Although the flight to Sierra Leone from Senegal is relatively short, the flight was delayed and then getting from the airport to the city once we arrived was quite a process. Because the airport is on a peninsula, the options for getting into town are to take a helicopter, hovercraft, ferry, or the long 6 hour drive around via land--no joke. We opted for the ferry, which was quite an experience. We were in the 1st class lounge, where people sat in a room while the dj, yes, there was a dj, played loud 30second music videos through the speaker and the tv in the corner. Most of these videos were Christian Rock videos, which made the whole experience even more interesting.
When we arrived in Freetown at night we took a taxi to the hotel through the urban east side and center, over tiny bumpy streets with deep open gutters. We were amazed by how many people were out on the street eating, listening to music, and generally socializing. The taxi was swiped twice by motorcyclists trying to weave in between the cars and through the stop and go traffic (not serious at all, but certainly different from what we have been used to).
After our first full day in Freetown it is immediately clear that Sierra Leone is an amazing country with friendly and interesting people. We are surprised by several things about the country: there are lots of Lebanese people who have started a lot of very successful businesses in the country (grocery stores are possibly better than some in the states--you can even get Corn Flakes!) and there is an amazing amount of NGOs and International Aid organizations present, leading to many more white faces than we expected. When we explain that we are tourists and not working with an organization, we get very confused and surprised faces.
I wear the African fabric I bought in Senegal as a skirt/wrap as many women do here, and am greeted by locals calling out "African woman!" with smiles on their faces.
After we explore around the West side of the city, we head to the beach that is practically empty with a few boys pulling in fishing lines, and a few restaurants across the street for "chop" as its called in Creole.
Many people will come up and announce that they want to be your friend, some with genuine interest, others hoping for some money or assistance with something..."friendship sometimes comes with a price".
When we arrived in Freetown at night we took a taxi to the hotel through the urban east side and center, over tiny bumpy streets with deep open gutters. We were amazed by how many people were out on the street eating, listening to music, and generally socializing. The taxi was swiped twice by motorcyclists trying to weave in between the cars and through the stop and go traffic (not serious at all, but certainly different from what we have been used to).
After our first full day in Freetown it is immediately clear that Sierra Leone is an amazing country with friendly and interesting people. We are surprised by several things about the country: there are lots of Lebanese people who have started a lot of very successful businesses in the country (grocery stores are possibly better than some in the states--you can even get Corn Flakes!) and there is an amazing amount of NGOs and International Aid organizations present, leading to many more white faces than we expected. When we explain that we are tourists and not working with an organization, we get very confused and surprised faces.
I wear the African fabric I bought in Senegal as a skirt/wrap as many women do here, and am greeted by locals calling out "African woman!" with smiles on their faces.
After we explore around the West side of the city, we head to the beach that is practically empty with a few boys pulling in fishing lines, and a few restaurants across the street for "chop" as its called in Creole.
Many people will come up and announce that they want to be your friend, some with genuine interest, others hoping for some money or assistance with something..."friendship sometimes comes with a price".
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