Final Day

Possibly the least productive day of the trip (unless you're Sophie in which case Psychology is life). The day got off to a lovely lethargic start and consisted mainly of packing and relaxing by the pool. The boys discovered a new game, affectionately named Salone Ball, whilst the girls were badgering away with their books and getting their tan on. 

After a stressful and emotional departure of the less elite half of the group, the more elite half wasted no time in getting down to the beach. Ms D thought she was finally going to be driving a keke, under the dubious eye of Christian,  but no chance! She got a ride on it and appreciated the AC! 

An afternoon in the sun on a beautiful beach was the perfect way to cap off our Salone experience; football was played, fishing boats were climbed, and we even got couscous instead of rice for lunch. 

A stop off at our favourite Gelateria (unlucky Sophie) saw Mr Coward finding a lovely deck chair to sit on, and the team exploring a variety of flavours with complex code names so that you don't really know exactly what you're having.

A quick turn around back at "The Family Hooome" and we were ready for a delicious buffet-style dinner by the sea at Alex's Beach Bar.

The evening came to a close after a few cracking games of pool-by-the-pool, featuring Mrs D showing us all up with her weird French techniques.

 I know that I speak for everyone when I say that this has been a life changing, eye opening, and humbling experience, (and a good laugh too.) Thank you to everyone who made it possible but most of all to Mrs D, Mr Bowen, Mr Coward, and Mr Waltiño for making this the best 12 days of our lives!

Oskar :)

As this will be the final post for the trip, I would like to thank the wonderful group of pupils who accompanied us this year, and also give a big great thank you to Aunty Kitty Fadlu-Deen, the principal at Ballanta, Mr Lovelace Love-Harding, her assistant and King Musa, without whose dedication and commitment to working with us, chauffeuring us around Freetown, and always being available, we could not do any of this! tɛnki… a de kam! We go si bak! 

Day 10 departure… sorry your flight has been cancelled! Thanks SN!

 So what do you do with 18 young people stranded in Sierra Leone because Brussels Airlines decided to cancel their flight home? Be brave and take them to another market… so we did! Of course we never really expected to depart at 10:30, by now we are all well accustomed to Salonean time, and so pupils drifted around 11 am to meet…which was still a good 15 minutes before our van arrived! Then we ventured one more time into Freetown city centre. We were making comparatively good time, until we got stopped by the police, again! It turns out that one of our vans, hired from out of town, had not got the “right” licence to drive in town, and they did not like his photocopied driving licence… but nothing that a 20 Leones note, 30 minutes of argument, and a call to the chief of police, who happens to play in the brass band at Ballanta, could not solve! 

Victoria Market is a vibrant and buzzing open market, with stalls along the streets leading to the old play park built in honour of Queen Victoria- the entrance is grand with 2 lions flanking the once impressive gate. Our pupils fell naturally, a bit too naturally maybe, into haggling mode and showed off proudly the numerous bracelets and jewellery they bought for next to nothing… some of the boys were more adventurous and bought lovely African trousers… you may not recognise your own child! Whilst our pupils were busy buying, teachers were busy milling around and chatting with a few of the food vendors, showing off photos of their own child ( Mr Coward) when chatting with a young mother and her little girl, Fatima, who was quite happily walking around and smiling at us.

After an hour on the market, we headed back home picking up pizzas for our lunch by the hotel pool, and

a well deserved few hours of relaxation by the pool. 

Then, we treated pupils to a lovely, if hot, stroll on the beach to the Golf club, our final destination for our evening meal- the tide was coming in, and it was a game of dodge the water…at which, clearly, some of us are better than others! It was a lovely walk with the sun setting behind us, and for an hour it really felt like a holiday. 

Our meal at the golf club was again delicious, and we topped up the evening with an ice cream at the renowned Gigibonda, an Italian- Sierra Leonean partnership, before strolling back along the road. 

We got stopped by the police, asking us if we were alright, where we were going…as clearly 22 “whities” on the shore is not a common occurrence. 

As the day draws to a close, I am filled with some sadness at not being able to travel all together tomorrow, but pleased to have been able to share with these young people the joy and warmth of Sierra Leone, hoping that this love they have developed for its people will stay with them forever. Once you have experienced it, it is hard to forget Salone as they call it here. 

Tomorrow, we lose half the group! I feel a little like this Teddy… abandoned and left behind! Wishing them all a safe journey home and onwards! 

JDA 

Mambo Waterfalls

DAY 9 - The day started on a high note with everyone being allowed a lie in until 10:30!! It's almost like we are actually on holiday! We were immensely grateful to be greeted with not only first but second and third helpings of our beloved pancakes for breakfast. 

We then all made our way to the pool, with a mixture of some extremely advanced pool playing (not), swimming and some reading, with others attempting to battle the hot sun whilst doing school work. 

None of us were terribly surprised when we took camp on the hotel steps for over an hour, yet again, for the bus that is single handedly causing global warming. 

Along the route, the poverty of the country is obvious- but the roads are buzzing with small stalls selling everything from electrical equipment to food or a barber shop. Shacks along the roads, half finished houses on the hills- waiting for money to complete them. 

When we reached our destination, after a slight detour due to getting lost and having to dodge some pretty impressive potholes, we reached the vertical hike that awaited us. After leaving buckets of sweat behind us - 50% due to Chris - we finally reached the beautiful waterfall. 

The cool water made up for the climb, with Mr Coward embracing his inner Tarzan whilst sitting behind the curtains of water and climbing his way through the uneven rocks. The waterfall wasn't without its challenge either as many of us came to a near death- giving Ms D a heart attack every time we slipped- whilst making our way through the many nooks and crannies (Grace deserves a particular mention), with the girls desperately clinging on to their bikini bottoms. Yet again Theo decided to injure himself, this time treating the rock as a slide. 

On the way back down to the buses, Mia and Madison decided to treat the side of the mountain as a slip and slide too, with many bruises to prove it. The views afforded by the trail were spectacular.

To finish off the night we headed out to our dearest restaurant, papaya for the final time :((!!

Mia and Sophie

Day 8: Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary

The day was already off to a cracking start when we found out we were getting a 15 minute lie in. Following some much missed pineapple for breakfast and the bus actually arriving on time we were off to visit the the chimp sanctuary, minus Mr Bowen who was tucked back in bed by Ms D. Yet another victim of the heat it seems! 

Everything was running too smoothly, so of course we  ran out of fuel and half of us ended up walking.

Meanwhile the other bus blared 'bongo cha' smugly and climbed on up the 1km descent to the Tacugama Chimpanzee sanctuary.

The two hour too long hike consisted mainly of looking at termite houses so big it was nicknamed the termite hotel, looking at some pretty big millepede and other weird insect, but mostly being eaten alive by GIANT ants on mount Bennet. However, once we finally reached the summit we took in the views on a lovely 'rustic' bench. However it couldn't bear the weight of the team which resulted in Archie's near branch-through-the-family-jewels situation. His trousers ripped, following in Alix's footsteps- but the family honour is safe and most importantly for Archie, the damage was only material and we could laugh about it! 

Then we tucked into an African spread for lunch. Seconds for Mr Coward as per and Hector and Josh provided the entertainment with re-enactments of the  titanic, whilst Me Coward was supervising us remotely with his eyes closed. Mr Walton and Ms D however had their eyes wide open. The chimpanzees showed their appreciation for our visit by throwing rocks at us. 

Once we made a swift escape from the flying boulders (thrown with the strength of 'five men') some of the musicians were delighted with an impromptu trip to St Edwards School to practice with King Musa's brass band. It ended up. Ding a really busy day, and they only just made it back on time… for the day to end in its usual fashion with another hectic dinner order at our beloved Papaya. Then we were treated to a very small glass of white sparkling wine that Ms D pulled out of an invisible bag ( a donation, it turned out, from the hotel owner who does not drink!). 

Elsie and Madison <3