Liberia

Liberia was founded by freed American slaves and carries that origin in everything - its flag, its capital's street names, its complicated relationship between Americo-Liberian settlers and the indigenous majority. Monrovia is a city rebuilding itself with a determination that is visible in the construction and the conversation. The interior holds rainforest of real ecological significance, chimpanzees, pygmy hippos, and a coast that was once called the Pepper Coast for the grains of Selim that traders came for and that still grow wild along the shore.

Our guide is being written from the ground up, with the time this place deserves.

We are still gathering the notes that make a guide worth keeping: Monrovia's history quarter, Sapo National Park routes, beach guesthouses and the pepper-coast cooking that connects this shore to a history most diners never think about.