After a busy two weeks, the teams all took a day off of work to take a day trip to Freetown. Excited for the day ahead all the teams piled, bright and early, into the vans and started our journey to Freetown. The drive into Freetown was long but beautiful. As we drove into the city, we passed through rolling mountains and bustling markets. Our first stop for the day was a chimpanzee sanctuary. The cars trekked up the driveway, which was incredibly bumpy, steep, and narrow. All the teams were impressed by the driver’s skills for navigating such terrain.
Once at the sanctuary, one of the staff members began our tour by bringing us to the area where they keep the teenage chimps. The chimps were energetic, displaying their strength as they swung across a ropes course. It was interesting observing the human-like characteristics of the chimps. Some would argue with each other, some were hugging, and others were playing a chase-like game. Their interactions were human-like, and their legs, feet, and hands closely resembled that of humans.
The next area the guide took us to was the area chimps are put into to learn how to climb trees, and forage for food. The pen was filled with large trees and a chimp mother came out with her two baby chimps. The guide told the group about each chimp, including their preferences and personality.
The final area we went to required the teams to hike out into the jungle/woods. As we walked, we observed giant archaic-looking bugs. The guide stopped us all about halfway through the path and directed us to jump over a large swarm of big black ants that would pinch. Although we leaped over the ants, I think everyone found a few ants crawling up their legs. Sure enough, it did result in a little pinch. Once we got to the final enclosure, there were two large chimpanzees in view. One of them found a rock and started rolling it around. The guide directed us all to back up. He warned us that if a chimp feels threatened or unsure, they will throw rocks and have good aim. We all backed up quickly and shortly after, a rock about the size of a softball, was thrown onto the pier where we were observing the chimps. Luckily no one was hit by the rock. We made our way back up to the viewing area and the chimp had climbed up a tree.
We made our way back to the van and stopped by the gift store on our way out. It was such a special experience and so interesting to hear about the rescue and rehabilitation work the sanctuary is doing.
After our insightful tour at the Chimpanzee reserve we returned to the cars and headed to the beach. We drove through the clouds in the mountains and had a beautiful view. Once we arrived at the beach it began to rain so we all gathered under a roof and ate samosas that Khanjan kindly provided for us all. The rain ended after about 10 minutes and we made our way out to the water. The beach had beautiful, soft, white sand and the water was very warm. Some got a drink at the bar and drank it, bathing in the sun. Others spent their time splashing around in the water. Vendors made their way over to the beach and surrounded us with various souvenirs. There was a large variety of bracelets, wooden figures, bags, shirts, and more. Some of the boys got caught up in a game of keep-away with a few locals and plenty of vendors further inland had beautifully made garments for all.
We made our way back to Makeni and enjoyed food from a Freetown restaurant when we got back to the hotel.