March 5 :: Freetown, Sierra Leone
March 5 :: Freetown, Sierra Leone :: 25km / 3702km total
An early morning trip over to the airline office, happily to find out there was space that night for me. Yee-hawwww! Then began a mad rushing around to buy some cheap clothing (for cooler, wetter climes), change back my Sierra Leonean money (not easy, since moneychangers hoard foreign currency here), briefly update internet, and check out of my hotel. It was 1pm as I rode slowly through Freetown, towards the ferry, with plenty of time in hand before my flight. I expected problems of some sort, but the ferry ride was quick and I was at the airport 6 hours early. I bought some cardboard from the cargo handlers, taped together a box for my bike, and began a long, long wait for my flight.
Lungi International Airport (Freetown) is not a pleasant place... no seats, no carpet, just the basics, a hot steaming sweaty smelly lineup with occasional people yelling at each other. After two hours of standing in line (there was already a long line when I lined up, 5 hours pre-flight) I was starting to bend from the strain of a long day... week... month. Why do I do this to myself? Why do I come to the second-poorest country on Earth, alone, among the others that I´ve been through, and go through the daily hassles, overattention, food scares, crazy drivers, etc etc etc, many things I don´t have time to mention in my blog...? Ya, time to pull out the iPod and lose myself to another happier world. I put the ´Pilot Guides´theme on repeat, and eventually a smile nudged its way across my face, as purpose peeked from within my self-imposed trials and tribulations.
An early morning trip over to the airline office, happily to find out there was space that night for me. Yee-hawwww! Then began a mad rushing around to buy some cheap clothing (for cooler, wetter climes), change back my Sierra Leonean money (not easy, since moneychangers hoard foreign currency here), briefly update internet, and check out of my hotel. It was 1pm as I rode slowly through Freetown, towards the ferry, with plenty of time in hand before my flight. I expected problems of some sort, but the ferry ride was quick and I was at the airport 6 hours early. I bought some cardboard from the cargo handlers, taped together a box for my bike, and began a long, long wait for my flight.
Lungi International Airport (Freetown) is not a pleasant place... no seats, no carpet, just the basics, a hot steaming sweaty smelly lineup with occasional people yelling at each other. After two hours of standing in line (there was already a long line when I lined up, 5 hours pre-flight) I was starting to bend from the strain of a long day... week... month. Why do I do this to myself? Why do I come to the second-poorest country on Earth, alone, among the others that I´ve been through, and go through the daily hassles, overattention, food scares, crazy drivers, etc etc etc, many things I don´t have time to mention in my blog...? Ya, time to pull out the iPod and lose myself to another happier world. I put the ´Pilot Guides´theme on repeat, and eventually a smile nudged its way across my face, as purpose peeked from within my self-imposed trials and tribulations.
posted by Graham Durrant at 4:29 AM
4 Comments:
If you decide to stay in London proper and want city-folk contacts, two of my best friends live there (from Toronto). And if you should go back to Egypt! - we have a condo in Cairo that you're welcome to crash in as it is normally empty unless any of us is visiting...
we'll see...
you're more than welcome to take a spin into Oxford - I'd be glad to show you the sights & grab a pint! either way, if you need any england-related advice, feel free to give me a ring: 1865-284150
thanks, lydia, appreciate it! i decided on an alternate country, though, a few degrees warmer, but seemingly just as wet!
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