Articles tagged with: Guinea Bike Trip
Guinea 076
Saturday, March 17 9:55 a.m.
I bought a book to take home with me. It’s a kind of tourism book for Guinea with lots of pictures but also a bit of history and some practical information. It was originally written in French and then translated into English. I hope the French original is better because the English version reads horribly. But it may have cleared up …
Guinea 075
Friday, March 16 8:22 a.m.
Yesterday I went to one of the little fly infested shacks on the market road for something to eat. The experience was a little picture of life in Guinea, perhaps a tiny but appropriate goodbye. I walk in. The woman who finally notices me does not smile, does not welcome me, does not act welcoming at all. Even though I’m in …
Guinea 074
Tuesday, March 13 7:42 a.m. Conakry
I was supposed to meet the Sierra Leonians at the Nelson Mandela Hotel at 6:30 for an early start. Amadou, the driver, clearly felt his reputation as a driver (which was quite good) depended largely on getting from A to B in the shortest time possible. He saw himself as a kind of rally driver and shouted down the other …
Guinea 073
Sunday, March 11 8:30 a.m. Kissidougou
I’m tired this morning not having slept well last night. My dreams were filled with barrages and angry little men waving guns and shouting. Not surprising considering the day I had.
My guardian angel the Good Conde let me down. I was at the gendarmerie post with my bicycle a couple minutes before 7:00 as we’d arranged but though a few …
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 …
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 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 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 …