Liberia

I arrived in Liberia yesterday evening after an epic trek from Los Angeles via New York, Paris, and Conakry, Guinea. It's hard to believe that this is my second trek to Africa in less than 2 weeks! The minute I got off the plane the intense humidity and heat hit me in the face, the kind of zero to sweat in less than 60 seconds heat that you experience only 5 degrees from the equator. What really struck me though, besides the heat, was that familiar West African smell: a mishmash of red dirt, decaying green foliage, smoked peppers, and salty tang of the ocean. It was like a sensual time machine throwing me back to when I trekked around this neck of the woods in my 20s. At breakfast this morning I almost cried with happiness when I saw the fried plantains (fried in palm oil...deeelicious!), traditional small donuts, sweet pineapple, guava, and mango. The 20 year old in me did a small dance!

The place I'm staying at is right across the street from the ocean and you can see the Liberian fishing boats (http://www.etsy.com/listing/70476250/photograph-liberian-fishing-boats-wm-1) pulling in and out of the harbor. I definitely need to do some exploring by the harbor and at some of the smaller markets in between 1001 meetings this week. I'm curious to know if there are any markets equivalent to Makola in Ghana.