief.  Our tour guide Sarah offered to take me to the pharmacy while our group was finishing lunch and doing some light shopping. Sarah, my husband, and myself went to a pharmacy where I paid $4 for something called Stugeron and something else- upon further research this shit would have cost an arm and a fucking leg in the states- I digress.  I manage to get the pills down, but not before throwing up on the sidewalk of the Cape Coast streets- the bile was a fluorescent yellow, and as I watched it rain on the dusty sidewalk it hit me....I was purging.  I was not sick- there would be no pill to save me.  I was introduced to purging going through an Ayahuasca ceremony after my mother passed.  I was seeing lights, lights that I now know as spirits.  My body was purging and I knew I had to just let it happen.  I was scared as hell! I'm diabetic, what if this shit kills me??

...to the Dungeon- despite me feeling as if I were SURELY meeting my end, our group headed to Elmina Castle- the nerve of them calling this place a fucking castle- slave dungeons are a much better description.  I was able to go into the male dungeon that housed 200 men- it was dark and hot.  I could literally feel the tortured souls that were there.  My heart ached for them.  My heart ached for my people.  We lit candles and paid tribute to our ancestors.  I appreciated that the tour guide explained how he does this tour differently with white people- He talked about how directly above the particular dungeon we were standing in is where the colonizers had church services...they'd play their gospel, despite the language barrier they held their services and this was the beginning of many Africans intro to white Jesus and Christianity. Fuckers.... in this moment I hated white people- how were they so fucking soul-less...so cruel? How? Really the answer wasn't important- they fucked us up- I don't hate white people by the way, but the feelings I had in this moment were indescribable, so therefore I will stop trying to describe the hopeless anguish i was feeling. I was just sad- I hated myself for being American...I hated myself for being so disconnected...I hated every ounce of Caucasian DNA that runs through my tainted blood.  These feelings were overwhelming, and I was still extremely sick.  I wasn't able to finish the tour (because I could no longer stand) so I excused myself, my husband continued.  We left the dungeons a few hours later and were greeted by the beautiful entrepreneurs of Elmina/Cape Coast- they tried to sell us everything but the kitchen sink- I think my husband bought the kitchen sink-

We get on the bus and headed to our next hotel- Coconut Grove Hotel Beach Resort in Elmina https://coconutgrovehotelsgh.com/beachresort/, needless to say I can NOT WAIT to lay down.  Today has been a lot- I honestly thought at one point I'd die.  Little did I realize that THIS was me being born again.  We get to the hotel where our tour guide made sure we received our room keys FIRST.  With a fresh coconut in hand we headed to our room.  The A/C was on Antarctica which was a relief from MOTHER Africa's sun.  I sat on the shower floor allowing the water to cascade onto my worn and broken soul.  I spent the entire night purging.  My husband was so extremely gentle and helpful.  I kept thinking how badly I was ruining this trip for him, but his spirit never broke and he seemed to be happy and engaged with our new found friends. Tonight I did not sleep much, matter of fact I set up pillows next to the toilette and purged...and purged...and purged-