Monday 11th November

On Monday, finally, after weeks of preparation, our dream of reaching the remote, beautiful, idyllic Lakka beach had become an incredible reality. Needless to say, much time was wasted with high-fives (though no time spent high fiving another man is really wasted!) we set off for Lakka with old Pah Jalloh, the legend himself, as our escort. We were off!!
Now, I don’t want to give everyone at home a false impression of Lakka, so I’ll leave much of the interesting descriptions to when we return to the cold UK. However, Ladies and Gents, it is basically, truly.....awesome. We arrived just before lunch, which gave us a perfect period of time to settle into our room, settle into a hammock, looking out across the wide glistening expanse of the Atlantic, time to chillax with a beer in one hand and a book in the other. After this we both dined on some grilled Barracuda and chips, followed by another beer or so, before we set off to relax in the sea. This was indeed holiday, the first in 2 months.
And then for the day’s finale......the fishing trip! I can’t bring myself to describe it in written word right now, so you’ll have to wait until we’re both back. Yet, highlights for me included, Parksy’s capture of two fish on one line, my capture of a sheep’s head (better, and tastier, than it sounds) and of course, Iain’s attempt to get stuck in with bailing out the water we were taking on. Seizing the bucket confidently, he filled it, measured his throw; threw it straight over his shoulder......and straight back into the boat on the other side of him.....much laughing distracted the fishing for a time to come. On the return journey, as darkness approached, looking inland at the beauty of Sierra Leone’s “fresh green breast of land” I experienced a particular Gatsbyesque moment which I’ll never forget.
We triumphantly reached the shore in darkness, two humble fishermen, catch in hand....6 fish each!
What a day!