bong mines (take two)

my good friend becky & I with about 4 inches of sweat, sunscreen, dirt, and black smoke all over our faces. good times.

a midwife sits in the delivery room.

inside the bong mine hospital we visited. the under five mortality rate in Liberia is one of the highest in the world; almost 25 %

Michel exploring part of the old iron ore plant.

Odascious is a ship day worker and our tour guide. he is from bong county and lived there during the war. as many as 20, 000 bodies were laid to rest in this pit. very sad to think about.

the kids run to wave at us when we pass. some of them get quite excited. one little boy even stopped to wave while he was peeing. we are practically a parade. this must be what fame feels like.

sweet boy at the train station. we had to wait for about an hour before we could leave. thankfully, I have gotten use to waiting :)

the chaos at the train station. chaos is rather typical.

riding fast through Liberia's jungle while sitting on top of a Land Rover. It's quite amazing.

Taking a 2.5 hour train ride through the jungle side of Liberia, while perched atop of a Land rover is good for the soul. But I would guess that the 2.5 hours of inhaling black smoke, basking in the harsh sun, and mild dehydration (because every orifice of your body oozes sweat) is probably not so good for the body. Oh well; how many times in your life to you actually get to do in real life what every Disney ride tries to be?

The Swiss family Robinson ride at the magic kingdom will just seem cheesy now.

more photos here