Mob Violence in Broad Daylight

On my way to the Urban Chateau for lunch today, the talk in the taxi was all about an incident of mob violence that had happened this morning, in broad daylight, right on Tubman Boulevard in the heart of Sinkor.

Everyone had their own version, but the gist of it is that two people, a man and a woman, were using using a stolen car as a taxi and robbing the passengers. The victims chased them down, the woman got away, and the man was beaten to death right there on the street by a crowd of angry people.

"You ain't mind, de man slippers still on de ro," the cabman said. I didn't believe it was possible, but sure enough, as we drove past Greenland Supermarket there they were - two yellow rubber slippers, thrown several meters apart.

Sunset at La Lagune

La Lagune is a nice new spot for swimming on Sundays. Even swollen with Rainy Season water, the lagoon is less than five feet deep (and maybe waist-level when it hasn't rained for a while). They have tables shaded with rainbow-colored umbrellas, drinks, beach volleyball, and large inflatable boats for hire. We like to stay until sunset. (Congo Town Back Road, Monrovia, LIBERIA)

Car Shopping

Prompted by stories upon stories of violence and robberies after dark, plus the difficulty and indignity of running and fighting and pushing to get a space in a crowded taxi on Broad Street at the end of the day (since even the taxi drivers are too afraid to let anyone charter them), I spent the morning looking at used cars for sale. There was not much of a choice, and the lowest price was about $3,800 US Dollars. Just as I was considering happily going back to the indignity of Broad Street rush hour, I saw a nice little white Nissan Sunny at the lot on Carey Street and the Capitol Bypass. It'll do just fine!