Kanforte to Boke - Day 209

Date: March 15th, 2010
Distance: 59km
Country: Guinea

I woke up and said goodbye to my hosts. They didn't ask for money or anything. (Probably good since I didn't have any Guinea Francs anyway.) It was really great though to be treated thoroughly as a guest. Not a tourist. Someone the town was happy to have come and visit. For the people who think of Africa as a scary place, try a visit to Kanforte.

The rode out was more single track. In a couple of places there were more rickety wooden bridges. I wasn't worried about falling in, the bridges weren't tall. It would have just been a pain to haul my stuff out of the mud.

The one thing I really was worried about was water. I had a few cookies to eat for breakfast. Just no water. I was thinking of stopping by a stream and getting water there. I have tablets that will purify it, but they take 4 hours. That is better for an overnight operation. After 18km through the bush I came to a town that had a pump well. Here in Africa I drink water from a tap (inside or outside), or water from a closed well with a pump. So far no problems. I don't drink water from open wells though. I also try to avoid it from buckets, because I don't have a clue where it comes from. So finding a pump well was great. The water was perfect to. Really tasty and cool. I filled up everything I could.

After the town, the trail became a sort of actual road. I think you would still need a serious 4x4 to get through. But it was decent enough double track. I also picked up a local guide. Just a guy on a bicycle going to Boke. After a few kilometers the double track became a real road. Imagine a logging road. Dirt and gravel but pretty well laid out. The going was pretty good at this point.

I did have to stop at an army checkpoint where the road connected with the main road in the area. No one was there when I rode by though. So I just went to follow my guide who had stopped to talk with some guys. One of the army guys came out of a hut across from the army checkpoint. He called to me and signaled to come over. So I went over to talk to him. Soon the checkpoint was filled with about 5 guys. A white guy going by on a bike and suddenly everyone looks busy.

The guy at the checkpoint wanted to see my passport and my vaccination certificate. All my information went down in his ledger. He also had a couple of questions about where I was going. Not a big deal. No request for a bribe either. (Still glad I had all my paperwork in order, though. I have a feeling if something were wrong the guy would have looked the other way for a fee. Also I did see him accepting money from other guys. Didn't ask why. Could have just been money for lunch, I suppose...)

After that it was off on the road to Boke. On my journey through the bush I had skirted Dabiss. So Boke was only about 30km away. The road was still nice gravel. Sure it wasn't paved, but it wasn't bumpy, washboarded or rutted. There were half a dozen places where a concrete gutter was placed in the road. Kind of like a reverse speed bump. I assumed this was to let water flow by in the rainy season. Probably one of the reasons why the road is marked as impassible in the rain. The other reason may be the few streams we passed. For each one the road dropped steeply into a little valley, crossed over a small bridge or culvert, then rose just as steeply up the other side. In the heat, getting a fully loaded bike up one of those wasn't fun.

The terrain around was beautiful though. I don't know if my camera can quite capture the amazing emerald green of the forests. It is quite stunning. It is just an amazing tropical landscape all around. Espeicially with the green juxtiposed with the red dirt roads. I liked it.

Soon enough I was in Boke. I had three tasks. First get my money changed. Second find a place to stay. Third, find internet. The first one was a little harder than I though. I went to a MoneyGram place, but they were closed or something. The guy next door was kind enough to invite me for lunch though. I love Guineans. I had some rice with a peanut sauce. Really tasty. He also gave me a glass of cold pineapple juice. Oh, so good. He even got me a guide over to a place where I could change money.

This turned out to be a cellphone store. Don't ask me why. But I got my money changed from CFAs to Guinea Francs. The largest bill here seems to be the 10,000 Franc note. This sounds like a lot, but it is about $2. Imagine if you had to pay for everything with $2 bills? I ended up with a stack of bills thicker than a bible. Where to put it all? Still, that was mission 1 accomplished.

I then found the one hotel in town. It wasn't bad. They even said the power would come on at 7:30 PM and stay on until morning. There was also a bucket in the bathroom with water, but the taps were actually working. A real shower, what a treat. Mission 2, done.

Finding internet was the thing that skunked me. I couldn't believe that in a town this size that there wasn't any internet. (Hey, they have power and three cell towers.) Nope not in town. That bummed me out. I am trying to arrange for a package to be shipped over with some bike parts. I need to get it set up to arrive in a place I have never been on or before I get there. A good logistical feat in Africa. It is made impossible without internet.

Still, I was having a good time. I got to watch the sunset over the little river valley that Boke overlooks. Like I said, the scenery around here is spectacular.

-Dravis