Visiting Africa provokes powerful emotions
Going to Africa can change you, says Ukua Washington, reflecting on her most recent visit to Ghana.
Washington, 30, an events planner in Atlanta, had been to Ghana twice as a girl. Her Ghanaian father moved back there after 30 years studying and practicing law in the USA.
It wasn't until her 2013 trip with family members and church friends, however, that Washington experienced the "roller coaster of emotions" that many African Americans have reported feeling when on a trip to the continent.
Ghana-based Ashanti African Tours put together a two-week itinerary for Washington's party of 10 that included an opportunity to offer service to an orphanage, climbing in the mountains, cocktails on a beach — and visits to historic sites.
At Elmina Castle, the group walked through the Door of No Return, a portal through which newly enslaved people passed before being taken to lives of brutal servitude in the New World. Similar gates and portals are found at other former slave trading posts.
"We were able to turn around, and go back," Washington says. "The (slaves) weren't so lucky."
The tour group stood in a holding room no bigger than 400 square feet, where traders would cram 50 to 150 slaves awaiting transport. The floor is discolored, the tour guide told them, from feces, urine and other bodily waste that fell to the floor.
"There were tears. Some people couldn't take it, and had to step outside. You could hear a pin drop on the ride back to the hotel," Washington says.
On a lighter note, Washington's husband enjoyed haggling in the markets. And they basked in the attention of the locals. "They'd say to us, 'Welcome, brother. Welcome, sister.' It was like we're all connected, just spread out."
Since that trip to Africa, "I'm more appreciative of what I have and more caring about people in general," Washington says.
In San Diego, Greg Gross, a travel blogger and owner of the Trips by Greg agency, is planning a group tour to East Africa. Gross recalled his 2011 trip to Gambia and a stop in the village of Kanilai.
"As the bus came to a halt, we were immediately engulfed in people, hundreds of people, at least. An old man hanging onto a walking stick said, 'Welcome home. We are all proud of you.'
"It's one of the most intensely emotional moments of my life."
Visiting Africa? Here are some of the must-sees
Egypt: Egyptian Museum of Antiquities (Cairo), pyramids (Giza) and temples (Luxor and Aswan).
Ethiopia: Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion cathedral and chapel (Aksum), Aksumite Obelisks, Queen of Sheba excavations (Aksum), Rock-hewn Churches (Lalibela), 17th century royal castles (Gonder).
Gambia: Juffure, the village made famous by the late author Alex Haley in his Roots research.
Kenya: Mombasa and Fort Jesus, former enclave of Portuguese slave traders.
Republic of Benin: The village of Ouidah, with the Gate of No Return, the slave cemetery and the Portuguese Fort Museum of History and Voodoo; Aladja, the home of Toussaint Louverture, liberator of Haiti; and Porto Novo, including the 300-year-old Royal Palace of King Toffa, the Brazilian-style church and the Alexandre Sènou Adandé Ethnographic Museum.
Senegal: Goree Island, a UNESCO World Heritage site with an old fort and one of the most notorious slave depots.
South Africa: In Johannesburg, the mines at Gold Reef City, Soweto Township; and the neighborhoods of the late Nelson Mandela, his ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu.
In Durban, a Zulu kraal, where warriors and maidens entertain with drums and dancing.
From Cape Town, travel by ferry to Robben Island Prison, where Nelson Mandela spent two decades, and listen to former inmates tell their stories.
Sources: African Journeys; Ashanti African Tours; Henderson Travel Agency; Trips by Greg; and Soul of America
Ruane also reports for The News-Press in Fort Myers, Fla.