Our Round-the-World adventure

[tacototheworld]

Guinea - Conakry

Time to move on to another country, from Portugese Guinea-Bissau to French Guinea Conakry.

We had thought the border crossing from Senegal to Guinea-Bissau was remote but it was nothing compared to the one from Guinea-Bissau to Guinea Conakry!

Guinea-Bissau border side. Simple crossing, 30 minutes, soft ask for money which we declined. The customs officer told us the car’s LP was 100,000 CFA ($160 USD). We told him the embassy said it was free. He was not happy but handed us our paper and told us to go.

We were looking for some hiking adventures so drove into the Fouta Djalon mountain region. We were feeling upbeat and happy, leaving visa woes behind for the time being and ready to see a new country. But wow, the roads to get there were really challenging. Steep, rocky, rutted…

Beautiful scenery on the way to Fouta Djalon

And then the truck started clunking. Andy got out to inspect and saw that we had broken a control arm on the front anti-sway bar.

After removing the anti-sway bar, Andy duct taped the control arms to get us back on our way

Luckily the roads smoothed out for us

Varied and beautiful landscapes coming down from Fouta Djalon

After a long challenging day of driving we found a spot by a reservoir at dusk

And made it to a mechanic in Conakry

Even for car repairs in Conakry, everything is cash. We had to stand at an ATM for 20 minutes taking out money in the maximum $20 increments to get the full $400. Each bill is worth $2 USD.

But we appreciate this crew at CFAO Toyota in Conakry, they got us back on the road. Luckily the control arm from the local Hilux is the same part for our Tacoma!

Guinea (also known as Guinea Conakry for clarity) had a different personality all its own. The people felt lighter, happier, more smiles and music. They went out of their way to help us when they saw we were lost or having trouble navigating a tight fit with the truck.

So many kind helpers like this gentleman in the plaid shirt who helped guide us through crowded streets

Conakry was a tough town for us though. The geography alone makes it difficult - the city of 1.6 million people is built on a peninsula with few main roads heading in and out. On one frustrating Sunday afternoon of gridlock it took us two and a half hours to go 15 km.

And thoroughfares shown on mapping programs (OSM or Google) as major roads are regularly taken over by outside markets

As a side benefit, entrepreneurship rules the day with people walking up and down the traffic lines selling just about anything you can think of. Fruit, plastic chairs, razors, toys, shoes, Kleenex, baked goods, clothing, towels… Most of the goods are stored on peoples’ heads in buckets, on trays or attached to hats and with an eye to design and marketing. It provided us endless entertainment and the ability to unexpectedly buy some products we had been needing.

Streets also double as soccer fields and mosques with people praying. And the motorcycles are off the charts. As far as we could tell, motorcycles were exempt from all traffic rules, ignoring stop signs and lights and frequently travelling against and around traffic. They reminded us of water with droves of them always finding the path of least resistance.. Even though the traffic is some of the worst we have ever seen, there are not that many private cars. Taxis, motorcycles, tuk tuks and delivery trucks rule the roads. The city is also constantly veiled in a layer of smog - vehicles sometimes pour black and blue smoke and the red dust is constantly blowing in the wind. Although surrounded by coast, the water’s edge is mostly covered with densely-populated, poorly-constructed housing. All in all, not our favorite place to be waiting for paperwork. But it was not all negative, the people were amazing. Even when we were lost and blocking the way in a small neighborhood, we felt welcomed and assisted. Traffic here was THE worst we’ve ever seen!

View from our Conakry hotel -impromptu soccer game down below

The other challenge with Conakry was that we had to stay longer than we wanted to. It was a big center for obtaining West African visas. Our goals were Liberia, Ghana, Nigeria, and obtaining our Ivory Coast laissez passer (LP - pass to drive a private vehicle through). For Liberia it was easy at their embassy to obtain both visas and an LP. Nigeria flat-out denied us - said we were too far away and to try in Benin. We got stuck waiting for our Ghana visa and our Ivory Coast LP. The Ghana online visa portal was very difficult has quite a few hidden tricks. Luckily the West Africa Facebook group was super helpful getting us through it (for instance, you cannot check the “arriving by land” box even if you are, it then refuses to accept your following information, you have to check “arriving by air”).

We knew traveling West Africa would be challenging. We were prepared for difficult roads, limited water, food and infrastructure, lack of communication, and remote village life. We were not prepared for totally chaotic, polluted cities and constant anxiety about being able to get the paperwork needed to continue our journey in a timely manner, or even at all. There are still multiple points where we know we could be forced to turn back or try to find a way to ship our vehicle around.

Dramatic mountainous terrain outside of Conakry

Definitely no wasted space on this vehicle!

Our last day in Conakry was our best. We had been feeling discouraged and were still waiting for our Ghana visa, not being sure if we had one or three more days to wait. We made our way to the Centre d’Art Acrobatique Keita Fodeba that we read about in our Lonely Planet guidebook.

A young man standing out front asked if we were looking for the acrobatics and we said “yes!!!” He smiled and guided us into a huge warehouse and introduced us to the leader of the school. He explained that they recruit children from the streets and train them in various disciplines in the performing arts. After a couple of minutes, he said they were going to put on a show for us. Just for us. And they set out two chairs. Wow, the performers were amazing. The whole experience was so inspirational that we left Conakry with warmth in our hearts and hope for the youth that are committed to changing their lives

Performances accompanied by live music - the drum section

The contortionists were incredible

Our last fully-loaded vehicle and roadside entrepreneur shot as we leave Conakry

 

[BajaSurfRig]

Wow what an adventure please keep sharing!!!

 

[tacototheworld]

Sierra Leone

Chimpanzee at the Tacugam Sanctuary in Sierra Leone

It is fascinating to us how we can almost always sense a difference the instant we cross a border from one country to the next. From the moment we reached the Sierra Leone border we felt an extra dose of warmth and welcome. Arriving at customs and immigration felt like a rare and courteous official hug. Every conversation started with “welcome to Sierra Leone.” We were escorted into a shaded room and walked through all the requirements, then basically assigned a helper who took us through the steps (not very complicated, purchased visas on arrival for $4 each and a Laissez Passer for the truck for $17) It also helped that it was an English speaking country so we weren’t forced to use our horrific French and smile apologetically. After a simple border crossing we were able to change money and buy a sim card for data and we were on our way.
And the warmth continued. Similar to The Gambia, people went out of their way to introduce themselves and start a conversation (we realize the fact that we actually spoke the same language could be a factor).
Sierra Leone had recovered from a destructive civil war which ended in 2005 and became one of Africa’s most economically successful countries in 2013. Then disaster hit and it transformed to the fastest shrinking African economy by 2015. The Ebola epidemic in 2014 had a devastating effect on the country and was quickly followed by the collapse of two of the country’s biggest mining companies and the subsequent loss of tens of thousands of jobs. Yet, today, it feels like a country which is hopeful, looking forward and welcoming tourists in. Predominantly Muslim, the country is very religiously tolerant.

Our 750 km route through Sierra Leone (450 miles)

Police and military stops, although frequent, had ceased to hold the same anxiety for us. We have never paid a bribe and hope to continue the trend, although we know some more challenging countries are coming in our future (other travelers are saying Nigeria is the roughest). We have been interested to note how so far the fact that we are American brings smiles to peoples’ faces. The concept of America means something hopeful and opportunistic to people, they want to come visit and are saddened by the difficulty of obtaining a visa.

Hard workers packed in a delivery truck. Transportation options limited and people make the best use of what is available

People use the edges of the black paved roads for drying food - coconut, grain, and also clothes

Motorcycles are the most common mode of transportation and typically carry multiple people and huge balanced loads

Our first stop in Sierra Leone was the Tacugam Chimpanzee Sanctuary. We had a fascinating and informative tour and learned that since hunting chimpanzees was banned in 2019, the number of chimps and orphans coming into the sanctuary has dramatically reduced.

Climbing the viewing tower over one of the chimp areas

Despite the great name - Freetown was founded in 1792 and became the new home for resettled freed slaves from Britain and North America - big cities make us grumpy so we limited our time in Freetown. It is generally a nightmare navigating the truck through city streets crammed with people, motorcycles and goods for sale. Parking is always an issue and the sheer number of people is overwhelming for us.

Classic old cotton tree which serves as a roundabout in central Freetown

So we left the hustle of the urban center and made our way out to the beaches on the southern Freetown Peninsula. We landed at Tito’s Paradise, an aptly named camping area on a remote bay. We bumped our way down dirt roads using Google Maps and popped out by the ocean to a warm welcome from Tito.

Perfect beach camping, ocean side but tucked into the shade

We even took a rare rest day, so peaceful

We had read about a highlight in Sierra Leone being a visit to Tiwai Island, a 12 sq km island in the Moa River with vibrant wildlife. So we sent off an email requesting a visit and an overnight stay, received a reply that we were welcome to come and set off. Many hours (five) of bumping along dirt roads later we pulled into the village we thought was the jumping-off place.

It is hard to describe the unsettling experience of pulling into a small village in the forest, with no shared language and feeling so incredibly out of place in the only large vehicle visible for hours (there had only been motorcycles for miles). We put on our best smiles, got out, were surrounded by 30 children eager to hold hands and tried to figure out what to do. Over and over again in West Africa, we show up for “top tourist experiences” which they ALWAYS are - amazing - but no signage, no clarity about expectations, no guidance, we just fumble our way through. So, we got out of the truck, babbled away in English about going to Tiwai Island, walked around a little looking for the river until someone dispatched a teenager who returned with an English speaker (thank you, so grateful!) who said, no problem leave the truck by the tree, the village would watch it, and follow him to the pier where we would get in a boat to go to the island.

On the Moa river surrounding Tiwai Island

Bricks lined up to dry

Common site in Western Africa, molding bricks

Central meeting/dining area for the island

We quickly realized we were the only guests. Our kind host dropped us off on the island, showed us our bungalow with beds with mosquito netting, and said he had to go back to the village to get a cook to make us dinner. As we explored the tourism infrastructure on the island we realized it had seen better days. The hundreds of visitors who regularly came ceased when the Ebola outbreak hit and barely had time to return before Covid shut everything down. We were among the first to return.

She may be looking a little worse for wear after a rough day but Dawn is thrilled to finally try the famous peanut soup - served with an enormous helping of rice and cooked over a wood fire by a woman from the village

Red colubus monkey

Diana monkey

Walking through the rainforest with our fantastic guide Bobo

Andy nestled into the biggest tree on the island

We did not see the rare pygmy hippos - they are very hard to see and we were not surprised. But we had a great time watching various primates and learned a lot from our naturalist, Bobo, who walked with us for hours. Overall, definitely worth the experience.

Then we bumped our way back along the dirt road

We left Sierra Leone feeling like we could have stayed longer but future dated visas dictated our moving on. Next stop, Liberia as our journey south along the coast continues. Thank you for reading!

 

[tacototheworld]

Sierra Leone

Chimpanzee at the Tacugam Sanctuary in Sierra Leone

It is fascinating to us how we can almost always sense a difference the instant we cross a border from one country to the next. From the moment we reached the Sierra Leone border we felt an extra dose of warmth and welcome. Arriving at customs and immigration felt like a rare and courteous official hug. Every conversation started with “welcome to Sierra Leone.” We were escorted into a shaded room and walked through all the requirements, then basically assigned a helper who took us through the steps (not very complicated, purchased visas on arrival for $4 each and a Laissez Passer for the truck for $17) It also helped that it was an English speaking country so we weren’t forced to use our horrific French and smile apologetically. After a simple border crossing we were able to change money and buy a sim card for data and we were on our way.
And the warmth continued. Similar to The Gambia, people went out of their way to introduce themselves and start a conversation (we realize the fact that we actually spoke the same language could be a factor).
Sierra Leone had recovered from a destructive civil war which ended in 2005 and became one of Africa’s most economically successful countries in 2013. Then disaster hit and it transformed to the fastest shrinking African economy by 2015. The Ebola epidemic in 2014 had a devastating effect on the country and was quickly followed by the collapse of two of the country’s biggest mining companies and the subsequent loss of tens of thousands of jobs. Yet, today, it feels like a country which is hopeful, looking forward and welcoming tourists in. Predominantly Muslim, the country is very religiously tolerant.

Our 750 km route through Sierra Leone (450 miles)

Police and military stops, although frequent, had ceased to hold the same anxiety for us. We have never paid a bribe and hope to continue the trend, although we know some more challenging countries are coming in our future (other travelers are saying Nigeria is the roughest). We have been interested to note how so far the fact that we are American brings smiles to peoples’ faces. The concept of America means something hopeful and opportunistic to people, they want to come visit and are saddened by the difficulty of obtaining a visa.

Hard workers packed in a delivery truck. Transportation options limited and people make the best use of what is available

People use the edges of the black paved roads for drying food - coconut, grain, and also clothes

Motorcycles are the most common mode of transportation and typically carry multiple people and huge balanced loads

Our first stop in Sierra Leone was the Tacugam Chimpanzee Sanctuary. We had a fascinating and informative tour and learned that since hunting chimpanzees was banned in 2019, the number of chimps and orphans coming into the sanctuary has dramatically reduced.

Climbing the viewing tower over one of the chimp areas

Despite the great name - Freetown was founded in 1792 and became the new home for resettled freed slaves from Britain and North America - big cities make us grumpy so we limited our time in Freetown. It is generally a nightmare navigating the truck through city streets crammed with people, motorcycles and goods for sale. Parking is always an issue and the sheer number of people is overwhelming for us.

Classic old cotton tree which serves as a roundabout in central Freetown

So we left the hustle of the urban center and made our way out to the beaches on the southern Freetown Peninsula. We landed at Tito’s Paradise, an aptly named camping area on a remote bay. We bumped our way down dirt roads using Google Maps and popped out by the ocean to a warm welcome from Tito.

Perfect beach camping, ocean side but tucked into the shade

We even took a rare rest day, so peaceful

We had read about a highlight in Sierra Leone being a visit to Tiwai Island, a 12 sq km island in the Moa River with vibrant wildlife. So we sent off an email requesting a visit and an overnight stay, received a reply that we were welcome to come and set off. Many hours (five) of bumping along dirt roads later we pulled into the village we thought was the jumping-off place.

It is hard to describe the unsettling experience of pulling into a small village in the forest, with no shared language and feeling so incredibly out of place in the only large vehicle visible for hours (there had only been motorcycles for miles). We put on our best smiles, got out, were surrounded by 30 children eager to hold hands and tried to figure out what to do. Over and over again in West Africa, we show up for “top tourist experiences” which they ALWAYS are - amazing - but no signage, no clarity about expectations, no guidance, we just fumble our way through. So, we got out of the truck, babbled away in English about going to Tiwai Island, walked around a little looking for the river until someone dispatched a teenager who returned with an English speaker (thank you, so grateful!) who said, no problem leave the truck by the tree, the village would watch it, and follow him to the pier where we would get in a boat to go to the island.

On the Moa river surrounding Tiwai Island

Bricks lined up to dry

Common site in Western Africa, molding bricks

Central meeting/dining area for the island

We quickly realized we were the only guests. Our kind host dropped us off on the island, showed us our bungalow with beds with mosquito netting, and said he had to go back to the village to get a cook to make us dinner. As we explored the tourism infrastructure on the island we realized it had seen better days. The hundreds of visitors who regularly came ceased when the Ebola outbreak hit and barely had time to return before Covid shut everything down. We were among the first to return.

She may be looking a little worse for wear after a rough day but Dawn is thrilled to finally try the famous peanut soup - served with an enormous helping of rice and cooked over a wood fire by a woman from the village

Red colubus monkey

Diana monkey

Walking through the rainforest with our fantastic guide Bobo

Andy nestled into the biggest tree on the island

We did not see the rare pygmy hippos - they are very hard to see and we were not surprised. But we had a great time watching various primates and learned a lot from our naturalist, Bobo, who walked with us for hours. Overall, definitely worth the experience.

Then we bumped our way back along the dirt road

We left Sierra Leone feeling like we could have stayed longer but future dated visas dictated our moving on. Next stop, Liberia as our journey south along the coast continues. Thank you for reading

 

[tacototheworld]

Liberia

Heading into the mountainous area of Liberia

Crossing the bridge over the Mano River, which forms the border between Sierra Leone and Liberia

Liberia’s history is tightly intertwined with the United States– all the people we talked to felt a connection to the US. They were saddened that it was not easier to visit and wished for more international support. Another country which had been through a devastating war in our recent memory, it felt like Liberia was also coming into its own power.
Liberia was founded in 1822 as a destination for freed slaves returning from the Americas. The first African republic to claim independence, it achieved sovereignty in 1847 with the help of the American Colonization Society (a private organization based in the United States). But its founding was not trouble free– of the initial emigration of freed slaves, only about 40% survived due to disease, most commonly malaria. The incoming immigrants who took control (Americo-Liberians) also had a troubled history, only granting indigenous ethnic groups the right to vote in 1963.

Our route through Liberia. We had to cross from Liberia into Côte d'Ivoire by a certain date because of our visa. We didn’t make it to southern Liberia where there were no suitable border crossings for us into Côte d'Ivoire (small boat or on-foot crossings only).

The people we met in Liberia were outgoing and welcoming. The men taught Andy the Liberian handshake which he did his best to master and repeat, bringing a lot of smiles on both sides (involves several steps ending in a finger snap).

Stellar view from the camper door at Robertsport

Our first stop in Liberia was Robertsport, with its famous beaches. We bumped our way out along a 40 km dirt road and ended up in the town of 4,000 people at a surf club bar and restaurant with two beachside camping spots. It was a pleasure talking to the young entrepreneurs running the place, fresh out of hospitality school with vision and enthusiasm to grow the business.

Beach camp at Robertsport Surfclub

Night photo, bringing in the fishing nets

Some of the cleanest beaches we have seen

Except for this . . .somehow hauntingly beautiful though

Enjoyed swapping stories with No Fear Reizen, a Dutch couple inhabiting the other camping spot, also on a long journey south

After two restful days, some long walks on the beach and excellent fresh fish, we got back on the road, slowly working our way back to the main road in a cloud of red dirt.

Then, another major African city, Monrovia. Urban centers are not our favorite, so once again we limited our time in the city to food shopping, finding some cash and some brief tourism.

Main road into town, a tuk tuk scrum through a heavily trafficked and populated market street

Our camping spot in Monrovia. A bit of a let down after being on the beach, but a safe walled compound where our host Joe welcomed us, showed us the bathroom and gave us a wifi code. He runs an NGO placing orphaned children in homes.

Typical small Liberian village

We thought we might possibly be done with Liberia, with our visa beginning Côte d'Ivoire the next day. For overland travelers who had recently driven the western route, Côte d'Ivoire was one of the most difficult countries to access. Technically, land borders had been closed since COVID, with an extra closure put in place in January of 2023 (we are not sure why). In order to drive a vehicle through, you had to obtain a Laissez Passer for your vehicle (basically a temporary import permit) which had been increasingly difficult to obtain in the last month.

Road approaching the Liberia/Côte d'Ivoire border at Danane

Barrier to exit Liberia

We are grateful to the supportive officers on the Liberian side who told us they didn’t want to stamp us out until we were sure we would be able to enter Côte d'Ivoire. They told us to walk across the border to check our paperwork. We passed the health check - no fevers, they OK’d our yellow fever and COVID vaccine records and our visas. BUT, they declined the Laissez Passer - LP - that we had obtained for $80 from the contact at the Ministry of the Interior. It was a bizarre dance. Various officials on the Côte d'Ivoire side shunted us back and forth between each other and at one point told us (in French which a nice young man on a motorbike translated for us) “go find the military man in the back with the key to the gate so you can bring your truck through and we can check it.” We thought that was a hopeful sign. Until we approached the military man in the back who yelled at us and told us the borders were closed and we were stupid because we could not speak French (basically). Dang. So we u-turned back to the truck on the Liberian side to re-group.

This is where things went right. We looked on the map to figure out where to go (the previous night we had camped in a dirt pit for road construction and it was not an experience that we wanted to repeat) and drove an hour to what ended up being our favorite camping spot in Liberia - the Nimba Nature Reserve.

Inside Nimba Nature Reserve

Driving by abandoned mining buildings from the past

Camped by Blue Lake (tiny truck in the photo, on the bluff to the right)

An abandoned iron ore mine, Nimba Mountain and Blue Lake were stunning. It was heartening to see the site being slowly renovated into a nature reserve and tourism site. When we were there they were beginning to build an entrance gate and visitor center and a hotel and restaurant.

Connecting with an American professor, Dr. Gregg Mitman and his graduate students

We met with a group of graduate students who were touring the site and had the opportunity to hear about each of their research. They were all in various studies in Environmental Humanitarianism which blended medicine, industrialism, anthropology, tourism and and primate studies. Wow, there was some combined brilliance on that bluff and besides being a fascinating conversation, we left feeling inspired.

Our last view in Liberia, pulled over by the side of the road waiting for someone to email us a form so we could cross the border to Côte d'Ivoire. Loved watching the kids play with tires and sticks.

The morning of February 15 we were back close to the border waiting for our contact to let us know if he’d been able to secure the paperwork for us. We were hanging out close to the village where we knew there was a small business willing to print a piece of paper for us when we were ready.
Then, the universe worked its magic and the Whatsapp group chat became alive with the news that at midnight the night before, Côte d'Ivoire had opened its land borders. No more special paperwork needed. What!!!
So we made our way back to the border and this time made it across.

More on Côte d'Ivoire soon. Thank you for reading!

 

[sg1]

This is Africa. When you think there is a huge problem an unexpected solution is found. Of course it also works the other way around. When you think you have clear sailing suddenly a problem appears where you least expected it. This makes travelling in Africa so interesting.