Liberia

December 2008

 

It will take a very long time until Liberia will be a traveler’s, not to think of holiday, destination. Harald and the locals said that controls got lesser, the UN just watches the cars go by, and from Saniquelli to Monrovia there are now only three police controls (you have to go in and register). Police and locals play the complicated game named bribery, but don’t try to join in. The road was in acceptable to good condition, perhaps because the big rubber companies have their trees and factories along that road. And perhaps this is the only tarred road that exists in this country (according to Michelin road map, it is). From Lola in Guinee we proceeded on something that can’t even be called gravel road to the tiny border post of Saniquelli, where officials want less money than in Ganta, which is said to be terrible. On my way back to Mali I had to cross there, and I didn’t have any problems on the Liberia side. BUT I am a small white woman who looks very young and was accompagnied by a driver who managed everything for me and the other passengers in Guinee; so I don’t know how much of the money the taxi guys got from me was needed to “accelerate and facilitate” the bureaucratic procedures.

We applied for the visa in Nzérékoré. The embassy seems to move every year (probably in the hope that nobody will find them anymore), so you’ll have to ask around where it is at the very moment. The fees vary, Harald told me it would be 40 US-dollar (was in 2007), it was 100 actually. So think twice before you plan to go to Liberia.

There is hardly any affordable accommodation, especially in the countryside (along the road was the Cocoo’s Nest, run by a well-travelled, nice Libanese, three hours from Monrovia). Bushcamping is almost impossible for the same reasons it is in Guinee: jungle left, jungle right. Harald told me that the hotels in Monrovia itself begin at 100 US-dollar. Harald himself invites travellers to come to his place, but you’ll need a 4×4 to get there (sand) and preferably an own tent or something alike. Bring traveller’s soap as the bathroom is a sweetwater-lagoon next to the house. From Monrovia, go the road along the coast to the south to Boysville and ask for Mama Africa (and Papa Harold).

Be aware that the climate is very humid and that you can catch all kinds of disease like malaria or dengue fever.

Public transport happens like everywhere else: overcrowded cars and minibuses.

Take enough US-dollars with you, ATMs don’t exist, only bureaus for money transfer (like Western Union). Everyday shopping (food and drinks etc.) is done with the Liberia dollar, for large amounts the US-dollar is very welcome. To change money can be difficult, I had help from Mami.

 

Harald’s place is great, directly at the Atlantic Ocean and a sweetwater lagoon and it would be a wonderful stop on the way down south to Ivory Coast and Ghana, if the country (or countries) around would be easier to travel: Think about a country where freed slaves from the US settled down and which was devastated by an unimaginably brutal civil war, then you get a rough picture of what Liberia has to offer. There is no electricity (everybody has a generator), no running water (probably not even a well to provide clean water), no toilet manners (no plumbing, no long-drops, only plenty of greenery), the filling stations are street stalls with huge mayonnaise glasses full of fuel. The only shops that exist are that for building materials and beverages (preferably beer). The rest is sold on the street. Quite (in)famous is the Red Light Junction in Monrovia, a chaos of shops, stalls and wheelbarrows where you can get everything, including other people’s wallets. Got me a pair of “African safety slippers” there. The signs along the road worried me quite a bit: a lot of the usual NGOs, plus instructions when to wash hands (!?), the value of sending girls to school, violence and abuse in marriage, AIDS, how rumors lead to mobs and other issues.

 

Like in Guinee, most people live in small settlements in the rainforest. They grow bananas and yam (known as cassava) and keep livestock such as funny-looking dwarf goats, sheep, chicken and pigs. And they make coal (lots of wood around) and sell it at the street. You will not see many cats and dogs because people had to eat them during the war (so imagine how bad it’s been then). I experienced the people as open-hearted, friendly and welcoming (and sometimes drunk), in the countryside they are wary against strangers, but helpful. Most speak Pidgin-English which is almost not understandable, some proper English. Occasionally you’ll see a traditional mud hut with nice decorations. Most people wear western clothes.

 

Harald’s wife did some genuine African cooking for me during my stay with them. It’s based on yam which I enjoyed most cooked like potatoes; fufu is interesting and tastes great, but the texture reminds me of starch-based glue and sure can be used as such. As they live at the beach, they eat a lot of seafood, including giant crabs. I don’t know if other Liberians cook with such a lot of chili…

Purified water is sold in sealed packages well cooled on the street. I wouldn’t try the soft drinks that come in non-sealed plastic bags, I suspect they are mixed with tab water. Get sure your beverage is properly sealed and opened in your presence.

 

We drove quite a bit until we found a clearing where we thought we could spend the night. Behind the clearing was the settlement of a family and they said it would be safer if we drove to their place. So we did and slept in the car. That was one of the worst nights in my life: the dog was too hot, I was too hot, too, we couldn’t open the windows because we didn’t have any mosquito nets. So if you are planning to go to someplace hot and humid, prepare the car so that you can sleep inside with some ventilation! That’s why I am so happy Jonas’ Toyota has a pop-up rooftent. And mosquito mesh at the windows.

The rest of the days I spent in the tent at Harald’s place and it was really great.

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