Home Salone

After a week at the AirBnb, I moved out and found an incredibly cheap guesthouse. This was probably one of the dirtiest holes I have ever stayed in, windows were missing, the shared bathroom was beyond filthy, but the owner was friendly and paying just a third of the next cheapest accommodation I could find, I couldn’t really complain. Since last writing, I have mostly just been hanging out, celebrating Sierra Leone’s Independence Day, visiting nearby postcard perfect beaches and enjoying what is quickly becoming one of my favourite cities. Then one night I had a minor setback, coming home on a motorcycle taxi, the driver suddenly turned off the main road and took me into some dodgy neighbourhood, he brought out a knife and told me to give him everything. And everything is pretty much what he got, my phone, the cash I had on me including my secret stash inside a toilet roll, the toilet roll and then worst of all he told me to take off my Havaianas. I pleaded to at least spare my trusty flipflops but he was having none of it, and left me standing there barefoot with no way to get home. I started walking the long walk back, but when I was back on the big road, a taxi driver took pity on my sorry appearance and after hearing what had happened he drove me home, free of charge.

This hasn’t really tainted my view of Freetown, I still love it, but it did mean I stayed a bit longer than planned, buying a new phone and finally settling for a pair of cheap slippers, although they are nowhere near the standards of the Brazilian brand. Another setback was that my visa application for Ghana was denied, I still have a few countries to get through before I reach there, so hopefully I can resolve that issue at another embassy in the future. My visa for Liberia however was granted and it is time for me to leave Freetown after spending more than a fortnight here. Tomorrow morning I will make my way east, hopefully stopping off at some more beaches, national parks and towns in beautiful “Salone.”