Gael warning in Liberia

[richardbd]

So had a good ride from Kindia down to Coyah on the Conakry road and then SE to the border where smooth crossing into Sierra Leone this lunchtime.

As it was very hot and sticky having descended from the mountains, I decided to stop early at Kambia rather battle Freetown traffic today.

I am staying in a rudimentary but charming compound of little bungalows, rules over by a delightful old lady called Olive who was sent to school in W Kensington for a couple of years and had good memories of England. She had been teaching me a little Krio, that extraordinary language (pidgin English doesn’t do it justice!).

View attachment 552474
Despite no bars on my phone it seems I may be able to load the odd pic (WiFi? There’s not even electricity at the moment, hope we’ll have some to move the fan this evening )

This little Honda seems popular here
View attachment 552475I have splashed out on some good accommodation in Freetown for a couple of nights where I will plan my peregrinations in this country…well ahead of any vestigial schedule I had so pity not to see a bit of the country en route to Liberia.

The people are incredibly friendly and welcoming. And the Customs guys seemed very relaxed about me leaving the bike in the country. Useful knowledge if my Plan A (dispose of bike in Liberia) does not work…

Peregrinations...

Excellent word

 

[richardbd]

View attachment 552483The incredible Dust Man….abd even more made its way inside🫩

You could at least try to look like you're having fun Simon

 

[richardbd]

You look good with a golden glow Simon

fake tan

 

[jasp]

Reading this I can only imagine the actual physical and mental strain of these daily journeys, and then taking time to write a daily post,inspirational.....
You must have balls of sand, like balls of steel but somewhat more uncomfortable I suspect!
Hanging on every next post...thanks.

 

[simondippenhall]

You look good with a golden glow Simon

Yes Martin I was admiring my golden tan until I found it came off on my towel🫩

 

[simondippenhall]

Reading this I can only imagine the actual physical and mental strain of these daily journeys, and then taking time to write a daily post,inspirational.....
You must have balls of sand, like balls of steel but somewhat more uncomfortable I suspect!
Hanging on every next post...thanks.

Thanks @jasp …maybe it’s practise but am finding it on the whole very enjoyable. I am also (now I am in my 70th year) making an effort to stop early in the day and just chill with local people - to whom, of course, an oul fella on a bike from London is a rarity.

Anyway this morning I woke in a muck sweat as the power went off early. I had slept well, reckoning an early night would get me more hours of sleep with the fan running and this tactic worked.

Oh I forgot to mention that last night I absentmindedly locked myself out of my hut when the power died. So trekked off to see Olive the owner, and as she went through a Mary Poppins style bag of old keys she regaled me with stories of her London school days…I think she was quite a battler. A key was found and I walked the length of the compound to try it and fail; so I repeat the exercise with another key she produces…same result .

She was magnanimous and said “Don’t worry we’ll call a locksmith…I have 4 of them on beck and call”. So I listened to her speaking to someone in Krio and within 5 minutes he arrived and went to work:

 

[simondippenhall]

After a warm night in a little hut with intermittent power and water in Kambia, shortly after I crossed into Sierra Leone, I set off for bustling Freetown in a thick fog this morning 🫩, wiping moisture from my visor regularly.

Nonetheless there was the eternal frisson of riding through the West African morning and its bustle of schoolchildren on their way.

When I got closer the roads became packed (in a way that reminded me of Nigeria) but once through the cauldron of downtown Freetown I lucked out in with an upgrade to a ‘business suite’ near Lumley Beach…but 2 bedrooms and bathrooms is an inconceivable idea after recent lodgings ….

After settling in and a long shower (didn’t take away all of my “fake tan”) I rode down to Lumley Beach…in pursuit of an ATM I could draw cash from.

6 ATMs later I was unsuccessful…but the pursuit of beer and lunch was more successful .
My lucky suite…now which bedroom shall I use tonight?
I then spent a pleasant hour lounging in the pool (alone ) and wondering why you would name your boat after a dodgy GPS company
Before I knew it was approaching sunset hour so I jumped on the bike to head down to the beach again…thinking I would go to the same restaurant as for lunch.

But then I spotted some freelance tables and chairs and sat there - I was quickly invited to join the adjacent table who insisted on buying my beer. I like Sierra Leone!!



Hard not to like Sierra Leone at this point! BYW at lunchtime I got chatting (yes I am Irish ) with a neighbour who was a S African running a palm oil plantation in Eastern Sierra Leone. He insisted I came to visit on my way to Liberia and tells me his wife is a great cook. While I am no fan of monoculture)given its environmental impacts) I may well visit to learn more and meet the mixture of nations who work in the camp. Anyway that’s for next week…I have two nights here and tomorrow’s morning I am going to look at (and maybe replace) my air filter after all the Guinean dust. The bike felt a bit starved the last couple of days…which is more likely the (poor) quality of local fuels but the filter deserves a look anyway.

I am also thinking of visiting the Tucugama Chimpanzee Reserve about 55 minutes east.

Anyway enough blathering about today, it’s nice to have a day of leisure ahead in a comfortable environment…someone even snuck in and brought me a piece of cake for the evening

 

[simondippenhall]

Lunch…and my piece of cake (I know you GSers like food photos)
Aand the lagoon backing the hotel

 

[richardbd]

View attachment 552733View attachment 552734After a warm night in a little hut with intermittent power and water in Kambia, shortly after I crossed into Sierra Leone, I set off for bustling Freetown in a thick fog this morning 🫩, wiping moisture from my visor regularly.

Nonetheless there was the eternal frisson of riding through the West African morning and its bustle of schoolchildren on their way.

When I got closer the roads became packed (in a way that reminded me of Nigeria) but once through the cauldron of downtown Freetown I lucked out in with an upgrade to a ‘business suite’ near Lumley Beach…but 2 bedrooms and bathrooms is an inconceivable idea after recent lodgings ….

After settling in and a long shower (didn’t take away all of my “fake tan”) I rode down to Lumley Beach…in pursuit of an ATM I could draw cash from.

6 ATMs later I was unsuccessful…but the pursuit of beer and lunch was more successful .View attachment 552735View attachment 552736
My lucky suite…now which bedroom shall I use tonight?View attachment 552737View attachment 552738
I then spent a pleasant hour lounging in the pool (alone ) and wondering why you would name your boat after a dodgy GPS company View attachment 552739
Before I knew it was approaching sunset hour so I jumped on the bike to head down to the beach again…thinking I would go to the same restaurant as for lunch.

But then I spotted some freelance tables and chairs and sat there - I was quickly invited to join the adjacent table who insisted on buying my beer. I like Sierra Leone!!View attachment 552740

View attachment 552741View attachment 552742

Hard not to like Sierra Leone at this point! BYW at lunchtime I got chatting (yes I am Irish ) with a neighbour who was a S African running a palm oil plantation in Eastern Sierra Leone. He insisted I came to visit on my way to Liberia and tells me his wife is a great cook. While I am no fan of monoculture)given its environmental impacts) I may well visit to learn more and meet the mixture of nations who work in the camp. Anyway that’s for next week…I have two nights here and tomorrow’s morning I am going to look at (and maybe replace) my air filter after all the Guinean dust. The bike felt a bit starved the last couple of days…which is more likely the (poor) quality of local fuels but the filter deserves a look anyway.

I am also thinking of visiting the Tucugama Chimpanzee Reserve about 55 minutes east.

Anyway enough blathering about today, it’s nice to have a day of leisure ahead in a comfortable environment…someone even snuck in and brought me a piece of cake for the evening

Some great pics Simon. That boat is a long way up the beach, so either the tides are big or they have a large tractor!

 

[simondippenhall]

Some great pics Simon. That boat is a long way up the beach, so either the tides are big or they have a large tractor!

Judging by the graffiti on the hull he didn’t just pop in today for a lunchtime beer…