Last day at river no 2 beach

Shopping done - check -









another lobster lunch done - check -










More swimming in the sea at 5.30 pm done - check

Swim in the lagoon done - check

More sitting on the beach done - check

Nicholas asking us what we want for dinner and telling us there is no chicken again ... No salad again ... Not done ? That's unusual he is normally around by now asking what we want to eat from the extensive list ... Nicholas is responsible for looking after our stay - and ensuring we get meals and any encouragement needed to buy drinks, go to the shops, and go on trips. He appears about an hour after every meal asking us what we want for the next meal... he carefully itemises the list of available goodies .. "so tonight we have fish ..." ...


Well yes - you guessed it ... It's pretty much the same day as yesterday ... And the day before ... With the odd highlights of no running water ... No electric .. And the 5 pm TNT explosion from the road builders that never stops scaring the crap out of everyone as it's so close ... Oh and of course minor changes to the landscape generate a huge amount of interest ... For example they have started re-painting the hard wooden beach chairs blue !!! Blue? Well I never ... Blue beach chairs who would have thought it ...

Well I did warn you that things had pretty much slowed to a near halt and noticing a colour selection of beach chairs is an exciting highlight to the day !!!!

And when things are going slow .. the drunk pink monkey has to come out for a photo call ....  No not that monkey - this one ......!

Tonight is the last night in river no 2 beach - and early tomorrow morning we set off - down the coast to Kent ... 30 kms further .. To get a boat over to banana island ... We have promised to keep in touch with these chaps as much as possible ... Helsinki syndrome !!!

If anything exciting happens I plan to add some mumblings to this chapter later on .. And who knows ! We may get another visit from the huge bushy squirrel living next to us in the tree.. We may get to see a ground pig again ( don't ask !! ) we may get running water in time to shower !!! Oh the anticipation ....

Water ???... We have water !!! It's 6.50pm ... and we have water !! No chicken ... No red wine .... No salad ... No ground pig .. No squirrel .. But one thing we have .. we have water !!!!! Hit the shower, read reminder list of new found body places after sand had got into them the other night ... and dress for dinner ...

So Its fish again .. I like fish .. Fresh fish... But bareguitarists are carnivores ... And all this fish is just not doing it for me !!! Well let's hope banana island has meat !!!!!!

In the end - all the anticipation - all the excitement ... Nothing happens ...Such a long way down from such high expectations .. We will , no doubt, be joined by every insect in Africa again for dinner ... and the two bats who seem to enjoy flying within inches of people ... Normal night out then at river no2 beach...


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The river no 2 beach trip

Today has just flown by... Before I knew it breakfast was bleeding into lunch - and it was time to check out the shops here at this compound area....

The now obligatory swim in the sea pre and post breakfast ...just enough time to have another dip before putting in a t shirt and checking out the vast array of shopping options  ...

Well the 4 souvenir shops ... That's it !... 3 clothes and 2 handy crafts... A loud shirt and a loud dress later and a few souvenirs.. all taking about 3 hours to negotiate price .. we are done.

 Loud dress and shirt are made from bright patch work cloth which we have to first select from about 30 pieces of material, negotiate the price of the material, the wastage, the cutting, the style, the design, then the labour costs, but they are unique in every way ... So a dress for the meerkat - and a shirt for me ... And another dress that made it a more commercial deal .. Although I am still not clear which of us will be wearing the second dress !!!

At some stage tonight we have to sit and make a decision about what we are bringing home ... most of the shopping done - with one or two items left, and an item or two for ourselves. It's not like there are many options as you are restricted here by the amount of cash you have been prepared to carry with you.. We are up country .. In the bush ... No ATM - no bank - and no visa card here .. if you want it ... It's cash ... No cash - no purchase - simples !!!!

So that stops the potential of binge buying ... It's worth noting that there are about 6800 leone to the pound .. And you can only get 5000 and 10000 notes ... So for example £300 is a huge amount of notes ..50 x 5000 leone bank notes is worth about £35.... Worthy of being called a multi millionaire !!!! To buy an expensive item here .. For cash .. You need a wheelbarrow to move the money around ...

So we found out that the same tailor who works for my family out here ... And for my cousins ... Is Abu ... Who has based himself here ... And must say his workmanship is very good...

So decision time about what is being taken home ... Over "no chicken again" fish dinner ... Some beer - and the rest of my White wine ..

We did go on the river no2 boat trip to see the secret waterfall ... The monkeys fishing for crabs with their tails .. And the Nile crocs .. Check from the list !! Well almost check from the list as - no fishing monkeys .. But 2 tree monkeys .. No crocs .. But we found the waterfall....

The only thing is this - a 2 hour trip - hand paddled up a river -

I was constantly reminded that this is romantic .. to hear the nearly silent sound of a paddle kissing the water, combined with the smell of the sweat from the rower who normally works with another person as its pretty hard work, in a small boat, on hard wooden planks, progressing at 2 mph ... Romance wasn't the first thing that came to mind and it lost something to my numb bottom .. A bottom bruised by over a week of hard wooden seats ... And hitting the sand banks twice didn't help ... I guess romance comes at a slightly higher cost if comfort is required  ...

No one can challenge the fact that being rowed up a deserted river ...With a landscape backdrop of jungle and mangroves is the thing of a sky wildlife channel nowadays .. But in my mind, having the lost tribe of river no1 (lost as they are on river no 2!!! ) jump out on you with chalk marked faces and bones pierced through various orifices ... Or a hippo or two floating in the river, (floating the right way up preferably), would have finished the landscape perfectly !!!! Instead I faced the builders bottom of a Meerkat, sweaty arm pits, and 2 monkeys .. Well that's what happens in a slowed economy !!!

Bareguitarist can't have everything I guess !!!

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River no 2 beach ...

Let me start by pointing out that the old bounty bar advert " a taste of paradise " was filmed here .... from what I remember - it was actually on the sand bank I have in this photo !

It's a stunning setting of a river (no 2) that runs into a shallow wide sea opening ... The sand is soft and pure white - the sea is very clean and clear ... Waves permitting .... But always crystal clear and clean turquoise in the river .. And 15 mins further south from franco's - you find yourself in another 2-3 miles of even more soft, even more brilliant clean and clear sandy beaches, with few people anywhere to be seen other than outside of the beach huts area you stay in.

Also river no2 beach is run as a closed area cooperative ... Run to provide schools, health care, jobs, and other community services to the area... So another big tick on my Eco status !!!!

Another area ravaged by war - this is a place of extreme beauty somewhat struggling to go beyond the 70's ...  actually I should stop saying this as it is exactly the same for the entire country ....In terms of decor - design - and well you get the drift from the franco's description, (except has a few less luxury items compared to the Franco's list,) ... But does have good staff ( it's a community driven thing) - very basic ... And when I say basic .. Well let me explain ..

You are given the option of 3 dishes - chicken fish lobster ...(they lie about the chicken as mostly not available).  When asked how they are cooked ( expecting some menu driven options such as various sauces or combined dishes) you are told with chips or rice ... Sometimes salad is around (but not really, they lie about this also) so when requesting it you feel somewhat better in yourself that you have attempted to eat healthily ... And that's it ... Lunch and dinner .... Breakfast is a vast selection of options .. You can eggs cooked 3 ways - bread and jam ... And a pot of hot water to make tea and coffee !!!!

Lets be clear then ... you are not at river no 2 beach for the decor or the culinary delights ... But as I sit on the beach right next to the sea - in 30 degree sun and heat at 9 am ... Looking at 3 miles of deserted pure White sands rolling jungle hills as the back drop ... And 5 or so deserted islands breaking up a clean and clear Atlantic ocean... Perhaps I should not be fishing for sympathy .....

River no 2 beach has a trip up the river no 2 to see the secret waterfall -crocodiles, and fishing monkeys using their tails to catch crabs .... A lot like a night out in a dodgy bar in Luton ... Where crab fishing is often a consequence, not a choice !!

Power is on for a couple of hours in the morning - and then not until about 7 at night .... There is only cold water ... And last night (2nd night at the beach) there was no water at all - and they had sold out of bottle water !!! So the tide was truly out for us until about 9.30pm .... and being right on the beach I found sand in areas of my body that I didn't even know existed !!! ( note to self ... begin to wash new found areas !!! )

Decision made - Day 2 chill , dip in the river, come back, have a beer, contemplate navel, wander up and down the beach- come back again, have another beer ... etc ... Day 3 is going to be the trip to the waterfall. For now ... Its business as usual - sitting on the beach ... With a drink - listening to the waves crash against the shore about 10 steps away from me, and behind me, about 10 steps away from my beach-side hut ...

It's a hard life being a bareguitarist ....


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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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Day 4 time to head south

The Nearly finished New Road

We all know birds do it ... But it's also what bareguitarists do ... Head South in the winter  .. South to an area past lumley beach ... South on the new road that never existed in my day ... On the "nearly finished " new 4 lane road being built to link Kent - Sussex - and Freetown ..  I was heading to a place down in Sussex called Franco's ...

A hotel bar restaurant right on the beach in Sussex .. a few miles of golden sands not spoilt by any surrounding buildings ... An odd dwelling or two yes .... But a view to kill for....

Franco's, and the road South, were built after I had left Freetown - but the pure deserted sands and isolated beaches are what Lumley beach used to be in my day....

Aberdeen bridge

There is a new bridge across Aberdeen river inlet that (after some debate with my sister) it was decided did not exist in our day. This bridge links the main part of Freetown to the beach area Lumley beach. Before the bridge it would take an hour and a half to get to Lumley Beach from the town. Driving all the way inland before taking a "road" across open bush to the beach area. The bridge has changed the entire landscape. Now hotels and bars sit on Lumley beach - and it has become more of a town beach than the beach I had in my mind.

Apparently at one stage, it had become an area filled with local shack bars, and attracted some very dangerous people as a drunk person is a much easier target. The government decided that Lumley needed clearing up, so they did. In true African style they sent in a few hundred young men, backed up by a handful of armed police, with free licence to smash all the shack bars ... little debate happens in Africa when a decision is made like this. Now Lumley is cleaner, nicer, slightly safer, with a scattering of well built bars and beach clubs, but still not the beach it was. Anyway back to Franco's .....

Francos beach

Francos beach

The place is a sea water natural lagoon filled with sea water and a sand bank in the middle - tidal yes - and the currents can be a little strong on certain tides - but step out of the restaurant onto their own private beach ... A short walk / swim across the lagoon and you are straight onto a secluded beach of about 4 miles of golden sands with not a soul in sight ....

The inlet by the Hotel

Of course you have to watch the tide slightly here - and the beauty of a beach with no-one for miles is a plus and a minus... The obvious minus being the fact that this part of the coast line has some pretty heavy under-currents ..

It took about 2 hours to drive from the centre of Freetown to Sussex - but it was only about 30 mins drive along the road from lumley... No town traffic helps !! And of course a minor detour to the G-Spot bar fly bar as we pass it on Lumley cross road !!

Here and in beautiful surroundings - we are shown to our room ... It's pretty hard to describe .. But take a road side b&b of the 70's and you are close ... Mustard coloured Walls and a wood ceiling which would have been skimmed by plaster in more recent times ... A large but bare room with hot and cold leaking water in the bathroom... Well I am sure the image in your head is more flattering to the actual real image of the place ... But don't forget this was an area constantly ravaged by rebels during the war... Stories of Franco and his son having to head out to sea every night to avoid being shot or worse by the rebels ... Him and many others.. Only returning in the day time not knowing if the place has been burnt down or if in fact the rebels still sat in wait for people to return .... We can't imagine the thoughts that went along with this part of Sierra leone history ...

So you can understand the slow march to progress for a place like
Franco 's - family kingdom - and in fact all these places in and around Freetown. But the staff at Franco's were a big let down .. and there is little excuse for this.

You can forgive what takes time to recover from - but staff who don't care about delivering a service to customers is not acceptable .... Tolerated as we settled into the place ... We were not going to have to chase cleaners to do their job - waiters to do their job - and eventually the lid blew ... In day 2 of our 4 day planned stay at franco's...

However - one thing that cannot be missed - the food at franco's is divine !!!!!!!! So a must stop for at least one night for food and to check out this beautiful place on the mouth of a lagoon, and obviously the unbelievable decor ... But for 4 nights !!! I don't think so ... So day 2 needs a serious decision ...

making decisions is not the strongest point of bareguitarists on holiday !!!!



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