Guinea A Break!

After my time in the capital I decided to move to a more quiet location, and got a seat in a “neuf-place.” After many sweaty hours we arrived in Mamou where I experienced the first rain since Morocco. As I got out of the car, it was pouring down and my small backpack which contains all my electronics was getting drenched, so I grabbed it and rushed across the road to find some shelter. I didn’t look both ways, and just as I turned my head a motorcycle was coming at full speed down the wrong lane. The driver managed to slam his brakes and swerve, but still came crashing right in to me at high speed, knocking me out of my flip-flops to the ground, my backpack flying in front of me. People rushed to my help, but I got up with just a few tiny scratches and a slight pain in my hip where the bike had hit me. I was more concerned where my Havaianas had ended up, but someone soon located them. The driver was slightly worse off, as he had gone skidding for some distance, but he was fine and his motorbike albeit scratched still worked. I felt quite bad, because I feel I was more in the wrong for not looking properly, but we both apologised, and people were saying how miraculous it was that we had got off so lightly and that god was watching over us. Then I had to find another car, squeeze my aching body into it, before getting to Dalaba where I reluctantly had to get on a motorcycle taxi to get to my guesthouse.

Dalaba was a really small and peaceful town in the Guinean highlands, I spent a few nights here walking around the lush, green mountains, visiting the nearby Ditinn waterfall before heading further north to the town of Pita. This was only a slightly larger town, but still very quiet, and I did more of the same exploring. One day I got a motorcycle driver called Alpha Ousman to drive me around, first visiting another stunning set of waterfalls, called Kambadaga, where we were the only visitors. It’s strange to think, how these magnificent natural wonders are empty of tourists, foreign or local, as an example Alpha Ousman has lived his entire 23 year old life in Pita, yet never before visited these waterfalls located only 20 kilometres from his home, and he works as a driver!

After this we drove towards Kinkon falls, but the military had set up a roadblock and after viewing my documents they wanted a fee for us to visit. It was only the equivalent of $3, but they wouldn’t give me a ticket or receipt, and I refused to lace these corrupt official pockets with any more money so we simply turned around without seeing these falls. This was the last drop I needed from Guinea, so the following morning I got up early and decided to head for the border with Sierra Leone. My transport dropped me off at a crossroads towards Medina Oula and at once I regretted my choice. There was not much here apart from a few motorcycle drivers, and realising their monopoly, they were quoting some rather high prices to get me to the border, where I knew I would once more be stuck in the same situation. I was kicking myself for always choosing these tiny borders, just because I hate going back on myself and it looks nicer as a route, because it rarely saves me any time or money. Then I saw a vehicle turn in on the small road, and I realised it had Sierra Leonean licence plates, so I picked my bags up and ran after it. The driver, Kandé, stopped and he was indeed from Sierra Leone, heading almost the whole way to where I wanted to go for the night.

Finally my luck seemed to be turning. The following drive was like a scene out of “Blood Diamond” as he raced his 4x4 with a cracked windshield, bouncing down the incredibly bumpy dirt track, until we got stuck, one of the wheels firmly lodged in a crevasse. After some time we managed to get loose, and made our way past some military checkpoints, where I noticed Kandé slipping the soldiers some bills, then passed the two border controls and made it to Fintonia in one piece. This was Kandé’s home village and he asked me for a minimal amount of money, which I was more than happy to give him, then he arranged for a motorcycle driver to take me to my final destination, Outamba-Kilimi National Park.