Beach Therapy

We got a vehicle early enough in the morning to enable us to go to the beach at River No. 2 just right outside Freetown.  This would be my last day off and I left with two of my colleagues both from Africa.  It took us almost two and a half hours to get there.  The tides were going down.  A river flowed into the ocean as the tides slowly receded, it physically separated our beach from another beach and two wooden boats ferried people across at frequent intervals.  At this time the currents of the river were too swift for anybody to attempt to swim across without being washed into the ocean.

Where the River Meets the Ocean

Unlike Bureh, this beach was frequented by many expats including many with families who came with their nannies.  The waves were gentler and the temperature of the water was just perfect.  Many vendors tried to ply their wares on the beaches: dresses, skirts, bags made with African fabric, carvings, trinkets, and lappas.  My colleagues felt that the beach outing was the perfect therapy to release the stress from working in the ETC.  They thanked me for motivating them to come out to the beach, they would have stayed in their hot room as they always do in Bai-Suba searching for things to do to while away their long day or trying to find someone to skype with if there was WIFI.

Beach Therapy

The driver took the coastal road on the peninsula on our way home.  For an hour we traveled on bumpy red dirt road over three very narrow bridges with missing guard rails; a misstep would send us plunging into trickling brooks with big boulders.  In fact we saw the remains of a huge lorry lying on its side resting on the boulders.  There are new and smooth roads on the other side of the peninsula built by the Chinese like in many countries in Africa.  Those with no such help continue to be troubled with poorly maintained, pot-holed roads. 

Along this coastal stretch, deforestation is rampant, burning of forests for charcoal and cutting down gigantic old trees to make rooms for buildings.  Up high in the mountains there are still forests but they are also being threatened; they would be bald in no time and would resemble the landscapes in Haiti if no effort in conservation is in the immediate offing. The old indigenous trees would be a thing of the past not to mention the creatures that inhabit these areas.  As we drove along, several areas of the mountains were slowing burning away with smoke rising to meet the haze of the afternoon.

Water Melon Patch

In the evenings I often visit the vegetable garden in Bai-Suba which is very therapeutic for me.  Their main problem is the lack of irrigation system so watering is done with the use of watering cans.  Many of the new seedlings shrivel up and die in the hot sun.  As far as I can tell there are Irish potatoes, beans, carrots, turnips, cabbages, eggplants, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, cucumbers, and water melons.  For some strange reasons the sheep and the goats never seem to wander in here to feast on the vegetables.

The hazy orange sun peeked through the palm fronds at sunset.  I only have a few days left in Lunsar and will leave for my home sweet home very soon.