Day 129, Salone

Sorry for the long delay between my first post and now, time really does just fly past here! So lots and lots has happened since I wrote last. Most importantly, and as most of know already, Keira is here and on December 7^th she will have completed her first three months at Tacugama. Since her arrival we have really begun to explore the Peninsula and, among other things, the glorious beaches it has to offer. Rather excitingly, we have finally gained some level of independence thanks to a special letter issued by the road transport authority allowing us to drive here on our UK licenses. So now we regularly bounce round the peninsula, avoiding the biggest of the holes, in what could definitely contend for the worst Land Rover in Africa.

The most recent beach trip was Bonfire Night at Bureh. In contrast to the traditional shivering next to a bonfire watching fireworks on a cold, late autumn evening, we were camped out on a beach eating barbecued fish, splashing around in the surf watching for phosphorescence. It was great, as was waking up and strolling the 10 metres from our tent, across white sand, down to the turquoise water for a pre-breakfast swim. Jealous yet? 

A few months back we spent a really nice, albeit slightly odd, night at a place called Tito’s Ecoparadise. It’s a small, fairly rundown beach hut nestled between the beaches of Big Water and Black Johnson run by, and home to, an expat who married a local fisherman. The place it much more of a home-stay rather than a guesthouse and as the evening went on we realised we were actually staying in the family’s house, with the family! Privacy issues aside, the place really lives up to its name and while we were there besides the family, who took excellent care of us and made sure we were never without a cold beer, we didn’t see another soul. The entire, gorgeous, beach was ours alone. 

So, despite what you may now be thinking it’s not all sun, sea and sand and a few weeks ago we made it up into the Peninsula Mountains for a day of bird spotting. After a 4.30 am wake up, and a quick stop in Freetown during sunrise to pick up an RSPB ornithologist and local bird guide, we began our walk at around 7am. We started off from Guma Dam, a huge reservoir up in the mountains that provides water for all of Freetown. It was a hot, sweaty day of five or six hours winding our way through the trees back down to sea-level but great to spend some real time in the forest and learn a little bit about the wonders that exist right on our doorstep.

Last weekend was one of the more special weekends since I’ve been here as we were invited to the wedding of Willie, the Camp Supervisor. Although Willie and Marian were married 25 years ago in a traditional ceremony they decided to have a Christian wedding after some ‘persuasion’ from a new church that they’ve been attending. With a price tag of around five million Leones for the service alone (about $1100, a HUGE amount of money here when you consider a good salary is around $100 a month) it’s no wonder the church was pushing him to do it, Christian indeed. Anyway, ethical complaints aside, it was a great afternoon and thankfully just about as different as you can get from an English church wedding. 

We ushered in to the blasting sounds of Afro beat and with no organ in sight music was provided by a keyboard, electric guitar and a drum kit played by a 12 year old. The Gospel choir had microphones and used them not only to screech the hymns into but also to agree with the sermon and whoop and cheer when the vows were said. My favourite moment of the afternoon was during the collection when the entire congregation, including the choir who formed a conga train, danced their way to the front of the church, hugging and dancing with the bride and groom on the way, to put money in a green plastic colander. It was quite a sight to watch a grim-faced, big, Sierra Leonean Mama dressed entirely in neon pick with a matching shawl get up from her chair and shake her booty up the aisle, arms in the air, to join the group hug, and by then mosh pit, that was forming around Willie and Marian. It was certainly a wedding that will stand out from the rest!

OK, I've written loads so if you've made it to the end, well done! I will try my best to write more regularly to avoid the resultant essays. Off now to sample Sierra Leone's version of Chinese food, I'll report back....

Day 18, Salone

The first thing that hit me about Sierra Leone, or Salone as it's called here, was the tarmac on the roads, or more accurately the ridiculous amount of potholes in something that once was tarmac. No sooner than leaving the airport are you bouncing around your vehicle avoiding the craters. I thought maybe as the airport is abandoned military base situated about an hour by boat across the bay from Freetown, or five hours drive through the jungle, that perhaps in the capital itself the roads would be in better shape. I was wrong. As I drove out of Freetown the day after I arrived, I discovered that, in fact, the roads Freetown had to offer was the best it was going to get. 

In as little as forty minutes outside of Freetown you could be forgiven for thinking you'd been picked up and dropped far out in the bush. Tacugama, my home for the near future, lies a modest 10 miles outside of Freetown in the Western Area Peninsula Forest Reserve and is an entirely different world. The road however is just as bumpy and tarmac is left completely behind a couple miles out of Freetown, meaning the craters are now bigger, muddier and take on the uncanny appearance of hippo pools. The forest, despite being disturbed, secondary forest, mainly as a result of charcoal burning and fuel wood collection, is lush, tangled and green and on its way to a good recovery. The chimps, of which there are roughly a hundred, are settled into social groups and undergoing the lengthy rehabilitation process that one day should lead them to a wild future. If their constant pant hooting, screeching (mainly outside my office window) and displaying are anything to go by I'd say they're pretty healthy, happy, little creatures. Great as the chimps are for reminding me that this is no ordinary office job my work doesn't relate to them directly, not at least the ones in the sanctuary. I'm here to coordinate the Community Outreach Programme that Tacugama is developing. Our focus is sustainable livelihood initiatives with communities dotted around the country. On the job front I won't say much more as you can read all about Tacugama and the community stuff on the website, or at least you will be able to when the community section is updated (right now it says next to nothing, sorry). However, the information on Tacugama, its history and mission etc is quite extensive so have a look if you're interested at www.tacugama.com. If it comes across a little 'chimp huggerish' don't be fooled, it's really not that kind of place at all. 

Right now it's getting dark so I'm going to walk back to my little house and start thinking about dinner. I've managed to write a lot in this post but actually get across very little information, I'll try better next time! Good night for now x