So we made it to Bamako, via Segou… where we didn’t find the cultural hotspot we were expecting. But the Niger river is rather spectacular there. Pirogues floating on the turquoise water, lined by green. Colourful boats in the harbour, moving stocks and fish and what-not.
Bamako itself is pretty funky, we camped atop the ablution block of a local backpackers, it's a Libyan tent vibe with no chairs. The cushions and stools are littered with an eclectic bunch, French hippies smoking pot and German motorbike overlanders selling their gear, local students using the cheap wifi, and expats looking for a party. We were there to get our Guinea visas and catch up on some reading, reading up on Ivory Coast, reading up on ways to get Visas to Liberia and Sierra Leone. Reading the news and working out what’s next. The Arab world is burning, Cote de Ivoire is in turmoil, and catch up on the world beyond the four car windows and procession of amazing landscapes that is our home. And of course, try out the local nightlife. First night in Bamako we hit a reggae club owned by a local legend, really good vibe, weird party, Canadian girls searching out the BBC. It was an open mike night, with Hip hop mixed with reggae beats and cool refreshing beer, it wasn’t too bad a warm up. The next night, Friday I think, we hit it hard.
Playing my broken French wing man position for C-baz we hit a club where I found my new favourite music. I have no idea what the genre is called. The only word to describe the heavy angry rhythm is hectic, and the dancing even more so. On the dance floor I felt well out of place as the local chaps tore it up, ladies going crazy, these people know how to kick it….hectic. We were told that these hard core primal party beats are from Cote de Ivoire, they’re intense, they’re almost angry, they’re awesome. Needless to say we have searched some out, along with a whole host of other music and there's a party in Jhb in a few months time, bring your west African rhythm.
Within a few days we had our Visas and it was time to move. C-baz had reset his clock to Cameroonian time, and so was a bit late in getting back to the hostel in the morning. But, as always, he was there, immaculately dressed, smile on his face and we made our way southward to the Guinea border. No hassles, no problems, just an incredible change in landscape as you move away from the arid and the savannahs become thicker and more wooded. Mali receded and Guinea came into view… and then the fun started.
We’ve seen our fair share of borders, borders that don’t exist, borders that are manned. Officious officials are a game now and we know all the rules, or so we thought. But not here, this one was different. This one wasn’t anything more than a police roadblock, about 100m before the border and they wanted money. We refused, we threatened, we cajoled. We strong armed, we sat and tried to wait them out. We realized when the answer to the question of “who is this for?” was “well me, who else” that the rules had changed. It’s a beautiful thing in is own right; gone are all the pretence and crap that we’ve had so far, gone are people trying to find something wrong with the car, or accusations of invalid documents. Gone are the tricks and tests, showing papers and making sure signatures are correct, of me bullshitting and C-baz out-arguing them. I have to give this guy respect, he is beautifully honest. “No pay, no go, and this money is mine”. So we entered the world where its no longer a matter of if you pay or not, now its a world of negotiating how much you pay… its great.
We got fleeced 3 times in four roadblocks all within 400m. The customs guy stamped us in , but then issued us a fee for stamping us in. Handed our documents to his friend who searched the car, all its contents and then simply said, “Pay me”. No, discussion or anything, just, “pay me or I don’t let you go”. Beautifully done sir, well played! So we negotiated and payed him a euro or two and made our way. Right to the next roadblock. Now we have passports stamped, a $130US visa, have been searched and all is fine, we’ve paid customs and some other guy. But then there is a roadblock, 10m from the customs post and they simply say “pay us”. C-baz got us through that one with references to Michael Ballack the German footballer… its all about playing the game, the beautiful game.
And then …it was done, and Guinea opened up to us. Beautiful landscapes, truly friendly people. The border has been a once off and to be honest it was pretty impressive. In our few days here we have had nothing but a great and beautiful time. We've slept in fields, we've camped in forests, we've shared in Hotels, we've had car break downs and eaten testicles and Cane rats. We've pushed out luck at road blocks and we've driven through village after village. We mapped Haute Niger and Ziama, the people in charge so happy to help they accompanied us and even sent a guy on a motorbike down the last road when our vehicle failed. Guinea is a really interesting place, its a place of contrasts, its colourful, its poor but people are proud and will give you the shirt off their back. You don't get hassled, everyone waves and is truly interested to see you. I've enjoyed my time here. Granted we've not finished the trip and are in the rural east, we'll see if my opinion changes in a few weeks when we drive the west. But at the moment, come to Guinea, its super cool.
thanks Guinea,
-Chris-
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