Makeni

Went to Makeni yesterday. The trip there was pretty cool (although we did have to stop for a ½ hour mechanic trip…) through rice fields and palm-studded savannah. Everything is so green and lush in the rainy season. We went over Okroh Hill, where the British fought against the RUF in 2002. Makeni itself was the headquarters of “the rebels” (as they’re called in Freetown) and when we got there, Paul (Lama’s friend) showed me around the former HQ and RUF hospital. Very interesting. The town was pretty small, and clearly really poor, but the houses were nice and they have good food there. We went to the Apex, a new classy hotel and club opening there soon – I think Lama told them I was a guidebook writer or something because they let us just wander around and inspect unoccupied rooms and hang out at the not-completed poolside bar. I also made a bunch of little kid friends – they didn’t believe that the ‘Opito’ was real, so I had to convince them I’m not scary and then we played games like “high five” or “shaking hands” or “little kids pointing to a body part and giving the English name and then rolling on the floor laughing when I repeat it.” Good times. And I took lots of “snaps” today. My Krio is getting better too (understanding – not speaking!). And I saw the president’s motorcade coming in to the city as we left. Makeni is President Ernest Bai Koroma’s hometown. The road to Makeni is also an extremely nice, new two-lane highway, funded by the EU. Thank you EU!

On the way home we were chased the whole three hours by an amazing thunderstorm right at our backs. Finally, when we hit ridiculous Freetown traffic through the East End, it caught up with us. I did get to see the East End, though, which was exciting and something I wouldn’t do on my own during the day. The East End is a rougher part of town and was more damaged by the war, since that’s where the rebels came into the city. You can still see bullet holes in the three-storey, iron-work balconied apartment buildings (this part of town really looks like the Freetown in Blood Diamond, even though that movie wasn’t filmed here at all…) Freetown at night is such a different place. There are almost no working streetlights, and everyone seems to have a second (or very long first) job as a stall vendor at night. This usually entails selling chop (street food) or phone top-ups from a shack or a table outside illuminated with a kerosene lamp. The streets are just jammed with people, and although I find it intimidating because it’s harder to tell where you are at night, it also kind of feels like you’re in the middle of a really crowded block party.

Tomorrow: Tacugama Chimpanzee Reserve!