Monday, March 4, 2013

Feb 28 - Thursday - River No. 2 - Day 3















Photos: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151359104996961.1073741826.562066960&type=1&l=edfbbe8017
We were up early this morning and all set for our trek to Tokeh Beach and to see a house being built. Last night we met Halvor, a Norwegian lawyer who has done some contracts in Sierra Leone (and other places in Africa) and has decided to build a house on the beach. As the tide was still too far in we got a boat across the river estuary and started our trek along the pure white sands under the blazing sun. We had a good idea where Halvor's house was as we had noticed it the previous day. I fear the building process may be a little tedious, however I am sure that Halvor is in the best of hands given his legal experience in SL. After we were shown over the house by his sons, we continued our journey along the beach. We stopped to look into the complex that was deserted and were invited in to see over it by the security guard. It was built by a company, never finished, and is now in the hands of the government and/or the bank. What a shame. It is a large project which was well thought out for corporate use, including a large conference room that held 1000 people and an entertainment centre. It was supposed to have served as a retreat for the company's staff. After that we walked on into Tokeh greeting the various locals we met along the way and having a chat with some of them. You are never quite sure what the real story is, but we met some guy who is "involved" in the building of a lodge at River No. 1. Nowhere near as nice as River No. 2. Anyway, he got us a badly needed coke and showed us his father's chalets, literally 4 cabins on the beach. This trek took us about 2 hours including stops, then we stopped for a while in Tokeh to see the village and the fishing boats, and then the walk back in about 1 hr 20 mins.

When we arrived back at River No. 2 Anna and Drew, two of the Overlanding group were there. We had a fun time swimming in the ocean, playing with the surf. It is perfect! Not so rough that you can't enjoy it, and rough enough in which to have fun with the rollers. After that, we went into the River No. 2 market and did some souvenir shopping. There really is not a lot to buy anywhere except wooden carvings, paintings, and African cloth. After shopping, we had a shower, then dinner and in bed around 9:15.

We had a job balancing our money which is new for us, but since we couldn't find an active ATM in Freetown, and nowhere accepts Visa, we were left with exchanging our dwindling supply of dollars and Euros. I know Anna and Drew had the same problem, as did a few people on the truck. You don't want to carry too much cash, but that is simply the best way to take money. Travellers' Cheques don't seem to work these days.

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