Libassa Ecolodge

It still feels so weird to be writing from home...this weekend I was supposed to be flying out of Liberia to Accra in Ghana (for visa reasons), and Peter had booked this crazy flight itinerary just to see me for 3 days. Instead we've been together, in Boston, for the past 2 weeks, and ironically while his job has thrown him into a deep dive of Covid-19 data to help with the response, I am currently on backup at home until late next week. It especially feels weird knowing I have friends being pulled to the front lines of this...an outpatient GP working as a hospitalist for the first time in over a year, an undergraduate pre-med friend in psychiatry deployed by the military to work a field hospital in Manhattan. I am sure my time will come too, but have to admit there's a little guilt knowing so many friends and colleagues are risking their lives daily while I am home safe. That being said, I am sure my turn will come.

Since I am waiting on my next batch of data to enter for Liberia, I thought I'd share these photos from Libassa Ecolodge. It's this really amazing place a short drive from Robertsfield Airport. Think a cozy, laidback beach resort that is working towards becoming zero-waste. That is truly an amazing accomplishment in a place like Liberia, where there can be many barriers towards sustainable practices.

We arrived late on a Friday night to discover we were one of only 2 couples there. Due to a gasoline shortage, most people had canceled their trip...definitely not great for business/Liberia at large, but we admittedly loved having the whole place to ourselves to explore. And there is a lot to explore...apart from the beach there is a multi-level pool deck with a lazy river, a great bar and restaurant, a lagoon with kayaks for rent and even an animal sanctuary.

The efforts they have made to reduce their impact on the environment really are impressive. Room electricity is limited to 200 watts each, with solar-power lighting for exterior areas. For every tree taken down to build the lodge, another tree was planted. They aren't plastic free (I think this would be quite difficult to manage, but a solid future goal) but minimize use of plastics and recycle both plastics and paper as much as possible. They also use well water as much as possible for cooking, and compost food waste when appropriate.

You can probably tell from the photos how secluded and quiet the place was the weekend we went...it is usually a pretty popular day trip from Monrovia. We really enjoyed having the place to ourselves. 

The pool deck is broken into 3 levels connected by stairs and a waterfall. This is the largest pool. Peter loves to actually swim so this was his favorite spot. I don't know if it's an English thing but he had never come across a shallow lounge pool until we stayed at the Palazzo in Vegas on our cross-country road trip. He actually tried to swim laps in it, which was kind of amazing 😂 Unfortunate for him, it didn't work out...

This is the lagoon side, where you can rent kayaks, lounge and swim. There is also a bar on this end and you can have lunch overlooking the lagoon. We only took a short kayak trip (lazy as hell + strong currents = bad combo) but loved seeing tropical birds and some monkeys swinging in the trees.

They had the most amazing all natural smoothies...this one was pineapple. Still miss enjoying a Savanna cider on a hot day at the beach. 

The shared deck of our palaver hut. I didn't take any photos inside because we are messy humans and the room was a disaster from the moment we dropped our stuff off. But the space was clean, cozy, and well designed. Water was heated by the sun so you could take a warm shower by 5-6 pm (to be honest a cold shower probably feels amazing during the dry season- it gets so hot!) There was no AC but we were pretty comfortable with the fan on overnight. Because of the 200 watt limit, the room was on the darker side, which helps keep things cool during the intense dry season.

We stayed in a Palaver hut, a traditional house built with local materials. There are also larger spaces available directly looking over the ocean and lagoon.

I *think* the LED lights are low watt? Made for some fun lighting. We came here to watch the sunsets. The first photo on this posts shows what a beautiful view you get.

So tan. So happy :) This was our first weekend together in over a month. I am really, really really thankful that Peter got to see how beautiful Liberia is before this Covid-19 outbreak. We had so many plans for his next trip, from exploring Mount Nimba to Robertsport to visiting the National Park, but all of that is up in the air now. Obviously there are way more important challenges in life right now. But I am glad we got to make some fun memories together here.

One more pic of this dress since it's pretty much my favorite :) from Nani Pani (linked. Not sponsored.)

One of the coolest things about Libassa is their animal sanctuary. Unlike some of the organizations highlighted in Tiger King (looking at you, 'Doc' Antle...ugh), this one was founded purely as a place for exotic animals originally bought as pets to either be rehabilitated for the wild or live as comfortably as possible in a more natural environment. We got to see monkeys, a crocodile, and even pangolins (which are native to Liberia) before Covid-19 brought them to the international spotlight.

While they try to release as many animals back into the wild as possible, some animals, like this juvenile monkey, won't survive in their natural environment as they've never been exposed to anything besides an unnatural human habitat. They will likely spend most of their lives here. :(

I think that's a wrap! FYI I was not sponsored to write this post. My blog does not have that kind of readership, haha (insert self-deprecating joke here 😋) We had a great time, and I was totally impressed with the Libassa Ecolodge model for sustainability and efforts to have a neutral to positive impact on the local community and environment. You can find more information here on their website.

I have to say, we've been lucky enough to visit a lot of truly beautiful, tropical places, from where I grew up in Florida to where we met in Greece (Crete, Santorini, I'm looking at you!) to the absolutely stunning and tropical Hawaii, but this was easily one of the most beautiful, peaceful, relaxing weekends we have had in a long time. If you are ever in Liberia, I highly recommend a visit. Be prepared to pay with cash as they are pretty remote, and credit card machines only work intermittently. Also bring plenty of bug spray! Mosquito nets are provided in each room.

Hope you enjoyed! Stay safe and healthy, folks.