Visa Delays & Embassy Gatekeepers: My Unexpected Week in Liberia

Good day — November 21st

Well, I decided that I better go check out the embassy and see what’s the holdup, why I’m not getting a call.

Getting to the Embassy

So I find the embassy and had trouble even getting in because the security guard did not want to let me in. He wanted me to call the lady first and the number was parked up front. So that takes a bit of figuring out because I have an American phone and then I’m calling to Liberia.

So that takes a bit of thinking. You need the country code for Liberia and I mean how does all that work? And can I use WhatsApp to know WhatsApp? No, I don’t know. So anyway, I was able to figure that out and she told me to talk to the security guard again, which then I did.

Dress Code Surprise

He pointed out that even though I had entered the embassy two times before wearing shorts — which is what I’ve been wearing all this time — he said I needed to change into long pants this time around. Well, as it happened I happened to have my clothes with me in the car. So that really wasn’t a problem.

But you know, you want to show respect when that’s needed or if at all possible. So then I got that sorted out, I was let in and the lady made clear that now the next step was to pay.

Payment and the Wrong Number

When it came to the fact that she was going to call me, well apparently she did — it was just that there was a little mishap in the number that she dialed which was expressed correctly on the paperwork anyway. Bygones — big bygones — just cost me a day.

So then I got to pay the $120 but this time did not have to go to a bank. I just went upstairs and got the cash. So then the final word came out and I was expecting to walk away with the visa at that time.

The Wait

No, no, not really. She said the three to five days will start because now I have the application, I have the payment, everything should be fine. So I can come back next Wednesday to pick up the visa.

Well, that was not what I wanted to hear. It being Thursday, I was planning on really leaving Liberia pretty soon. There’s only so much to do here or spend a lifetime — one of the two.

I asked her if there was any in-between way or a better way. No, no, that was the rule and that’s what I could do. Well then you thank her and you leave because you don’t want to burn any bridges.

Finding a Coffee Break

So that was a bit of a twist. I had to figure out how to go about that. I found the Royal Grand Hotel nearby, and they happen to have an amazing coffee shop. A nice cappuccino — a real cappuccino — was a nice treat from the normal Nescafé-like coffees that get around here.

At that time I got to meet a lady whose name I don’t have, but I think she was with Mercy Corps. Dealing with Liberia, there are so many people who work for NGOs and many religious organizations — some fanatical ones. It’s a big charitable place, maybe a little less than Sierra Leone, but very close to that.

Back to the Hotel

I ended up going back to the hotel and was able to organize a smaller room at a lesser price so that it made more sense to stay there rather than go find another place again. It’s been a good place. I’ve been speaking with the owner several times, which is very enlightening.

He owns another hotel that is close to the border with Ivory Coast. I may have to go by that in order to learn a little more about that another time. Anyway, that’s my story.