Africa

[Visited: July 1990]

Years before a terrible war started. I had the fortune to visit Sierra Leone. Although the trip from the airport to the hotel was a little problematic upon arrival (our boat nearly sank in the middle of the sea - there was no road from the airport to the city), I had some very fine days in that country. Not only did I visit the local market, which to me is always a joy for the eye, and a real way in which to get in touch with the local population, but I also made a few excursions around the capital Freetown.
One of those visits included a small village, where we were treated very nicely and warmly, which anyway is almost always the case in Western Africa. Writing these lines now, years later, it is amazing that these friendly people can make such ugly wars. It is also a strange thought that the lives of all those people I met during my visit, were so thoroughly affected just years after it by that cruel civil war which broke out.
We also made an excursion to the more salvage parts of the country, including the really tropical beaches, pristine jungle, peaceful coastline and pictoresque palmtrees. Surely, there must have been problems already at that time. But they were well hidden to the innocent visitor...

Around the World in 80 Clicks

Personal travel impressions both in words and images from Freetown (Sierra Leone). Clicking on the pictures enlarges them and enables you to send the picture as a free e-card or download it for personal use, for instance, on your weblog. Or click on the map above to visit more places close to Freetown.
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