Unfortunately, Sierra Leone has been ravaged by internal wars the last couple of years. This diamond rich small country in West Africa has been on the news more often than most travelers like - and most of the news coverage was about hands cut off and refugees.

Things are starting to look up again. The security situation is a lot better than a few years ago (the only was up, though) and travelers are checking things out again. Freetown the capital. It is by far the city with the best infrastructure, there are some nice restaurants run by Lebanese immigrants. Good beaches are nearby.

Sierra Leone became a British colony in the 1780's and remained so until independence in 1961. It remained as a realm of Queen Elizabeth II represented by a Governor General, until it became a republic with a President as head of state in 1971.