Misty Morning on the hills of Regent, Freetown

Got these shots sent to me by my dad... brings back that 'ol Bob Marley tune..

" Misty mornin', don't see no sun;
I know you're out there somewhere having fun.
There is one mystery - yea-ea-eah - I just can't express:
To give your more, to receive your less.
.....
See no sun! Oh.
Time has come, I want you -
I want you to straighten out my tomorrow! Uh."

Err.. ok, that's enough now.

British Airline (BMED) to start flights to Sierra Leone

We received welcome news that British Airways franchise partner (BMED) is to start flying to Sierra Leone. This means there are now 3 airlines serving the Freetown-London route – Bellview Airlines (Heathrow), Astraeus Airline(Gatwick) and as of October – BMED(Heathrow).

Few main things in here - First off, as a Sierra Leonean this is an endorsement of our nation’s gradual recovery. To quote the article:

“The move represents the return by BA liveried aircraft to West Africa for the first time since the early 1990s when the airline withdrew flights to the region.”

That’s good. We need more big name investors pledging faith in our country’s economy.

Secondly, as a consumer… bring those fares DOWN! already. £750 for a trip home for Christmas is just a little steep dude. Imagine you want to take your entire family (wife and three kids) home for Christmas holidays? Ouch! This is excluding helicopter flights, jabs, accommodation and all the other costs that go with it. From a tourism point of view, lower prices can only help improve our chances in a very competitive market.

On a whole, good news for Sierra Leone.

http://www.travelmole.com/stories/110097.php
BMED to start flights from Heathrow to Freetown - Forum Discussion

When in Freetown, I recommend a boat trip!

These are some photos from a boat trip we took in Freetown - a treat from some of my friends! We had a fantastic day out on this mystery island. If you are in Freetown for holiday you must make a point of getting away from the city - and visit one of the islands on the peninsula. Its pure bliss.. away from the hustle and bustle in Freetown. Take some time out to relax and forget about the great challenges of life.

Checking out boat prior to take off...



LA Bob. Jes chilling!

Carlito

Master P.

View from the back of the island

Our very own jacuzzi


Are those bubbles?

Yes.. a few pints later... a burger.. and no one wants to leave :)

Time to go, but no one wants to know. Kamajor (the captain) looks none too happy as it was bout to rain.

I wonder what the story is behind the island because there is definitely structures there to suggest someone used it as a retreat of some sort. The "jacuzzi" is great.. its made amongst the rocks and it fills up when the tide comes in. Feels great!!!

Do you recognise this island? If know more about it please let us know.

Sierra Leone, Africa and DNA - Joining the dots

If you are based in the states most of you have probably heard about the Grey's Anatomy star... Isiah Washington. He was recently in Sierra Leone filming a documentary which will be aired on ABC at some point soon. It turns out Isiah had a DNA test last year which revealed a maternal lineage to the Mendé people of Sierra Leone.

This follows the recent Priscilla's homecoming celebration when Mrs. Thomalind Martin Polite, an African American woman from Charleston, South Carolina, made an extraordinary and historic journey back to Sierra Leone. Thomalind is known to be a direct descendant of a 10 year old girl who was kidnapped from Africa in 1756, placed aboard the slave ship Hare in Sierra Leone bound for Charleston, South Carolina. Oprah Winfrey also had her DNA tested. This genetic test determined that her maternal line originated among the Kpelle ethnic group, in the area that today is Liberia (apparently she earlier thought - or hoped she was Zulu).

Anyway, what does this mean for Sierra Leone and other African countries? It means great opportunties for greater cooperation between Africans their brothers and sisters scattered around the globe. This is one to follow with great interest as we will hear more stories such as those mentioned above in the coming years and will probably play a huge part in Africa's tourism industry in years to come.

MOST IMPORTANT THING TO DO WHILE IN SIERRA LEONE

Between time spent with family, going to the beach and all night booty shaking at Paddy's there is a lot that a returnee can do. Since the summer of 2003 I have been back home 4 times. I spent both the summer of '03 and '04 at home and christmas 04 and Christmas 05. So its easy to see that i'm clearly addicted. There are many people out there who havent been home in a long time and when ever they do think of going home they wonder what they'll do when they get there. In an effort to encourage and promote the return home i am going to share with you some of the things i've done or dreamt of doing while at home.NUMBER 1 AND MOST IMPORTANT IS VOLUNTEER/COMMUNITY SERVICE. As you well know our country is in its reconstruction period. What better way to pass time than to give your time. My favorite form of volunteering is teaching. I have an ongoing relationship with the FAWE SCHOOL at fort street. The first year (2003) I was there I taught class 4 and class 6....mostly English but also a bunch of stuff really....as long as i thought it was relevant. I organized i field trip with my students to the SL Library by Victoria Park. None of my students had even been and we got a tour of the facility. I remember that when i went to Mereweather that we use to go to the library and the British council.In the summer of 2004 when i went back to FAWE I only taught class 6. This time it was more fun as i was more comfortable teaching. I also had the honor of writing and directing the theater performance at the class 6 graduation ceremony. It was a 4 act play called ISSUES that dealt with girl child education, self love and respect for culture and tradition. So much fun and stress rehearsing but in the end it all went well. And as a bonus i got to give out the diplomas and prizes at the graduation. I was soooo proud of my FAWE girls!!! I forgot to mention that i also taught them the hook to Nas's I KNOW I CAN...which they loved and I took the rhythm from a UNICEF CD and I wrote another song with the class....that went a litttle something like this....hello, bonjour, buenos dias, good day, guttentag, koniciwa, ciao, shalom, Kushe, ow di bodi...etc. Anyways what i'm trying to say is that VOLUNTEERING IS SOOOO COOL!!! Also, for those of us who easily tire of complaining about the state of things in Salone...volunteering means you can do something. And outside of FAWE there are a million other things you can do