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I sat on the old fifteen foot high gangway we built for tours that is now our watch tower on the noisy early Christmas morning. This night watch was louder than others. Usually, I can hear voices, barks, and car horns all night coming from shore. Tonight, there was dance music blasting as Christmas Eve turned to Christmas day. Firecrackers interrupted the night. There was even a decent fireworks display. Celebration and anticipation filled the night air.
Christmas morning on Amistad began with a sugar fest. French toast was the main course, with a side of Christmas cookies, maple syrup, Nutella, and ice cream. There was some fruit for good measure. Somehow during the sugar binge I ended up with half a cup of melted ice cream in my coffee to really start my morning right. Ships work doesn't stop for Christmas (or as we would say on the second leg in a sarcastic whine, soles and bowls again?) It's amazing how a breakfast of pure sugar makes soles and bowls cleaning fly by. I had the rest of the day off (don't feel bad for the others, they got boxing day off!).
And so I did what locals do for Christmas go to beautiful white sandy beaches! We went to Lumley beach. It's about a 45 minute cab ride away with traffic, but Drew was good enough to drive us in the small boat fifteen minutes to the Aqua Club landing dock. There we could walk to Lumley beach in less then an hour. The Aqua is a private club with a pool, squash courts, restaurant, and a great view. The owner, Peter, is amazing and is letting us use the facilities. Much appreciated. We walked down the Aberdeen Road, past wooden business stalls. Aberdeen is a resort area, and some stalls cater to tourists.
I was surprised the stalls were open for Christmas. But many people here are Muslim. We bargained for a how to learn Krio book. The bookseller's stall was about big enough to fit two people behind the counter. Shelves lined the back and two side walls. They were covered with books, covers facing out, in many languages. Freetown is an international city, and Krio and English are the common languages. People from all over Africa have made their homes here. There are immigrants from the world over, and a visible Lebanese population. Of course, there are foreign aid workers as well. I give you a good deal, you are volunteers and are doing good things for the country', the bookseller complemented. I hope we got a good deal - we got him to half his original asking price. It was the first time I've haggled with a vendor, but I felt good about the encounter.
Lumley Beach is a long white sand beach that stretched for miles. Midday, the hard sand was covered with young men and boys playing soccer. They used sticks for goals, and it was hard to tell where one game began and the other ended. No one was lounging around. Freetown is a city full of youth. I laid on a beach towel until I attracted the attention of too many children. I was a curiosity as the only white woman on the beach. I saw a few others sitting in the beach bars along the sand. Since they were in restaurants, they made themselves inaccessible to the rest of the beach goers. About ten children gathered around my towel, and their movements kicked sand on me as they asked questions. So, I joined them in playing some games. We raced, played ball, and danced to music from the nearby beach bar. They wanted to go swimming in the clear blue water. As we were about to go in, I asked if they could swim. This one chatty girl in a pink shirt and braids said - No, but we will be safe with you! Alright, so no swimming. I was a bit appalled that I had almost lead a group of children into the sea to drown a bit like the pied piper. I'm not used to being the center of attention. Here, everyone wants to talk, ask questions, show me around, or ask for my hand in marriage. Sometimes this attention can be overwhelming. Often, people want something from me, but this curiosity and friendliness makes it easy to meet people and learn about Sierra Leone.
We left the beach in the evening. By that time, there was standing room only on the beach! Time to go. We returned to the boat for the amazing dinner Heather had prepared. Turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, veggies, pumpkin pie. It was very reminiscent of home. In addition to the crew, we had our security guard Brima, and two local interpreters from the tours over for an American Christmas dinner. Music played loudly from the shore the rest of night. Freetown was out to party.
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