First Full Day In Freetown

Wow! I really like Freetown! Of the places I have visited so far, this is the first one that I could see moving to. It's amazing. And I've only been in the downtown--not even to Aberdeen and Lumley Beach. Oh why did I plan to spend just a few days here? While it's a fun added layer of challenge to travel in Francophone Africa, the feeling of control of being in an Anglophone country is nice. And while Banjul, The Gambia was Anglophone, it just wasn't a fun place to be. Freetown is! I don't why Lonely Planet called The Gambia "Africa for beginners". I would totally recommend Sierra Leone over The Gambia.

I woke up to rain. There is often rain in the morning in this region of Africa, so I decided to wait it out. It stopped, but I headed out with my rain coat and rain hat anyway. I wouldn't need them, though.

My first order of business to get my cash situation under control. I had about 40000 Leones--US$13--not enough to live on. So I went by a few banks to see if the ATM revolution has hit Sierra Leone. It hasn't. So I headed to the Rokel Bank and entered. I wasn't sure exactly how a cash advance works since I've never done one. Who do you go to? Well, as soon as I entered they had a big sign that indicated the foreign exchange from Visa section. It is a whole big room with a staff of about 10. I sat down and waited for a guy to call me up. He asked if I've ever gotten a cash advance from them before and if I informed my bank that I would be taking money out of my Visa account here. No for the first answer and for the second answer I told him that they were aware I am in West Africa. I gave him my Visa and my passport. He commented that I have lost weight. Indeed I have. My passport picture was taken at my peak weight of 235 lbs and I'm probably about 150 lbs now. He informed me that there was a Le40000 fee and a 2% commission. The fee is like $13. Yikes. Oh well. I asked for $150.

He had me sit down and I waited for about 20 minutes. Then I had to go up and sign 3 pieces of paper and provide my billing address and my current address in Sierra Leone. Then I waited about 5 more minutes. Then I got a few pieces of paper to take to the cashier. That was another 5 minute wait. Then I got my money. My $150 got me Le375000 when all the fees were subtracted.

Cash in hand, I decided to head to the Crown Bakery mentioned in the Lonely Planet. I got an Orange Fanta, chocolate croissant, and a chocolate frosted donut. They were absolutely delicious. When I got my bill I found out why--Le5000 for the Fanta and Le7000 for the pastries. Plus a 10% tax. It came to Le25000 with tip or about US$8. More than I expected. There were a lot of white people at the Crown. Some were UN soldiers, I think. A girl came in with an REI bag and perhaps was American. It was good, but I don't think I'll be back for any more $2.30 donuts.

Then I just wandered around the town amazed. After a while I figured out how I would describe the vibe of downtown Freetown. It's a festival atmosphere. It's like wandering the French Quarter during Mardi Gras. The street names are all British. The British influence is everywhere. It was, after all, established by the British to decide if black people on ships captured on the high seas were slaves from the Americas or free Africans being taken across the Atlantic against their will. Since they had outlawed the international slave trade, but not slavery itself, they took jurisdiction to free any Africans who were illegally taken from Africa to be sold as slaves. In fact the street my hotel is on, Wilburforce Street, is named after one of the leading abolitionists who got the British to outlaw the slave trade and put its considerable naval force behind enforcement.

I decided to head back to the hotel and pay for tonight. On the way there, I passed a store that looked like it might have postcards but they didn't. The guy suggested the post office. I figured he was full of crap. I paid another Le50000 (US$17) for the next night. I showered and did some laundry. Then I headed out again.

I went to the place where the sept-places to Conakry leave from. I can get a car for Le30000 to Pamelap--the border. Or if I show up at 5am, I can pay Le50000 and get a car all the way to Conakry. So that's $10 to the border or $17 to Conakry. I think I have enough money to last until Sunday morning, so I'll give that a try.

I passed the post office and, sure enough, they have a table where they sell envelopes and other packaging materials. Plus post cards. So I got 2 and then got postage to the US. I hope my postcards are reaching my nieces.

My hotel room has a WiFi hotspot, but you need an account with some company. I went to the office of that company. They have a 24 hour plan valid for 48 hours for Le30000 (US$10) and weekly plans. They also have hourly plans for Le5000. Maybe I'll try that. I was asking about this in an office with no lights. Interesting that a tech company wouldn't have electricity.

Soon I found an internet cafe and posted my blogs and checked some blogs. The Explorer was funny, though and the javascripts for blogger didn't work right, so I couldn't put the categories in yet. I decided not to even try my email since its javascript is problematic.

I wandered around again just taking in the vibe and ended up at a nice looking cafe called the Cafe de la Rose. They didn't have the cheaper things on the menu, so I just got a bottled water and a beer. I wrote out the postcards and then ordered another beer. Each item was Le3500--a little over US$1. When I left, there were 4 wounded people at the door. They asked for money and I gave each of them a Le2000 bill. Then I set out to find food. I went to the intersection where I got the chicken the night before, but the chicken people weren't there yet. I walked a completely crowded street with people selling everything under the sun. I made it to the clock tower and then went south to the water. Then I turned around and came back. I went to the place I tried to get a bite to eat across the street from the hotel. I got a shawarma for Le6000 (US$2). It was spicy and delicious. But ultimately, it was just an appetizer. I went to another fast food place--Delightful Fast Food. Their windows are tinted and you can't see in, but a guy opened the door for me and I could see it was a restaurant. I got a hamburger for Le8000 (US$2.60). It was good--they used a panini press on it. Then I came back to the apartment to type up my day. On the way up the stairs, I passed a guy with 5 or 6 small grey nuggets wrapped in a folded piece of paper. Probably uncut diamonds--Sierra Leone has a lot of diamond mines. Cool.

Tomorrow I'll go to Aberdeen and Lumley beach.

September 4, 2008 18:38 Sierra Leone local time