-Sam Keen-
It was a tough decision today to decide whether to go on
the day tour to the Banana Islands or to stay at the hotel and just relax and
catch some rays for the day. The draw
card of seeing some more historic sights on the slave trade won out and I
figured there was another beach day ahead tomorrow, and only just found out
that we come back this way with the new group to head into Guinea, so there
were more beach days to come and kicked my own arse into going today. We were having breakfast off the truck this
morning as it was the deal we struck with the hotel to get a reduced rate,
which I think worked in our favor as Zoe used the 3 day old bread sticks and
with it dipped in whisked eggs created the breakfast masterpiece of eggie
bread. Who would have thought it would
taste so good and after my first slice I knew what would go amazing with it and
I ripped out my Vegemite for the first time this section and it was like eating
a crumpet with the black gold on it!!!!
I was happy to share the black gold with Ellie and Rich and it was the
best breakfast we have had all trip.
Dan, our guide for the day from the hotel, told us to be
ready at 10am, and just as we were leaving some vehicles started to arrive,
most with company logos on their side.
As it was a Sunday, it seems there is an exodus of aid workers and NGO’s
that flock to the beaches for the day, and why wouldn’t you, if you are a 40
minute drive from paradise!!! ‘Our’
beach is popular due to the surf that draws beginners and experienced surfers
alike. We were walked along the beach,
climbed some rocks where there were some whitie's staying in tiny tents, but camped under a thatched roof
on the concrete (weird) and then it was like we had stepped into a different
time. The beach disappeared from view,
even though you knew it was still there, and we had entered a fishing village
that was built around all the black rocks and old coral that they must bring up
to use for their day to day life. I am
glad we were with a local as we passed through, as I felt like I was intruding
into their life, so I made sure I didn’t take any pictures and said hello back
to anyone that acknowledged that we were there.
There was a mixture of smiley faces and some that were a little somber,
but we stopped at a small house, where we met the captain for the day and we
waited for 25 minutes, for, well we weren’t sure to start with and it ended up
we were waiting for the fuel, which Sam had to pay upfront and also a deposit
and then the remainder of the payment would be made at the end of the day. So while they filled the jerry can with the
fuel, we were walked some more through the village and then popped out the
other side onto the beach and waited there for another 10 minutes for the captain,
who now had the motor for the boat on his shoulder, and then we were good to
head to the only waiting boat in the bay.
This section of the beach was pristine.
It is a beautiful part of the world, and we were the only people on the
beach, the only footprints that squeaked through the pure clean sand. Just a magic spot and I will be happy to tell
people about this side of the country, if they market right and get their butts
into gear this could be their future, well part of it and to finally shrug off
the civil war tags and more to a brighter future.
The boat came into shore as far as it could, and it was a
massive locally made wooden structure that would have weighed a ton. The size was great, as I am not a fan of the
small boats so at first glance I was happy, but then when they called us over
to get on the boat, my happiness was short lived as there was no rope or ladder
to get into the vessel and I was not sure just how I would get in. The top of the boat would have been waist
height, if not a little higher, add into that the roll of the waves, this was
going to be tricky and I wasn’t sure if I could do it, get into the boat that
is. Well Suzanne was first and had a
small amount of hassle, but Ian was able to give her a boost with a hand brace
and she was in. God, if Ian did that for
me I would probably give him a serious back injury, but in his defence he tried
and with 3 of the local fisherman also trying to help, my first attempt was
just an embarrassment as I tried to get a lift up so that I could sit on the
edge of the boat. Well that failed. So
after walking back and saying that I just wouldn’t be able to get into the
boat, the fishermen were all encouraging me to try one more time, so I went up
to the boat, told them all to give me some room and I jumped on the side of the
boat on my stomach and then I unceremoniously swung my legs into the boat,
flopping around for a moment like a fish out of water and then my feet touched
the floor and I was in, to claps and cheers from the group. Thank god.
In my defence I was not the only one that looked a little un-coordinated
getting in which made me smile and not feel so bad.
The trip to our first stop was 45 minutes. The boat, which is actually used for fishing,
was massive and had enough room for us 5 of us to sit on wooden benches, with 2
people standing in the middle. The side
of the boat would have come above waist height in the boat, to give you an idea
on just how tall it was and they were able to lean on the side quite easily for
a smooth ride. And what a smooth ride it
was. It didn’t even feel like we were on
water, that’s how smooth it was and the ocean was not flat and calm-it was
quite surprising. I was happy to be in
the sun and catching some rays on the crossing and having a chat with Rich, my
bench buddy. We arrived at the Banana
Island Hotel, located on the tip of the island, where we were going to
pre-order lunch, so that by the time we walked back, as we were going to be
dropped somewhere else to start the walking, lunch would be ready and none of
this wait for 2 hours business. We were
asked if we wanted to get out of the boat, to which I replied immediately no
thanks, not if I have to get back in in a few minutes, and that was an
agreement from everyone, so Sam and Zoe got off and spoke to the staff at the hotel,
got the menu and came back to tell us our options. There was fish, chicken and lobster, so with
everyone going for fish, I went for chicken and pasta just to have a change
from the chicken and chips I seem to be consuming each day at the moment. So with our orders in, we were back on the
sea for a further 15 minutes and dropped off at a small bay that had all the
fisherman resting after having been out first thing this morning resting on
their boats that were pulled up on the beach.
It was a lot easier getting out than in, and with a few worried glances
I got out no problems and we walked to the beach ready to start the tour.
We had picked up a guide from the island hotel, so we had
a Banana local on hand to show us around his island. Over the next hour we were shown the
highlights and it started with our arrival.
This was the very route that the slaves took when they arrived from Kent
over 300 years ago. It still boggles my
mind that firstly I didn’t know much about the slave trade and secondly that it
was acceptable, even back then, to do what they did to fellow human
beings. It is an atrocity, really and I
just try and picture myself, shackled and living in the squalid conditions and
it is shocking.
The Banana Islands are a group of islands that
lie off the coast south
west of the Freetown Peninsula in the Western Area Sierra Leone.
The three islands that made up Banana islands are two, Dublin, Ricketts and Mes-Meheux. Dublin and Ricketts
are linked by a stone causeway. Dublin Island is known for its beaches,
while Ricketts Island is best known for its forests. Mes-Meheux is the
uninhabited third island of the Banana Islands. Dublin and Ricketts Islands
have a combined population of about 900 people. The two Islands are connected
by a spit of sand that is underwater at high tide. A stone bridge connects the
path between the two islands' villages of Dublin and Ricketts, located on the
coast facing the Western Peninsula. The
islands were visited in the 17th century and perhaps earlier by Portuguese
sailors and then were settled in the late 18th and 19th centuries by freed
slaves whose descendants make up most of the population of the islands today. During the late 1700s disputes broke into
deep violence between the Cleveland's of Banana Islands and the Chaulkners on
Plaintain Islands, this led into the 1800s when finally the Chaulkners
succeeded in taking both sets of islands.
Shipwrecks lie off the coast and in one can be found canons amongst the
ruin and coral. On the northern tip of Dublin Island you can find the ruins of
an 1881 church as well as an old slave dock. It is advised that visitors should
pay their respects to the tribal chief before wandering around the islands. Tourist infrastructure exists only in the
northern part of the island.
After the tour had finished, we were lead to a small
beach to have a swim and kill some time as lunch was in its final
preparation. Again there are no people
here, but we did see a couple that had gotten married at Kent yesterday. Zoe got their whole story, but I think he may
have been working here and she flew in as she was leaving on Wednesday, but it
was so remote and I guess a very romantic place to get away with just the 2 of
you, well with a few tourists thrown in for good measure for an hour-but very
romantic all the same. I hadn’t bought
my swimmers so I didn’t go in the water, but I did sit in some protruding rocks
and dangled my feet in thought. The no
swimmers didn’t deter Suzanne, and with her kit off (well she left her undies
and bra on) she trotted into the ocean with Ian for a swim. It was humid as a greenhouse, the sun,
thankfully, had dipped behind some clouds, but man it was hot and we were all
sweaty. I took a walk around to some
rocks to have a look and Ian was there and we found a small pirate stuffed
toy. I am not one for picking up stuff
like that, but it looked like a miniature Jack Sparrow and so I decided to keep
it, give him a good wash and he could become our mascot for the remaining
weeks. After 45 minutes we had all had
our time at the beach, as there were no chairs and not drinks, we decided to
find our way back to Banana Island Resort and wait for lunch there with a cold
drink in our hands instead.
Lunch was DELICIOUS.
Even though I had chicken (again) I ordered it with pasta and it all
came out in communal bowls, so we served it all up and they had a tasty
tomato/peanut/onion sauce thing that I could add to my pasta and it was
mouthwatering. I am not sure if it was
just because we have been on tuna sandwiches (or tinned meat) for lunch and
chicken and chips most nights for dinner as to the taste sensation, but it was
good to feed my taste buds something a little different for once. Even though it sounds like I am eating a lot
of chicken (well I am) in each place it is always done differently, some good,
some not so good and the chickens the last few weeks have been rather small, so
there isn’t a lot of meat on them, but todays was BBQ’ed and man it was
good. I wonder, by the end of the trip,
just how many chickens I have consumed in 2.5 months? Hmmmm maybe I don’t want to know the number
after all. Over lunch, as the days draw
closer to the ‘newbies’ joining us we are thinking of all these jokes that we
can play on them at the very first meeting.
We thought about me being VERY Aussie, or me having a lisp or a stutter
or Tourette’s or all of them and we were in stitches and I am just glad I am
not in the ‘newbie’ group that starts in 5 days. I am sure that they will all be super nice
(can we be that lucky) but we can still have our fun until they actually join
us.
After lunch and a chill, we left Banana Island at
3pm. I now had to flop my way back into
the boat, but the water wasn’t as deep here and I looked like an expert, well
certainly better than I did this morning, getting back into the boat for the
ride home with no problems. Go me. Poor Sam got himself into a little bit of a
tangle and got his leg caught as the boat rose on a wave and ended up getting
half of himself wet, so I definitely did okay, even though I may have looked a
little uncouth, at least I didn’t get wet.
The trip back seemed to be a little more rough, but also didn’t take as
long getting us back just after 4pm. So
with thanks to the captain and the crew, we left Sam to pay the bill and walked
back via the beach to our hotel. As we
rounded the point into ‘our’ bay there was a flurry of activity and people
everywhere-it seems this was the place to be for expats on a Sunday with people
playing football, throwing balls, some in the ocean swimming and surfing, and
groups of people consuming lots of alcohol.
Our hotel was super busy on the beach front with all the deck chairs
taken and all the tables and chairs, and this is where these places make their
money, as people hire these things for the day and also the entrance fee to a
beach that is probably not entirely theirs to stop people from going in, but
people pay and it is just the way it is and it made me happy to see these
places busy and knowing at least on weekends they do get some trade and money
pumping through. The few groups that
were seated at ‘our’ tables were self-sufficient it seemed, and had bought all
their own food and drinks in esky’s and the good news was they were starting to
pack up all their things for the drive back to the city.
By the time I had showered and got my laptop from my
room, there was space for me to sit and pump out some more blog with a cool
beach wind in my hair and my beach boys coming over to say hello. They had asked me yesterday if I had music on
my computer as they had a USB MP3 player that only had 2 songs on it, but I
cleared off my iTunes library before I left, but Zoe took it and said she would
add on some songs for them. They again
proof read over my shoulder as I typed and they would just read and talk to
each other while I worked. They would
then be asked to help with the clearing up of the people who had left and then
they would come back again. They were
really sweet boys and they never asked for anything, ever. I took a few photos of them, which they LOVED
and when they had to head home as it was dark, I went and got them a pen each
to say thanks for not asking for anything and to study hard at school. They seemed very thankful and they loped off
into the darkness and I just wished them the best of luck for their futures,
whatever it may entail.
We ordered dinner for 7.30pm after last night’s coming 45
minute late. In the meantime, Dan had
set up a bonfire on the beach and it was awesome to sit on the beach that was
now deserted with all the day trippers gone, the full moon rising, the wind
blowing and the sound of the waves crashing.
What an awesome way to finish yet another great day as we waited for our
meals. It was just as well that we did
have the bonfire as the meals were over an hour late, which didn’t seem to
matter because of the chat around the beach camp fire and it dawned on me just
what a great group we have had the last 3.5 weeks. There were no tense times at all, no one
talking about each other, everyone pulling their weight and all of us acting as
a team and a family. It takes special
people to get along for that amount of time and in close quarters 14-18 hours a
day and in some of the circumstances that we found ourselves in. I am so glad that I had these guys to share
this experience with as I know just how different it could have been if not
everyone did get along, I’ve been there with groups and it changes the whole
experience and I know I have made some more friends that I will definitely keep
in touch with and certainly see again in the future.
It was back to the room at 9.30pm to get some blogging
done, reading some more of a book that is about Sierra Leone and Liberia called
Chasing the Devil by Tim Butcher and there has to be something said about
reading a book about a country that you are currently traveling and was written
recently, in 2010. It is also a great
history source and is filling me in on the civil war to name a big one, but how
the countries came about and everything else in between. It was also time to check on my room resident
that hadn’t moved since yesterday. Mr.
Spider was still where he was, and even after I made Ian come in and kill the
first spider last night, the difference was last night’s kill was in a
prominent position, where this guy is tucked away behind a beam, so he can see
me shower and go to the toilet, but then he is out of sight for the rest of the
time. I just had to hope that he didn’t
walk around at night and it was the first thing I checked this morning if he
was still there and will be the first thing I check tomorrow morning as well. I figured if I leave this guy alone he will
in turn leave me alone and as Sam pointed out he is helping keep the mozzie
situation under control then I am willing to let this guy live. For now.
No comments:
Post a Comment