Greenery of Guinea Bissau

Having decided we would head into Africa, Guinea-Bissau was not a country we initially had on our list. Our characteristically vague plan was to go to Morocco, then aim for Senegal and The Gambia. Somewhere in Senegal, Sam read about some interesting-looking islands off the coast of Guinea-Bissau, so we continued our journey southwards. These islands, the Bijagós Islands, we found to be markedly different to the mainland in many ways, as you'll read below.

We had a short but eventful time exploring a fraction of this country so here is a - typically narrow - view/summary of this part of our tour. It's also a bit delayed and based on more distant memories than we would have liked due to our failed iPad and suboptimal backup procedures.

Portuguese

The first very obvious indication that we’d left one country and entered another was a new language. After attempting Wolof and French in Senegal, it was a bit of a shock trying to speak to the border guards in Portuguese… After searching online for a few key phrases we cleared immigration in no time, said our "Obrigado"s and made our way along the road through the first few villages.

Gone was the call of “Toubab” from the Senegalese children, and instead we heard shouts of “Blanco” from children and adults alike. Unlike in Senegal these calls were very rarely followed by a request for something else such as “ballon” or “d'argent”. People appeared pleased to see us and ready for a chat. In Guinea-Bissau, Kriol is one of the most common languages so I had to get a little bit of that on the go. Our replies of “Bon dia/bo tarde” and a smile to their shouts of “Blanco” were met with a warm response of waves and smiles back!

On the Islands, the primary language is Bijago and we're embarrassed to say that we didn't learn any, relying on French, which was spoken by many of those that we interacted with in the more touristic parts of the Islands. Our hosts were kind enough to translate into French or English for us.

Nature and wildlife

Like much of Senegal, Guinea-Bissau was really lush and green but the main feature of the mainland landscape was the cashew plantations. The smell of fermenting cashew apples, often discarded in large piles beneath the trees, was an aroma I'll never forget and almost haunted us when we camped. Termites (there'll be more about them shortly...) also haunted us in these forests as they munched through our tent footprint!

Compared with Senegal, there appeared to be a lower diversity of birds on the mainland, perhaps due to the dominance of the single species cashew trees. The most common species were saw (or heard) were the Yellow-crowned gronoleks, weaver birds, and the odd Palm-nut vulture here and there. Not forgetting our first encounter with another aerial species, the Gambian epauletted fruit bat.

The Island wildlife was much richer with more diverse greenery and a mix of native tree and plant species. There were smaller groves of mangos and cashew plantations. Here we discovered Bronze mannikins, Grey-hooded gulls, Whimbrels, African paradise-flycatchers, Western lesser spot-nosed monkeys, fireflies, immense Kapok trees, and huge fungi. We also discovered through our forest explorations that there are loads of types of mango that all taste totally different.

As the rainy season started to roll in the bug life in Guinea-Bissau went totally wild and hundreds of thousands of flying insects appeared from nowhere and filled the skies. It was wise to avoid using or being close to bright lights as we discovered in Cacheu whilst having an evening dinner beside the river.

On Bubaque, our host also introduced Sam to The Scariest Spider of our tour so far (thankfully I missed it, although the one in Norway covered in mites was pretty grim) as well as a rather lovely stick insect. At the hotel in Cacheu a delightful Praying mantis guarded the stairwell.

Roads and development

We’ve had quite a lot of road riding through Western Sahara, Mauritania and Senegal due to the off-road routes (which we much prefer) comprising of deep, unridable sand and we were missing this adventure. We needn't have worried. Shortly after leaving Ziguinchor in southern Senegal, the road condition worsened and the main on-road sections effectively became off-road. Where we had previously been dodging the odd pothole or meandering around a bump in the road, Guinea-Bissau's roads were positively crater-filled! Unfortunately, we didn't take any photographs of these cavernous holes as it was slow enough progress anyway. Many of the main roads were old with broken tarmac, dusty edges and dirt sections.

There wasn't much traffic about but the odd rickety minibus filled with passengers bumped along the route. Sometimes they overtook on the wrong side of the road to avoid the worst of the holes and lessen the impact for those riding inside. Being on a motorbike or bicycle was definitely the best option, with the freedom to manoeuvre around the numerous obstacles. There were more bicycles about than we had seen in ages. For us on our fully loaded bikes, we had to concentrate hard and pay attention to the road ahead to avoid any wheel-jeopardising incidents.

Further towards the capital Bissau, a new road was being laid. As we travelled south we saw the whole road workings unfold from the initial preparation of the ground, levelling, stone foundations, tarmacking, sealing, kerbing and painting. We even got to be some of the first people to travel along the very newest sections.

Someone clearly thinks this upgrade is worth the investment and it will provide a link between northern parts of the country and the capital. Based on what we encountered up until this point, improving the road condition seems bound to make transport more efficient and speed up the movement of goods and people. But, on the other hand, seeing the huge new road dissect small villages and communities felt really jarring. If this upgrade means that a greater number of vehicles travel at higher speeds through the small villages we fear for the safety of some of the very young children who we saw walking along the side of the road. It felt like it was bound to increase the barrier between the two sides of the settlements, in a way that the slower and less frequent traffic on the old road wouldn't.

Hundreds of roadside trees had been felled to make space for it and the associated groundworks. Many of these trees were large, mature specimens of native trees that were on the edge of the cashew plantations. Now felled in many places, they appeared to be some of the only semi-natural habitats bordering the agricultural landscape. It looked as if they would've provided significant shade to the nearby dwellings too. We wondered if houses in villages had been removed too as the new road was much wider than the original dirt one. We did see some roadside buildings with red crosses on them - in Saint Louis, these marked the dwellings identified for demolition.

Tarmacking was well underway within the city of Bissau too, and many roads were closed whilst the work was in progress. You know those car adverts where the vehicles are shown to have all the off-road capability but you know barely anyone in the UK is making use of it - that's not the case in Bissau. Even in the city centre, if you live just off the one or two major roads, (and you're wealthy enough to own a private vehicle) you're going to feel properly smug if you're in a 4x4. We saw the country in the dry season, who knows how it gets in the rainy season.

There were also considerable efforts to provide electricity across the country and many new lines had recently been installed. These were mostly alongside the main roads (although some were along tracks linking villages) and again, large mature trees had been felled to make way for the advancements.

Buildings

Outside of the cities and large towns, the buildings appeared to be all very similar. Dwellings were single storey, of a simple square or rectangular form and typically made of mud-brick, or concrete blocks and plastered. Many had tin roofs, which had rusted to the be the same colour as the reddish-brown earth, with some having a more traditional straw roof. Almost all had overhanging roofs which provided covered outdoor space sheltered from the sun and the rain. In the villages, a cluster of similar dwellings, people were often sat outside or going about their business under the cover they provided. This design must have a significant cooling effect for the inside of the building generally, and kept the rain away from the walls. Both much needed in these parts.

In the cities and larger towns, which often had colonial influence, the buildings were larger and grander in style but were often crumbling. They were once painted bright colours and would have shown off the wealth of their European occupants but were now often left unused, empty or in disrepair with black mould creeping up the walls - not helped by a six month rainy season that brings more rain than western Wales gets in a year.

Traditions

Although we didn't experience a great deal of culture on the mainland (other than the extremely warm and friendly people!) we were treated to a feast of culture and tradition on the Bijagós Islands.

On our guided tour of Canhabaque we experienced a lively traditional dance soundtracked by traditional instruments (and newer ones such as the drain-pipe drum). Not only did we enjoy it, but the whole village including tens of inquisitive children turned out and had as much fun as we did. We've written in more detail about this particular part of the trip. Life on this remote island seemed very far removed from our European one. Where the traditional town crier has more of a ceremonial role in England today, a makeshift bell was still struck here to announce village news.

On Canhabaque, the traditional practice of forest hunting and the consumption of bush meat is still popular. Forest rats are seen as a real delicacy. A couple of small deer and a monkey had also been caught, killed and prepared, ready for transporting back to the main island of Bubaque.

The spiritual culture on the islands is predominantly animist, a belief that nature, wildlife and the Islands themselves are sacred and inhabited by spirits. Our guide Iaia pointed out some particularly sacred points (individual trees) where shrines made of trinkets and pieces of material could be found.

Remoteness and pirogues

With poor roads, and many rivers, deltas and islands, getting around the country can be tricky. We often utilised boats (pirogues) to get us and our bikes to exciting places and to explore new areas in Guinea-Bissau.

Our understanding of remoteness was definitely broadened following our experience on the Bijagós Islands. There are 88 islands and inlets, of which 20 or so are inhabited all year round. To reach them from the mainland, you first take the ferry (5-6 hour journey, twice-weekly) from Bissau to Bubaque.

From there, some of the islands are accessed by a public pirogue service. If not, you have to arrange for a private pirogue or your family/friend/acquaintance maybe has one. They come in all different sizes and like we'd seen in Senegal, many are beautifully painted. Everything the Islanders need is shipped in, from food to livestock to building equipment. The journeys also appeared chaotic to us and we're extremely grateful to all the really lovely people who helped us with bikes, luggage and tickets to get us to where we wanted to go.

By UK standards the public pirogues were 'unreliable'. Cows caused us a considerable delay when returning from Canhabaque to Bubaque as there wasn't enough space for anything else! If there are no cows being transported that day, you may also be delayed by other factors. On one trip, we arrived at the jetty at the advertised time to find that the tide was out, leaving the boat stranded on the beach. No one had planned for the moon's predictable phase so everyone just sat on the jetty waiting. After about three hours some people got too impatient and initiated a group effort to help pull the boat off the beach and into the water! By West African standards, the service of public pirogues seemed to be just how it is.

We thought the Outer Hebrides were remote, but at least they have a website telling you if the ferry will be delayed or cancelled, you're not just sat on the beach/jetty waiting to see if it will ever arrive/depart!

Despite the delays, we wouldn't have changed our trip as the pirogues are an amazing way to see the mangroves and wildlife as well as a great place to meet interesting people, learn more about the place and experience part of the country's day-to-day life.

Slave trade

Our visit to Cacheu Memorial da Escravatura e do Tráfico Negreiro (Slavery and Slave Trade Memorial) was a tough one. It's confronting to see the horrific history of the slave trade and what white Europeans have done to communities, families and countries. We have been treated so kindly and welcomed so warmly despite there being a complex and deserved reason for distrust and (putting it mildly) dislike of people like us.

This gave us an awful lot to think about and our experience in West Africa. Both the past and the current discussions around immigration, exploitation, climate change, poverty. These are things that we continue to discuss together as we see more parts of the world and experience how different people live.

Rubbish

Compared with Senegal, we were quite surprised to see very little plastic rubbish on our visit to Guinea-Bissau. Maybe it's because plastic-coated products are less prevalent here and the little waste there is is burnt. Unlike villages in Morocco and Senegal, the villages seemed very clean and free of rubbish. There were a couple of small flytips here and there and small fires with evidence of burnt waste but nothing on the scale we had seen from Morocco down.

The Islands were a little different and we watched people readily throw waste (mostly food items) into the sea, and there were cans and bottles on deserted beaches even in the off-season. Perhaps it's the tourist/western influence that has brought more packaged products to the islands? We inadvertently rode through the island's landfill on Bubaque on one excursion. The waste has to go somewhere.

Brown dust

One thing there was definitely a lot of in Guinea-Bissau was brown dust! It coated everything as it was thrown up from the dry road and earth. Sam has only just leaned off the last of it when carrying out our cycle maintenance in Dakar...and he suspects it may be to blame for the bust seal on his brake lever. It really got in everywhere...

Small things and big things

As soon as we got onto the Islands, things were notably smaller. We saw small deer (possibly Duikers but they were dead and headless), pygmy goats, small pigs and small cows. That's just what happens on an island based on the Island Rule/Insular Dwarfism. That is, apart from those huge forest rats (Island Gigantism) and ginormous African snails.

We also saw a huge amount of small businesses and cottage industries on the Islands. From the readily available palm nuts, people were making palm oil and soap to sell either in Bubaque or on the mainland. There were many small holdings and some of the houses had little stalls beside them with a few vegetables to sell. We frequently met groups of boys collecting mangos and foli from the trees. Fishermen in small wooden pirogues also went out to sea.

And, to finish, I must mention the tiny airport... Not by any means a world record-breaker but its distinct lack of features includes a 1.2 kilometre runway made of unpaved grass or dirt, and no lighting, navigational aids, fuel supplies, or air traffic control towers to help you up or down. The runway was also used by a road and one day when we were riding down it a child no older than eight blatted past us on a 400cc motorbike. Wild!