SIERRA LEONE Dec 28, 2016 – January 2, 2017
Sierra Leone is bordered by Guinea on the north, Liberia in the south-east, and the Atlantic Ocean in the south-west. Sierra Leone has a tropical climate, with a diverse environment ranging from savannah to rainforests. Freetown is the capital, largest city and its economic and political centre. Bo is the second largest city.
About sixteen ethnic groups inhabit Sierra Leone, each with its own language and customs. The two largest and most influential are the Temne and the Mende people. Although English is the official language spoken at schools and government administration, the Krio language is the most widely spoken language in Sierra Leone and unites all the different ethnic groups in the country, especially in their trade and social interaction with each other.
Sierra Leone is a predominantly Muslim country, though with an influential Christian minority. Sierra Leone is regarded as one of the most religiously tolerant nations in the world. Muslims and Christians collaborate and interact with each other peacefully. Religious violence is very rare in the country.
Sierra Leone has relied on mining, especially diamonds, for its economic base. It is also among the largest producers of titanium and bauxite, a major producer of gold, and has one of the world’s largest deposits of rutile. Sierra Leone is home to the third-largest natural harbour in the world. Despite exploitation of this natural wealth, 70% of its people live in poverty.
Sierra Leone became independent in 1961. Government corruption and mismanagement of the country’s natural resources contributed to the Sierra Leone Civil War (1991 to 2002), which for more than a decade devastated the country. This proxy war left more than 50,000 people dead, much of the country’s infrastructure destroyed, and over two million people displaced as refugees in neighbouring countries.
More recently, the 2014 Ebola outbreak overburdened the weak healthcare infrastructure, leading to more deaths from medical neglect than Ebola itself. It created a humanitarian crisis situation and a negative spiral of weaker economic growth. The country has an extremely low life expectancy at 57.8 years.
Official name. Republic of Sierra Leone
Capital and largest city. Freetown 8°29.067′N 13°14.067′W
Official languages. English. Spoken languages. Temne Mende Krio
Ethnic groups. 35% Temne, 31% Mende, 8% Limba, 5% Kono, 2% Krio (Creole), 2% Mandingo, 2% Loko, 15% others
Independence from the United Kingdom 27 April 1961
Area. Total 71,740 km2 (119th)
Population. 2015 census 7,075,641. Density. 79.4/km2
GDP (PPP). 2016 estimate. Total $9.881b. Per capita. $1,534
GDP (nominal). 2016 estimate. Total $4.563b. Per capita $708
MONEY. Leone (SLL) with a floating exchange rate system. Leone coins have values of SLL50, SLL100 and SLL500. Bank notes are SLL1000, SLL2,000, SLL5,000 and SLL10,000.
In December, 2016, 1US$ could be exchanged for 7,000 Leones.
Credit card (Visa only) use is limited in Sierra Leone, though they may be used at some hotels and restaurants. There are ATMs in Freetown most are not internationally linked. Rokel Commercial Bank has ATMs that accept international Visa cards. As of Nov 2014, there are 4 ATMs in the arrivals area of Lungi airport, all of which seem to accept international debit cards.
Exchanging money is very easy, either through the black market or banks. The small bank at the airport offers reasonable rates. Pounds sterling, euro or US dollars are most popular, although others are possible.
VISAS.
Visa-free entry. Citizens of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) do not require a visa to enter the country. Citizens of Kenya can obtain a visa on arrival to Sierra Leone. Nationals of Iran issued with diplomatic and service passports can stay a maximum stay of 1 month without a visa.
Visa. All other nationalities will require a visa. Issued at Sierra Leone’s overseas missions and at the land borders. Visas are not too hard to get, it is unlikely that anyone will be refused unless there is a very good reason for the government not to want them in the country. Visa prices vary considerably based on your citizenship: US US$130, UK £50, German €100, while most others can get away with as little as $40.
Application form and a copy, passport and a, a copy of the Guinean visa page, yellow fever vaccination, a booking confirmation or a letter of invitation, 2 ID pictures and and money. Come early in the morning (9 am), expect to be invited for a detailed interview taking places a few hours later and possibly to get the visa the next day (official maximum being 72h). The process is clean and you will get a receipt for your payment.
Extensions in Freetown (1 moYellow Fever vaccination certificates are required for most nationalities.nth, twice) for a variable fee depending on country and no “extra fees”.
Guinea/Sierra Leone border (Pamelap)
To obtain the entrance stamp, they had to record by hand all of our yellow vaccination details and then it took an hour for them to stamp the passports. An officious man demanded to see details about the truck that had been given when the visas were obtained. Steve remains calm throughout these encounters, the only way to behave. We were able to change money, for an unbelievably favourable rate. Surprisingly, our best money exchanges have been at borders.
It was late in the day when the Sierra Leone flag was being lowered. A man hit a big pipe and we were all ordered to stand at attention. Somebody came down the steps of the truck and the guy lost it. When the truck finally tried to enter Sierra Leone, we were informed that right-hand drive vehicles were illegal in S.L. and we couldn’t enter (the law had been passed in January, 2015 as apparently right-hand drive vehicles were responsible for 70% of all accidents. Steve got on a motorcycle to head across the border, returned after 20 minutes and we crossed. We bush camped in a large gravel clearing just across the border.
Everything seemed to change once we were on our way the next morning. The police at the checkpoints had matching, smart uniforms and frequently said “Welcome to Sierra Leone – Have a good trip”. Sierra Leone was a British colony and everyone speaks English. They frequently asked how we liked their country. Every checkpoint required to show all our passports rather than showing a simple passenger manifest. Sometime we all had to disembark.
Deforestation was extreme with large areas of 2-3m grass and palm trees. Native forest was only along rivers, very attractive with rocky islands and shores. Houses are larger squares made of adobe instead of concrete block, with peaked roofs, mostly corrugated metal but sometimes thatched. The road was excellent with no potholes and easily the best since Morocco. Some of it even had shoulders. The garbage situation was also significantly improved. Signs for Christian churches were frequent. The highway followed a functional railway line.
Selling food the packed vans, the major form of local transport, seemed to be the main economy – skewers of seasoned beef, dried plantain chips, pop and peanuts.
We arrived on the outskirts of Freetown and everywhere has English place names like Waterloo. We stopped at a gas station where everyone changed money (with rates varying from 5000-7000 Leones to the US$).
The Italian fellow had gotten quite sick when in Conakry with a high fever and cough. He looked like death warmed over when arriving in the truck and suffered under blankets wearing jackets. I constantly had been warning him to cover his mouth when he coughed – infections like influenza would go through the truck like wild fire. It was decided that he needed to go to a hospital and there was a nearby hospital opened in 2013 by China and staffed by Chinese doctors. It wasn’t busy and we didn’t wait long. After a short history, he ordered several blood tests and a chest X-ray that showed pneumonia. He was never examined and although he would have been admitted anywhere else, it was made clear that that was no likely. The doctor eventually ordered 3 days of IV antibiotics and at my suggestion, levofloxacin, a good oral antibiotic for pneumonia. The visit was inexpensive and relatively efficient and Paulo had a quick response.
After the hospital we drove south around the national park and then north along the coast to Tokeh Beach Resort, a place where Oasis has stayed several times before. This must be one of the most beautiful beaches in the world with sugary soft, white sand and minimal surf.
We set up our tents on the beach for one of the most idyllic spots to spend New Years. We did a complete cleaning of the truck and I found all sorts of things I had been missing on the overhead racks.
On the night of the 30th, one of our passengers organized a dinner to be provided by the local community. For 40,000 Leones (about 6 Euros), we had fish, rice and a delicious onion sauce. Entertainment consisted of dancing accompanied by singing and drums (including a plastic jerry can). The whole operation was run by the chief and his 12 year-old son. The entertainers passed the hat. It was quite enjoyable and was a good opportunity for the community to make some money.
The power is turned on only at 6:30pm and thus wifi is only available then. It is incredibly fast and a joy to have as there hasn’t been good internet access since Dakar, Senegal (almost 3 weeks). The battery on my Mac Air is older and doesn’t last long and as inverters are not allowed to use for recharging on the truck, I have only been able to recharge with shore power. It has created a difficult situation for keeping up with my blog and answering email.
The group has become embroiled in a mayonnaise war. Steve did not want to buy mayonnaise (very popular) in Guinea as the truck had a large plastic tub of garlic mayo in its stores, although we didn’t know it at the time. So four of us bought small jars of mayonnaise to share between us and we would only open one at a time. The mayo on the truck ended up being totally separated and a unusable liquid mess. Not everyone knew that the mayonnaise had been purchased personally and most everyone wanted to use it. It created a crazy situation where we didn’t want to appear cheap and not share but still wanted to have mayo for our personal use so that it would last a while. So some of us kept it to ourselves and one guy felt bad so shared with the group and hopefully there were no hard feelings.
FREETOWN (pop 1.1 million)
Instead of the island, I went into downtown Freetown on New Year’s Eve day, taking the packed, very cheap, share vans. The 2 lane highway suddenly disappears into a maze of very narrow streets – a major problem here are traffic jams. Stores wares cover the sidewalks and ooze out onto the street, an open sewer lines both sides of the road, all manner of vehicles including large trucks try to move through, guys push carts carrying all the merchandise necessary in any large city and immense crowds vie for the remaining space. It was easily the most chaotic thing I have experienced (and made Bamako look tame). Bedlam arose at the Clock Tower where 6 streets converge on a round about and cars were backed up for blocks.
I went down to the Grand Mosque where I was allowed to enter and wander around. The huge octagonal building had nice stained glass and a huge dome from which was suspended a tiny chandelier.
We finally secluded ourselves in an air-conditioned Lebanese restaurant for a nice pizza. Many of the business people here are Lebanese.
Cotton Tree. Freetown’s most famous landmark it this gigantic tree in the centre of the old part of town. It’s age is uncertain but the first poor black settlers (all from Nova Scotia Canada – freed by the British for their part in fighting in the US War of Independence) rested on its shade when they landed in Freetown in 1787. The large colony of bats that had taken residence were kicked out in 2010). The tree is raised on a stone roundabout and amazingly the entire bottom is encircled by billboards.
St John’s Maroon Church. Built in 1808 by returned slaves from Jamaica, it is an excellent example of the area’s old Krios architecture. The caretaker was thrilled to take me on an extensive tour of the small building pointing out the beams and bell that came from the ship that brought the freed slaves and the backroom that held some of the original pews. The 23 year old first minister is buried here.
I wandered down to the water to see the Connaught Hospital, King’s Yard Gate (where the slaves awaited settlement on the waterfront) and some of the markets (the best place to buy wood carvings from a few inches to 8 feet tall).
The Gateway to the Old King’s Yard T WHS (01/06/2012)is situated at one of the entrances to the city of Freetown’s main government hospital. It was the entrance to the compound where men and women freed from slavery were temporarily housed for documentation and minor medical attention before dispersal to settlements that came to constitute a British Colony. With the total suppression of the slave trade the Old King’s Yards ceased to be in use. In 1880, it was converted to the “Colonial Hospital”; which was further developed into today’s central government hospital. The Gateway to the Old King’s Yard now leading to a part of the central government hospital called Connaught Hospital records the purpose of the King’s Yard on a slab over the arch dated 1819. It reads: “Royal Asylum and Hospital for Africans rescued from slavery by British Valour and Philanthropy Erected AD MDCC XVII – H.E. Lt. Col. MacCarthy“.
Old Fourah Bay College Building (01/06/2012). It opened in 1827 as the first institution of higher learning in modern sub-Saharan Africa after the collapse of the one at Timbuktu. Until the Second War Fourah Bay College offered the only alternative to Europe and America for British colony West Africans who wanted a university degree. The Original Fourah Bay College is a four-story structure built of dressed blocks of laterite. Construction started in 1845. The College is perhaps the single most influential institution in Africa in accounting for the penetration and acceleration of the spread of Western education on the continent.
It was in regular use till the Second World War. After the war it became the headquarters of the Sierra Leone Government Railway; and later as a Magistrate court in the 1980. The building ceased to be in use in early 1990.
I planned on walking the 5 kms out to Lumley beach but eventually surrendered to a share van because of the heat and congested roads necessary to walk on.
My original plan was to spend New Years at Lumley Beach but because of the big ride back to Tokeh Beach (60kms the long way around the National Park or 40kms the short way south along the ocean) and we had been repetitively warned about dangerous it was to walk alone, I caught a motorcycle taxi at the beach in the dwindling light. The road degenerates to construction and then a 5-7km section where it is 4WD. The kid driver was very sweet and gave a typical tale of woe and hard luck. His father had died and he quit school to pay for his younger brother to finish. Once at Tokeh, I gave him a large tip and showed him the truck. We became FaceBook friends.
New Years on the beach was lovely – swims in the ocean, a large bonfire on the beach and then fireworks form the swank hotel (The Place) just down the beach.
We left Freetown at 12:30 to continue south toward Liberia. The excellent highway had been built by the European Union and we cruised along with virtually no traffic. The deforestation was intense with tall grass and palm trees continuing to be the scenery. The major economy is firewood (3-4 foot, 3-4 inch round logs bundled and stacked along the road). The other industry are palm leaves stuffed into narrow nylon-burlap bags. I have no idea what they become). Tiny villages every few kilometres lined the highway. If there were no speed bumps, we cruised through unaware of their existence. After 5 hours, we camped in an abandoned quarry with multiple concrete foundations and buildings.
The public health signs continued: “Knockout 4 Aids – Testing is Free”, “Early Sex Can Destroy Your Future”, Coughing? Get Checked for Tuberculosis”, “Ebola Survivors are Safe – Accept Them”.
Children get very excited about the truck and all wave and run towards us. They are very sweet and love having their picture taken – the adults don’t.
It was 30kms to Kenema where we left the highway to start what we were warned would be a very slow drive on the one-lane dirt road. It was a long, hot, dusty drive at 5-10kms per hour avoiding the enormous holes in the road. We met hundreds of motorcycles going to Kemema carrying huge nylon bags full of produce and empty jerry cans to bring back gasoline. There were only 2 large trucks and one 4WD truck on the entire 100kms. The deforested scene continued in all directions. We rarely passed a large tree and some intact forest remained on the top of inaccessible hills until we passed through Gola National Park, which was all protected.
We overnighted in a small village about 40kms from the Liberian border. I stayed up late taking to the locals. All are Muslim and the local economy is based on rice, cassava and diamonds. They were irritated that we had not fed the village and one guy asked me what I could give him, but generally they were quite pleasant. He was 54 and on his third wife (the first two had divorced him) and he had 9 children.
It was 2 hours to the border on the same disastrous road and we took 2 hours to process the exit and entrance stamps. The Liberian town was Bo-Waterside and was surprisingly large for the nonexistent traffic.