On October 30, 2023, we traveled by boat from the Orango National Park archipelago of islands back to the capital city of Guinea-Bissau, Bissau. The tour boat, draped with plastic, was crammed full of passengers, so Mike, Dave and I opted to ride back to shore in the open air boat carrying all the tour members' bags. Alas, a sudden storm came up partway through our two hour journey. It was a deluge, with no cabin to retreat to. I hid my camera and my head inside a plastic tote bag I brought with me, as the rain pelted down and the winds whipped the sea water into our boat. Luckily, the deluge lasted only fifteen or twenty minutes, and then it was clear again. Our boat dashed along the open sea, regardless of rain, wind, and waves. I reminded myself that this was just like a Lagoon or Disneyland ride....
It was exhilarating to jet along, right on the level of the sea, with virtually nothing in sight.
As we entered the Bissau harbor, we passed the floating power station which Turkey rented to Guinea-Bissau to provide electricity for the city of Bissau. Guinea-Bissau didn't pay its power bill and Turkey shut off the electricity for the whole city! "This is Africa," our tour guide said again and again, about such oddities.
I was amazed at the beautiful hotels Adventures Abroad found in "emerging" countries and their cities. Our Bissau hotel was stunning, with a huge, modern atrium filled with an interesting collection of African art.
Our guide, Claude, was also very good at finding interesting restaurants. We ate lunch, in Bissau, at a cafe serving African food with Portuguese accents.
Elections were pending in several of the countries we visited. There were huge signs touting the virtues of the candidates.
Our last stop, before heading for the airport for our flight back to Dakar, Senegal, was the Bissau crafts market.
The typical craft items were drums, masks, wood carvings, bright-patterned fabric, and paintings. This mural, painted on a wall of the crafts market, portrayed an African warrior.
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