On the Streets

Everybody is staring at me, I can feel their eyes boring into me. I feel so conspicuous with my white skin and flaming red hair. The heat is oppressive, I can feel the sweat building and I have only been outside for a short time. There is garbage everywhere, the smells overwhelm me. Rickety houses constructed of corrugated metal and cardboard threaten to topple over at any given moment. There are people everywhere and the traffic is chaos. Welcome to my first time on the streets of West Africa-Bad Boy Lane, Freetown, Sierra Leone. I lasted about ten minutes.
 
How things have changed. Yes, I am still stared at whenever I go (and often complimented on my "fatness"). It is still stifling hot, it still smells in the city, the traffic still sucks and the poverty is evident wherever you cast your eyes. But now I call Africa home. What used to frighten me I now find comforting and familiar. What I used to think strange I now find amusing. Like for example, the unique toilets! Have a look around Pointe Noire, The Republic of the Congo, my streets.....

 

Spare parts?

 

Hungry? Take away like the locals do it! "Street meat"!

Want to do a spot of shopping, need a gift, a rubbish bin, a container, an avocado, a suitcase, jewellery, African crafts, baguettes, stationary, jeans, shoes, fruit, fish, umbrella, furniture, pedestal fan, office chair, toys, candy, broom, material, sunglasses, DVD's (illegal, of course), watch, perfume.................You name it, you can find it on the streets and in the Marché (market).But be prepared to bargain your heart out! 

Street scapes...

 

 

Fresh doughnuts?

Manioc (cassava) and edible, starchy, tuberous root and a local staple being made by a Pointe Noire woman.
"Cassava is the third largest source of food carbohydrates in the tropics, after rice and maize.^[1][2] Cassava is a major staple food in the developing world, providing a basic diet for over half a billion people.^[3] It is one of the most drought tolerant crops, capable of growing on marginal soils. "(Wikipedia)



If you can't cope with the culture shock of the bustling, throbbing Marché, you can always try a local Super Marché (supermarket) with it's overinflated prices and limited stock.



Coka (Coke)-The Universal drink of nations!

Recycling?



A huge puddle glistens as the sun fades over the horizon. Rainy season makes its mark.

The view, through one of the land rover front windscreens, of a giant puddle, more like a lake. The best bit is that you never know just quite how deep they really are....

Transport? The train that runs through the port.

There is always room for one more!

Inside one of the taxi vans, a very popular mode of transport around the streets of Pointe Noire.

The huge train station outside the port that runs a regular service from Pointe Noire to the nation's capital, Brazzaville and forms an essential link between the two cites. Many of our patients travelled by train.

Some amazing aerial views of the city of Pointe Noire.

Fishing boats litter the beach front.

Pointe Noire's iconic natural attraction, The Diosso Gorge, located about forty five minutes outside the city. Boasting spectacular views and a thriving chimpanzee population! Yep, we are in the jungle folks!

Diosso Gorge wildlife.

Trip to the beach anyone???

Ahhhh...that's better! West and Central Africa have some stunning beaches. Unfortunately, in many situations, they have been used as a dumping ground for garbage and human waste.

Le Port Autonome de Pointe Noire (Port of Pointe Noire). It's always good to come home after a day out!