Back from the beach

So, it turns out that the volunteers here are not really suffering... I mean, Sierra Leone might be a very underdeveloped country, but it's so incredibly beautiful that sometimes you can really forget about the utter chaos that surrounds you.

This weekend we went out of Freetown (which is surrounded by water and beaches) up to the beach area, which is where people go for more of a relaxing beach time. I go running on the beach here near the clinic quite often, but it's the kind of place you'd be afraid to leave your flipflops on the sand because they'd be gone by the time you finished your swim.

So, off we went, with an ice chest full of food, but with no reservations....the one place we had a phone number for was full so we just went on our way, checking things out as we went. The roads are all dirt here, and full of rocks and puddles, so it's a pretty slow ride anywhere you go. We saw a sign and a small road off to the right, claiming to have accommodations, so we went ahead to check it out... what a hidden and wonderful surprise! There was a little place there, with a living room/kitchen area and a separate bedroom. They even had running water, a proper flushing toilet and solar lights, meaning we'd be able to turn on lights at night and wouldn't even have to run a generator...this is something that is really REALLY rare here! Even at the clinic we have to run the generator often times because the city power comes and goes.

Anyways, it was gorgeous. We had our own private beach area, and there were some nice tiled areas with a big covering overtop. All this for only 150000 leones...about $50 for the four of us for the night. (a good deal even for here).

We spent the day swimming in the ocean and enjoying our private beach area in and out of the sun. After missing the sunset because we were busy killing the biggest spider I've ever seen, we went for dinner where we all had either lobster or pasta with lobster ($20 for 2 lobsters!) It was so delicious!

The only problem was that last night there was a gigantic party in the community where we stayed, and although we didn't go to bed until midnight, they partied LOUDLY until about 5am when it started to pour rain for the first time since Christmas day. We were so grateful for the rain, not only because it would cool the land and settle the dust, but because the PARTY FINALLY ENDED!

Today we woke up, enjoyed a breakfast of salami, bread and cheese, then mom and I went to check out River #2. Beautiful.

Now I'm back at the clinic, enjoying the evening outside, and nursing my terrible sunburn. Tomorrow will be very different as I will be joining Vez who works with disabled kids in the communities. I have been warned it will be a tough day.

I've uploaded all of my photos from the weekend onto facebook, and it should be available to any facebook member... check it out.