September 19th 2013 – Sukuta, The Gambia
As we expected sleeping the first night was very hard due to extreme humidity. At one point in time, mosquitoes started to bit us. It was madness. At 4 o’clock in the morning my friend woke up and he wanted to place the mosquito net. The mosquito net was designed for only one person, but we needed to fix it for 2. With the net in place, sleeping was again possible. The alarm clock was set a t 7:40, so we woke up and expected Malick and the taxi driver to arrive. Only a few hours of good sleep, but it was enough for us. We were ready to catch the flight to Monrovia.
Outside Malick’s house
While waiting we smoked a couple of cigarettes, but still no sign of Malick or the taxi driver. I called him, he responded very hard, most definitely he was still sleeping. Couldn’t quite understand all that he said, but I though he said he’s coming. We waited again about 20 minutes, Malick didn’t show up so it was already time to go so we can catch the flight. I called him again and told him that we will take a taxi from the streets. Again very hard to understand what he said because of the connection. So we went into the narrow streets of Sukuta are we were lucky to find a taxi. The driver told us in less then 15 minutes we will arrive at the airport. Really good. I set in the front and my friend stayed in the back with a couple of kids that probably were going to school. The driver was really accurate and we arrived pretty fast to Banjul International Airport. We took our backpacks from the taxi, but still we couldn’t resist making some photos with the children before leaving the car. The taxi driver was so delighted when he saw the camera that he asked me to take a picture of him and his old Mercedes . Really funny guy. We told him we’ll send him the photos, but all the man could write on a piece of paper was his name and phone number. He said we can call him when we get back to Banjul if we need a taxi.
So now we were standing at the queue waiting for your checking formalities, asking ourselves if we still have time to catch our flight. We had only one hour or this is what we though we had. “First African flight, first flight missed in my life” – this was running through my mind at that time. After 30 minutes there was still too little progress. A guy came and he wanted to change his sim card on a Galaxy S4. Yes, Galaxy S4 in West Africa. I was a bit stunned. But this is how we met Tulu from Nigeria. He seem a good guy. We said he was going to Accra, Ghana, but we were unaware that we will take the same flight. Just to be sure what was the number of our flight we check on the LCD panel just to discover that the number was right, but the actual time was 8:30, but my watch was still indicating 9:30. We wanted to make sure we are not dreaming so we asked Tulu. He confirmed : it was 8:30. Suddenly I just went crazy finding out that we arrived 2 hours before our flight, so we had enough time to catch the flight and also enjoy a beer. So we were really lucky to leave our watches one hour after the official hour in Gambia. Immediately we wanted to call Malick and apologize for waking him up one hour earlier. But, guess what! No credit left on the Africell sim. So I asked our new Nigerian friend to give me his phone so we can or at least text Malick. So while we was reaching for his phone (the guy had a Galxy S4 and also a shitty phone) he said something that I won’t be able to write a message. I was just thinking that maybe he wanted to be funny, but when he gave me his old phone (a qwerty phone) all the letters from the keyboard were washed away. So I struggled to write the message, but it was really hard; actually I had a better chance of finding a needle in the haystack then writing a message that can be understood. So I told Tulu to write the message for me. Just after a few moments Malick replied saying that it’s ok and we will be meeting again when we come back to Gambia. Security check was surprisingly very fast, without any hassle. After this we went to grab a beer before departure and Tulu joined us. He told us that he is flying to Accra and from there he will take a government bus to reach Lagos the next morning. Even though he seem a nice person to talk to, he had a mind a diabolical plan. He said some day in the future, Africa will unite and it will have the biggest army, so they will go to war with Europe so they can avenge the slave period. Very very disturbing.
The flight itself was very long. It covered Dakar, Freetown, Monrovia and after that Accra. We arrived at Roberts International Airport in Monrovia. It did’t seem like an airport. There were a lot of UN helicopters stationed there. So we got off the plane and the first this I saw was the Liberian flag. Since I’m crazy about flags took out my camera and took a photo of it. Just when I was pressing the button, I heard a guy shouting and the next thing I saw was the same guy probably waving at me. I approached him and he said that I need to delete the photo, because I’m not allowed to make pictures. So I showed him the picture and I said that I’m deleting the picture as we are speaking. Of course it was a bluff, but the guy actually believed me and he let me pass. My heart wasn’t pumping as usual. We went to the immigration office where the guy took our passports and I heard the question that I was long waiting for : “What is your purpose in Liberia?”. No surprise there. I told the immigration officer that we are here on holidays and we will be staying at a friend’s place somewhere outside Monrovia, in Barnersville. He listened carefully and after I finished he told us to wait in the back while he is processing our passports. Another guy came from nowhere, we shacked hands like we were friend and he also started to ask all bunch of questions. He didn’t seem to smile at all. He wanted to know the phone number of our friend there so he can call him immediately to see if our story is really true. After talking with our host in a sort of broken English, we were given the passports and we were invited in the other room. Up next was the security check room. The airport seem to be some sort of a maze. A police woman approached me and told me to open my backpack so she can examine it. I just opened the main compartment and showed her just a bit of what was inside. After she got bored of checking my bag, she asked me how much money I was carrying. I told her that only about 150$ cash, I can use my credit card in case of emergency. So then she wanted to know if I have more then 10.000$ on the card. I told her smiling that I wish I had that much money. From there on the conversation was really good, the woman returned the smile and welcomed me to Liberia. After we were done with checking the bags, another man asked us for our passports, again the same question : “What is your purpose in Liberia”, again the same answer “holiday”. Everyone seemed to be eager to find out what are two Romanian guys doing in their country. He eventually gave us our passports after looking at every visa we were given until then. We exited the airport through a metal door. A military guy with an AK-47 opened the door from outside and resumed standing in front of it. Outside it was the perfect weather. Before we could light up a cigarette, a circle was formed around us, with guys trying to convince us to change money into Liberian currency. But just behind us there was an ATM so we kindly refused the guys. Using the ATM was confusing enough, in the end just to find out the we were withdrawing US dollars. Strange country Liberia.
Arriving at Roberts International Airport
After smoking a few cigarettes in front of the airport, a car pulled over. Three men came out. The first man smiled and greeted us. This was Emmanuel, our host from Monrovia. We shook hands , hugged each other it was like I known the guy since childhood. We met his nephew Marcus, a smiling-all-the-time guy. The third person was our driver, Abel, a very strong and athletic man. Wearing an AC Milan golden t-shirt, he looked exactly like a professional football player. After welcoming us to Liberia, we started our drive to Monrovia. We immediately started talking in the car about all sort of things. Just imagine yourself with 3 Liberian guys in a old Nissan Almera. I felt really safe that the thing. By far, Emmanuel was the nicest guy. He had a warm smile all the time. Every time we was listened carefully to what I was saying. I could see in his eyes that he is a good man and all he does comes from his heart.
To my surprise the road was in really good condition. It took us a while to get to Monrovia, since the airport far off the city. It was a really crowded city on a Thursday afternoon. Even though I never been to San Francisco, Monrovia it’s also on several hills just like the American big city and when driving up the hill sometimes you could only see the sky in front of you. But every time the car stopped we could see a lot of kids trying to sell all kind of stuff just to make it through the day. After a devastating civil war and almost 10 years of relative peace poverty it’s still at home in Liberia. We tried filming the street with our GoPro camera, but people seem to get a bit angry every time I took it out the window. One guy in an SUV showed me the finger. Another guy was mumbling something about stop filming. I could easily understand that i needed to stop. Emmanuel also told me that people are not used to this that’s why it’s still an issue. We stopped somewhere near a junction, Abel parked the car and we got off in search of a restaurant since we were already starving after eating just a few things during our flight. We stopped by at the really nice and quiet place to eat. The guys recommended us some traditional african food : rice with beef and really really spicy sauce. Food was great. First real african meal for us. We paid the waitress with US dollars and the girl gave us our change in US and Liberian dollars. Emmanuel told me that this is really common to use both currencies, but advised me to pay in US dollars because of the exchange rate. We got back to the car and Abel started showing us around the city. We passed near the national stadium, but they told us that there is no national team in Liberia, so the stadium is moslty a ghost center. We could see also Providence Island, where the first settlers came from America as free slaves. While crossing the Mesurado river, Abel told us that it divides two large communities in the city which name unfortunately I have forgotten. After just half an hour or so it started to rain heavily. I couldn’t see a thing out the window. After crossing the bridge the road became terrible, there were big holes everywhere, but Abel was doing a pretty good job at avoiding it. We stopped at a gas station so we can buy some gas. Emmanuel wanted 2 gallons so that the generator at his place can last longer in the night. While Emmanuel was trying to buy a regular plastic bag so he can carry the gas, me and Abel we were standing in the gas station. He told me he likes what we’re doing, travelling, exploring, meeting new people far away from home, seeing as many things as possible. He also wanted to go to United States and Canada, but here in Liberia, life is really tough he said, employment it’s still at rise, people still living at the red line of survival. He puts on a smile and shows me the way back to the car.
The way from the gas station to Emmanuel’s place it was a mix of terrible roads, heavy rain and complete darkness. I don’t really know how Abel reached the destination. From Barnersville we went straight though the jungle. There, in the middle of nowhere we would discover the next day that a huge community has flourished. Late in the night, we finally arrived at Emmanuel’s house. People were stating to come out of the house, but since it was darkness and without any lights except for the car headlights, I could see only shadows. We took our stuff along with the beers that we bought at a local shop and we got inside. When the generator started, I was finally able to see the rest of family members. They welcomed us to their home, everyone introduced itself, but unfortunately until this day I can’t remember their names. We started to unpack the gifts that we brought his family (pencils, markers, drawing books and a soccer ball). Everyone was happy especially the little kids. We felt that somehow we belong to his family. We met Emmanuel’s fiancee, a very beautiful woman and his two sons. We stayed late in the night talking about everything we could think of. Abel was next to me so it was easier to talk to him. He asked me if I’m married and if I have any children. I smiled and said it’s not the right time for me. Then he showed me a picture of his son and his son’s mother, his ex-girlfriend. She was really beautiful so the guy was lucky. We exchanged some contacts and after asking were are we going after Monrovia, he offered to get us to Robertsport. We accepted the deal. Abel left, but we continued sharing stories with Emmanuel. Me, my friend, Marcus and Emmanuel, we were sitting around a table while the others were staying in their feet following us with their eyes. That night we found a lot of things about Emmanuel’s life. During the civil he was a refugee in Ghana were he studied and worked for quite a few NGOs. He met a lot of “international friends” as he called them. Even though he could have gone anywhere in Africa to establish a family he returned home, built a house on his own and his major goal in the near future is to establish a school in the community. We would find out the next day that all the kids in the community walk around 45 minutes to get to school every day. He promised to take us there and show us the community after a good night sleep.
Travelling is part of life 