Sierra Leone, Freetown and western peninsula
- 11 hours ago
- 4 min read
I almost didn't come to this country-but I am so glad that I did! I had planned to stay for 1 week and then fly on to the next country. Unfortunately it's not that straight forward traveling in Africa. Sometimes you have to fly to Europe just to come back and fly into the neighboring country. I booked a one way ticket to Sierra Leone with the hopes of finding a way to get to Liberia or Ivory Coast from here-and I did! I had the hotel recommend a tour guide for a city tour as Viator, Get your guide or Trip Advisor had absolutley nothing listed. I lucked out and got a guide who is certified and has a degree in hospitality and tourism and after we talked we agreed on a plan of driving down to see more of Sierra Leone, but also more of Liberia as well. So we're taking 10 days to do just that. So come along for the ride with me-without having to sit in a car on unpaved roads for days!
I had no idea of the connection between this country and my own. I had learned that when slaves were freed and chose to return to Africa that it was Liberia that they went to. Turns out the majority were brought back to Sierra Leone. I remember being told that because of the African American slaves being freed and ending up in Liberia, that was why it was never colonized. Anyway, the Gullah Geechee people from South Carolina and Georgia built villages and towns here. They were originally from present day Sierra Leone, Liberia and Senegal, or the rice growing regions of west Africa. Unfortunately they were lied to as well as the freed slaves that stayed in the states. The freed slaves in the states were promised 40 acres and a mule. The one's that returned were told there were houses here waiting for them and farms that they just needed to take over...well when they arrived, there were no houses only forests. So they had to cut trees, dig wells, plant food, build homes etc. Starting from scratch, and of course a lot of people didn't make it. Now the land was inhabited by Africans, so they were "free" but still chained for the ride back and even after arrival until the local people agreed to grant them amnesty. I went to a village here of the descendants of the Gullah Geechee people(the Temne tribe) and got to witness how they live today. They do a lot of weaving, really nice pieces too. I learned about their customs and traditions- and they were so very nice to me! Everyone was warm and friendly and they even put on a show for me of their traditional welcome dances. The children just wanted to talk to me and touch me-which was a little funny. They don't see a lot of foreigners, so the way they screamed and came running was kind of cool. I felt like a superstar! LOL!! Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the village, seeing some of the building from the 1800's that the freed slaves built as well as other traditional houses and the genuine African kitchen, chicken coop, the community well and of course individual houses. This country is absolutely beautiful! So lush and green! It's the wet season, but it hasn't hampered my travel. It usually rains at night-lol! It just started raining! I should sleep well-thunderstorms overnight...I'll pick this back up tomorrow when I get to the next town on my road trip.
You have to take the sea ferry(water taxi) from the airport to Freetown, which is the capital. So that's a shot of the interior of the boat, and the ocean on our way. I stayed at a beachfront hotel and that was my first meal when I got into town. Wonderful view to watch the sunset!
The next day I did the city tour. First stop was the Peace Museum. They showed the history and events of the brutal civil war that lasted for 11 years. Pretty horrific images-I chose not to photograph those or post them. Then we went to the independence monument and the slave stairs. That was for the returning slaves from US, UK and Nova Scotia. I didn't realize they were chained and transported back to Africa the same way they left. They were only released once they were granted asylum.
Part of the tour was the train museum...not that interesting, but here are a few photo's.
The top photo is the olderst black college in West Africa. The rest were from the train museum. Below are pictures from around town as we were traveling.
We travelled out to the western peninsula and visited a fishing village and another tribe and went to the beach, but unfortunately it started raining as soon as we got there.
A lot of these houses were built in the 1800's by the freed slaves. Looks a lot like some of the homes in the south.
As with every other west African country, we also visited the slave dungeon's and saw Banana island. Horrible the things humans do to each other...
Look at this truck! I can't believe it's actually on the road! And we ran into them again at the border the next day!
Each of the villages has their own market-all are very chaotic.
I absolutely LOVED Sierra Leone! The people were so nice and welcoming. Just genuine people. At least one person a day said "welcome home!" I know I will be back again one day. Until then, it definitely holds a special place in my heart! Next up road trip through Sierra Leone and Liberia.
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