Sorry for the long gap since my last posting, but Abraham and I have been on the road and have just returned to Dakar. This time we went to Ziguinchor in the southern region of Senegal known as Casamance, where Abraham had several meetings. While there, we decided to take a few days and visit Guinea Bissau, just 15 miles away. A short paragraph in our Lonely Planet guidebook mentioned a small town called Varela as having a spectacular coastline, so we decided to check it out.

It turned out to be perhaps our greatest adventure so far.

With fresh visas in our passports ($9 from the Guinea Bissau “consulate” — a small office in a rundown colonial building across the street from our hotel in Ziguinchor), we took a sept-place across the border to Sao Domingos, our first stop. One of the car’s passengers, a man in his 20’s, left the car just before the border to cross on foot through the bush. Apparently he didn’t carry the necessary papers. We made four stops for border formalities — 2 for Senegal, 2 for GB, I’m not sure why so many. We drove about 500 meters, and suddenly the man in his 20’s emerged from the bush to continue his journey with us.

Sao Domingos was a small town but an important junction. I was excited to use my Spanish and limited Portuguese, but quickly discovered that most people actually spoke Creole. Still, they all said “Bom dia,” and were able to tell me where the “bus” to Varela was. It turned out to be a truck, and we climbed into the back with about 40 other people, bags of rice and onions, numerous containers of fuel, and a goat that was tied onto the roof. Needless to say, it was more than cramped, and one of the most uncomfortable 4-hour journeys I’ve ever taken. The fact that the highway was dirt and riddled with potholes did not help.

Still, in spite of the conditions, the trip was fascinating. There were no other tourists anywhere, and we flet we had gone deep into new territory. Nobody hassled us to buy things, and it was obvious that this place was well off of the tourist trail. The Guinea Bissauans were friendly and much more relaxed than the Senegalese, who suddenly seemed uptight by comparison.

The truck bounced along the road, passing through seemingly endless forests and fields. Every now and then we passed a small settlement of five or six houses hidden under shady trees. We passed just two cars in four hours, as well as several bicycles. When we arrived in Varela at sundown, we felt we had journeyed deep into the heart of Guinea Bissau, even though in actuality we were still close to the Senegalese border.

This is what the road looks like at 5am, when we returned from Varela to Sao Domingos three days later. Notice the large hole in the road — imagine 30 miles of holes like that and you get an idea of road conditions are like on the “highway” to Varela. Fortunately, we returned on the bus, rather than the truck (there are only two vehicles per day), and Fatima at our hotel arranged for us to ride in the cab of the bus, which was much more comfortable.

Baggage compartment of our car back to Senegal.

The car to Senegal. Not aesthetically pleasing, but it did the job.