Grand Bassa & Buchanan city – Part 2

Rotting fish to be used in Momoi

…continued from Part I
The same evening I wandered around a little more in the village of Bakolin where I encountered a strong stench of rotting flesh upon which I stumbled on a frame where some fish were being dried. I asked a lady around what’s up with the fish and the stench and she told me that the fish was rotting. Upon further questioning, she told me that they were being rotted on purpose so that they could be used to prepare a favorite West African meal called Momoi. From what I understood, Momoi is basically a partially rotten fish cooked in a soup (like a chicken soup) and then served with dry rice. In her words and our driver’s words the fish tastes “sweet” which is the Liberian way of saying delicious and people evidently come all the way from Côte d'Ivoire to buy it. Someday when I gather enough courage I might want to try this sweet meal.

Juvenile Nile Monitor Lizard

The poor juvenile monitor lizard from earlier in the day was still on my mind as I left the village and the feeling was that perhaps its fate was not decided while I still had a say in it. I however wanted to do something in a sensible way so I went to the house of the guy who was selling the lizard (who was incidentally also the person who kept the beach clean) and struck a deal with him. I told him I will tip him for maintaining the beach and looking after our belongings in exchange for letting the lizard go.



The dude who was selling it



Innocence and a shy curiosity in her
eyes is perhaps why I really like
this picture



In addition, I insisted that he join me in releasing it as I wanted him to experience what it feels to return a wild creature where it truly belongs. He promptly agreed even though seemingly confused with my desire to release it It’s quite plausible that he will continue to catch wild animals in the future but as he does so, I hope I have planted a conundrum in his mind as to why I really let it go free.

Place were the small river drained into the atlantic ocean

Breaking the surface

Before sunset we headed to the edge of the loop where a small river drained into the ocean and it was time to jump into the backwaters with the local kids. I tried my best but could not match some of the acrobatic dives of the kids there.

Later that evening, I took Ravi and some of his Tamil friends to a local bar and club called Black & White which was probably a first for him. Not sure if he is going to be too thrilled if his wife reads this blog and frowns on him. If that happen, I am expecting a blackout from Internet for the next few days :)

Roasted corn..notice the grill which is
a dish washer tray

I had enough of the beach for one day so the following morning, I wanted to see something off the beaten track and I was glad that I met Aaron who was living at the same guest house as me and was in Buchanan on an NGO assignment. He suggested that there was not a lot to see around Grand Bassa but did mention that we could perhaps visit Thomas Buchanan’s grave site.

Dugout canoe under construction...the tree
used (Bunful tree) is right behind me

Thomas Buchanan was the first governor of Liberia around 1940’s and was a cousin of James Buchanan, President of the United States. Before being a governor, he was an administrator in the Bassa region and that explains the naming of the city after him. It seems as though he was well respected and really cared for the still nascent Republic of Liberia and its development as a nation.

Thomas Buchanan memorial beside his grave

Today his grave and memorial lie is a dilapidated state where the undergrowth threatens to engulf it bar the occasional slashing by the guards of the central prison which is a stone throw away. The location was totally nondescript and I was glad that I visited a rather historical site of Liberia…atleast that was also the view shared by Augustine, our driver, who could not contain his excitement at what he had stumbled upon since he must have called atleast five of his friends to brag about his latest discovery.

A prison guard who had given an informative albeit winding lecture on the history of Liberia and Thomas Buchanan offered to show us around the prison and well… that being a first for me I agreed and Ravi joined in (I later learnt that he did not actually know where he was headed until he saw some of the inmates in their jumper suits)

Parallels with Washington

The prison was fairly small and it had 40 odd inmates crammed into it. We were taken to a separate section of the prison were juveniles and inmates waiting trail were being held. They were singing religious songs when our arrival suddenly brought about an interruption. All of them were pretty keen to see us, presumably because it was a sight that seemed to differ from their monotonous life behind bars.

Most of them also wanted to interact and share their stories. One of them who seemed to be in his early twenties had been sentenced for 15 years for armed robbery and had already served 3 years. He was praying that the next 12 years go by fast. Another was indicted on alleged murder and was waiting to go on trial. Another one who was relatively fortunate was there for only a year on charges of theft.

It was a very…very somber thought. It beats me to think what a person could do there in the confined settings for even a few days let alone several years. It is unquestionably and unequivocally a place to avoid at all costs…atleast the other side of the bars that is.

With Augustine and the prison guard before entering it

On the whole, the Buchanan trip was decent even though I would have preferred to hike around a little more but with no hills or mountains, the only thing I could have done was walk more along the coast and maybe checkout a few more hamlets. That could also explain why I think Robertsport is a better place than Buchanan. Although from a economic standpoint, better days lie ahead for Buchanan due to a combination of a having a decent port, a rail line going to the north of the country, presence of a couple MNC’s and its proximity to Monrovia.