Sunday 11 December 2011

Day 1 The Sierra Leone Conical's

It's a normal thing for bears to hibernate during the long winter months - and of course bareguitarists are no different - so I am doing my hibernation in what could be called my place of origin ... The place where generations of my family, their various business and personal exploits occurred - where most of generations of my family were born ... Sierra Leone - Freetown.





Huddled in my cave now in 35 in the shade - I feel at one with my fellow bears in their hibernation of choice... Yeah right - BEAR losers !!!!!

If you have never done it - freetown is a must do adventure ... This is a place at the end of years of colonial rule that was ravaged by war and greed. A time now placed firmly in history as the country tries to find new beginnings - a phoenix - that should slowly return to it's former glory.

The adventure starts when you land .. Walking off a plane into the heart of African immigration and passport control and baggage claim .. No one would call you cowardly if at this point you joined the queue for the same flight returning back home .. But it's adventure you booked for ... And from minute one - it's adventure you will get !!! So onwards brave soul ... Your future is bright !!!! ( a similar slogan stolen from a well know telecoms operator here in Europe - used by an African telecoms supplier ) .

I am fortunate - I still have cousins relations - and those people close enough to you to be regarded as related - living out here. So I was met at the point of collecting my bags... Bears don't need much, so not a lot to collect ... my reserve jar of honey in hand ....

Then it's a short walk to the "ticket office" - be careful when you picture this term in you head ..
It's a dark dust road walk along the side of the terminal building to a wall and a hand built wooden stand where two women stand and wait for you to buy tickets... But you can't buy tickets from them ... You must pay for the tickets in an equally carefully manufactured stand just behind them ... Pay your money ... And give your name ... Then- and only then - can you complete you ticket acquisition by providing the named tickets to the women 4 steps away ..." name" you are asked - as she checks the ticket!! Then ticket in hand you are moved about 10 steps away to wait for a mini-bus to take you to the jetty ... Yes I should have said - the 3 ways you can get from lungi airport to Freetown are-
Helicopter - 15 mins flight time
Pelican or other speed boat or ferry - about 30 mins
Road - 2 hours if you are lucky

We opted for helicopter .. But as they were not running - pelican. Pelican is a 20 person speed boat that zips between the airport jetty and freetown .. Approached by hand made wooden walkways across the water that have seen better days ... Then onto the boat.. Your luggage is tagged with a blue numbered tag so they know who it belongs to... After all some mermaid could well jump the boat and run off with your bags !!! It's all possible in Freetown !!! Oh yes ....
Having travelled at about 20 MPH in the pitch black across to the mainland - you pick up your bag to find that a queue is now formed - your blue ticket is required to identify that the bag belongs to you... There are 18 people on our crossing - there were only 10 bags stored on the front - all 18 of us were walking along the same wooden gang plank - and they wanted my blue ticket . Normally common sense would prevail and I would be in better humour and search through my hand luggage to provide a blue ticket of suitable numeric standing... But in Africa there are few rules that supersede the law of the shilling .. In other words you can buy most things - and buy your way out of most things if the price is right.. The man said I could not keep the bag without the ticket - I told him it was my bag and walked off .. He really only had a choice if I gave him - which I didn't ..

Up this wooden gang plank ( yes another carefully manufactured piece of engineering ) - I saw my cousin waiting .... I have never met him .. I don't remember him from my time in Freetown - but he is defiantly my cousin...

My family name is Aboud - and there is one thing that is said about us ... That you could line up 100 people from an Arab background and be able to spot the Abouds .... Once you know what one of us looks like - you can spot the rest.

This became even more apparent on the flight into Freetown when I was asked if I was related to a xyz Aboud - a tv personally over here - by a complete stranger on the plane... All look the same .. I am not sure if this is some form of racism ? But you all look the same to me as well so I suppose not !!! Hee Hee.

So no need for introductions or asking who this man was - I knew him at first sight .. Toufic Aboud .. Son of Rose Aboud - and grandson of Abraham Aboud - who is also my great grandfather. Yes we are about the same age but one generation apart... It's a blog in it's own right to try to explain this one... So don't ask ... I said DON'T ASK!!!!

He has come with his driver and now I have a lift to the pre- booked hotel. The family KINGDOM resort .. The name does not even begin to describe the place. No seriously it doesn't !!!! Set on the shores of 7 miles of golden sandy beach called lumley beach - Lumley beach was the cats whiskers, the bears boll**ks of the 1970's .... And kept in all its historical glory - it's is a walk back in time ... But the staff are freetonian and as such you are looked after with care and concern.. Freetonians are the some of the warmest people in the entire African continent.

But which ever way you paint the picture - it's a place that was at it's best some years before I arrived.

Finally here - arranged to travel around the following day - just get to the room - get some food - and sleep .....

Remind me to tell you who I shared the bed with on my first night tomorrow !! You'll love it ...

But as you can tell - there is just too much going on and bareguitarists need their beauty sleep ..



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