---
title: "Sierra Leone: By any means. How did we come up with that?"
url: "https://atlas51.co/dispatches/sierra-leone-by-any-means-how-did-we-come-up-with-that"
type: "dispatch"
section: "Journal"
published: "2026-09-02"
updated: "2026-09-02T18:00:00.000Z"
---

# Sierra Leone: By any means. How did we come up with that?

*Journal · 2026-09-02 · 3 min*

Atlas51 — <https://atlas51.co/dispatches/sierra-leone-by-any-means-how-did-we-come-up-with-that>

Some trips leave you with memories. Others leave you with unfinished business.

## Senegal, The Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau by motorbike

Some trips are carefully planned. Others feel like you’ve just pointed the front wheel at the horizon and promised yourself you’ll deal with whatever comes next. This was one of those journeys. We landed in Senegal after dark, grabbed our first Gazelle beer, and quickly learned the cows here had no problem munching on cement, so, we skipped the beef. Bikes came next. We pushed them too fast across sandy tracks, dodging horned cattle and goats, before reaching a lodge with reed rooftops, giant tortoises, and a sunset that hushed us mid-sentence. One evening, after buying a ball, we played football with local kids. Simple, and unforgettable.

![A pale zebu with long horns standing on a heap of broken concrete blocks and rubble at the edge of a sandy back street, nosing through it.](/dispatches/sierra-leone-by-any-means-how-did-we-come-up-with-that/atlas51-west-africa-zebu-among-broken-blocks-in-a-back-street.webp)

Heading south, we crammed onto a ferry with trucks, goats, pigs, cows, and hundreds of people. Beers were cheaper than water. South Senegal brought surf sessions, beach bars, and nights that blurred into each other. In the Gambia, we wandered townships, shared sweets with kids, and accidentally rolled into a market so crowded, the bikes were swallowed whole. Escaping took a while and a lot of laughs. Casamance turned green. Monkeys in the trees, parrots flashing through the branches, cashew farms with liquor strong enough to run the bikes. Sacred trees, mangrove kayaking, colonial ruins, quiet reminders of complicated histories.

![Looking down from the upper deck of a ferry onto a crowd of foot passengers, loaded motorbikes and a painted bus, with a banner reading WELCOME TO BARRA over the ramp.](/dispatches/sierra-leone-by-any-means-how-did-we-come-up-with-that/atlas51-west-africa-ferry-deck-packed-with-riders-and-cargo.webp)

By the coast, manatees lurked near the mangroves. We ate fresh seafood and listened to live music under the stars. Across into Guinea-Bissau, we stumbled through a fishing village and improbably found an Irish bar, where a guy drank questionable beer beside a tractor. Only in West Africa. The final highlight was a traditional village performance, music and ceremonial dance, reminding us how travel can shift from seeing to actually understanding. We closed with too many beers, one last ferry, and a return to Senegal. West Africa’s not polished. It’s messy, surprising, and unforgettable. The kind of trip where the stories matter more than the destination.

![A dirt road running away between dry grass beneath the spread branches of a broad tree, a single motorbike small in the distance raising dust.](/dispatches/sierra-leone-by-any-means-how-did-we-come-up-with-that/atlas51-west-africa-dirt-road-running-out-beneath-a-broad-tree.webp)

What’s next? Some trips leave you with memories. Others leave you with unfinished business. Sierra Leone, By Any Means, is born from that feeling. Maybe bikes, maybe horses, canoes, quad bikes, or whatever gets us there. Less about the how, more about saying yes.

This March, we’re taking everything that made West Africa unforgettable and turning it up a notch. Less planning. More adventure. Same spirit, bigger gambles, and hopefully, even better stories.

## The trip this is about

[Sierra Leone: By any means](https://atlas51.co/trips/sierra-leone-by-any-means)