Day to Day Itinerary
While planning is key to projects like this, it is understood from the outset that such planning has to be flexible, very flexible. Experience has proven that reserving rooms or making specific arrangements in the third world is an exercise in futility. Built into this itinerary are cache days, to allow for weather, impassable roads, illness and missed travel connections. To that end, this itinerary assumes a departure date of mid July.

• Day 1,July 14: Depart Tulsa, OK, USA.
  
• Day 2, July 15: Arrive Accra, Ghana
• Day 3, July 16: Meet dignitaries in Accra. Begin shooting Osu Castle. Osu is a large extensive structure that is now the seat of government for Ghana. Photography is restricted here, but Henderson hopes to obtain access via his contacts within the Ghanaian government. Lodging in one of the many hotels in Accra.
• Day 4: July 17 Additional photography of Osu, Begin photography of Ussher Fort, also in Accra. Lodging in hotel in Accra.
• Day 5 July 18. Morning complete photography of Ussher Fort, begin photography of James Fort, the third castle in Accra. Lodging in hotel in Accra.
• Day 6; July 19. Travel to Senya Beraku, site of Ft. Good Hope, arriving midday. Henderson shoots Ft. Good Hope, conducts local research. Lodging in the Ft. Good Hope "rest house".
• Day 7; July 20; Travel to Apam; site of Ft. Patience, arriving midday. Henderson shoots Ft. Patience. Lodging at the Ft. Patience rest house (no showers).
• Day 8; July 21. Cache Day;
• Day 9; July 22 Travel to Saltpond; site of Ft. Amsterdam, arriving midday. Henderson shoots Ft. Amsterdam. Lodging at Palm Beach Hotel.
• Day 10, July 23, Travel to Anomabu, Site of Ft. William and an unnamed ruin. Arriving midday. Henderson shoots Ft. William and ruin. Lodging at Anamabu Beach Resort.
• Day 11, July 24. Travel to Moree, Site of Ft. Nassau. Arriving midday. Henderson shoots Ft. Nassau, travel on to Cape Coast in the evening. Lodging at one of several hotels in the Cape Coast area for the next several nights. Cape Coast the town is the location of Cape Coast Castle, Ft. William, and Ft. Victoria. Cape Coast Castle is a large extensive castle, a World Heritage preserved site listed with UNESCO.
• Day 12, July 25, Henderson shoots Cape Coast Castle, conducts research at the museum and archive at Cape Coast Castle. Henderson visited this site during 2004. Day 13, July 26. Henderson shoots Ft. William, Ft. Victoria. Lodging in the same hotel used the two previous nights.
• Day 14, July 27. Travel to Assin Manso arriving midday. Neither a castle nor fort, this is the preserved site of a "slave camp" on the banks of the "Slave River". This was a midway point in bringing slaves from the interior, down the river to the castles on the coast. Research says this should be covered but shouldn't require an extensive amount of time. Henderson shoots camp and river, conducting research on site. Return to the Cape Coast area in the evening, lodging at the same hotel used since July 24.
• Day 15; July 28. Short travel to Elmina, site of St. George's Castle and Ft. St. Jargo. This is also an extensive castle complex, with a small museum on site and a fishing village nearby. Henderson visited this site during 2004. Lodging at Coconut Grove Bridge House.
• Day 16; July 29. Continued shooting/research of St. George's Castle and Ft. St. Jargo. Lodging at Coconut Grove Bridge House.
• Day 17; July 30 Cache day. The moon will be full on this date, which should make interesting shots of the ocean, castles towers and rising full moon reflected on the water, etc. Henderson burns image files to CDR and FEDEXs them to the USA.
• Day 18; July 31. Travel to Ft. Vreedenburg and Ft. English, with Henderson shooting the two minor castles. Traveling on to Shama, site of Ft. St. Sebastian. Lodging in Hotel Applause.
• Day 19; August 1 Shoot Ft. St. Sebastian, conduct local research. Travel to Sekondi, Lodging in Animens Hotel.
• Day 20; August 2. Most of this day will be spent in travel to Kumasi, site of Ft. Kumasi. Kumasi is the capitol of the Ashanti tribe and is deep in the interior of Ghana. Henderson. visited Kumasi, and the palace of the Ashanti king in 2004. Henderson shooting Ft. Kumasi, doing research at the archives of the Ashanti capitol. Lodging in one of several hotels in the city.
• Day 21; August 3. Complete shooting of Ft. Kumasi. Return travel to Sekondi. Lodging same hotel used on July 21; Animens Hotel.
• Day 22; August 4. Travel to Dixcove. Henderson shooting Ft. Metal Cross, conducting local research. Lodging at Ellis Hideout.
• Day 23; August 5. Travel by foot to Butre. Henderson shooting an unnamed fort. Return by foot to Dixcove, lodging at Ellis Hideout same as July 24.
• Day 24; August 6. Travel to Prince's Town. Henderson shoots Ft. Gross, and Ft. Friedricksburg. Conducts research with the caretakers of these forts. Supposedly the caretakers of these forts can arrange lodging in a private home in Prince's Town. No other facilities in this area, and the distance is too far to go to the next town.
• Day 25; August 7. Travel to Axim; Site of Ft. Sao Antonio. Henderson shoots Ft. Sao Antonio. conducts local research. Lodging in Ankobra Beach Resort; about 3 miles west of Axim.
• Day 26; August 8; Cache day.
• Day 27; August 9. Travel to Bevin; Site of Ft. Apollonia. Henderson shoots Ft. Apollonia. Lodging in the guesthouse of Ft. Apollonia. This is the western most point of the costal route.
• Day 28; August 10. Complete shooting of Ft. Apollonia. Travel east back to Accra. Lodging in Accra hotel. Henderson burns image files to CDR and FEDEXs them back to USA.
• Day 29; August 11; Henderson travels east from Accra to Keta; anticipates shooting two minor forts along the way; Ft. Vernon and Ft. Fredensborg. Lodging at Keta Beach Hotel.
• Day 30; August 12. Henderson shoots Ft. Pridzenstein, near Keta. This is the eastern most point of the costal route. Return travel west to Accra. Lodging at Accra hotel. Henderson burns image files to CDR and ships them to US, via FEDEX.
• Day 31; August 13; Visit Dodowa. Henderson is a personal friend of the King of the Shia tribe, who resides in Dodowa. Lodging in Dodowa. Henderson visited Dodowa in 2004, and spent time with the king in Accra in 2005. This visit is a personal one and not crucial to the project. If schedules or budgets run short, this could be eliminated.
• Day 32; August 14. Henderson returns to Accra. Fly from Accra, Ghana to Dakar, Senegal. Lodging in Dakar.
• Day 33, August 15. Henderson travels to Goree Island, about 2 miles from Dakar. Shoot Goree Island, Lodging in a guest house on Goree Island.
• Day 34,August 16 Henderson returns to Dakar then travels by car into Gambia, Gambia is a tiny country that has three sites consequential to the slave industry, all within a few miles of each other on the Gambia River. They are: 1) James Island, the slavery fort where Kunta Kinte, the character in Alex Haley's Roots passed on his way to the United States, 2) the village of Jureh, Kunta Kinte's ancestors still live in this village, near the mosque 3) Albreda, a village. Lodging in Gambia. The bus ride to Gambia is expected to take most of the day (six to nine hours) Lodging in Barra, Gambia is not recommended. According to the travel guides a better option is to spend the night at Kaolack, Senegal.
• Day 35, August 17. Henderson crosses the border into Gambia and goes on to Barra. From Barra, Henderson takes a taxi on to Jureh, then walks to Abreda, about one mile away. From Abreda or Jureh Henderson should be able to hire a boat to James Island. Lodging in Abreda or Jureh.
• Day 36, August 18, Complete shooting in Gambia, returns to Dakar, Senegal. Henderson burns image files to CDR and FEDEX them to the USA.
• Day 37, August 19. Cache day.
• Day 38, August 20, Henderson return travel to the USA.
• August 21-30 Chill Out, Catch up on missed work time.
• September 1- November 1. Photos edited, Research compiled, Rough drafts of book layout in progress. Dialogue with publisher and external editors.
• November 2- December 1. Final drafts, Edits, Layouts completed. Proofing,. Continuing Dialogue with publisher and external editors.
• December 31. Deliver completed book project to publisher.

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