You're such a tease Simon..............
Gaels return to West Africa
- Thread starter simondippenhall
- Start date
The evening was approaching as we drew into Bubaque where the quay was crowded
Next to these boats was the dock where a tramp steamer was moored. We learned that the security forces had placed this against the only dock as they feared a coup, and the presidential visit we had heard of was actually the entire government running away to the island to escape the demonstrators
.
So for nearly an hour the skipper tried and failed to moor the boat as it got dark. Eventually he succeeded...but then we had to climb/slide down an almost vertical gangway into the hold of the steamer and then climb out the other side - chaos for those who had suitcases, animals or children to disembark!
One or two of our fellow travellers
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Next to these boats was the dock where a tramp steamer was moored. We learned that the security forces had placed this against the only dock as they feared a coup, and the presidential visit we had heard of was actually the entire government running away to the island to escape the demonstrators
.
So for nearly an hour the skipper tried and failed to moor the boat as it got dark. Eventually he succeeded...but then we had to climb/slide down an almost vertical gangway into the hold of the steamer and then climb out the other side - chaos for those who had suitcases, animals or children to disembark!
One or two of our fellow travellers
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From there we eventually got another launch to the adjacent island, Rubane, where Mme Solingen managed to squeeze us in at her fabulous beachside place.
The next two days were motorbike free so probably not appropriate for a ride report but I will post a few photos to give you the flavour:
Idyllic beaches
Fabulous fishing (not by me!)
Tosser sizes fishermen:
We travelled out to Poilon, the most remote island, to see giant turtles lay their eggs st night
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The next two days were motorbike free so probably not appropriate for a ride report but I will post a few photos to give you the flavour:
Idyllic beaches
Fabulous fishing (not by me!)
Tosser sizes fishermen:
We travelled out to Poilon, the most remote island, to see giant turtles lay their eggs st night
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Still as any GSer knows it ain't all abaht lying on a beach and having a good time...so afte 2 days on Rubane we headed back by speedboat (one 6 hour ferry ride was enough for now!).
Back in the city of Bissau, little had changed (but the demonstrations had finished).
The buildings hadn't got any better
but we could now walk up to the Palais de Justice
and admire the nearby plaque to Che Guevara
We returned to the Residencial Coimbra but they were so full they could only find us a room by their bookshop. My idea of heaven - but all the books are in Portuguese so my nocturnal roaming is fruitless
The bike is happily tucked by the generator where I left it and we prepare to leave for Senegal the next morning
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Back in the city of Bissau, little had changed (but the demonstrations had finished).
The buildings hadn't got any better
but we could now walk up to the Palais de Justice
and admire the nearby plaque to Che Guevara
We returned to the Residencial Coimbra but they were so full they could only find us a room by their bookshop. My idea of heaven - but all the books are in Portuguese so my nocturnal roaming is fruitless
The bike is happily tucked by the generator where I left it and we prepare to leave for Senegal the next morning
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One place we won’t be staying...the Grand Hotel
I was really keen to travel East through Guinea Conakry to Senegal but a Spanish lady who lived locally and was married to someone from there told me the roads were very bad. Very often here what is shown as a road on a map can be very much less than that (as I found out on the road from Mali to Tambacounda earlier!).
So we decided to retrace the road to Ziguinchor. We had a pleasant lunch beside the road from our picnic box (usually what we could pinch from the breakfast buffet) and I studied the road choices (few, in truth) and where the heck I could find
️ petrol
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I was really keen to travel East through Guinea Conakry to Senegal but a Spanish lady who lived locally and was married to someone from there told me the roads were very bad. Very often here what is shown as a road on a map can be very much less than that (as I found out on the road from Mali to Tambacounda earlier!).
So we decided to retrace the road to Ziguinchor. We had a pleasant lunch beside the road from our picnic box (usually what we could pinch from the breakfast buffet) and I studied the road choices (few, in truth) and where the heck I could find
️ petrolSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Studying the road ahead, whilst my lively lady assistant oversees the moto
I was so busy looking for the right spot for the road eastward that I failed to fill up with petrol. And of course this long road east to Korda had no petroleum stations, or so it seemed.
Then I asked in one village and was told there was a 'Pompe d'essence' in 10kms. I quizzed them whether it was really a Pompe and they reassured me, as I was not keen to do another refill from plastic drinks bottles like in Mauritania.
And when I finally tracked it down, the petroleum pump turned out to be a gang of young lads with a big stack of.......................... plastic drinks bottles. It seems that in the Casamance vernacular, a Pompe>= 10 plastic bottles! Oh well.
Filling up from the 'pompe '
The refill allowed us to enjoy the countryside and the people in the vibrant towns we passed through (if not the sandy 'deviations'!)
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The road through the Casamance was undulating and we worked out the worst potholes were on the lower areas, where presumably periodic flooding led to road damage.
These were occasions where the bike was faster than other traffic, which had to go very slowly to get through the potholes whereas (usually!) we could thread the bike wheels though the remaining vestiges of tarmac and maintain speed...although we had a couple of bum-shattering miscalculations on my part - worse for Kit who was seated whilst I was on the pegs to get a better forward view.
At one stage our way forward was blocked by 5 or 6 youngsters who were holding a rope across the road to exact a toll or cadeau. I was having none of us and to their stupefaction I rode off the road and along the rutted verge around them.
After all this excitement it was time for a cold fizzy drink - Fanta orange is my preferred brew and we were learning to spot the battered roadside fridges which usually signalled their presence.
Then on to Kolda, where the swimming pool of the Hotel Hobbe was calling me along with a cold beer!
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These were occasions where the bike was faster than other traffic, which had to go very slowly to get through the potholes whereas (usually!) we could thread the bike wheels though the remaining vestiges of tarmac and maintain speed...although we had a couple of bum-shattering miscalculations on my part - worse for Kit who was seated whilst I was on the pegs to get a better forward view.
At one stage our way forward was blocked by 5 or 6 youngsters who were holding a rope across the road to exact a toll or cadeau. I was having none of us and to their stupefaction I rode off the road and along the rutted verge around them.
After all this excitement it was time for a cold fizzy drink - Fanta orange is my preferred brew and we were learning to spot the battered roadside fridges which usually signalled their presence.
Then on to Kolda, where the swimming pool of the Hotel Hobbe was calling me along with a cold beer!
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The GS1150 is slow but it’s faster than this
even if he is overtaking me in this photo
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even if he is overtaking me in this photo
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The GS enjoyed lording it over its smaller neighbours at the hotel
which came complete with internal air conditioning and monkeys on the roof
The next day I had learnt my lesson and before we headed off into the bush to the Niokolo Koba National park I queued to fill the bike with petrol
Why I chose to queue here rather than use the pump across the road with no queues remains a mystery to me - but was obviously of interest to these young fellas
Our next stop was the lovely Camp Wassadou, approached by a typical African piste
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which came complete with internal air conditioning and monkeys on the roof
The next day I had learnt my lesson and before we headed off into the bush to the Niokolo Koba National park I queued to fill the bike with petrol
Why I chose to queue here rather than use the pump across the road with no queues remains a mystery to me - but was obviously of interest to these young fellas
Our next stop was the lovely Camp Wassadou, approached by a typical African piste
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Time for another Gazelle 
?
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No, time to ride again. A pillion’s view of the roadside world:
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Cheers Lee...wasn’t sure if anyone was out there in Tosserland reading this.
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Camp Wassadou even had electricity on occasion so we felt quite luxurious.
We decided to head off on a safari but as Attenborough had done all of this to death I shall not trouble you with my poor photographic attempts, other than a few of your correspondent:
Setting off to the bush
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We decided to head off on a safari but as Attenborough had done all of this to death I shall not trouble you with my poor photographic attempts, other than a few of your correspondent:
Setting off to the bush
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Simon, although I've heard most of the stories first hand, it's good to read the detail and see the relevant photos.
There are not too many two-up stories on here of riding around the Senegal/Guinea area.. Even fewer with you both flying in to a ride bike, ridden down some time earlier. You may have spawned a new way of exploring Africa. Why didn't I think of that
So it is well worth recording, keep it up.
Also good luck with the onward journey and keep an eye over your shoulder now and again, as I may rejoin you along the way when circumstances allow.
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There are not too many two-up stories on here of riding around the Senegal/Guinea area.. Even fewer with you both flying in to a ride bike, ridden down some time earlier. You may have spawned a new way of exploring Africa. Why didn't I think of that
So it is well worth recording, keep it up. Also good luck with the onward journey and keep an eye over your shoulder now and again, as I may rejoin you along the way when circumstances allow.
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Thanks guys...I feel I need to get this done before I fly back to Banjul Monday and start the next leg (sadly, just me not the missus this time!)
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It was time to leave the calm of the jungle (despite the racket the monkeys made at night)
However we had some road to cover (and I chuckled at Googlemaps optimism on timing
We were headed for Kaolack, a major transport hub of five roads on the way to Dakar (and, I learned later from locals and Jim, a place to be avoided if possible
).
But while it was intense (and our hotel reception told us to take a taxi back from dinner rather than walk) it was enjoy with a huge bazaar and a real bustle.
Taxi jams at the bazaar:
You can tell then all you want
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However we had some road to cover (and I chuckled at Googlemaps optimism on timing
We were headed for Kaolack, a major transport hub of five roads on the way to Dakar (and, I learned later from locals and Jim, a place to be avoided if possible
).But while it was intense (and our hotel reception told us to take a taxi back from dinner rather than walk) it was enjoy with a huge bazaar and a real bustle.
Taxi jams at the bazaar:
You can tell then all you want
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roadrider
Registered user
Been in this from the very beginning 
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