 What does this word have to do with the history of Ghana, Netherlands and Indonesia? To answer that come with us on our very first episode of about 10 kilometers after passing the wind around about in the direction of Cape Coast we had some car trouble. Luckily for us we parked right in front of a local and after some deliberation and back and forth we decided you know what it might be a better idea to leave the car for them to fix and then we headed off to Lemon Beach in a taxi. We had some exploring to do outside the resort so we definitely needed our car fixed. And that loosely translates to it's gonna take longer than we thought. Being on a vacation this means we just have to make the most of our time before we get it back. So we're going for a little afternoon walk with this gentleman strapped behind me and he's trying to see himself to sleep. We like it. As a family that wants to make travel a part of our routine choosing a place that suits us is very important and Lemon Beach lived up to that. The resort provides guests with a plethora of activities they can indulge in inside the resort grounds or for explorers like us outside in the Elmina town or even nearby Cape Coast. But we couldn't go out until we had our car back. The inspector time of delivery went from 2 p.m. on the latest and then when he eventually brought the car he had broken more than he fixed. But at least we had our car back. After breakfast we found out there wasn't a guide available to take us on a bike tour so we decided to explore the Elmina town. Elaine suggested the Elmina Java Museum which I had never heard of and so by default I was a tad skeptical but still went along and boy was I glad I did. We found out about a part of Ghana's history which would have been hidden until this woman Dr. Ineka van Kessel for her research. Merchants, missionaries, migrants brought it to light. Let's learn some history shall we? The Dutch had been trading in the coast of Guinea since 1598 along with the Portuguese who had settled in the Gold Coast since 1471. However the Battle of Elmina saw the Dutch West India Company take control of Fort Elmina from the Portuguese in 1637 after they had failed to do so in 1625. From 1637 to 1872 the Dutch had trade relations with the Gold Coast dealing in gold, ivory, slaves and cocoa in exchange for weapons, textiles and consumer products. But who are the black Dutchmen and Indo-Africans? Between 1825 and 1830 during the Java War the Dutch colonial army had a shortage of soldiers after losing about 8,000 soldiers which had strong their national reservoir considerably. After struggling to find back up they decided to turn to their neglected outposts on the coast of Guinea due to the abolishment of slave trade in 1814. These outposts were not commercially viable anymore but for manpower they were suffice. So between 1831 to 1872 about 3,000 Africans were recruited to serve in the Dutch colonial army from Elmina to Batavia which is now Jakarta the then capital of the Netherlands East Indies. After all this was done some returned to the Gold Coast who were given lunch to settle behind the Elmina castle which today is still known as Java Hill. After the long period of serving others had established families and decided to settle in the East Indies. Their descendants became known as the Belanda Hetam the black Dutchmen. When Indonesia gained independence most Indo-Africans chose repatriation to the Netherlands. This group later found their way to Ghana and to keep the story of the Belanda Hetam alive an initiative for a permanent exhibition was proposed which gave birth to the Java Museum in 2002. One of the many benefits of this history and relationship with Netherlands and Indonesia is seen in our boutique and textile production industry we currently have. There's so much more to see in person in the Java Museum so if you get the chance to visit don't hesitate. After the history lesson at the Java Museum headed over to Kosa Beach to have lunch. After lunch we played a game of batang, enjoyed a beach walk and headed back to Lemon Beach. I'd say this was a trip well worth it. For most of these places I've heard complaints especially about how it's cruciatingly long food order stage so I'd say if you're a guest order your meals way ahead of time and that shouldn't be a problem. Our car have no issues making it back to our car this time and that's it for our very first episode traveling as a family in this series Travel With Us. Catch you in the next one.