Sierra Leone: People-to-People |
||
Dispatch 12 - Freetown | ||
Kent-FREETOWN (50km, 31 miles) Points of interest: : Government Wharf, Slave Steps, The Gateway to the Old Kings Yards, Big Market, National Museum, St John's Maroon Church, Cottonwood Tree, The Courts, Clock Tower. Cycling conditions: paved, rolling |
||
In Sierra Leone, along the coast, beautiful beaches seem to be as common as lush forests are in the interior of the country. The beach above is John Obey Beach.
Perhaps because the road environment was so horrendous (hzardous, dusty and noisy) the beach between Goderich and Lumley (above) was a major pedestrian thoroughfare. The was a lot of other activity as well like soccer games, fishing and general exercise. Lumley and Freetown reach from the shoreline up into the foothills of the Peninsula Mountains. There is an abundance of view property on all sides of the north end of the peninsula. With this, Freetown has a potential that is unique to among the cities of West Africa. As you approach the center of Freetown the traffic gets so 'bad' that it become good for bicycling. Locals remark about being stuck in traffic jams for hours. It is easy to believe but it wasn't our experience. Generally the roads are wide enough that even with bumper-to-bumper traffic there is a clear alley along the side that is wide enough to accommodate a bicyclists. Sometimes we also had to share it with pedestrians, carts and motorcycles, so we had to be alert, but it was far fast travel than was being experience by those in the next lane over. As is so often the case, once in the heart of the city, the best way to explore and feel the rhythm of the town, was on foot. On our morning wandering of downtown we past:
(Note: the helmet mask in the left side bar is from the Bundu (a.k.a Sandi) Society (women's group) of the traditional religion.)
With the bicycles, the most accommodating transportation across the mouth of the Sierra Leone River to Lungi is the ferry. With the crossing and 15 kilometers of road, we made it full circle. |
Addendum:
|
|
|
||
![]() |
Unique Programs To Special Places For Memories Of A Lifetime!
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() "Hosted by
DreamHost - earth friendly web hosting"
|