Sierra Leone is a very poor country with GDP per capita of US $530. The economy of the country was severely impacted by the civil war in the 1990s and subsequent development has been slow. A former British colony, the official language is English,while the Krio language is spoken in most parts of the country.
While still slowly recovering from the civil war, in the mid- 2010s Ebola struck Sierra Leone in a devastating manner and brought much death to the country. Since that time medical facilities have improved, but there is still room for improvement.Â
Because of these setbacks, literacy rates here are low. Official estimates are that 43% of the people are literate, leaving Sierra Leone as the 38th ranked country in Africa in this area.
Typical of a poor nation, the primary source of employment and export earnings is agriculture which employs 80% of the workforce. Despite the existing hardships, this continues to be a beautiful country where the small population of 8,000,000 seek a better life and are prepared to work for it.
I went to Sierra Leone to see how the country had moved forward since these crises. I knew that tourism figures are very low here. In fact, with 59,000 tourists in 2017, it ranked number 191 in the world for annual tourist arrivals!
On the road again! I left the beautiful island of Bermuda on a two day trek to get back to West Africa. During this trip l moved southward through Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast and, finally, Ghana.
 l arrived in Amsterdam at 5:45 from New York after a seven hour flight across the ocean. With time on my hands, l took the train to the city. It was a pleasant ride on a clean, quiet train. I walked around a bit, as there was very little open when l arrived. But, once the shops started to open up, l had a substantial breakfast in a lovely cafe. After this, l took a few pictures and went back to the airport. After a brief wait, l was on my plane and heading for my first stop, Sierra Leone, six more hours away.Â
Upon landing at the Freetown airport, the question was how to get to the hotel. The city map showed a body of water separating the airport from the city. I had two choices: drive four hours around the peninsula or take the boat. Most people took the boat, so l fell in line. First, you take a bus to the boat dock .... and wait. I must have waited at least thirty minutes. Then you take the boat across. It is a forty five minute ride. When l went down to the dock, l saw that the sea had made up. Immediately my thoughts went back to crossing from Punta Gorda in Belize to Puerto Barrios in Guatemala. Those were rough trips. We were in a tiny boat which rolled with the waves on the night trip back. Each time we landed, l would tell the owner/ driver to take a good look at my face because he was never going to see it again. Then, a few weeks later, there l would be crossing the Gulf of Honduras!!
Fortunately, this boat was the size of our ferries in Bermuda and it handled itself very well in the rough sea. At 10pm, boy, was l glad to get on dry land!
On my first day in Freetown, the capital, l visited the Cotton tree. This is a historical symbol of Freetown. Thousands of slaves had fought with the British in the American War of Independence because of a promise of freedom. Unfortunately, the British did not always follow through on their promises. So this group arrived in Sierra Leone in 1792, some nine years after the War.
These settlers were called the Nova Scotians as they had "temporarily" settled in Nova Scotia after the War. Upon landing, the people walked up to this same cotton tree and had prayers and songs of thanksgiving for their return to their homeland. Freetown was officially founded on March 11, 1792.
The age of the tree is unknown, but documentation exists verifying its existence in 1787. Standing some 30 metres with a girth of 12 metres, it is believed to be the oldest cotton tree in Sierra Leone and, possibly, the world. It is in the center of Freetown and the people spread out in all directions from the tree.
 The Cotton tree is near the Sierra Leone National Museum, which l went to see next. The museum charts the culture and arts of the nation, but has a no picture taking policy that reduced my ability to tell its story. A two floor building, half of the ground floor is devoted to permanent displays of cultural history and the arts.Â
The second half of the ground floor has rotating exhibitions with an art exhibition currently on display. The second floor had a very useful display on the slave trader and Sierra Leone, however it was all written material that was simply too much to digest in a short period. Consideration should be given to alternate means of presenting this very important information.
My pictures, taken on two different days, show the Cotton tree from different vantage points. You can see the large campaign billboard, which is there as the national elections were only a few weeks away. Fortunately, as l travelled around the country l felt no election tension nor witnessed any election violence.Â
Sierra Leone, being right of the Atlantic Ocean, has several beautiful beaches going along the coast. I went to Lakka Beach, which is at the end of a residential area about 30 minutes from Freetown, in the evening and caught the sun going down. I wanted to enjoy the sunset... and the food. Sitting on a family's front porch, l ordered lobster, assuming l was ordering a half lobster, which was US $20. That seemed a little steep, but let's enjoy myself, I think!! Why not? When the lobster came it was a huge, whole lobster that could have fed three! Was it tasty, you ask? It was delicious. I should have taken a picture of my lobster, but l was so excited by the sight of it that l forgot the camera and dived in! To show you how big it was l have included a file picture that looks very much like the tasty lobster l had enjoyed. Great time in the dying light at Lakka Beach.Â
The next day, again in the early evening, l went to River No. 2 beach. Strange name! This beach is ranked in the top ten beaches in Africa. So, of course, l had to go there. As it was Sunday, the beach was packed and there was a very lively feeling. There was much music and playing of beach football but very few were in the water!
Now the name comes from River No 2. Actually, it is an unnamed river, not an unnamed beach!! River No 2 runs out of the hills down to the Ocean, meeting the Ocean at this spot which, quite correctly, is named River No 2 beach!! The beach was kept very clean, and the sand was beautiful. I enjoyed the water and had a very relaxing time at River No 2Â beach.
A few days later l was on my way to the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary. This is a site a few miles from Freetown where Chimpanzees are studied, brought to good health, and ultimately released to the wild.
However, as we drove, l noticed the large landslide shown in the picture and asked the driver about it. He pulled over for me to take a few pictures. Here is what we were looking at: On August 14, 2017 a mudslide killed over 1,000 people, including more than 100 children, in the mountain town of Regent, six miles from Freetown. The top of Sugar Loaf Mountain collapsed at 6 am, bringing disaster to the families living below. This terrible event has been called the worst natural disaster in the history of Sierra Leone.Â
 The town is between the Atlantic and a range of hills. Many homes were swept away leaving over 7,000 homeless and many more searching for relatives later found dead. Swiftly coming down the hillsides was a combination of rain water, mud and debris which trapped many inside their houses.
Mass burials began a few days later to reduce the chances of cholera and other diseases. But using mass burials affected the healing process as one would expect.
Excessive heavy rains caused this disaster, but it was added to by the uprooting of trees to house the thousands who come from the countryside seeking opportunities in the city; a worldwide issue. During July and up to the day of the mudslide, the rainfall of 104 cm was three times the normal rainfall. While some agencies had been giving warnings for a few years, they did little prior to the disaster.
The problem is that many people live in illegal settlements on steep hillsides. This leads to more deforestation as the trees are cut to build more houses. This was clearly a man-made environmental disaster. While this deforestation was known to authorities, little was done to stop it. Sadly, the people in these risky areas were poor people.
Today, the scar is still there….. and the building continues.
Continuing our journey, I went to Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Regent village to see the chimpanzees and to stay overnight. The Sanctuary takes both orphaned chimpanzees and domesticated chimpanzees and prepares them for life in the wild. The number of chimpanzees in the wild in Sierra Leone has fallen dramatically over the past twenty years and, if unchecked, the Sierra Leone chimpanzee will become extinct. Today it is thought that there are less than 5,000 chimps in Sierra Leone.Â
In 1995 the Sanctuary opened with five chimps; there are now close to 100 at the sanctuary. They are kept in five groups ranging from quarantined to free range within a forest enclosure. Upon arrival the chimps are quarantined for 90 days, during which they go through medical tests for diseases such as TB and also examined for psychological damage that may have come from the "owner". It is illegal to have domestic chimps, but people will take home a baby chimp as it is "so cute". However, an adult chimp has the strength of five men, so the balance of power shifts radically as the chimp grows. This alone demands having chimps as pets be illegal. The Sanctuary encourages reporting and, once aware of a domestic chimpanzee, will seize the animal.Â
The young chimps are very playful and will throw stones at visitors. However, their survival is a serious matter, as the female is not mature until 13 years old and then has a baby once every five years! Furthermore, it is normal for a female to see only two of her babies survive into adulthood. This information startled me! Play with some numbers and you will see how hard repopulating this animal actually is.
My tour was very good. I was in a tour group of ten people. The staff were very caring and appeared very committed to this cause. We saw the chimps at all five stages. Apart from the cleaning and cooking staff, there are three groups dealing with the business of the chimps. The Care staff deal directly with the chimps and their maintenance and upkeep. The Outreach Officers do research while the Education Officers go into the schools sharing knowledge with school children.
Although l had only been in Freetown for a few days, l decided that l would take a break from the hustle of the city and stay at the facility. They have six lodges and l stayed in Bruno Lodge, Â named after their first chimp. I slept great after a delicious dinner prepared by the staff, followed by an equally nice breakfast the next morning before my departure.
Throughout the night, l could hear "fights" among the chimps. In the early morning l heard birds. The sounds of the jungle told the story of deforestation, as l have stayed in the jungle overnight elsewhere and been woken by many distinct cries and calls. Here, this was not so. The concerns about both bushmeat and deforestation must be taken seriously, otherwise there will be few wild animals to see in a short while. One of the Sierra Leone vets said his grandfather told him stories of the lions that were in great numbers in the area when he, the grandfather, was a boy. There have been no lions in the country for many years.
Getting up close!
When the driver returned, l asked him to take me to a clinic in the city. Since my delicious lobster on the beach, l had been feeling quite unwell at night. During the day l was a little sluggish, but not enough to slow me down. Today would be the fourth day of this and l thought it was time to get checked out. After going through the formalities, a doctor pricked my finger and soon after announced that l had malaria! Imagine how that sounded to me. I was more than a little shocked. Fortunately, he was able to calm me down and gave me two sets of tablets as well as a bottle of medicine. He assured me that l would feel like myself in three days. Well, the medicine may have worked, but the mind is powerful. For the rest of my time in Sierra Leone, l was convinced that l had not recovered.
During my last trip to West Africa, l noticed the many options that exist for transport. Here in Sierra Leone, an old friend from my time in Guatemala in May 2016, the tuk tuk has made an appearance!
The fastest way to get around is still the moto taxi when working your way through city traffic. My picture shows young men waiting to collect passengers, however they are used on short routes in Freetown and over the distance travelled they are the most expensive. The combination of goods and people on these bikes is a sight to be seen. And yes, it is standard to have the driver and two passengers. I have sat at the back as the third passenger often! Oops, wasn't supposed to say that!
 The tuk tuk can go far greater distances than the moto and in city traffic is almost as quick. You should see the drivers work their way through the congestion. Actually, they drive as if they were playing a video game!
 Sierra Leone taxis are very nice and you want to ride in one of these. The only taxi fleet from my last trip that even comes close are the taxis of The Gambia. Excellent service in a good vehicle. That's what you want. My only complaint is that when l needed to explain where l wanted to go and tried to do so using maps it was hopeless. My drivers simply could not understand the map!!! Or, at least, they acted that way!
The minivan is unused both for inter and intra city travel. I used one later to go from Freetown to Bo. The standards and condition of these vehicles vary, but few are satisfactory from my observations. I saw one which had metal straight-back chairs nailed to the floor. Ouch.... that must be a very uncomfortable long distance ride!
Sept-place vehicles are the intercity workhorses. These cars are designed to take seven people, but in Sierra Leone they do not move until the tenth seat has been purchased!! And that's even if the top of the car is loaded with goods for delivery that have been paid for separately!! Now, if there is not a lot of luggage and goods on the roof, this "extra space" will then be sold to young men who will travel the complete journey on the roof!! How they do it is beyond me, as the car l am rocking and rolling most of the time!!! My picture shows three young men taking their upper deck seats as the sept-place pulls away from a border checkpoint.
Of course, there are large Greyhound type buses, but they are so few that l did not see one on this trip.Â
 There you have it. It was quite an experience going on the various road surfaces using what l hoped was the right vehicle for the terrain being tackled! And yes... my body did hurt after a long day in the saddle!!!
Here are two very important historical churches in Sierra Leone. While l, like many, "knew" of the settlement of Liberia by freed black American slaves, l knew nothing of similar having occurred in Sierra Leone ( despite the name Freetown!). These two churches were the religious cornerstones of the black Nova Scotians and the Jamaican Maroons. Both groups had set up communities in the heart of what is today Freetown.
The first church, St George's, was open, as they were having Sunday School. I entered and took pictures unfortunately later, l could not do the same at the second, St John's Maroon Church. As l wandered through the first church, the beauty and design impressed me.Â
St George's is the church established by the black Nova Scotians. You can see the exterior of the church. This historical church was certainly one of the city's most beautiful in its day. The Church Missionary Society built it, starting in 1817 and finishing in 1828.
St John's Maroon church was in service when l visited, so it was not appropriate for me to take interior photos. It is a much smaller and simpler church than St George's. This church was built by Jamaican Maroons returning to Africa in 1800. While slaves, they had fought wars against the British in Jamaica and, after losing the Second Maroon War in 1796, they agreed to be sent to Nova Scotia. Of course, the climate was not to their liking and, in 1800, they were allowed to return to Africa. Six hundred men, women and children had been sent to Nova Scotia and, of these, five hundred and fifty went to Africa. It is believed that they were originally from the Gold Coast (Ghana), so they were not very far from their point of origin and safe from re-enslavement, which they would not have been had they gone back to Ghana then.
From 1800 to 1822 the Maroons worshipped with the black Nova Scotians, however, they then moved to build their own church and have worshipped here since, making it the oldest church in Freetown that has been continually in use. Sadly, today the congregation of this Methodist church is much smaller than in years gone by. The church was recognised as a National Heritage site in 1956.
The statute that is captured here is of Thomas Peters, one of the founding fathers of Sierra Leone. The statue was erected in 2011 by blacks from Nova Scotia in recognition of his contributions over 200 years earlier.
Peters is regarded as the key founder of Sierra Leone. He was born in Youbaland, Nigeria and was captured by traders in 1760 at age 22. He first was sold into slavery in French Louisiana but, after three attempts at escape, he was sold to a slave owner in North Carolina. In 1776, like many other slaves, he joined the Black Pioneers who had been promised their freedom for fighting for the British in the Revolutionary War. He was wounded twice and promoted to sergeant. In 1783, he went with other slaves to Nova Scotia.
The promise of land and equality failed to materialise. In fact, to make matters worse, some white slave owners from the defeated South moved to the same part of Nova Scotia with their slaves and were quickly given land! (Don't you just love the forgotten promises and the irony of it all?) It was estimated that there may have been as many as 1200 slaves brought to the Atlantic region of Canada by these white slave owners.
The first race riots in Canada occurred in July 1784, when poor whites attacked the blacks who were even poorer. Finally, in 1791, Peters went to England to petition the King for the promised land. While there he met the leaders of the Society seeking to establish a colony in Sierra Leone for freed slaves. He convinced them to allow him to gather other blacks in Nova Scotia to be the free men taken back to Africa. It was agreed that there would be a flotilla of ships under the control of Englishman John Clarkson, the brother of a leading abolitionist, Thomas Clarkson.Â
Returning to Nova Scotia, he recruited 1100 of the 3500 free blacks in Nova Scotia. They crossed the ocean in fifteen ships, arriving in March,1792. Unfortunately, Peters and Clarkson were soon in conflict and the settlers, all black, voted overwhelmingly to have Clarkson as their leader! They called Clarkson, 28 years old, Father and Moses for having taken them to freedom! Clarkson was appointed as the first Governor of Sierra Leone, but because of ill health, returned to England after only eight months.
 Thomas Peters died of malaria during the first rainy season to be experienced by the settlers. Peters’ legacy is the founding of Freetown and the fact that persistence and opportunity meeting can always bring positive results for the people.
The pictures are of Peters and the base of the statute showing the inscriptions on it.
For those who were wondering what the buildings and houses in Freetown look like, these pictures are quite representative. The city is quite built up, though the lack of effective planning regulations has led to a wild mix of residential and commercial buildings sitting almost on top of one another.
Note the use of young timber to provide scaffolding for buildings under construction, as seen in the picture. I have seen the same thing done on construction projects in Belize.
Note the size of the new houses being built; not little huts, as some silly man said around the time of my visit. Quite the opposite!
Despite being from a small island, l was next off to a smaller island. Just off the Freetown peninsula is a group of three small islands known as the Banana Islands. Two, Dublin and Ricketts are inhabited while the third is not. Dublin and Ricketts are joined by a stone causeway built by slaves being held for departure for the new world.
Today there are about 900 people who live on the two islands. They are the descendants of freed American slaves who settled the islands in the 1800s. How's that for irony!
After learning about the islands, l decided to spend two nights there. I asked my hotel to arrange for one of their regular drivers to take me south to the tip of the peninsula, where l would take a small boat across to the islands. A very reasonable request, however early the next morning, l went to the front desk to ask if the taxi was here and the doorman was sent to stop a passing one!! Apparently they were not really in the service business at all! Shortly thereafter, the doorman got a driver who didn't even know where my destination was. As usual, l opened the maps.me and tried to show him, but it just did not work. I expected the drive to be about ninety minutes, but after fifteen he pulled over to get directions. This made me annoyed as we were on a single highway that ended at the tip, but clearly my efforts to explain this accomplished nothing. Ugh!Â
Well, it took a little over ninety minutes as we were on a good paved road for about an hour and then we were on yet another road from hell!! I was truly surprised that the driver continued and that his car was not damaged driving through this horror show. When l finally arrived at the tip in a place called Kent, l had to wait about thirty minutes for the boat across to the Islands.
 I crossed in a small boat which handled the small waves very well. To my surprise (given that this is tourist season) l found l was the only guest. I was staying at a guesthouse that had small round lodge buildings very similar to those at the chimpanzee sanctuary. There were several options for activities including forest walks, a historical tour, fishing, snorkelling and diving.Â
After lunch l went on a three hour hike into the forest. The guide took me out to the stone bridge that joins the two islands. Surprisingly, l saw no sign of wildlife, though the guide assured me there were black monkeys in the forest. Once l returned to the site, l took a brief nap before enjoying a late afternoon swim in one of the two nearby beaches.Â
To my chagrin, l had to wait for three hours for dinner! This was because two staff were out fishing for five hours during which they got six bites before catching two fish!! Only after they came back to the shore could the cook get dinner started! The fish was barracuda, not a favourite of mine, so dinner was only Ok.
Having had a good day, l went to my lodge to go down for the night. An hour or so later, l sat up and saw a giant spider was sliding across the floor. I was a tiny bit afraid, so l carefully went after it and it squeezed itself out of the lodge! A fun first day.
The next morning, after a very nice breakfast, I took a swim in the clear, warm water. It was so good. I had arranged for a different guide to take me around the other side of the island after lunch. So, when the time came, we went into the village and l learned the history of the village. l was shown the remains of the original church, which was built in the 1850s and the church that has replaced it. Additionally, l was shown the sites of two small forts where captured Africans were kept before being shipped to the New World. Once again, l had an emotional moment as l reflected on what would have happened on this very site not too long ago.Â
Remains of one of the two small forts used to keep the captured Africans
There was much vegetation near the village, as the villagers planted a variety of foodstuff. From time to time there is a conflict between the villagers and tourists, as the villagers dislike the tourists walking about in their private areas. Most tourists respect this, but the nature of solo tourists and backpackers is to make their own decisions about how they will conduct themselves and this can only result in the occasional conflict.
The next morning, l returned to Freetown. I moved easily back to Kent at the tip of the peninsula. The guesthouse had arranged for one of their regular drivers to take me back and l had a quiet giggle as this man, knowing where he was going, took a different route which went swiftly along smooth tarred roads. No driving through roads made in hell, no fear of the vehicle breaking down, just a comfortable civilised drive. Yup, they are not quite ready for tourism in Freetown or Sierra Leone for that matter!
