..
..
..
The new year arrived in Freetown with a huge celebration on shore, complete with VERY Loud music that carried out to the ship and made it almost impossible to sleep. At the stroke of midnight, several vessels in the harbor fired off signal flares that were soon followed by fireworks from several spots in town. Once morning arrived, the whole city was in a festive mood, with all of the major businesses closed and people celebrating in the streets...
Kono District is known for its diamond mines, but also for its agriculture and its beautiful mountainous landscape. Koidu (or Sefadu), before the war Sierra Leone's second most populous town, suffered massive destruction as a result of the conflict. It is only now beginning to recover.Sierra Leone's railway was discontinued in 1975, but some of the steam engines and railway cars that ran from Freetown to Pendembu and Makeni can be seen at the National Railway Museum in Cline Town. The car which Queen Elizabeth II was to have used during her 1961 visit has been restored and is on display. The Queen never used the car - she had a change in schedule...