Last night, under darkness, we arrived at Lungi International Airport outside of Freetown. We stepped off the plane at approximately 7:00 pm local time, and as we approached the terminal from the runway, I was bombarded by a number of sights, sounds, and other sensations for which I was unfortunately unready.
Although it was night, the heat and humidity were significant, especially within the stuffy terminal. As I waited 45 minutes for my checked baggage to make the 200 foot journey from the plane to the terminal, my anxiety steadily grew as I was approached by a number of "helpful" locals who promised one service or another. I must admit that I was amazed by the lack of professionalism throughout the baggage process, and I was beginning to mentally address the prospect of losing my checked baggage and all of the testing equipment in it.
As we crossed the threshold between the main lobby of airport and the parking lot, our group was immediately bombarded with a variety of solicitations from a few dozen individuals who, quite frankly, were only interested in taking advantage of us. As we made our way further into the parking lot, much of the crowd left us, although an uncomfortable number followed us all the way to our vehicles. As we were loading our supplies into the vehicles, a loud argument broke out between the Village Hope guides and the swindlers of the airport. Asking Dr. Bart wanted any he wanted any help, he told us to remain in the car until things were resolved. My unease continued to grow as a half an hour passed by with the argument continuing and the crowd growing. I tried to keep an eye on everything and everyone, considering appropriate responses to potential scenarios, but my partial preparedness did not assuage my worries.
At some point, our guides got into the vehicle and began to drive out of the parking lot, only to be boxed in by two vehicles which purposely trapped us. Another 15 minutes passed, and somehow our guides - with the help of Abi Jones, an employee of VH stationed in SL for several months - were able to talk our way out of the parking lot without any payment required. Apparently, the quarrel started because there are a group of individuals (for whom the airport security looks the other way) who have laid claim to the parking lot as their territory. Traditionally, these people have the exclusive right to shuttle people to and from the location. The fact that Village Hope brought their own drivers was upsetting to them. In any case, I'm glad that things turned out so well, all things considered.
It took about 15 minutes to reach the dock and ferry, and we were able to cross the bay to Freetown by about 1o pm local time. It took another 30 minutes to load up our bags and get some supplies (including water and Laughing Cow cheese) at a nearby gas station.
For a city of a few million people, the level of darkness throughout Freetown was remarkable. Despite being so late in the evening, walking and driving through the city felt like passing adobe and/or tin houses meets street festival meets garbage dump. While this alien environment was both exciting and unsettling, I was very glad to be in a moving vehicle. The roads were decent close to Freetown, but got progressively worse as we moved farther and father inland. Passing by houses (urban and rural), a common mental reaction of mine was to think, "That must be abandoned." I realized that most were likely in use, so my next thought would be, "How could anyone end up living like that?"
The long car ride (that was extended by a stop due to a spare tire falling off) was therapeutic, even though we had been traveling continuously for more than 40 hours by that point. The darkness, wind, and silence allowed me to think about everything (good and bad) and put everything into perspective. Along the way, we crossed a number of bridges (some wooden boards, others stone) including one iron bridge over a massive convergence of rivers that, even at night, took my breath away. I hope to be able to see it in the daylight.
Riding in an old vehicle on terrible roads at night going up to 80 mph with seat belts was exhilarating but very much against everything that my parents and experiences have taught me. We made it to Kamasondo around 2:30am, unpacking our things including our sleeping tent. I was in bed by 3:15am and fell asleep by 4:00am.
After nearly 48 hours of continuous travel, things have not been what I expected, but I really had no clue what to expect.
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