Biking in Liberia's rainy season to Robertsport

A typical cloudy day in Harbel

Heavy rains turn small streams to flash floods

I am writing this blog on a quiet Sunday afternoon and as I peer out the window I see water droplets trickling down the roof and the lush green golf course beckoning. Perhaps I should be playing golf rather than sit at home and fiddle with my laptop but then it’s damp and wet outside; the rains have been unrelenting lately.

These pretty orange flowers spring up under the rubber trees
during the rainy season

Although Liberia’s rainy season extends for almost 6 months from May to October the months of August and September are the wettest. A mutual friend who recently moved from Ghana to Liberia commented that he is fed up with the constant rains and said it felt like Cherrapunji, a place from India’s north-eastern state of Meghalaya.

Now, Cherrapunji has been some sort of a mythical place for me. It’s probably (again) due to its mention in my geography books as the wettest place on earth and a place where it practically rains every day. I have never been there and perhaps Liberia is not Cherrapunji but it certainly rains a lot here. Most hate this season but I love it but that’s due a personal affinity for rain .On a separate topic, I think I remember a lot more of my history and geography lessons from school than math or physics. It’s a small wonder even to me that I am an engineer by education and work in finance.

Overflowing Pott's Dam

A few weeks ago Liberia celebrated its flag day which I have covered in one of my past blogs. Lionel, my accounting colleague brought up the idea of going to Robertsport and that idea gradually evolved into biking there. I hadn’t been to Robertsport since my first visit to this coastal town in early 2010 so the idea sounded appealing. When I had been to Robertsport the first time, I had just arrived in Liberia and was accompanied by Guy who no longer works for the company. I thought it would be nice to go back and see if things have changed over the past three years.

Lionel and I ready to go

The team at the Medina junction

Our team of bikers was made of five from Harbel and a couple from Monrovia but there were also a group who joined for the broader outing to Robertsport taking the more comfortable ride in a pickup rather than a bike. It would work fine for us as they would get there earlier and make the necessary arrangements for food and accommodation before we got there.

Laterite road to Robertsport

Lionel checking with the local Vai people for
network connectivity

We left Harbel before dawn to pass through Monrovia before the traffic picked up and not wanting to ride through this perilous traffic we drove in a pickup with our bikes in tow until the town of Medina about 45 kilometers from Robertsport on the other side of Monrovia. From Medina, the asphalt road we drove on headed towards Sierra Leone while a decrepit laterite road forked left toward the Atlantic ocean.

The picturesque view make the ride easy

Lake Piso

At Medina we unloaded the bikes, had a quick breakfast and set off through the rural lands of the Grand Cape Mount County of which Robertsport is the administrative capital. The county is the bastion of the Vai people who greeted us at the various small hamlets we stopped along the way. The Vai are one of the 16 chief tribes of Liberia and majority of them practice Islam although their culture still seems to have a heavy influence of traditional African animist beliefs.

Though the Vai were friendly, they had nothing to sell to us…not even bananas. Every attempt to buy this yellow fruit along the way came a cropper. Until that day, I had always felt that one can find bananas anywhere and anytime in Liberia…not now. One Liberian who was cycling with us suggested that just like the Bassa coastal people from the Grand Bassa county, the Vai are very lazy and don’t like to farm…the best they can do is plant some cassava which really doesn’t need any care to grow in the well watered soil of Liberia. I thought he was being funny but he was dead serious about it...although I still think he was probably exaggerating :)

Had to stop by this solemn tree on the edge of Lake Piso

Arriving at Robertsport...and it's still pouring

The unrelenting rains pounded us continuously while the strong headwinds, sticky mud and rolling hills near the coast made it a challenging but rousing journey. I am not much of a biker but still managed to complete the 45 kilometer journey to the town without much discomfort…that is until the last big hill towards our tented lodge on the outskirts of Robertsport. There was no way I could do that…and as I disembarked the bike to trudge on foot, the sight of four others behind me also pushing their bikes on foot was some consolation.

Final destination...Robertsport beach

Fresh caught fish

Most of the rest of the day was spent refilling the spent calories, lazing in the ocean and then eating some more. I guess that’s what happens when some people from your team are awesome cooks. The next day I tried surfing for the second time and it was equally tough as the first one; I did just slightly better. If paddling against the strong waves was not taxing enough, I was sent packing by the strong waves with a mouthful of saltwater to boot just as I approached the spot where I could sit on the board to catch a breath before trying to catch the surf…oh…well!

I had biked with Lionel over three years ago and had been to Robertsport around the same time and its amazing how fast time flies since I remember writing those blogs like just yesterday. Over these same years though, Robertsport hasn't changed much other than a spanking new “Total” gas station. Overall, it was a weekend well spent and oddly felt like a cycle had been completed.

Back in Harbel, it’s been pretty hectic lately but I have my 3rd home leave starting soon. Heading to India in less than a week and can’t wait to see my family and friends.