Articles in Guinea Bike Trip
Guinea 065
Sunday, February 25 10:10 a.m.
Kankan has turned me into an observer. Which I suppose isn’t a bad thing. Most of yesterday I sat on the balcony watching the world go by. This was after a second and longer bike ride around the city. I found the Milo River and the “gare voiture” on its banks. I saw a trio of Two Bobs in the middle …
Guinea 066
Monday, February, 26 2:30 p.m.
I appear to be momentarily trapped in Kankan by a “manifestation.”
The plan was to go to the bank this morning, change money, and then head for the Forest Region tomorrow morning. But when I found the bank it was locked up tight. My first thought was that with my usual talent for such things I’d chosen the one day in the …
Guinea 067
Thursday, March 1 3:00 p.m. Beyla
I look at my map of Guinea and can see where I am but I can hardly believe it. There seems altogether too much space between Kankan and Beyla. I couldn’t possibly have cycled that. But cycle it I did. I’ve got the war wounds to prove it. My right hand is so smashed and bruised from the handlebars that …
Guinea 068
Friday, March 2 7:22 a.m.
My hands aren’t much better this morning. Even simple tasks like shaving and opening a zipper are difficult. Pushing the play button on my walkman was almost too much for me and I had to use two hands. This is unusual and I suspect that it has something to do with how I positioned my bar ends. I tried something new …
Guinea 069
Saturday, March 3 7:10 a.m.
For the second morning in a row I’ve woken to the cheerful and welcoming sound of church bells. The sky seems a bit overcast meaning that this probably would have been a good day for cycling but I’m going to spend today and possibly even tomorrow in Beyla. I’m enjoying the luxury of my table and chair too much to easily …
Guinea 070
Monday, March 5 8:39 a.m. Nzerekore
When I left from Beyla I had no intention of getting to Nzerekore in one day. I’d gotten distance estimates ranging from one hundred and thirty-five kilometres to one hundred and eighty kilometres and with no idea of the road conditions even the low end of those estimates was beyond me. But cycle it in one day I did with …
Guinea 071
Thursday, March 8 – 8:35 a.m. Macenta
I listened to the BBC the night before I left Nzerekore to come here to Macenta. I hadn’t heard anything about Guinea and border fighting for a while and going on the assumption that no news is good news didn’t want to hear anything now. But the top news story for Africa was a statement by Liberia’s defense minister …
Guinea 072
Friday, March 9 8:13 a.m.
My initial favorable impressions of Macenta have not faded. Unlike Nzerekore it has a discernible center, a downtown where my hotel is conveniently located. It is ringed closely by jungle covered hills. To the northeast two chains of hills run parallel to each other on both sides of the town. The buildings, mostly remnants of the French colonial era, hug these …