No, really. It is. And it takes about 10 hours to get there. It’s called Otamba-Kilimi National Park and it’s in the far north of Sierra Leone. The four servant team members, our faithful leader, and our guide Charles from the Conservation Society of Sierra Leone began the journey in a (at the time) trusty Dihatsu jeep.
The jeep was a two-seater, requiring that we sit three in the back on backpacks and sit three in the middle – an arrangement that I believe is illegal in all 50 American states. However, in Sierra Leone, it is almost encouraged. Though a little cramped, we were all excited to go “up country.” The purpose of the retreat was to (in my estimation) threefold: to relax a little, to see another side of the country other than the city, and to process what we’ve learned thus far so we could focus our remaining time in the country.
The first 3.5 hours of the trip were a comfort cruise on a paved road to Makeni. We picked up some last minute supplies. The remaining seven hours of the trip were on a “non-tarred” road – translation: gravel road with large potholes. At one point in the trip we crossed a river using a ferry. The trip was not the most comfortable, but it really added to the flavor of the adventure.
We arrived in the park about an hour before sundown. A few of the guides and a couple of monkeys greeted us upon arrival. Lola and Sophie were ever-present during our time at the camp, a joy at first, but monkeys become quite mischievous. We settled into our dwellings, huts for the guys and a tent for the girls – all by choice. All of us slept on mattresses two by two – very biblical like. The huts were rudimentary – a concrete floor, tin roof, and wicker sides. There was also a wicker ceiling that set the stage for entertainment: a lizard and a monkey were trapped between it and the tin roof at separate times. Such situations are all fun and games in retrospect, but being woken out of a deep sleep by a monkey panicking above your head is quite the experience!
Our days at the park were made up of hiking, canoeing, talking, and swimming. Charles, our guide, is an ornithologist, proving to be a treasure trove of information on wildlife and plantlife. His sense of humor was top notch as well. We canoed down the river early one morning to see a hippos. They are not as hungry hungry as previously thought. The river provided us several venues to relax and talk, both in canoes and sitting in a tributary.
We had several good conversations throughout our time at the park. I took a canoe out several nights to watch the sunset and look at the stars, each time with different team members. It was good to get some time with each person to talk about our experience so far: what we’ve learned, how we’ve seen Jesus moving in Freetown, what we miss about home, and the things we believe we should focus on for the remaining time here. The team also had several good conversations around meals and the fire. We managed to ascertain a bag of marshmallows which we combined with Nutella and vanilla crackers to form a Smoresque treat.
Wildlife was abundant, as you might expect in the jungle. As mentioned above, we saw hippos and monkeys (the Sophie & Lola kind as well as vervet). Our guide pointed out dozens of birds. Unfortunately, the elephant researchers were hoping to camp with had gone, and with them our chances to see the cuddly beasts. Single tear. Lola and Sophie were provided much fodder for pictures and good times. Sophie was quite shy when we arrived, but I was happy to leave her and her mischief behind when we left. She enjoyed stealing food making a mess most of the week. Lola, on the other hand, was a calm, sleepy monkey. She was not without her mischief, but compared to Sophie she was angelic. (As a side note, we mistakenly called Sophie “Tola” until our last day. Upon return to Freetown, Michelle named the three female pups that Cami’s dog Tango birthed while we were away Lola, Tola, and Sophie.)
We packed up the car on Friday morning and prepared for the ride back. The journey provided several levels of adventure. On the way back we helped pull a large truck out of the ditch on the side of the road, collected and purchased fresh mangos on the side of the road, and bought fabric in Makeni. I drove for the last half hour on the bumpy road for fun. As a result we determined the seating configuration with me (the largest) driving along with Faye and Micah in the front seat provided the most comfort throughout. I ended up driving the next hundred miles on the paved road until we arrived at the outskirts of Freetown. I enjoyed driving – a task I haven’t performed since February 17! Charles took control of the wheel after I drove, but he didn’t make it too far. A fan under the hood malfunctioned and the car overheated. We sat with the car on the side of the road for about an hour and a half before friend of Charles arrived to take the guys home and a friend of Faye’s arrived to tow the car. The guys completed the last leg of the journey in a Mercedes listening to Norah Jones – a surreal experience.
In a nutshell, the trip was good. We relaxed, saw what some of the life outside of Freetown is like, and got some good time to process our experience here in such a way as to make the most of our remaining time. Thank you all for your prayers!
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