Blogs from Freetown, Sierra Leone, Africa

Monday started in Freetown again – went back to Flash to tidy up after the party and take advantage of the wifi! Later on in the day we went to the Hash which this week started at Danny Devits's house. Each week it starts at a different location. Because my foot still hurt from a couple of weeks ago, I looked after the house and his monkey whilst everyone was out on the run. He has a little monkey called Sheeta. She is on a chain which is sad in a cage, but since we have met her, Danny has kindly lengthened the chain as she seems to enjoy her little life. She never gets locked in the cage so she hides in there when she is scared, and other times she wonders around as far ... read more

I wish I could pinpoint how Africa captures and fascinates me. Maybe it's because the pace of everyday life is much slower here so you have the time to notice the small things. I've found myself noticing everythingand at the risk of sounding Disney, Africa is beautiful and it inspires me so much. Sure, there are dark histories and current life-threatening circumstances but the people here seem to draw strength from that and they really want to advance and learn. Sierra Leone is different to Kenya but I can't pinpoint that one either. To me this place is like some strange dream alternate reality but to the people who live here, this is their life. And now my life to a certain degree. The only difference is that I have a means of escaping it if ... read more

Dear All, Thank you again to those who have written. It is great to hear from home. We last blogged in Dakar, whilst staying with an ex-pat friend, and we are now in a similar situation in Freetown, staying with an old school friend of Jo, Lynn and Tim, who have been looking after us royally! thank you! We are spending a few days in the city before heading to Masanga at the weekend. Jo has been trying to meet as many of the four physios that work in Sierra Leone as possible, and we have visited the national rehabilitation centre and the military equivalent, as well as doing a few touristy things, and we have met a whole bunch of interesting people so we are feeling up to speed with politics, mining, religion, traffic laws, ... read more

So – Monday in Freetown! Mark and I headed out to seek out more accommodation for the international runners to stay in the night before they head home. In the evening we headed to the Hash – The Drinking Club with a Running Problem. Apparently there are Hash Harrier groups all over the world, and seeing as they are all keen runners, we thought they were a prime target for our marathon promotion. What an amazing experience! So there are runners and walkers, and for totally social reasons (yeah right!) I joined the walkers group so I could chat to people. Every week they start in a different location. The runners have trails left out for them and the walkers have a leader. Halfway around, someone has carefully planned a water stop (cold water!) and we ... read more

Ok, bear with me while you read this, I wrote the first part last week and thought I'd uploaded it... apparently not! So go back in time and imagine its this time last week.... Nearly Squashed a Biker Yesterday....! Apologies for the delay in getting in touch guys, I'm definitely still alive although I feel a bit dead as I've been running around like a headless chicken! Work has been crazy since my last post, here's what I've been up to... The mining camps tour went well, I've drummed up loads of interest in the marathon and even got lots of teams for the football tournament. After all my hard work, I got told the girls aren't allowed to enter a team because nobody would want to play us. Nice. Plus, its a marathon promotion event ... read more

The name Sierra Leone is originally Portuguese, meaning Lioness Mountains. Although I knew this and I knew that Freetown was on a peninsula I hadn’t expected to see the city rise out of the ocean in quite such a dramatic way. Our flight arrived at Lungi airport early in the morning and from there we travelled over to Freetown via boat allowing for good views of the green hills scattered with buildings. My first impression of Sierra Leone was that it reminded me a lot of Uganda. Red roads, vivid green trees, small stalls lining the streets selling anything and everything - just a little more chaotic. There are a few tarmac roads around the capitol but there are many more rough dirt roads scattered with potholes and completely uneven. Thankfully I travelled over with colleagues ... read more