September 22nd 2013 – Robertsport, Liberia
It was still raining outside when we woke up. It was really early, but we knew that we need to be ahead of time since we had to travel a long distance that day. Our goal was to reach Kenema in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone before sunset. Abel was already outside making last adjustments to his car. We left behind the little town of Robertsport and followed the same road up until the junction.
After almost 50 km we were finally there. We could see Mano river in front of us, the natural border between Liberia and Sierra Leone. It was a real chaos there, but luckily for us we still had Abel. First we went to immigation so we can exit Liberia. Everything when smooth, but when we reached the Sierra Leone’s side, things started to become complicated. First we went to a lady who checked our passports and our printed online visas. Then we when inside to the immigration office in a small hut. A guy invited us in his office. It was a torturing silence while we was slowing checking our visas. After a few minutes of nothingness, he stamped our passports and we went into another room where we needed to present the international certificate of vaccination for yellow fever. No problem there. We went outside and Abel was already negotiating with a few guys our transport across the river. We couldn’t even talk to him because in that second a military guy told us that he wanted to check out bagpacks. So we went again inside the hut, were we found two officials and one of them said : “If we find something that we like, we will take it”. He made his point. I was really nervous. But out of nowhere a man in his 50’s, wearing a white shirt come and wanted to supervise the process. The guardian angel! I felt again relived. So I opened my backpack and started showing then the things that I was carrying. Medical kit, belt, a trimmer for my beard and I even showed them the condoms that I brought. You never know when you get lucky! One of the security officers that were checking my bag said : “This is an insult for us”, but nothing followed. Most of my bagpack contained clothes, so they let me go. My friend did the same and again we were free to go outside the office. We found Abel surrounded by a bunch of Leonese guys. He was still negotiating the price for a ride to Kenema. He advised us to take motorcycles since the road ahead was not suitable for a vehicle in the rainy season. Abel wished us got luck and told us not to trust anyone in Sierra Leone. Exactly the opposite of what we’ve done next!
Just before crossing the Mano river
So we finally crossed to river. The driver stopped and asked me for money for fuel. We exchanged some dollars into their currency. He went to buy a few gallons of gas. Again we were surrounded by strangers. I will never forget the guy with a golden looking necklace and a large cross that was heading the whole operation. He told us that other drivers will get us from there to Kenema. My new driver was a small guy that was wearing at least 4 winter jackets and a cap. He asked me if I wanted a jacket, but I was really good in my t-shirt and outside were at least 25 degrees! So we started our 5 hours ride through the tick jungles. The road was terrible, but we were on motorcycles, otherwise with a car it would have been impossible to reach Kenema until sunset. First I was feeling a bit insecure ridding a motorcycle with a driver that I barely met and on top of that he was wearing a helmet, while I was wearing nothing. But throughout the journey the driver proved to be really skilled. His name was Senesie and he told me he only fell once since he started riding. “Hope he didn’t started this morning” was initially running through my head.
On the way to Kenema
The landscape was simply breathtaking. My friend was already filming the motorcycle madness with our camera. By the time we reached the first security check, we would feel the bitter taste of travelling in Sierra Leone. We entered inside the hut. There was an old guy in an uniform standing in the centre of the room behind a desk. The place was really small, but enough to fit 4 other military officers. My friend placed the camera on the desk, not knowing that this would be the trigger for what was about to happen next. We were asked the same old questions : “Where are you from? What are you doing in our country? Where are you heading to?”. Suddenly another guy wearing no military outfit came inside and started screaming and mumbling something about filming. He said “You just committed a crime. You are not allowed to record in our country and this is punishable by law!”. Before taking this trip I read a lot of blogs and I was aware of this cheap scam that happens all the time in Sierra Leone. I smiled confident and try to explain the guy that this recording is for personal use, but he was really angry and almost treated us. He was after money of course. One of the military guys there said we would be sent to Jendema for further questioning. We reached a stalemate. While the guy was still yelling and saying words like “crime”, “punishment” and “law”, one of the young officers approached me and said we can try using “discretion” and then asked me a couple of times if I know what is discretion. Luckily for me I had some small change (4000 Leones ~ 1 US dollar). So by the time I put the money on the desk, everyone was already smiling and showing us the way out of the hut. First security check in Sierra Leone, the first bribe.
We continued our ride through the tick jungle. My driver was really talkative and offered to give me more “change” in case I need to cover more “discretion” on the way to Kenema. Senesie told me that the beauty of his country is not in large towns like Freetown or Kenema, but in small remote villages and he offered to take us there the following day. Also he was kind enough to invite us to his place where we could sleep that night. I accepted the offer without any hesitation. This is what really matters in life – trusting people! I could care less what 99% would do in this situation. I knew it was the right thing. Sometimes you just need to take a leap of faith. That’s all. It’s called being human again!
Weather is really tricky in Sierra Leone. It can be sunny most of the day, but rain can come without any notice in these rainy months. Suddenly a massive rainstorm broke out and we were forced to stop in a nearby village. There we met the guy running the local drug store. He was the right man in the right spot. He offered us food and fresh water for free. “This is Africa”, he said. We were so hungy that we eat it in a blink of an eye. In return, we offered some medicine that we’ve taken from Romania, showed them what we wanted to see in their country and made a couple of pictures with the locals. Unfortunately we could spare no time since we had to get to Kenema before night fall. The road was already becoming worse since it rained heavily.
After serving an african meal in a remote village
Late in the evening we crossed Moa river and we had our first view of Kenema, something that’s not a village, but not a town either. When we reached an ATM in town so we can pay our drivers, I needed to wait roughly 15 minutes so they could start the generator that was powering it. With money in our pockets, we bought beers and sodas to share with Senesie’s family. We met his brothers, Ibrahim and Peter. Eventually, Peter would be our second driver for the next day. The guys were really friendly, they took us on their motorcycles to a nearby “mall”, if I can call it like that, where we grabbed something to eat. Seen from the 2nd floor at night the town had it’s unique feel. Returning to Senesie’s home, I took a so called “shower”. A guy filled a bucket with water and gave me a big cup so I can wash myself. Between a small shower cabin outside the house and washing behind the house, the second option was without no doubt the best choice! I entered Senesie’s room to change and I found two girls watching some sort of a Nigerian soap-opera (the actors were all speaking English of course). When I got back outside, were everyone gathered to chat with us, one of the guys was at his second or third beer and he was already wasted. For the next hour, he would talk about “our brothers from Romania”, “everyone has the same blood”, “I’m muslim, your’re Christian, but still you’re my brother”. It was getting late. Senesie told me we should get some sleep since tomorrow we had a long way to Gbangbatok. He said he will also show us his home village where the villagers discovered some sort of minerals, but they don’t know what it is. Our trip was getting better and better.
That night I didn’t know what was more challenging: sleeping with my friend and Senesie (a guy that we met for less then 12 hours) in the same bed, avoiding mosquitoes since we couldn’t place the mosquito net or the thought that in this country we will have the best experience of our trip. I felt asleep before choosing one.
Outside Senesie’s home
Travelling is part of life 