Last Day in Monrovia

Hello everyone!

Today is our last day in Monrovia, as we will be flying out to Accra this evening.  Kenya airlines is the only reliable airline that flies out of here, and they only have 3 flights per week. Tammie and I will then stay in Accra for 2 nights while we await our flight home on wednesday am.  We have decided to treat ourselves and stay in a 4 star hotel in Accra, complete with swimming pool, ocean view, restaurant, etc.  It will be incredibly luxurious after the time we have spent in Monrovia!

We spent our last weekend back at the beach in Robertsport.  I will try to upload some pictures. It is truly an amazing place.  It is located north of Monrovia, and I recently learned that it is only about 30 minutes away from the border with Sierra Leone.  Very few people know about this place, so the beach is very empty.  It is a very well frequented surfing spot, however, and there are frequently surfers there, since the waves are huge.  The water must have been about 75 degrees temperature wise.  The only problem with the beaches in liberia is the undertow and many rip currents.  They are so strong that most Liberians are very afraid of the water, and won't go into it, since it is known to sweep people out to sea.   On Sunday, it was relatively calm, however, so we all went in, and it was fabulous!  We also had a great volleyball game on the beach with a bunch of Liberians who were hanging out there. 

Tammie and I are going to be giving grand rounds here this morning, before leaving! Should be a great way to wrap up our time here.  Overall it has been an amazing experience. We have seen so much. It is sad to see so many sick children and so much suffering here.  We can now go back to the US with some plans to try to help out from stateside.  We are trying to organize a schedule to have US doctors and residents covering here for the entire year, starting in August. Pediatricians and residents from my department will be coming over, as well as docs from Mt Sinai med center and Univ. of Chicago. Hopefully, we can start to make some changes here that will help in the long run.  That way it feels like we will get something accomplished, rather than just coming to see what happens here over a few weeks.

If there is internet access in Accra, I will write more.  Thanks everyone, for following. It's good to know that you are out there, and I look forward to seeing many of you soon!

Love,

Trish