Home » Guinea Gambia » Africa, spring 1999 part III

Journal of African trips

Africa, spring 1999 part III

Agelasto
2004-05-21 18:12:22

Displayed times (last time: )

side, it?s too cold for
mosquitoes, a fact I realize only after I dab globs of Deet over my exposed skin.

The next morning we head into Guinea. Several officials want to see my vaccination
certificate. In West Africa the continual checking of the Yellow Fever certificate, which is
officially required, has less to do with matters of health than serving as a means for
extorting money from foreign travelers. This Guinea official tells me my UNESCO
document is not a proper vaccination certificate, but retreats when I point out the word
vaccination on it. One Japanese I met was told his vaccination certificate was invalid (it
wasn?t), and he had to pay US $20 in order to get his passport back from the uniformed
person (perhaps not even an official )who had confiscated it.

Guinea is beautiful. From the taxi the vistas of the Fouta Djalon are marvelous. The
mountains, which remind me of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, include a series of
switchbacks. The hills themselves are copper in color. We are in the middle of the dry
season and the dust is awesome. It is definitely the wrong time of year to be here; we all
wear bandannas or masks because it is too warm (about 25 C) to keep the windows rolled
up and the dust out. The area is so lovely that I would like to return, right at the
beginning of the dry season, and cycle this very route, which passes through a string of
tiny hamlets. At about 11 p.m., we reach Labe. The driver drops each of us off on the
doorstep of where we are going. I register in a cheap hotel (not a brothel) next to the central gare routiere. The kitchen is closed but they have room service. I have been in
five vehicles, over 39 hours, covering only about 500 kilometers. I don?t know which day
of the week it is. Maybe Thursday. I manage to take a bucket shower and string up the
mosquito net. And sleep.
...