The day of my flight seemed very bizarre. I had the day off work but very little left to do so spent most of the day chilling out and trying not to panic that I’d forgotten to pack something. When I finally got to the airport it suddenly seemed very real, I was actually going to Sierra Leone.
Bags checked in and goodbyes said it was a pretty tearful Gemma that walked through the security area. I don’t mind admitting I was terrified and very emotional! Sat watching my plane waiting for the boarding call I was thinking of ways of getting out of this! Now of course I’m very glad I didn’t as I would never have foreseen the massive impact this trip would have on me.
British Airways Flight - BA137 from London Heathrow to Freetown Sierra Leone:
It seems I can cope flying by myself which is good, not something I’ve done before! The flight was pretty painless, minor turbulence at some point but nothing to worry about. The food wasn’t too bad as it was a British Airways flight and luckily there were loads of good films to watch so that kept me entertained throughout.
Landing at Lungi Airport was something else! Descending above Freetown in the midst of an electrical storm was beautiful, no turbulence just some stunning lightning to watch. This was pretty handy as when you are descending you cannot see anything at all, and I mean anything! No lights can be seen until just before you land, which is extremely disconcerting!
I think my nerves properly hit me stood in the plane waiting to disembark, looking at the terminal. Not exactly what I’m used to at all! At 4 am you cant see much but I could tell the terminal was tiny and there seemed to only be one main room that looked like it covered customs and baggage. Although I had my Visa stamp in my passport and my invitation letter at the ready this was the bit I was most afraid of. Tom had said he would try and get through to the baggage area to help with the numerous bags I had brought with me but there was no guarantee that he would manage this, so for the time being at least I was on my own.
Walking down the steps from the plane I was hit by a wall of heat, far more so than I had expected at 4 am that’s for sure! Surprisingly enough you board a bus that drives you the 50m to the terminal entrance and then begins the queue for immigration…
Sometimes I think I worry myself over nothing: passport control was completely painless with a lovely guy asking my purpose in Sierra Leone and taking my picture and a scan of my fingerprints. He stamped my passport and through I went.
The baggage collection at Lungi is as simple as you’d expect. 2 tiny conveyor belts and lots of staff members jostling for your business with trolleys waiting to help you with your luggage. After what seemed like forever I had managed to claim all the bags and the spinal board but now I only had one problem.. I only had English money with me so really was not sure how I was going to manage! Luckily an airport staff member noticed my fretting and asked what was wrong. After I explained he went and paid for the trolley with his own money and helped me get everything through.
There was definitely a sense of relief walking into the arrivals section and seeing a familiar face! Even at 4 am there seemed to be loads of people bustling around the airport and taxi drivers touting around outside. Without direction I wouldn’t have had the first idea of where to go! Tom directed us through the crowd to the car park and the Craig Bellamy Foundation van. ‘Mr K’ the driver and a volunteer who was going home that day were waiting. I think I was a little bit shell-shocked at this stage because I don’t think I really said alot! Tom said goodbye to Dave the volunteer and we headed off to the ferry port.
It was dark still so I didn’t get to see a lot of Lungi on this journey but it wasn’t long before we were at the Ferry. By this point its about 5 am and still pretty dark. Tom says the ferry isn’t due to board until 7 and doesn’t leave until 8. I think at this point I probably just smiled politely but inside I was thinking how on earth am I going to stay awake for the next few hours! I never sleep well on planes any way and the excitement of this trip had kept me up all night flying over so what with the journey time and the heat I was pretty much dead on my feet right now!
Luckily there’s lots of people milling around before the ferry to people watch - especially if its your first time here. As this was the cheaper and slower ferry the passengers are made up of people travelling to Freetown for a days work - children, produce and livestock all add to the mix!
When the ferry finally began loading I couldn’t believe how many people were cramming on board. And that’s not even included the cars and trucks that fill the middle. Its definitely a health and safety nightmare but a lovely sight and very interesting! Once you’ve parked up (a fine piece of driving excellence from Mr K as the ramp was so steep I was sure we’d never make it!) we headed up to the passenger decks. I can honestly say I have never taken a ferry where I’ve been sat amongst chickens (live) listening to a preacher whilst watching some dodgy tv show playing on the oldest TV I’ve seen! To be fair I was loving every single second of it!
Views from the Kissy Ferry:
The ferry experience was definitely a sign of things to come for me. Any initial concern (it is pretty daunting being stared at) were quickly overcome and when it came to getting off at the other end I was quite happy walking through the crowds back to the van.
The ferry arrives in Kissy, on the outskirts of Freetown. If you’ve not been here before it seems really hectic, people everywhere and crazy driving with lots of motorbikes. Of course this is nothing compared to Freetown but more on that later.
Welcome to Kissy:
Welcome to Kissy:
The traffic on the Kissy road was just ridiculous! Mr K and Tom explained that the traffic is always horrendous here. By this point I am completely shattered and starving hungry so Tom asks Mr K to pull up on a side street and he runs down to the bank to get some Leones for me rather than us sitting in traffic for hours. Its whilst we are waiting that I see the friendliness of the people here for the first time. Mr K left the van for a few minutes and initially I felt complete panic when I realised that the windows are open and the doors unlocked. I soon realised I didn’t need to worry, several people passing by smiled and said hello and a nearby street seller stopped as he crossed the road to say hi and ask where i was from. The only time i had any concern was when a man kept circling the van and trying to talk to me through the windows, out of fear I confess I ignored him completely but then came to realise he was more interested in the stickers on the van than me!
Tom wasn’t too long although he had definitely underestimated the distance to the bank and we were soon heading away from Freetown and towards the Academy.
When you head out of the city and towards the mountains its like a completely different country! The scenery is completely stunning! It was described to me as very similar to that of Jurassic Park and I’d say that’s pretty accurate. I don’t think I stopped grinning the whole journey (especially so when we stopped at a ‘Tesco’ petrol station - cleverly named so the foreign miners use it!)
The “Tesco” petrol station:
The journey to the Academy didn’t seem to take very long at all and before I knew it we were pulling up to the gates but I’ll save that for another post.
Heading to the peninsular:
