Articles in Guinea Bike Trip
Guinea 025
Tuesday, January 2 9:00 a.m.
The police checkpoints on the road continue to be a pleasant surprise. Each time I crest a rise and see the telltale cluster of vehicles and old rope pulled across the road my heart sinks and I brace myself for the worst. But so far I haven’t had any problems. At most of them I’ve been completely ignored. I slowly pedal …
Guinea 026
Wednesday, January 3 8:00 a.m.
Yesterday was another sick day. I don’t know what it was but it started when I arrived in Kindia with a low grade fever and the fever stayed with me all day and was joined by the usual assortment of stomach problems. I was tired beyond belief and couldn’t move which was fine because every time I moved I felt nauseous. …
Guinea 027
Friday, January 5 – 8:00 a.m.
I find myself not exactly at a loss for words but unsure of which ones to use first. Not because the experiences of the last couple of days have been profound but they were involved and send my mind branching in many different directions.
I spent yesterday in the company of Ashaki, a thirty-six year old professor at Conakry University. She …
Guinea 028
Sunday, January 7 8:45 a.m.
I’ve been in Kindia nearly a week now and it’s starting to feel like time to move on. But not today. Today I’ve been invited to a kind of memorial service for Ashaki’s uncle. He died forty days ago and the entire family and many friends have been arriving all weekend for the service or “sacrifice” as Phd has been calling …
Guinea 029
Monday, January 8 7:23 a.m.
I’m already showered, dressed, and drinking a cup of coffee made on my camp stove in the bathroom. No electricity yet this morning so I’m writing by candlelight. To begin the day so early is not unusual for me here. In fact I was awake much earlier and forced myself to stay in bed. What I do is pull my sleeping …
Guinea 030
Tuesday, January 9 6:00 a.m.
Yesterday was a day spent in a search for the mysterious land of “la bas.” I don’t know if this is a Guinean French word or if it exists in France as well but as far as I can tell it means “there” or “over there” or “down there.” Whatever it translates as it is a wondrous place, a land of …
Guinea 031
Wednesday, January 10 7:00 p.m.
On the road again, fifty-eight kilometres up the road from Kindia in the small town of Sogueta. There’s no hotel here and I find myself camping out in the dirt lot behind the local hospital. There’s a respectable latrine and a good supply of water right at hand so with my tent, Thermarest, stove, and other technological marvels it’s quite comfortable …
Guinea 032
Thursday, January 11 12:00 Noon
For the first night in my tent in Guinea (lying on top of it in Mambiya doesn’t count) it was pretty successful. I didn’t sleep the whole night through but didn’t mind drifting in and out of sleep as I searched for comfortable positions. Each time I awoke I could listen to the night sounds. The ground where I’d pitched my …