Bribes, Beaches...and so much more

...Sierra Leone is rich in diamonds. The trade in illicit gems, known as "blood diamonds" for their role in funding conflicts, perpetuated the civil war.

Sierra Leone has a special significance in the history of the transatlantic slave trade. It was the departure point for thousands of west African captives. The capital, Freetown, was founded as a home for repatriated former slaves in 1787...

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Sierra Leone was everything I expected and more....

- Beautiful beaches

- Bribes

- Dinner with Russian Diamond Dealers on their private beach on a small island off the coast of Sierra Leone

- Fresh Seafood brought in by the local fisherman from that days catch

- Rolling mountains meeting the palm tree lined beaches and tepid blue ocean

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Ashley and I and our two good friends Jenny and Cassady headed out on a two week vacation/adventure with the end goal of getting to the beaches of Sierra Leone.

We exchanged about $50 USD for a giant wad of Guinean Francs as we crossed the border from Mali into Guinea on our way to Sierra Leone
Ashley getting into a Taxi

Most public transport in Guinea and Sierra Leone is by bush taxi because their bus system is slow and small.  There are two kinds of taxi's a six place and a nine place.  A six place is a tradition four door sedan, in which they put four in the back seat and two in the front passenger seat and then the driver.  A nine place (shown in the picture above) is a station wagon that "fits" three in the far back seat, four in the center seat and two in the front passenger seat plus the driver (also as much luggage and two or three people on the roof).  So you can only imagine that a 24 hour trip from Bamako, Mali to Conakry, Guinea could be uncomfortable sharing the front seat of the car with a stranger, a third of your body hanging out the window, a third resting on your neighbors lap, and a third stuck in that crack between the door and the seat.  Not fun.  So, fortunately most of the time we where able to find six place cars and the four of us bought out all six places so we could ride in comfort. 

It took us a half day to get from Bamako across the Guinean border to Kan Kan, where we spent the night at a Peace Corps house.  From Kan Kan to Conakry it took a full day of driving but it was wonderful watching the green rolling hills of Guinea as we passed through.  In Conakry, the capital of Guinea, we were blessed to find the Peace Corps compound was on the beach so again we had a free place to stay with a nice location.

* a Guinea multi-entrance visa is $160 USD, which you can get at the Guinea Embassy in Mali in a few hours

The next morning we headed from Conakry across the Sierra Leone border to Freetown.

Between Conakry and Freetown we went through approximately 10-15 military/police checkpoints.  At each one our taxi driver had to pay a bribe so we could keep going.  Talk about an oppressive government, no one can afford to move around the country.  
This was the road between Conakry and Freetown.  Small parts were paved but we spent hours driving on dirt roads.

We did not buy our Sierra Leone Visas in advance because Sierra Leone does not have a embassy or consulate in Mali and our Lonely Planet Guide said you could buy it at the border.  I read on the Internet that the SL visa is $100 USD.  When we arrived at the border the shady border agents pointed to a sign on the wall that said a visa for Americans was $200 USD.  Well we didn't come prepared to spend that much on a visa and the shady border agents conveniently lost their receipt book so we agreed on two brand new crisp American hundred dollar bills for visas for all four of us.  Shady?  Yes!    
Freetown was much different than I expected.  It had a colonial feel, like a very run down European city.  Freetown is built between the ocean and the mountains and the city stretches up into the nearby mountain sides.  We stayed at The Place Guest House right in the center of the city (this picture is taken from the balcony of the guest house). 

We paid 41,000 Leones (about $13 USD) per double room.  Since it is law in Freetown that same sex people can not share a room, Cassady and Jenny had to each pay for a separate room.   I guess at $13 a room you can't complain to much.  Thirteen dollars does not buy you running water as the guest house did not have running water so we had to take buck baths.  I will have to say a bucket bath after 15 hours in a car without air-conditioning feels equally as nice as a shower.  

That evening we went out to explore the city a bit and found that the city center turns into a bizarre of street food vendors and people selling everything you can imagine from expired Target brand foods to used clothing.  We had delicious fried chicken and ice cream.   

The next morning we hired out a taxi to drive us down the coast and drop us off at a secluded beach.

We arrived at Tokeh beach were we ended up spending five nights.  You can't beat the sun sets with the mountains, ocean and palm trees.


We paid Scott the man who owns this fishing camp about $3 USD a person to set up our tents under this veranda
Ashley, Jenny and Cassady enjoying the water late in the afternoon
A picture of our camp from the water
Ashley and I on the fishing boat we hired to take us up along the coast and out to Banana Island to spend a night.
Trying to take in all the beauty because who knows when I will get back to this part of the world.
A beautiful pineapple plant on Banana Island - We ate a lot of pineapple on our trip.  You could buy a pineapple with the skin cut off and just the top to grip and you then eat it similar to corn on the cob.  A pineapple was about 500 Guinean Francs or 10 cents US.  
The beach we slept on at Banana Island.
Banana Island

* If anyone ever makes it to Banana Island this place looked like a nice place to stay - Daltons Banana Guest House (076570208) 
Loading back into our boat the following morning for our trip back to Tokeh Beach
Mainland from the boat.


Our last Sunset on Tokeh Beach.

After five nights on the beach we headed back to Guinea to do some hiking in the Fouta Djalon.
Ashley at our hut in Doucki, Guinea, where we stayed with Hassan Bah who run a sort of guest house and leads people on hikes in the region.
Ashley, Jenny, Cassady and myself met two other Peace Corps Volunteers from Burkina Foso who we teamed up with for a hike that our guide called "Chutes and Ladders". 


I think this is where the "Ladder" part of the name comes in for this hike.
Ashley and Jenny trying to pick bananas...
The last two nights of our vacation we stayed at the nicest hotel (SIB Hotel du Fouta) in a town called Dalaba.  We paid about 10,000 Guinea Franc per double room or about $20 USD.
The hotel had a beautiful terrace were we watch the sun set and had a few drinks.

The sun setting over the rolling mountains of Guinea.  

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I wanted to add a few tidbits to our vacation too, so here are my top ten moments of the trip:

10.  my appreciation for Mali's infrastructure--never thought I would say that---electricity, running water, and good roads are hard to come buy in Sierra Leone and Guinea (even in major cities)

9. cool weather-in Guinea the weather was wonderful, at night we would wear jeans and long sleeved shirts, a slight change from 115 degrees in Mali

8. buying souvenirs- you all know about my shopping addiction, and on vacation I can justify all my purchases, plus I had two great girls to shop with

7. crossing the boarders safe and sound---ripples of soldiers

6.  Hassan, our hiking guide in Guinea, he was a hoot!  And he spoke in acronyms, this was my personal favorite:  ML-monkey language, and yes Hassan spoke ML. I think that speaks volumes!!!!!!

5.  Being able to speak English with the locals-English is Sierra Leone's official language, it makes everything so much easier

4. eating fresh seafood and having my first taste of crab---and guess what, I liked it....crazy!(this is a shout out to all my fellow picky eaters out there)

3. I enjoyed my daily viewing of Jennifer jumping like a dead fish in the ocean--this coincides with my #1 moment

2. Having water near by to cool off in, what a luxury

AND...

1. hanging out with great friends and enjoying many laughs--the kind of laughs that make your stomach hurt :)