Two Big Trips

Its a whole week since I wrote my blog partly because the internet connection is so slow at work but I'll have a dongle soon(!). Despite being here for less than 3 weeks, I've left the madness and dust that is Freetown twice!

My first trip was to Bunce Island in a Jeep with 7 others. Helen was the very brave driver and we drove around Freetown bay to a small and very poor village called Pepel where we (the royal we, ie not me!!) negociated the cost of a boat trip and tour of the old slave island with the local maritime administrator (young chap in shorts with a vaguely offiical piece of paper). We eventaully got across and had a quite interesting tour withthe local village elder who told us some stories in Krio (ably translated by Helen and Fiona)about the Island and its inhabitants. The trip was a out 3 hours each way, mainly on dirt roads, great excercise for the bum!

Easter was just as much fun. I had dinner with other new VSOs twice, Rey does a mean Phippino chicken dish and then I went to church on Sunday (mum dont shout, it was a Catholic Church!) and you should have seen the outfits people were wearing! Ladies were wearing the some most fabulous dress some like ball dresses. The SL women are seriously stylish, there is no hope for me, especially with being constantly hot, they dont even seem to sweat and how can that be when its always over 30 c?? The (long) church experience was musical and colourful and got to sing some hymns (secretly love singing hymns). But monday was the highlight of the weekend, I eventually went to Lakka beach a few miles south of Freetown and swam in the beautiful warm ocean and then had freshly caught fish for dinner as the sun went down (bliss). There was a funny moment when a seller arrived with a giraffe in one hand and an enormous phallus in the other! Well I ended up buying the giraffe even though there are none here but its christened Alpha Dick after the skilled man who made him and the other carving!