T.I.A

T.I.A means This is Africa.  Almost every day someone is uttering those letters.  Last weekend I went off on an adventure with Brittney and Christina.  T.I.A started with a 4 hour wait for a taxi driver who told us he was at the gate.   4 hours sitting at the gate with security guards, police, and lots of people wondering what we were doing.  It was a great time to talk and to be able to greet the President of Sierra Leone as he entered the gate for a special ceremony.  After our taxi arrived and we set off we agreed to a price of 120,000 Leone's.  When we arrived at our destination he actually wanted $120 dollars.  T.I.A.  Then of course there is the boat ride which is really a giant canoe that surprisingly didn't require any bailing out of water, or any  failing engines.  We arrived at our destination of Banana Island Guesthouse that the website describes as the True African Castaway Experience.  All that is true.  You are in Africa.  You can't swim back to the mainland.  You are praying for your life in the canoe.  And it is, in fact, an experience.  You feel like a castaway since there is a huge menu, but you can't order anything on it since they "just ran out".  The first night that wasn't a big problem since the only thing on the menu was lobster that the man swam out and pulled out of a trap right in front of us.  The next day a fisherman pulled his boat up to shore with a giant fish and a giant barracuda and sold one to the cook at our camp.  That was dinner.  No ordering necessary since that is all they had.  I guess it solves indecisiveness.  Well, we really wanted barracuda but they said it was to big for just us 3 to eat so we had to buy the other giant fish.  They did have cold sodas.  Well, not the first day since the generator that runs the fridge ran out of fuel, but late afternoon the next day we got a cold soda.  I'll spare you the details of the really, really bad night the second night, but it was bad.  We were ready to not be castaways anymore and go back to our giant white ship.  I'll end my long story by saying that it was a true T.I.A experience, but I can't remember when I've had more fun!  I'm sure it was the company I was with more than anything and I really enjoyed hiking around the island and meeting people that live there.  Until my next adventure.  Goodbye