Elmina, GHANA

Ghana is the other African country in Sundowners – and it's extra special to me because that's where I'm from! It was the first country in Africa to gain independence and just recently, played host to the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations. Elmina Castle, where Riitho takes Rianne, is the first European building on the African continent, built some nine hundred years ago.

Extract from sundowners:

     It was hot, desperately hot. Every so often he turned his eyes from his silent, fierce contemplation of the landscape and looked at her, his expression unreadable. He was quiet as they approached Elmina. A fine salty mist enveloped the castle, thrown up by the pounding waves against the rocks at the base of the fortress. She swallowed. From the guidebook she read that the castle, the first and most important point of departure for slaves leaving for the Americas had been built by the Portuguese, won and lost by the British, the Danes, the French and finally, after independence, was maintained by the Ghanaian government. She found it hard to believe that the horrors of the slave trade could have taken place in such a setting – clear, blue sea, sandy beaches, coconut and palm trees. Every so often a cool, sea breeze wafted in from the ocean, providing a moment's respite from the unrelenting heat. She slipped her hand into his.