11 January 2007
Day 7: On to Sierra Leone!
Our last stop in Liberia was a trip back to JFK Hospital in Monrovia. The medical folks did workshops for the nurses and nurse aides, and then we all joined them for a farewell luncheon.
We had a terrific trip from Liberia to Sierra Leone. Our flight was only one hour delayed! And once we got on the plane, it was a delightful 40-minute hop from Monrovia to Freetown. The flight was not very full at all, so again we had the opportunity to spread out and relax. We were quite impressed with the flight attendants of the local airline (SLOK), whose safety instructions and other announcements began, "Distinguished ladies and gentlemen..." We certainly don't feel all that distinguished after eight days of intermittent running water and electricity, but the thought was nice!
A week ago, when we landed in Monrovia, the airport exit procedure was a chaotic, crowded adventure. But when we landed in Freetown, exiting the airport was a breeze -- we had official porters to help with our luggage and clearing customs was a snap. We had planned to take a helicopter from the airport to our hotel (the airport is on a peninsula across the bay from downtown Freetown), but we opted instead to take the ferry across the bay. (For those potential Amazing Racers keeping track, we might also have taken the hovercraft across the bay.) But the ferry was the right choice -- we were almost the last bus onto the boat, and it left within 5 minutes of our boarding. We passed the 45-minute trip with Cokes and Pringles -- truly, a delicacy! -- in the bar of the ferry. Once we landed and made it past the enterprising pickpockets (talk to Michele about her soon-to-be-patented shove-and-glare technique), we made it to the 5:10 Hotel, operated by the Sierra Leone Teachers Union. (It's called the 5:10 Hotel because it was dedicated on the 5th of October.) We have running water (most of the time), electricity (most of the time), and even CNNinternational (sometimes).
We've continued to meet lovely people and make new friends. We miss our friends and family a lot, but we'll see you all soon and we're looking forward to sharing with you the stories we've gathered.
We had a terrific trip from Liberia to Sierra Leone. Our flight was only one hour delayed! And once we got on the plane, it was a delightful 40-minute hop from Monrovia to Freetown. The flight was not very full at all, so again we had the opportunity to spread out and relax. We were quite impressed with the flight attendants of the local airline (SLOK), whose safety instructions and other announcements began, "Distinguished ladies and gentlemen..." We certainly don't feel all that distinguished after eight days of intermittent running water and electricity, but the thought was nice!
A week ago, when we landed in Monrovia, the airport exit procedure was a chaotic, crowded adventure. But when we landed in Freetown, exiting the airport was a breeze -- we had official porters to help with our luggage and clearing customs was a snap. We had planned to take a helicopter from the airport to our hotel (the airport is on a peninsula across the bay from downtown Freetown), but we opted instead to take the ferry across the bay. (For those potential Amazing Racers keeping track, we might also have taken the hovercraft across the bay.) But the ferry was the right choice -- we were almost the last bus onto the boat, and it left within 5 minutes of our boarding. We passed the 45-minute trip with Cokes and Pringles -- truly, a delicacy! -- in the bar of the ferry. Once we landed and made it past the enterprising pickpockets (talk to Michele about her soon-to-be-patented shove-and-glare technique), we made it to the 5:10 Hotel, operated by the Sierra Leone Teachers Union. (It's called the 5:10 Hotel because it was dedicated on the 5th of October.) We have running water (most of the time), electricity (most of the time), and even CNNinternational (sometimes).
We've continued to meet lovely people and make new friends. We miss our friends and family a lot, but we'll see you all soon and we're looking forward to sharing with you the stories we've gathered.
