Sierra Leone is located on the southwest coast of West Africa. It’s about the size of the state of Maine in the U.S. with a population of just over 8 million. Freetown is the capital of Sierra Leone, and the biggest city in the country. When people fly to Sierra Leone, they fly into Lungi and then take a ferry or speedboat to Freetown (if that is where they need to go), which is across the Tagrin Bay. When I arrived, I was picked up at the airport and driven directly to Makeni – no need to go to or through Freetown.
In the picture above, you can see a wide view of the city with little peek at the bay off to the left.
Makeni to Freetown
The drive from Makeni to Freetown takes almost three hours. There are beautiful green fields along the way and several small villages. As you get closer to Freetown there are more populated villages. When we go to Freetown, we leave early in the morning and all along the way we see children walking to school. Not every village has a school, so children must walk to the nearest school. Some children walk miles to go to school everyday.
As you get closer to Freetown, you see more populated villages and roadside shops or people selling food and various items.
Freetown
Driving into Freetown, you see homes on the hills and many more businesses. You also see a lot of motorcycles. Motorcycles are the most common form of transportation in Sierra Leone. Anywhere you go, you can wave down a motorcycle man to give you a ride for a reasonable fee.
In Freetown, you can also take a kekeh to get where you need to go. Many of them have messages on them like this one, which I thought was funny.
This video (by Mastersabbi TV) is about 5 minutes long. It’s a view from a kekeh ride – a great way to see Freetown. The music playing is the type of music you hear everywhere in Sierra Leone. The traffic in this video is actually pretty tame compared to what I have experienced.
The outskirts of Freetown are lush and green and these little villages by the ocean look so inviting. I’m looking forward to spending more time in Freetown and nearby areas after the holidays. It’s nice when I can come with a friend and we can make a day of it.
The picture below is me with Francisca (my neighbor) and Ibrahim, a UNIMAK driver. We stopped for lunch before heading back to Makeni. It was a fun day.
Yes I am! Love these!
Kim, I am so happy to read that you have learned how to be happy and comfortable in Sierra Leone. I hoped that you would. I love your porch. And you have such a nice community. Thanks for blogging. Have a great visit with Andrew.
Thank you, Dotty. I’m so happy he is here.
Wonderful to see the pictures and read your description. I feel like I’m riding along with you. Enjoy the rest of your time there! 🌷