Normally, it takes me about 30 plus hours to travel from my home in Grass Valley, California to Freetown, Sierra Leone. Because many airlines have canceled all flights to Sierra Leone, I had to fly to Washington, D.C., and layover for three hours. I then flew to Brussels, and had a layover of 14 hours in Brussels. Then off to Casa Blanca, have a drink with the ghost of Bogart (I would have preferred Ingrid) and sit there for five hours in a crowded airport section with returning Sierra Leoneans. Then I flew for four more hours to Sierra Leone with a guy beside me who after coughing up a storm, put on a face mask and rubber gloves. Finally, arriving at the Freetown airport, the airport security had us wash our hands in cold water and then took our temperature.
After filling out a medical questionnaire, I was able to get on the bus that takes you to a 15 person ferry to cross the bay to Freetown. Wouldn’t you know it, another guy sits next to me and puts on a mask and gloves. Now on this ferry, it can be rough water and everyone on the boat wears a life jacket… Everyone except the guy with the mask and gloves! It took me over 46 hours to travel to Freetown.