When packing for my internship, I insisted on taking beachwear. But each time I mentioned the possibility of going to the beach or a 'city break' to one of the counties, I was reminded that I was going to Liberia- a country whose war ended just 5 years earlier and where only 7 per cent of the roads were paved. I politely nodded and agreed but then packed another pair of sunglasses and some trashy celebrity magazines.
It turned out I wasn't the only one banking on some beach time and so on the first weekend in Liberia a few of us interns called our friendly neighbourhood taxi driver, Dolo, and headed to the beach just twenty minutes away. Now, I wasn't expected a tropical paradise and that certainly wasn't what we got. As we arrived, the sky turned an angry grey and we took note the sign warning against going into the ocean due to the strong current. But it was still warm and refreshing to be by the sea, so we set up our towels in a quiet spot (ok...so there was no one else there) in front of some abandoned shacks and settled down to a bit of reading. After a short while, in the distance, we saw a group of fifteen young lads heading our way- wielding large machetes.
So....I was well nervous as they approached and was reminded of all the gruesome acts of violence that were committed during the war. Suddenly, working on my tan didn't seem like it was worth it.....maybe I should have listened to the words of caution. As they drew closer, they pulled out a pig's head from a sack, showed it to us, smiled, and then carried on walking by.
It was random.
But we survived.
So the following weekend we planned a trip out to Robertsport, a two hour drive north along the coast, towards Sierra Leone.......
It turned out I wasn't the only one banking on some beach time and so on the first weekend in Liberia a few of us interns called our friendly neighbourhood taxi driver, Dolo, and headed to the beach just twenty minutes away. Now, I wasn't expected a tropical paradise and that certainly wasn't what we got. As we arrived, the sky turned an angry grey and we took note the sign warning against going into the ocean due to the strong current. But it was still warm and refreshing to be by the sea, so we set up our towels in a quiet spot (ok...so there was no one else there) in front of some abandoned shacks and settled down to a bit of reading. After a short while, in the distance, we saw a group of fifteen young lads heading our way- wielding large machetes.
So....I was well nervous as they approached and was reminded of all the gruesome acts of violence that were committed during the war. Suddenly, working on my tan didn't seem like it was worth it.....maybe I should have listened to the words of caution. As they drew closer, they pulled out a pig's head from a sack, showed it to us, smiled, and then carried on walking by.
It was random.
But we survived.
So the following weekend we planned a trip out to Robertsport, a two hour drive north along the coast, towards Sierra Leone.......
1 comment:
Have you discovered Thinker's Beach? There is a hotel and bar, it's safe (not for swimming, but no pigs' heads). Just past the Baptist Seminary on the Airport Road. If we get time I'll show you . . .
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