It’s my daughter Dee’s birthday today, in Vancouver. Happy Birthday Dee. 🙂 Thinking of you.
Despite the bongo drum band playing not too far from our vehicle last night, I was asleep in no time.
The camp is still being developed but it is very well run. Sadly, they claim it has wifi, but it hasn’t, unless you only use a phone. I can hear the sigh’s..:) The result is that we have not been able to update the blog.
Our new convoy of three vehicles, roll out of the camp at 9.30am. We are headed for Bissau, the major city of Guinea Bissau.
The border is only about 30k’s from the camp and progress through both the Senegal and G.B. are relatively trouble free.
Another Border Crossing.
Officials though, at the several checkpoint into G.B. are on the make. Looking for any opportunity to fine you. “Do you have water in your windscreen wiper bottle? Fire extinguisher, two breakdown triangles”? In two checkpoints, rotund women police are the most aggressive. Lars & Els didn’t have a fire extinguisher so I gave them a plastic box full of Dry Powder from a partially used extinguisher we used back in Canada. The officials were reluctant to accept it, but did under pressure. The National Guard dealing with us, finding nothing he could fault us with, simply said, “you pay CFA 5000”. When I laughed and said No, firmly, he lost interest.
We drove straight through several other checkpoints choosing to ignore the Police whistles. So far, so good.
The roads are back to being very potholed. Several long stretches of pure red dirt.
The scenery is changing now. It’s becoming dense jungle, right up to the roadside. Lovely wide rivers with modern bridges and accompanying tolls of CFA500.
There is a haze restricting views and spoiling the magnificence of the jungle scenery.
A little history
Guinea Bissau is a former Portuguese colony and Portuguese is spoken still, though it is not the prime language. A creole derivative being the most widely used. Islam is not the major religion. As you can imagine, this is welcome as the endless morning and evening calls to prayer in the preceding countries, is tiresome.
On arrival at the outskirts of Bissau, iOverland took us to Bar and Restaurant Almagui. Again, it’s run by a German and his son. I suspect the elder is married to a Portuguese, as the son is fluent in the language. It’s not set up for Overlanders but there are cabins and a parking area that will take us all three vehicles.
After setting up, we cook late and are ready for bed after discussing the option and costs of visiting the island archipelago of Bijagos off the coast.
We all agree to go, but after thought, Adam decided to stay put while we are away. I suspect the swimming pool near the vehicles and reluctance to be in crowds, swayed him.
Visits: 105