Franco's day 2 - the point of no return

So day 2 was about enough. Rooms not cleaned - sheets not changed - beds not made - towels not replaced - staff still not bothered about doing anything - and it was all coming to a head ....

That evening, a certain Scottish Meerkat, gave the head  (most senior) staff at Franco's a firm reminder of why William Wallace was so feared !!! 3 clear and non discussed commands placed at her door - In clear shot of the owners son and his new wife :-

Your staff are rude and complacent
Toilet rolls and towels needed
Clean room
No discussion !!!!!
"from that day to this .... would you give up every day for just one chance to tell them .. you can take our lives .... But you can't take ......OUR TOILET ROLL !!!!"

Let me explain about the new owners.
Franco built this place with his own hands - he ran the diving, fishing , and the entire place in fact... But lately (3 years by the state of things ) he had lost interest. Maybe he was ill ? Maybe he just lost heart after years of fighting for the place ... But it was in a state ... And finally 2 weeks ago his son and new wife had been brought over from England to take over and run the place. We were told this over an apology from the young wife who is clearly a front of house educated young European girl ... And that night she and the son had been finally given the go ahead to do whatever they wanted ... She had brought us a bottle of wine as an apology - noting that one of her biggest challenges was the staff ... And the decor - as the building itself - and ... Well it's a huge challenge - let's just keep the list short ...

Having found out that the place no longer did any of the trips, water sports, fishing , that had been advertised - and based on the Wallace encounter ... We had already made a call to move on a day early ... We told her this - and she understood our thoughts... But it must be hard to hear ... All the same ...

So tomorrow we are off to river number 2 beach - yes that's what Its called- river no 2 beach ...

back to the beach sunbeds  - some hard decisions about what to eat on the last night - a bottle of wine for lunch !!! and a call to organise pick up the following morning. 

Last meal at Franco's - lobster and barracuda - (that's red snapper and bottle of wine lunch  in the picture !!) some last wine - and a long chat with the new owners wife ... Pity to leave - but we can't stay around forever until the staff get their act together!

The previous day we had overheard a group of 4 as they tried to get a taxi or some form of transport from Franco's to a beach about 15 mins away. They were told "no taxi's" ... but why not talk to one of the local fishermen who can take you by boat ...

About an hour later we heard the debate about costs - they wanted 500,000 leone for the trip .. which is over  $100 ... They were an English group which may explain the costs... they had enough sense to say no ... and they were struggling ... I offered them my driver and car for petrol and a little something in costs ..
And here is the point  .. it would have been still profitable for the driver to come all the way from Freetown - to Franco's - Pick them up - take them down the road - and return all the way back to Freetown - than to have these costs - I reckon petrol would have been about 120,000 Leone - and I was going to charge them 200,000 Leone to give the driver something.

Luckily one of them had a sister in Freetown with her own driver - and after a few calls - she sent her own driver out.

NB - lobster here is no more expensive than any other dish ... It's fresh - BIG / Huge, as in stand toe to toe with a shark huge ... and tasty ... So you must eat loads of it as you would never equal this anywhere in Europe ..

I am not a lobster eater ... Bare guitarists more go for less mess and more content ... A huge steak (which is virtually unobtainable in Sierra Leone at the moment)  for example .. after all we need to get ready in case we have to hibernate !!

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