Friday was a Muslim holiday, so the government and country had the day off. So after a busy few weeks, I went to the Turtle Islands with a few friends. The Turtle Islands are a set of about 8 islands about 60 kms off the coast of Sierra Leone. There are several hundred people living in the Turtle islands, with a few different island Chiefdoms and then one Paramount Chief who overseas all of the Turtle Islands.
Re the Civil War: Turtle Islands was not tremendously effected by the RUF (the rebels). A few guys came out on a boat and robbed a few people, but that was pretty much the extent of it. They were there one day and gone the next. No major stories of rape, murder or mutilation, but ofcourse the war cut off the Turtle Islands as there was less inclination to head for shore where craziness ensued. After the civil war ended, Ish, did manage to go study. Where you ask? He chose the warm and tropical Russian city of St Petersburg!! He studied commerce for 3.5 years where he was beaten up a few times (for being black) and where a few friends of his were killed (also for being black). After 3.5 years of being away, he finally returned home to the Turtle Islands. Unlike most of his tribe, he wanted to do something beyond being a fisherman, and thus got involved with the CSSL as 1) it gave him a job and money and 2) it meant that he could do something good for his community by helping to preserve Turtle Islands and monitor the sea turtles that live there.
So we hopped onto a little boat with Ish that is basically a old open plan 15 foot boat (the kind you'd go on a lake with - not a bayliner or challenger or anything swank, but rather just a rear engine with a rod that you use to turn - no steering wheel) with a single 80hp engine and along with his 'Captain' we shot off to the Turtle Islands. It took about 2.5 hours to get there, which was not so bad, although taking my shirt off was a bad idea as I didn't manage to get sun tan lotion onto a big part of my bag and thus, I have a big red spot.
We arrived and were greeted by the entire village (or at least all of the kids). 30 little children stood there waiving as we arrived. Ish sent them away as we landed the boat on the beach, but they were all smiling, laughing and happy. Apparently, there have only been two other visitors to Turtle Island over the past 12-18 months. And thus, this is not a place that caters to tourists.
Despite this, Ish and his colleagues have done a good job and 'refurbished' a two bedroom house that sits outside the village on a beach overlooking a little lagoon of sorts. By 'house' I ofcourse just mean 4 walls and a roof. There were no mosquito nets, no running water, no power, no generators, etc. Just a basic structure which had been repainted so at least it looked nice. Mr. Tommy, a member of the local tribe, took care of us and did everything from clean up to help start fires. Oddly there were toilets in the rooms, but they didn't flush. So Mr. Tommy advise us to just tell him after we 'made a sh-t' so that he could clean up. A bit odd, and it clearly affected me as constipation set it in for me and for my friends as all of us seemed a bit gun shy about taking Mr. Tommy up on his offer. The English bloke finally decided to go into the jungle which somehow resulted in him cutting his left butt cheek (this will be important later in the story) Anyway, it was a lovely little site to spent a couple of days. There were a few large palm trees which provided much needed shade, a great little firepit area to have a campfire and a couple of hammocks which were ideally located under the palm trees overlooking the beach. In short, it was a simple place to stay, but a beautiful one!!
We fired up the fire when we arrived and I took the role of chef, preparing some afternoon lunch. Pasta, homemade tomato sauce and salad. (We had not yet caught our dinner, so no fish). After relaxing a bit from the boat journey, we went for a walk. This lagoon turned out to be pretty large and thus, we decided to swim across the lagoon to the outer beach where the waves were breaking. We hoped to find turtles, but instead found dozens of large crabs. The crabs are hysterical! They run up to the shorebreak and then stop like afraid little kids. Then suddenly disappear into the surf and the shorebreak retreats into the ocean. They frighten easily, so even if you see a hundred in front of you as you walk down the beach, they disappear and scamper for their wholes as you get within 10 feet. Walked around a bit more and then swam back across the lagoon as the tide came in. This was no easy task as the swim a good 500-600 yards... Exhausted, we made it back despite the current.
After a few drinks, Ish came back to our little house with the Chief of the Island. I didn't expect to see a guy with a spear or anything, but when this dude, the Chief, showed up wearing a full on Nike (Team Jordan to be specific) basketball outfit, I could not help but laugh. It was bright blue with black pinstripes (think Orlando magic colors). He arrived with his two little sons who we gave a can of Coca Cola and then the cheif we gave some snacks and some wine, which he preceded to chug. Wine is not the alcohol of choice on the Turtle Islands apparently.
Later on that evening, we cleaned up, and then prepared a campfire. The village had prepared fish and rice for us (as standard a Sierra Leonean meal as one can have), but was actually quite tasty and good. (I did throw on some hot sauce and some terriyaki sauce to get things going. We capped off the evening under the full moon (which literally lit up the island) with a bottle of whiskey, some smores and what I like to call Turtled Bananas.
(Turtled Bananas = bananas left in their skin, with a big slit in the skin. You fill the slit with pieces of hersheys chocolate. Then you use roast the banana over the fire until the chocolate melts. Then use one of the cookies from an oreo cookie to scoop out and eat the chocolaty banana)
The next day we got up late and went out fishing, after about 15 minutes we had a bite from a rather large hammer jack (some type of whitefish). Reeled it in until the cord snapped just as we grabbing it from the side of the boat. DAMN!!! No luck thereafter, so we instead found a deserted little island beach which only exists at low tide. We swam and laid in the sun, before heading to another deserted little island which houses one of the turtle nests. Still no turtles, but apparently they do exist. We did much of the same (swimming and laying in the sun). Finally got back to our little house where we were greeted by a few more members of the local village. All nice people. (As discussed there are not many visitors to Turtle Island, so us being there is a big deal for the locals as there is not too much to do beyond, fish, eat, hang around, etc). When I say village, I litteraly mean huts with thatched roofs, no electricity, one fresh water well and no stores or commerce of any kind. Also no cell phone reception and thus no cell phones or electronics of any kind. Most people on the island have never seen TV or listened to a radio!!! But somehow they all wore american clothes. Lots of football jerseys, Nike apparel, etc etc.
After a little nap on the hammocks after drinking coconuts filled with Bacardi and pineapple juice, we decided to try fishing again. This time, Mary (an Irish lawyer who works for the Govt), caught a pretty big baracuda. It was about 3.5 feet long. We got back to the house and had Francis cut up a few fillets and the rest we gave to him and to Ish's families. More smores, more booze and more laying in the hammock under the moonlight.
The next morning, I think all of us were sort of keen on staying a few more days as we had finally become calm and relaxed and comfortable with this quiet life, but we had to leave early to avoid the winds to make it back to Tombo. Ha. After about 15-20 mins, the winds kicked up and with that, the waves also kicked up. As George Costanza would say "The sea was angry this day!" (Extra points for anyone who remembers which episode this is from??? How about the one where George pretends to be a Marine Biologist and ends up saving a beached whale which has had a golf ball stuck in its blow-hole which end up there after Kramer hit golf balls into the ocean from the beach a couple days earlier)
I sat in the back of the boat, on the left side in front of where Francis controlled the boat and next to Ish. This is important to mention as it turned out to be the wettest and worst place to sit in the boat. My English friend managed to create a nice little place for himself in the middle of the boat between the two benches where he continued to read his Grisham novel, quietly and dryly. I looked down at him annoyed (soaking wet and shivering) until finally, karma came into play and some spilled gasoline found its way to his left butt check. He jumped up with a burning sensation and then had to jump into the ocean and scrub with some soap until the pain resided. I was ofcourse relieved that he was fine, but pleased at the same time as he never offered to switch seats for any of the boat trip.
Ish was visibly frightened by the waves and roughness of the sea. Several times he tried to convince me that we should turn around - which I declined. To me, it did not seem that bad. 4.5 hours later we had still not made it to Tombo. We finally arrived Tombo, soaking wet and cold for the first time since we've been in Sierra Leone. Ish and Francis were pleased and incredibly relieved. As we walked up the beach to the car, the horrid smell of the little fishing village never smelled so good. I changed shirts, which got a laugh from the surrounding crowd of people that had formed around our 15-year old gold Izuzu Trooper. They laughed at the Live it Up tatoo and ofcourse at the big red burned spot of my back. We raced back to the house (as fast as the Izuzu could handle) and after 48 hours of constipation, I finally relieved myself and gave birth to 7 brown babies... And so it goes...
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