Beaches, cabs, police, pizza and patients...

Yesterday morning started off very nicely - with fabulous waffles, blueberries and whipped cream! What else could a girl need?
Three other ward nurses and I headed off mid-morning for our day of adventure. We hailed a taxi within a minute, which apparently is a miracle around here, and he drove us through the crazy traffic to White Sands Beach. It's quite a road to get there, like everywhere else! There was a one-way bridge with a steep up and down ramp, and I thought we were going to take the tail-pipe off many times! There were many gigantic puddles that took up the width of the road, which our cabbie had to drive carefully through. I thought we might have to get out and push, but no, these cab-drivers are quite amazing, and obviously very experienced. He tried to up the price by the end of the trip, and I would have paid it if I wasn't with someone who knew what she was doing. I've learned now that you always negotiate a price before you get into a cab, and stick to that price. Bartering is something I'll have to get used to. This afternoon I think I'm going to the market, so that will be another interesting experience I'm sure!
The beach was wonderful. We had it to ourselves! The water was like a bath tub. The only problem is that it's super polluted and brown. Also, there are bad rip currents all over the coast of Liberia, so you have to be really careful not to go too deep, or else it'll suck you out into the ocean. Sadly, someone died last year from that very thing happening. That scares me enough to keep me in the shallows - no more than up to my waist!
We saw a bunch of fishing boats pull in to shore full to the brim with their cargo. The fishermen were eager to show us their catch, and we watched amazed at the variety of silvery eels, the hermit crabs, lobsters, gigantic fish, shrimp and many other fish they put on display. We didn’t want to buy anything though.
They looked at us funny as we swam in the ocean. Apparently, that’s something that is just not done around here very often.
We swam a bit, lay in the sun, drank cold sodas, and talked. It was a lovely afternoon.
When it was time to go home, we thought we’d be adventurous and try to walk down the beach back to the Africa Mercy. We could see it from White Sands beach, and it didn’t look like more than a 45 minute walk away. Very do-able.
We came to an old abandoned hotel that looks like it used to be amazing. Supposedly it was a 5 star hotel before the war. You see a lot of buildings like that in Liberia – buildings that are stripped to the bone of all that is useful or valuable. The war really took a toll on the infrastructure of Liberia. There was a UN camp just beyond the hotel and we weren’t allowed to go any further down the beach.
But that wasn’t the end of our adventure. We caught a taxi at the nearest road, and drove through a very busy marketplace. Suddenly a policeman was pulling us over, and blowing very hard on his whistle. We thought the issue was that we weren’t wearing our seatbelts (there weren’t any that worked), but we’re not really sure what it was all about. The cabbie and the policeman ended up having a heated discussion outside of the vehicle, and a crowd was gathering, so we bailed out of the taxi and found another one before too much more commotion occurred. We felt bad for our cabbie and we hope he didn’t get a ticket. Apparently there is a lot of corruption still in Liberia.
Back at the ship we went for a refreshing dip in the pool, which was much clearer than the ocean, and then had pizza for dinner! The food has been quite wonderful I must say!
I visited my three patients who had surgery, and they are all doing great! I even taught one how to knit in the short time I was visiting with them. He was a fast learner!
It was a fabulous day, and I'm sure there will be many other adventures to share with you in the future!