Sierra Leone

Still moving through Africa, we're headed back to the west coast along the Atlantic Ocean for Sierra Leone. I have two blogs left and then I'm all caught up, so I'm just going to power through and see if we can knock these out real quick. 

Sierra Leone had a rough go of it in the 1990's, with a brutal conflict fueled by warlord's exploitation of diamond reserves. In fact, much of Sierra Leone is diamonds. Many of the diamonds are still mined by hand today, and most of the diamonds found here are more than 3 billion years old. The country is considered one of the top ten diamond-producing nations in the world. In fact, the largest ever alluvial diamond was discovered in Sierra Leone. It is known as the 'Star of Sierra Leone' and is a whopping 968.9 carats. 

Their brutal history of blood diamonds and civil war ended in 2002, and the country began to welcome visitors once again. In 2014,  the Ebola virus temporarily halted visitors yet again. And just a couple months ago, they suffered a devastating mudslide that killed an estimated 1,000 people. But, Sierra Leone is known for its resilience. 

Today it's a very safe country to visit. Freetown, the capital has some petty pick-pocketing and purse snatching issue (and take note, the police are non-responsive). But violent crime is extremely rare in the country. Travelers can enjoy some of the best beaches in the world, a rich colonial history, stunning scenery, and welcoming people. 

Let's talk about Freetown for a second. It is the first capital city to be founded by African Americans. While many slaves left Africa from Freetown, they also arrived home here begining in 1787, as it was a safe place for freed slaves. An old cotton tree, said to be planted by freed slaves still stands in the city today and is a symbol of emancipation. 

The country is 30% rain forest which leads to all kinds of fun animal life. 

Tiwai Island (Mende for 'Big Island' is a wildlife sanctuary and tourist site in Sierra Leone. At 4.6 square miles, Tiwai is one of the largest inland islands in the country. Its located on the Moa River, and is home to a large population of pygmy hippos who take baths in the river. 

Now, when we talked pygmy hippos, I got all excited. Plus, I mean, it's a nod to my buddy Calvin Coolidge, and I really like when we can tie some weird fact back to another project. But, a Calvin Coolidge fan or not, who doesn't love a pygmy hippo! It's a hippo, that stays tiny (no bigger than 3 feet tall)! And Peyton was all 'those things are MEAN!' I disagreed. Then he was like 'Mom, hippos kill the most people in Africa.' 

Obviously, I immediately went to google (which always leads us down a really deep rabbit hole- and then an hour later we're like 'oh, right... Sierra Leone!') 

But, I mean, He's right. The most deaths by an animal in Africa occurs by hippos. HIPPOS! Can you believe that? Hippos are the most dangerous mammal in Africa. They kill more Africans a year than the mosquito and malaria! 

Now, we did go further in depth to the pygmy hippos (because they aren't just smaller versions of hippos). 

Pygmy hippos in the wild are only found in four countries in Africa: Liberia, Guinea, the Ivory Coast, and Sierra Leone. They are critically endangered, so there's not a whole lot known about their behavior in the wild. They are nocturnal, and usually hang out in rivers, in pairs. Unlike their bigger counterparts they are shy and prefer to flee, so Peyton was only half right. 

But anyway, back to Tiwai Island. The island is also home to 135 species of birds and one of the highest concentration and diversity of primates in the world (with 11 different species.) 

The boys made their postcards. 

Calib's included the colorful stilt houses of Freetown. If you notice, it's also the color of the flag! 

Peyton's featured the surfing in the Atlantic, and the pygmy hippo trying to eat a guy (he was still trying to prove his point). 

Hayden's featured diamonds, and a pygmy hippo being 'BFF's' with a guy who is petting him. So, you can see which side of the argument he was on. 

If you're looking for a traditonal Sierra Leone dish you could always make Plasas, a sauce of pounded potato, palm oil, and beef served over rice. But, that doesn't sound nearly as fun as fry-fry!

Here's what I found on fry-fry:  

 Fry fry is a catchall term for a variety of (usually fried) foods—plus spaghetti, randomly—that is served on the street with bread. You order, and pay, à la carte: Offerings might include fried plantains, akara (fried black-eyed-bean fritters), gari (shredded cassava) cake, bongo (smoked herring, served whole), french fries, fried chicken, a bowl of spaghetti, hard-boiled eggs, perhaps some binch (black-eyed beans), and always nice loaves of fluffy Fula bread and spicy pepper sauce (a.k.a. fry stew). 

So, we did our best with Fry Fry. Our's had roasted red pepper spread, bread, hard boiled eggs, bananas (you have to have some fruit with dinner), french fries, chicken tenders, and a bowl of spaghetti. We were all set to have black-eyed beans with it. But apparently those steam in bag lookalikes are not steam in bag, and actually take like 45 minutes to make. 

You won't be shocked to learn that fry fry earned five spoons up. 

Because, come on, it's a carbohydrate lovers dream, and we skipped the stuff like fish. I know it wasn't totally authentic, but there's 53 African countries, cut me some slack! 

We colored Sierra Leone in a green right next to yellow Liberia on the Atlantic Coast. 

That's 139 down, 193 to go! 

Next Up: Tanzania