Guinea

BeckyAfrica

Entering Guinea overland through the Kandika border crossing was a bit frustrating because of the surly border guards. They were furious that our tour leader, Chloe, couldn’t speak French and upset that none of us had two copies of our electronic visa (apparently one copy wasn’t enough!). Thankfully,  one of the guards eventually took pity on our group and managed to find a photocopier to print off a second copy of our paperwork. This saved us a full day’s travel as we would have been forced to backtrack into the town of Gabu in Guinea-Bissau which was over 7 hours away. Needless to say, we were very grateful to finally get stamped into Guinea when the whole debacle was resolved! Our first bush camp attracted curious Guineans who watched in amazement as we set up our tents for the night. The next day we drove to Labé which was our base for three nights as we got ready to explore some waterfalls. Sala Waterfall (Chutes de Sala) was our first waterfall excursion. Located a mere 30 km away from Labé, the road there and back was horrendous so it required a full day trip. This impressive series of stepped waterfalls was the perfect escape from the rest of our group as we relaxed and soaked in the refreshing pools. Our second full day was spent at the Kambadaga Falls near Pita. This spectacular waterfall is best viewed from afar to appreciate the size and scale but we rather enjoyed climbing up and around it. A liana vine bridge was a bit of a scary experience as this bridge was obviously in a state of disrepair. Built out of vine and cable, along with some wood and metal, we managed to conquer our fear in a river crossing over the rickety bridge! The swimming hole at this waterfall was quite inviting and we watched as some locals did laundry and fished here while we frolicked away. Back in the town of Labé, we went shopping in the massive market where we met a lot of friendly locals who were happy to pose for photos. From Labé, we drove onward to Dalaba where we had the afternoon to coordinate a trip out to one of Guinea’s tallest and most beautiful waterfalls – the Chutes de Ditinn. Dan joined us and we couldn’t afford two motorbikes but we found a driver willing to transport the three of us on the back of his bike so the 4 of us made our way to Ditinn and back! What a crazy adventure but the waterfall was worth the effort to get there. After leaving Ditinn, we drove towards Bridal Veil Falls which was our campsite for the night. What a gorgeous spot to sleep at as we set up our tent at the base of the waterfall…definitely a bush camp to remember! After leaving Bridal Veil Falls, we drove onward to Coyah, which was one of the busiest markets in West Africa thus far. We found the locals to be friendly and welcoming and enjoyed getting lost in the market. Our last night in Guinea was another bush camp in a farmer’s field where we befriended two young boys who were given a quick lesson on playing catch. They quickly recruited their friends who returned to our campsite to eagerly soak up our every move. Robby of course taught a whole gang of boys how to make armpit farts which will probably not go over too well with their parents, ha ha. On our last morning in Guinea, there was a massive fuel depot explosion in Conakry which left 13 people dead and dozens injured. Our tour leader and a fellow passenger were actually in Conakry attempting to get us our Ivory Coast visas at the time but were quickly told the capital was under lockdown. This was definitely a sign for us to get out of Guinea which we did posthaste. Goodbye Guinea – you have wowed us with your stunning waterfalls and extremely welcoming people!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *