Sierra Leone 2024

Country no 14 of my African Odyssey Read more

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Trip start
July 2, 2024
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Day 1
Tuesday, July 2, 2024 at 11:23 AM
☁️ 28 °C
Altitude: 33 m
Nigeria Port Harcourt International Airport 5.007536, 6.9506065°0’27” N 6°57’2” E
Leaving Port Harcourt
July 2, 2024 in Nigeria ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
Bolt drivers are now rejecting rides and requesting passengers to go off the app at a higher rate. The 1st vehicle rejected the ride after 15mins even when I had negotiated to pay a cash topup. For the 2nd ride I agreed to go off App and pay the full rate of 10k. Got to the airport at 11:20am for a 1:00pm flight.

Flight to lagos took off at 1:30pm and landed in Lagos at 2:30pm. Dark rainy clouds along the way but flight was mostly smooth except for minor bumps as we descendedRead more
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Day 2
Wednesday, July 3, 2024 at 8:06 AM
🌧 25 °C
Altitude: 33 m
Nigeria Murtala Mohammed International Airport 6.577221, 3.3234696°34’38” N 3°19’24” E
All checked in
July 3, 2024 in Nigeria ⋅ 🌧 25 °C
Left the hotel at 7:05am in a Bolt and got to the airport 20 minutes later. It had been raining since 4am and the roads were flooded lucky there wasn't any traffic on my lane.

With the recent pronouncements by the aviation minister I thought I was going to stroll into the airport but alas the security at the gate wanted to open and look through my bag but after learning of where I work he solicited my help to get his brother a job in the organisation I work for. I was honest with him and told him recruitment was through adverts, and once shortlisted, you go through several stages of tests and interviews, no shortcut.

Immigration was smooth, and I was stamped out quickly without anyone seeking a tip.Read more
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Day 2
Wednesday, July 3, 2024 at 12:14 PM
🌧 27 °C
Altitude: 14 m
Togo Lomé–Tokoin Airport 6.170515, 1.2535986°10’14” N 1°15’13” E
Barely in Lome
July 3, 2024 in Togo ⋅ 🌧 27 °C
Touch down in Lome was at 11:48 am, local time. Flight from lagos was about 30mins. I barely had time to visit the toilet. I heard what sounded like my name in French and dashed over to the boarding gate where I was told that the plane was already boarded. I was one of the last 2 persons to board the connecting flight to FreetownRead more
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Day 2
Wednesday, July 3, 2024 at 1:10 PM
⛅ 27 °C
Altitude: 3 m
Sierra Leone Falconbridge Point 8.4928, -13.23518°29’34” N 13°14’6” W
On board in Accra
July 3, 2024 in Sierra Leone ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
Flight from lome to Accra was 45min. We landed at 1:03pm local time. Accra bound passengers disembarked while those continuing to Freetown and Banjul remained on board.

We spent 1hr on ground refueling and taking on board additional passengers heading to Freetown or Banjul. Pilot announced that flight time will be 2hrs.Read more
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Day 2
Wednesday, July 3, 2024 at 2:41 PM
⛅ 27 °C
Altitude: 3 m
Sierra Leone Falconbridge Point 8.4928, -13.23518°29’34” N 13°14’6” W
Final leg to Freetown
July 3, 2024 in Sierra Leone ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
Finally, I took off from Accra at around 2pm. When it was time for meals, the airhostess called out fish or chicken, I asked her which one contains rice, and she said chicken, so I opted for that. It had lumps of chicken, some rice and beans while those who opted for fish had couscous, I hate couscous.Read more
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Day 2
Wednesday, July 3, 2024 at 4:06 PM
⛅ 26 °C
Altitude: 3 m
Sierra Leone Falconbridge Point 8.4928, -13.23518°29’34” N 13°14’6” W
Welcome to Freetown
July 3, 2024 in Sierra Leone ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
Landed in Freetown at 16:05. It was raining when the plane landed. The passenger beside me was scared and grabbed my hands when the approach into the airport became bumpy.

The immigration lady was quite friendly after I spoke Krio to her and stamped me in for a 1 month stay eventhough I told her I was only visiting for 2 weeks, she stated that I need the 1 month to learn more of Krio.

Sadly my checked in luggage didn't come with the flight. I suspected the short transit time at lome airport must has resulted in my luggage not being transfered to my connecting flight. Now I have no change of cloth, pyjamas and toiletries. DamnRead more
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Day 2
Wednesday, July 3, 2024 at 5:51 PM
⛅ 27 °C
Altitude: Sea level
Sierra Leone Freetown-Lungi International Airport 8.606294, -13.2094118°36’23” N 13°12’34” W
Seacoach to freetown
July 3, 2024 in Sierra Leone ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
The hotel had booked a boat ticket to ferry me across the sea to freetown. After completing the lost luggage form, I exited the arrival hall, changed some money at the Buerau de change, bought a sim card with 10g data and then proceeded to the Seacoach airport office where I was issued by ticket after identification. Their bus then took me to their terminal where I joined the boat on a 45min rough ride to Freetown. The hotel's arranged taxi picked me from the boat terminal to the hotel where checkin was smooth.Read more
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Day 3–5
July 4, 2024 at 12:46 PM - July 6, 2024
2 nights
⛅ 27 °C
Altitude: 12 m
Sierra Leone Cockerill 8.475938, -13.283858°28’33” N 13°17’2” W
Exploring the neighbourhood
Jul 4–6, 2024 in Sierra Leone ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
Woke up to meet the early morning rain. Had to buy an umbrella after eating the complementary breakfast at the hotel. Then off to GTBank to pay for the Estuary Resort accommodation before finding my way to Lumley beach for a photo moment and a taste of Salone at a beach restaurant. Took a keke back to Lumley roundabout and then walked down to the hotel.

Got a call from Asky Airline shortly after 4pm to go pickup my bag at Sea Bird terminal in Murray Town at 8pm. Got the hotel receptionist to charter a keke for me at 7:30pm and off we went to collect the bag and back.

Had a tasteless rice and crispy chicken dinnerRead more
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Day 4
Friday, July 5, 2024 at 12:09 PM
⛅ 27 °C
Altitude: 20 m
Sierra Leone Farran Point 8.492014, -13.2094938°29’31” N 13°12’34” W
Freetown Keke Tour
July 5, 2024 in Sierra Leone ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
Went on a tour of FreetownF with an organisation called the Freetown Keke Tour. They picked my up shortly after 10am for the 3hr tour. The first point of call was the Leicester Peak, the tallest point in Freetown where we had an aerial view of the town. On the way we stopped to admire some colonial Portuguese buildings in the European quarter.

As part of the tour we visited the new site of Fourah Bay college and the old Fourah bay building which was burnt down during the civil war. Fourah Bay college is the oldest university in sub-sahara Africa and was founded in 1827.

The tour continued to downtown with a photo stop over at the famous Cotton tree which was destroyed by a storm in May 2023. We also stopped over at Thomas Peters statue, one of the founding members of Sierra Leone born in Yorubaland in 1738, enslaved and taken to America in 1760. Finally passed by the Old Kings Gate.Read more
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Day 4
Friday, July 5, 2024 at 6:44 PM
⛅ 28 °C
Altitude: 9 m
Sierra Leone Wilberforce 8.462796, -13.2722458°27’46” N 13°16’20” W
Accra restaurant for dinner
July 5, 2024 in Sierra Leone ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
I was craving swallow, so I visited Accra Restaurant for dinner and had egusi soup with eba, Ghanian style. It was a nice meal. Also, I used the time to wait out the sudden rain fall.
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Day 4
Friday, July 5, 2024 at 10:55 PM
☁️ 26 °C
Altitude: 19 m
Sierra Leone Goderich 8.432704, -13.2805548°25’58” N 13°16’50” W
Freetown Nightlife
July 5, 2024 in Sierra Leone ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C
Visited The Warehouse night club with a Salonian friend , got yhere around 10:30pm. The DJ was dishing out vibes which reminded me of my university days in the late 80s. Had 2 bottles of Heineken before we moved onto Sky Bar. Entrance fee was SLL 200 per person, my friend felt it was too much money to pay so we hung outside in the play area which had seats overlooking the sea and enjoyed the cool sea breeze, while enjoying the music from the club. We talked till the early hours of the morning before calling it a night around 2amRead more
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Day 5
Saturday, July 6, 2024 at 9:27 AM
☁️ 26 °C
Altitude: 6 m
Sierra Leone Wilberforce 8.461469, -13.2715978°27’41” N 13°16’18” W
Power failure
July 6, 2024 in Sierra Leone ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C
I experienced my first extended power failure this morning at about 9am. The hotel generator came on briefly but shortly after went off. I saw some men working on it when I looked out from the balcony. It probably has a fault. The power outage lasted for 2hrs.

I had lunch at a local restaurant close to the hotel. I tried out their foufou with okra soup. The soup had no palm oil in it but was nice. The ball of foufou was smaller than my fist so I had to request an extra ball. The meal was nice and had the right amount of pepper.Read more
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Day 5
Saturday, July 6, 2024 at 1:55 PM
☁️ 26 °C
Altitude: 432 m
Sierra Leone Bathurst Falls 8.420095, -13.2062068°25’12” N 13°12’22” W
Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary
July 6, 2024 in Sierra Leone ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C
Chartered an Okada to the Tacaguma Chimpanzee Sanctuary. The road up to the gate has a steep gradient and I had to get off the bike for it to climb.

The tour started at 2:30pm with a pep talk followed by a visit to the 3 different enclosures where the chimpanzees are kept.

Heavy rain started while we were at the last section, and we were stuck there for almost 30 minutes. When it subsided, we braved the walk back to the reception area. My sneakers were completely soaked, and the sole opened up.

It rained continuously on the ride back on the Okada. The Okada man was very friendly, seeking my opinion on several thingsRead more
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Day 6
Sunday, July 7, 2024 at 12:54 PM
🌧 28 °C
Altitude: 5 m
Sierra Leone Number Two 8.333582, -13.2040268°20’1” N 13°12’14” W
River No 2 beach
July 7, 2024 in Sierra Leone ⋅ 🌧 28 °C
My Salone friend picked me up from the hotel with a Keke at 11 am for the almost 1-hour ride to River No 2, the best beach in Freetown. Along the way, we stopped at a supermarket to buy drinks. The gate fee into the was was SLL 10.

There were very few people at the beach, which was nice. We got a seat by the edge of the sea to enjoy the cool breeze blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean while I streamed Afro beats from my Spotify account onto the Bluetooth speaker. We later bought coconut, which was being hawked on the beach. The coconut water had no flavour.

The fish and chips we ordered was really nice. It was Red snapper fish, sadly the rains started and we had to run off to one of the balcony of one of the bungalows and when it subsided we returned to the beach, only to be chased back by a heavier down pour. Meanwhile, in one of the open bars located on the beach, a DJ and Hypeman were dishing out local music, which got the gen z crowd gyrating.

The keke finally came back to pick us up at 8pm during the heavy rain, and it rained all the way back to the hotel.Read more
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Day 7
Monday, July 8, 2024 at 1:03 PM
🌧 26 °C
Altitude: 33 m
Sierra Leone Freetown 8.486705, -13.2358028°29’12” N 13°14’9” W
Sierra Leone National Museum
July 8, 2024 in Sierra Leone ⋅ 🌧 26 °C
Visited the Sierra Leone National Museum located close to the cotton tree. Museum had a lot of artefacts from around Sierra Leone showing the culture of the different tribes, the struggles they we t through during the Atlantic slave trade period as well as their struggle for independence. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and made the visit unique. Sadly, a lot of the exhibits are shown signs of age and need to be restored. The experience was worth the SLL 100 gate fee.

From the National museum I walked to the peace museum using Google maps but sadly I wasn't able to locate it as there was no visible sign post for it on the road, so I took an Okada to Lumley beach for lunch at a sea side restaurant before calling it a day.Read more
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Day 8
Tuesday, July 9, 2024 at 1:14 PM
☁️ 28 °C
Altitude: 65 m
Sierra Leone New England 8.4714, -13.2409058°28’17” N 13°14’27” W
Sierra Leone Peace Museum
July 9, 2024 in Sierra Leone ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
The Sierra Leone Peace Museum opened its doors at the end of 2013, just over ten years after the end of Sierra Leone’s decade-long conflict. The Museum stands on the site of the Special Court of Sierra Leone (SCSL) as a permanent national institution dedicated to preserving the truth, honouring the conflict’s many victims, and promoting lasting peace.Read more
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Day 8
Tuesday, July 9, 2024 at 2:27 PM
⛅ 28 °C
Altitude: 34 m
Sierra Leone Susan’s Bay 8.488585, -13.2311088°29’19” N 13°13’52” W
Sanni Abacha Street
July 9, 2024 in Sierra Leone ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
Sanni Abacha Street is a popular busy street in freetown's main market area. Sani Abacha was the Nigerian President who sent the Nigerian military under the ECOMOG flag to liberate Freetown from rebel forces during the Sierra Leonean civil war. He is highly regarded and praised in Sierra Leone hence a street being named after him.

No nonesense, tough market women are called "Abacha Woman" in freetown.Read more
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Day 8
Tuesday, July 9, 2024 at 3:01 PM
⛅ 28 °C
Altitude: 12 m
Sierra Leone Farran Point 8.489134, -13.2088278°29’21” N 13°12’32” W
Railway Musuem
July 9, 2024 in Sierra Leone ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
The National Railway Museum is a railway museum in Freetown, Sierra Leone. The museum was opened in 2005. There is a collection of old rolling stocks and engines such as the queen's carriage and the governor's and engines dating back to the early 20th century. Trains operated in Soerra Leone between 1897 and 1974Read more
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Day 8
Tuesday, July 9, 2024 at 4:25 PM
⛅ 28 °C
Altitude: 86 m
Sierra Leone Congo Town 8.484719, -13.2666738°29’5” N 13°16’0” W
Rooftop Garden Restaurant
July 9, 2024 in Sierra Leone ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
After 4 hours of walking, we were tired and famished, so we stopped over at the Rooftop Garden Restaurant hoping to have a meal of Salone Jollof rice but unfortunately they didn't have it so we settled for Fried Rice with Goat meal. The food was presented on a big metal tray and was delicious.Read more
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Day 8
Tuesday, July 9, 2024 at 5:27 PM
☁️ 28 °C
Altitude: 33 m
Sierra Leone Lookout Point 8.492781, -13.267318°29’34” N 13°16’2” W
Sierra Leone Grammar school
July 9, 2024 in Sierra Leone ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
Sierra Leone Grammar school was the first secondary school in sub-sahara Africa. It was founded by missionaries in 1845 and was formerly named CMS Grammar school. It predates the first secondary school in Nigeria, which was the CMS Grammar school Lagos founded in 1859.

A lot of pre independent African leaders attended the school, which is quite prestigious in Sierra LeoneRead more
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Day 9
Wednesday, July 10, 2024 at 5:14 AM
☁️ 25 °C
Altitude: 5 m
Sierra Leone Babadori 8.453969, -13.2725518°27’14” N 13°16’21” W
Traveling like a local to Makeni
July 10, 2024 in Sierra Leone ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C
I was picked up by my tour guide Alhaji at 5am to the bus stop at Lumley to board a Sierra Star bus to Makeni. The bus is a big 50 seater bus with uncomfortable seats. I wanted to see the countryside outside the capital freetown hence the reason I embarked on the trip and decided to travel like a local to interact with the local Salone community.

The bus finally left the station at 7:20amRead more
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Day 9–15
July 10, 2024 at 8:17 AM - July 16, 2024
6 nights
☁️ 25 °C
Altitude: 45 m
Sierra Leone Mabeke 8.503378, -12.7588618°30’12” N 12°45’32” W
Salone Countryside
Jul 10–16, 2024 in Sierra Leone ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C
Salone's countryside was a lush green forest with palm trees interchanging with green grassland. Lots of farming going on in the countryside. I saw people harvesting what looked like water mellon balls. Surprisingly, the villages we passed seemed to be built with bricks and not mud like we have back home in Nigeria. I suspect these are from burnt mud bricks, but I wasn't close enough to confirm thisRead more
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Day 9
Wednesday, July 10, 2024 at 11:53 AM
☁️ 28 °C
Altitude: 96 m
Sierra Leone Mangbunte 8.887233, -12.0698138°53’14” N 12°4’11” W
Arriving at Makeni
July 10, 2024 in Sierra Leone ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
Finally got to Makeni at 12:00 noon. 4hrs 40mins after departing the bus stop in Freetown. The bus kept stopping at every point, picking and dropping off passengers and waster 30mins at their Waterloo office, picking more passengers while the driver disappeared and a new one took over without informing us the passengers.

The bus stopped momentarily to discharge Makeni passengers opposite the NP filling station. My suitcase was quite difficult to retrieve from the back of the bus, but the conductor eventually retrieved it after which I took a bike to the hotelRead more
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Day 9
Wednesday, July 10, 2024 at 12:14 PM
☁️ 28 °C
Altitude: 88 m
Sierra Leone Bure 8.880703, -12.0333728°52’51” N 12°2’0” W
Wusum Hotel
July 10, 2024 in Sierra Leone ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
After a 15-minute ride from the bus stop, I was in Wusum Hotel claimed to be the best in Makeni. According to Internet reviews, it is the best hotel in Makeni town, loved by the NGOs and their expatriate staff.

I decided to stay in the hotel and relax after such a long, uncomfortable journey in a crowded jam-packed bus 🚌. I might need to change my transportation strategy for the journey back to Freetown on Saturday.

I ate Rice with Krain Krain soup which was lovely. Krain krain soup is made frome Jute leaves. Isn't that the raw material for jute bags 🤔. After the sumptuous meal, I took a long nap and woke up in the evening. Dinner was grilled snipper fish with fried yam.

After dinner, I walked around the hotel a bit and noticed so many NGO jeeps parked in the car park, which probably confirmed the reviews I saw on the hotel being popular with NGOs.Read more
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Day 10
Thursday, July 11, 2024 at 11:52 AM
☁️ 28 °C
Altitude: 101 m
Sierra Leone Makeni 8.888406, -12.0439888°53’18” N 12°2’38” W
Tour of Makeni City
July 11, 2024 in Sierra Leone ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
The tour started at 11 am when the tour guide arrived with an Okada. My tour guide in Freetown had linked me up with his brother in Makeni to show me around the city.

We had agreed that transportation during the tour would be based on point to point Okada (bike) rides, and we wouldn't charter any.

Our first point of call was the Makeni Clock Tower. It seems that every major city in Sierra Leone has a clock tower. The makeni clock tower is situated in the centre of the city with 5 roads radiating out from it. It is a busy intersection with a market and the Makeni Cotton Tree situated beside it. We took a walk through the market for the experience. It was a busy, crowded market but smaller than Freetown's.

From the market, we took a short walk to the Makeni Central mosque and then a short bike ride to the Old Town Hall and old Post office. The town hall is used as a hall for events and shows in town.

University of Makeni was our next stop. It is the main and highest university in Makeni and is owned by the Catholics. While walking around and filming, we were accosted by the Dean of studies who took us to go meet the registrar to seek formal approval to film. The registrar was a nice man, an ex student of Madonna university in Nigeria, and was even more friendly when I told him I am a Nigerian and an alumnus of Unilag. He said he was happy I chose to visit Unimak and that i was free to film as the publicity is well sought after. On our way out of the university, we passed through St Francis secondary school, which was founded in 1958 and is run by the same Catholic organisation that manages the university.

At the end of the tour we went to a restaurant at the Plaza hoping to have the much anticipated jollof rice but alas they also didn't have it so we ended up eating Fried rice with chicken.

In Summary it was a pleasant tour, although with very little touristic sights Makeni appears to be a city for those who want to get away from Freetown for a while.Read more
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