Sunday 27 February 2011

Destination reached: Freetown, Sierra Leone

 First thing today we saw the sun rise and land was visible on the horizon
 The pilot came by boat
 There was a fishing boat, so Tommy was happy taking pictures again, there was a little fishing village that we sailed past just before we docked so we'll probably see lots of these soon
 There were many people on the dock to welcome us, many to join the ship as crew, plus some locals, a few dignitaries and a marching band
The Sierra Leone flag was carried down the gangway by our two crew from Sierra Leone while we sang the Sierra Leone National Anthem from the upper decks. There was then a short arrival ceremony on the dock and then the day carried on for us like any other. 

The first verse of the National Anthem:

High we exalt thee, realm of the free;
Great is the love we have for thee;
Firmly united ever we stand,
Singing thy praise, O native land.
We raise up our hearts and our voices on high,
The hills and the valleys re-echo our cry;
Blessing and peace be ever thine own,
Land that we love, our Sierra Leone.

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