Varela: water music

As every day I wanted to set off early. Today I even got up at 7am. As every day I left the accommodation at 10am. It looked like it would be a long wait but it wasn’t. I checked in the toca toca going to Varela. I had a demi-baguette with two-egg-omelette in one of […]

São Domingos: bazooka on election day

Yesterday we had an election day. The legislative (i.e. I understand parliamentary) elections that were due to be held in November 2018 but were postponed till now. Guinea Bissau is only getting at peace with itself now. I found about it from my Spanish cycler friend David who texted me from the Senegalese border informing […]

Ziguinchor to São Domingos: Branco!

I did leave Ziguinchor for Guinea Bissau after all. David, the Spanish cycler, was saying that the border would be closed on weekends but then he said he might have confused the border with the embassy. *grin* I woke up late and didn’t feel like doing anything. It’s interesting how I got to like Ziguinchor […]

Janjanbureh to Zinguichor: moving with goats

It’s been a transport day. The Baobab Lodge didn’t let me sleep. People live in that compound and they didn’t care for one passing guest. Music till 11pm, then some hammer sounds at midnight, then at 1:23am heavy stuff being moved from side to side, then more conversation. Roosters wake up at 7am at that […]

Janjanbureh and chill

There was not much to do today. The distance between Wassu and Janjanbureh, called by my 2008 Rough Guide an upcoming eco-destination, is 20kms, so perhaps 30mins by car. It was in fact 20mins by bus. I decided to take the boat trip in the morning, before my departure from Kuntaur. There was a family […]

Visa no. 4: The Gambia on the border

It’s dingy and seedy and sleazy and dark. The bar in Farafenni, my first town in Gambia. It also feels very West African, the beer finally doesn’t cost a fortune, there is Guinness but not yet the West African style but the foreign stout style with yellow labels that you can buy at home. It’s […]

The powdered milk of Monkey Island

First things first: disclaimer! Island of Gorée is NOT the Monkey Island but it features strongly in one of the most epic computer games of all times: Monkey Island series. I managed to drag myself out of bed for the ferry at 11am, with a coffee on my way. The ferry costs 5200cfa return, goes […]

Friday in Dakar: four embassies & a scam

Today was a visa run day. Spoiler: I failed at all 4 embassies.It’s Friday so any visa processing time longer than “pick up the next day” (Monday) is too long. I don’t wanna sit in Dakar for so long.Bissau visa I hope to get in Bissau consulate in Ziguinchor in Casamance in South Senegal. Guinean […]

Humans of Saint Louis

It’s been a chilly windy morning. My landlady offered me coffee on the rooftop. Of course I agreed! What I got was a small sachet of instant coffee but at least it wasn’t Nescafé. The auberge I stay in has quite a nice view on the canal and the neighbouring island. I went out in […]

Chinguetti to Nouakchott: where sand eats your soul

Noaukchott is full of sand. Chinguetti in the desert was obviously full of sand. The train to Choum was full of sand. The road from Atar to Nouakchott was full of sand, at times I was wondering what the driver can see in front of us, there was only a milky creamy nothingness ahead. A […]