Bananarama | Journey Across Sierra Leone and Liberia + Guinea Conakry

Sierre Leone and Freetown, Liberia and Monrovia - freedom country and freedom town - two destinations where slavery and emancipation take on a whole new meaning\, with one being the site of African resettlement from Europe and the other from America, these are lands of searing heritage.

Sierre Leone’s Freetown, with its vast beaches along the peninsula, lively surfing culture, chimpanzee sanctuary among the rainforests, and nearby islands with decaying slave fortresses, or another with butterfly colonies and pygmy hippos!

Bunce Island, where trading in gold, ivory, cane wood, and slaves in the tens of thousands was launched from a fortress all the way across the Atlantic to the Americas, where the vast majority of the slaves of the Antebellum south came from. Today it’s a ruin of old stone and rusty cannons but the memories of this place continue to haunt.

Just a little bit American and kind of West African, Liberia is unlike anywhere you’ve been before, with mountains to climb, world’s most beautiful beaches to surf and swim, vast parks full of untouched wildlife, city scenes out of the American south, and founded as the homeland of freed American slaves, it’s a step off the map into Africa’s last frontier!

Monrovia is a scene of stately ruins, like the Hotel Ducor and it’s famous swimming pool, or the Masonic Temple’s peeling paint, broad streets of plantation-style mansions and Antebellum architecture, a marked contrast to Freetown’s Portuguese influence. You’ll even find a few speakers of “Pidgin” English, if you listen carefully!

Let’s go!!

Day 1:: Arrival + Firestone, The Rubber Tree Forests

Liberia is the only country that has never been either a colony or a protectorate; it was founded by Krio, freed slaves who returned to Africa from the US, hence the name "Liberia: the country of freemen". Krio make up 5% of the population and control a large part of the economy and politics; they are considered the creators of the nation and the modern economy. 80% of the population speaks the Krio language, which is a form of "Pidgin" English.

Immigration clearance and proceed to on a rough road through a spectacular rubber plantation forest called Firestone, the largest contiguous rubber plantation in the world, located in Harbel, Liberia, which first opened in 1926. In the mid-1990s, former Liberian President Charles Taylor's soldiers, many of whom were children, raided the Firestone plantation for fuel and supplies. Firestone pulled its executives out and left the plantation, and many of the company's Liberian workers were later killed. After the civil war, the company revived its operations and is now back on track. After a tour of the plantation and the surroundings, head to our ecolodge for overnight stay.

Day 2:: Libassa + Monrovia

Leisure morning in tropical idyll setting. For curious, exploration of the site in a search for Pangolins - live a dream of Liberia's wild and unspoilt nature. Later in a day\, its time to head to Monrovia city.

Check in to hotel, start exploring Monrovia, we’ll pass by many curiosities including the Temple of Masonic Lodge, the most significant symbol of the Krio culture and the abandoned Ducor Palace Hotel (or what remains of it), a former luxurious hotel with a swimming pool overlooking the ocean. We ll also learn about the Mende people and the Bundu Mask in the forests outside the city. Head back to our hotel in the evening for dinner and rest.

Day 3:: Crossing to Sierra + Tiwai or Gola NP

Check out from hotel and head to Sierra Leone on slightly better roads towards the border.

Bye bye Liberia!

Further on the boats to Tiwai Island for some monkey jumping, bird calls, and maybe a crocodile or two. If we’re really lucky, we’ll spot the elusive Pygmy Hippo!

After departing Tiwai Island, travel to Bo with a stop at a local artisanal mining area to learn about Sierra Leone’s diamond and gold mining traditions, which remain an important part of the local economy.

Continue to Bo…