🇬🇳 11/2024 Guinea Travel

Day 35, 3.11.2024. - I don’t swear, but… 🤬

We’re in Gabu, a town that barely feels like one but is big enough on the map to imagine a decent stop before crossing the border. Kids shout “Branco!” at us while locals point fingers. It means “white” — a rarity in the eastern part of Bissau. 👽 But we’re not the only outsiders here. A Japanese couple is also at the bus station by 7 a.m., right when the hotels cut the electricity, leaving us sweating and dreaming of air conditioning until it’s switched back on at 7 p.m. 👀

The Japanese are headed for Conakry, Guinea’s capital, but we don’t dare take that risk. The map says it’s an 11-hour journey, which in African terms might easily mean 22. 🐌 Arriving at the bus lot by 7 doesn’t guarantee departure — let alone arrival before nightfall.

They’ve booked a 7-seater car; we’re on a 15-seater van heading halfway to Labé in Guinea. Here, schedules don’t matter. Vehicles leave only when full. But 7 or 15 free seats don’t reveal the real passenger count. 👥 Hours pass — two, three, five. This route is far from popular. “It’s Africa,” the driver laughs. Indeed, it is. 🌍 It takes time to adjust before calling travel here a pleasant experience. The Japanese shrug and say, “It just is.” And they’re right. It simply is.