Banana Island

It may seem that my life has been a bit of a holiday recently.  After not having done too much travel I have been out and about visiting the tourist spots of Sierra Leone.  Last weekend it was Banana Island with 8 friends.

According to the Bradt Guide - the only guide book for Sierra Leone and as such a vital piece of reading while living and visiting - Banana Island is in fact three islands in a long row with a makeshift causeway of rocks joining them.

Banana Island View

We stayed at Dalton’s Banana Guesthouse which has a lovely backpacker feel with communal eating and accommodation ranging from the super comfy with en-suite to the family tent with access to shower and toilet block.  We were in the tent and it was amazingly comfy and cool – a real find.

Dalton’s also has a boat which makes the journey from Kent.  It is a 20 minute crossing which passed quickly as I watched the tropical paradise approach. But hang on what’s that in the sea?  Rubbish that’s what it was.  This paradise is spoilt by the rubbish that is allowed to move in and out with the tide.  It is really not a pleasant experience to have plastic water packets sharing the water while you are swimming.  It is such a shame as an organised cleaning of the beach and organising proper waste disposal would soon rid the beach of this problem.  Once again sanitation let’s down Sierra Leone.

After a night of Scruples and fine sleep  we five girls headed for a walk through the forest to the causeway.  It was further than we expected but we cheerfully carried on after a rest stop for Laura’s amazing brownies.

Me, Laura, Ali and Petra ready for Brownies

The causeway was choked with rubbish too but we did manage to have a swim out over the rocks.  Lovely after a sweaty tramp through the woods.

Our Little Mermaids - Ali and Petra

Back to the guesthouse and then the long journey back to Freetown with boat and taxi.  All worth it though as despite the rubbish I will head  back to the Islands for their peace and tranquility.