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.

Off to Liberia (next week.)

Source: https://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photography-sierra-leone-liberia-image4954487 

Since I have a couple days of downtime thanks to some surprise visa issues I figured now was a good time to share a little of what I've learned about Liberia in the months leading up to this trip. Apart from the usual resources such as the CIA world factbook, good old Wikipedia, and google news alerts, I learned a TON from Helene Cooper's Memoir The House at Sugar Beach (linked here). It was riveting and beautifully written, definitely a must-read if you are interested in this part of the world. I am currently reading her book Madame President: The Extraordinary Journey of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, which you can find here.  I've also been following this blogger to get some insight into the culture and what daily life is like in Monrovia and elsewhere in the country.

I also feel its important to say you could write an entire textbook on this nation's history and I am in no way an expert on this subject; I am just sharing the major highlights and parts of Liberia's history, culture and traditions which I've found really interesting.

While the country was founded by American freed slaves, prior to their arrival over a dozen distinct tribes with their own kings, traditions and customs lived across the region for centuries. The American Colonization Society funded the emigration of a group of former slaves to the West coast of Africa between 1820 and 1843. Although it seemed like a beneficent idea to many, most African slaves at that time had lived in the United States for generations and were not prepared to re-settle on the humid, tropical West coast of Africa. Many became sick and died; just under half survived to 1843, while the ACS continued to fund the journey until the foundation because bankrupt and essentially abandoned the existing settlements to stay afloat. The Americo-Liberians, who came to be known as the Congo, declared their independence in 1847.

From that point until 1980 the Congo minority ruled over the indigenous groups of Liberia in a government model very similar to the United States; being Congo generally meant you were wealthier than the 'country people' and had far more agency than indigenous people of Liberia (does this sound familiar?) Ongoing corruption and skyrocketing prices of basic food and supplies in Liberia led to several often-violent political upheavals between 1980 and 2003. All told 250,000 lives were lost, and many more fled the country. By 2003 much of Liberia's infrastructure was destroyed.

From 2003 onward Liberia has experienced much more stability, but still faces challenges from corruption, exploitation from foreign companies such as Firestone (here's a well-done piece by the Washington Post on the topic and another multi-part longform article from Propublica) and the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic.

By Sahmeditor - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3575700

In spite of these hurdles, Liberia is a beautiful, culturally diverse and naturally rich place with great potential for growth. While mortality rates remain very high due to diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and diarrheal illness, a training program exists at the main hospital in Monrovia, where I'll be working, to produce more Liberian-born pediatricians to tackle issues in infant and child mortality such as neonatal disease, early childhood pneumonia and malaria, and malnutrition. Some other things you may not know about Liberia:

• Most Liberians speak English- Liberian English, which is actually a collection of creolized dialects of English. Another 30 or so languages are also spoken in pockets throughout the country by various ethnic groups
• Liberia's people consist of 16 ethnic groups, in addition to the Americo-Liberians (Congo) and several expat groups. 95% of the population is made up pf these indigenous peoples, including Kpelle, Bassa, Grebo, and many others. 
• Due to the influence of the Congo people who came to Liberia from the U.S. in the 19th century, much of Liberia has influences of antebellum south, from the building styles to the religious culture. 
• Liberia has some great literature- next on my reading list is Murder in the Cassava Patch by Bai T. Moore (see the wiki page here)
• Something else I'm looking forward to trying is the FOOD. Rice is a staple as are cassava, fish, citrus, plantains, okra, coconut and sweet potatoes. Stews are often flavored with habanero and scotch bonnet chillies (insert flame emoji here) and eaten with fufu, a combination of plantain and cassava flour mixed with water. Check out Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations on Liberia for some mouth-watering visuals (linked here)
• Liberia had a thriving tourist industry prior to the war. With gorgeous beaches to the West and tropical mountainous regions to the East, its natural beauty landed it on Lonely Planet's list of top 10 places to visit in 2020. There's even a growing surfing community at Robertsport. So if anyone's looking to escape the snow this spring, you know where to find me. (Bonus: the USD is widely accepted!) 

That's all for now. I