The cashew nut should be the national emblem of Guinea Bissau. They, or rather the trees, cover this small former Portuguese colony. The nuts are surely the country’s biggest export, although drugs reputably bring in more money.

The capital, Bissau, is a sorry reminder of a country that has seen better days. From the President’s palace that has no roof to the pot-holed streets, bordered up shop-fronts and fact that there is no running water or electricity, Guinea Bissau isn’t one of Africa’s success stories.

As well as blogging on this website, I try to keep a hand-written journal. At some point in the future I will read back through it all and probably wished I wrote more. Here at least is what went in for the last two days.

10/06/10

DC (distance cycled: 111km)

RP (resting place: customs building: Bula – Guinea Bissau)

Almost leave (Ziguinchor) without paying. No-one is around when I’m ready to leave the auberge – 7am, nor is there any sign of anyone. But as I wheel bike out of gate I hear a yell from behind the mango trees where I was camped.

The Guinean Embassy in The Gambia is not where my guidebook says it is. Readers Google searching for an address may now end up here, or here, which is where I found its new location. Attempts at asking shopkeepers and traffic police directly outside its former address met with limited success. One person told me one thing and the other another. I think a lot of useless information can be gathered this way in Africa. Thank progress for the Internet.  Read more... (911 words, 1 image, estimated 3:39 mins reading time)