HOUSES .........   A whole lot more houses were cement block with zinc roofs this time around in Liberia. In the past, there were many more adobe block homes with thatch on top. There are pluses and minuses with each kind of roof. Zinc keeps out the rain. Thatch keeps the home cooler. Zinc lasts longer. Thatch needs to be replaced much more often. Zinc echoes loudly as the tropical rains pound atop. Thatch leaks. All I know for sure, thatch just looks so much more exotic.

The farther away from the capital, the more thatch and adobe you'll find. Around Gbarnga, Ganta, Zorzor and Fish Town, I found a lot of adobe homes that were decorated by local artists. There might not have been a lot of supplies, but it was fascinating to see how creative some local homeowners were. Artists used brooms, their hands, or fingers to decorate their walls. The two most creative villages I found were Jennepleta near Ganta and Tugbaken near Fish Town.

You must remember that 99.99% of the homes in the interior do not look like this. The usual look for adobe is simply dried mud. But, the artist in me really appreciated when another artist took the time to add a creative touch - even when the surface was dried mud.