When sleeping in a metal box becomes too much a trip upcountry is called for. On March 15th to 17th myself and a 3 other nurses, Stephanie, Elerie and Amy made our way up country!
Friday was a busy day, 3 out of 4 of us were working. once we were off shift we shoved what we would need into our packs and headed off ship! We had tried to arrange for a day worker (the local translators who work with us here on the units) to aid in organizing transportation but everything seemed to fall through. After debating to take a taxi or the bus we decided to hop on the bus and head towards Madina Market.
It was 4pm on a Friday afternoon and the but was packed with commuters! After jamming ourselves into a spot we stood shoulder to shoulder with all the fellow riders. We were covered in sweat, mine yours ours! After 30 min on the bus we arrived to the market and were quickly spotted and escorted towards a Local Taxi that was headed to Kindia.
You are able to take a privet taxi and pay 300 000+ GF for your trip up country OR cram into a public taxi for 24 000 GF. Public taxi it is! We had a lovely station wagon taxi that restricted any leg or neck movement. Through the course of the journey my hair decided to make its way into a lovely Fohawk rats nest! Stephanie sat in the middle with other local travelers and had to stick her head out the window if she wanted any personal space! After 4 hours, 2 Road Blocks and a few cold bags of water (500 GF for a 500ml bag of water!) we were dropped off at a truck stop in Kindia, Guuinea's third largest city at 200 000. Kindia was built up around the surrounding banana plantations and the old rail road tracks run into and out of the city. The majority of the population is Susu and there is a strong Sierra Leonean population. A quick taxi ride dropped us off at our hotel located in the outskirts of the town close to the Guinean Armed forces base. The man who ran the Hotel was very proud of his rooms with running water, electricity (most of the time), AC units, and warm water: in most rooms, the ones without hot water heaters he offered to boil a pot of water for us! After a freak rain shower (it typically only rains June-September) we made our way down the road to a local pub and had amazing Brochettes. 
Sleeping at the hotel was a treat, being able to hear nothing except for crickets or the odd motor bike passing, I did not miss the constant rumble of the ships engines or the random alarms that seem to constantly go off in the engine room! Even if the power did go off and on, Its "Earth Hour" every day over here!
Saturday morning we enjoyed our cheese and bread on the patio looking over the back courtyard. After our meal us 4 ladies made our way into town on foot. We walked just shy of two hours to the main market in Kindia. The market was similar to Madina, with the hustle and bustle of daily buzz. We purchased some fabric and found a little hole in the wall to eat a lovely local lunch of rice and beef. A few of the kids fallowed us around. After lunch we made our way to the Grand Park to find a taxi to show us the Mariee Falls (waterfalls) and other local sites. After a heated yelling match between the motor cycle taxis and car taxis the car taxis won. We were still being pinched, pulled at and yelled at as our taxi rolled out of the grand park.
Our taxi made its way out of town and toward the waterfalls. It was a lovely park with a small entrance fee (well a man demanding money who we proceeded to pay). We climbed up behind the waterfalls to get a bit wet without going all the way into the pool of water below. While at the falls we saw another group of Mercy Ship people! It is a popular tourist spot in a country with little to no tourism!
From there we engaged in a game of charades to communicate that we wanted to visit the Serpentorium to see where they study snake venom. Surprising our reenactment of a snake biting a person was clear enough to our driver! Upon arriving the Serpentorium was an older complex of run down buildings. The Serpentorium is only open during the week, so Stephanie shimmied up the drainpipe to catch a peak inside of all the snakes in their wooden boxes. In addition, on the property there was a Zoo! About 10-15 empty cages, 1 bamboo that was very lonely, and two pens with crocodiles! It was a aery place to walk through with rusty fences and broken glass.
We made our way back towards Kindia market and bought a few more things and made our way back towards the motorcycle Taxis. Yes that's right, we rode 3 per a bike (driver and two of us girls) to save a dollar of course! We made our way on the short 5 min drive back to the truck stop! The motorcycle ride was scary and fun. No helmet and many speed bumps made it more exciting! Once we were dropped off we ate dinner at a local restaurant and walked down the little side road 20 min to our hotel. After a much needed shower my rats nest in my hair was finally worked out and my skin returned to white from the rich red dirt color that it held onto from the days journey. Saturday night was relaxing, playing cards, star gazing (shooting starts!!) and enjoying the wonderful company of the lovely ladies we were with.
 |
| Mount Gangan |
Sunday started off quietly with breakfast on the patio then another 20 min stroll to the main truck stop once again. We hopped on motorcycle taxis and headed towards Mount Gangan. after making our way down a bumpy village road the men parked the bikes in someones front yard and we made our way on foot through the field towards the mountain! Initially when bartering for our motor-taxis we had agreed on taking a short walk, however the guys seemed to enjoy the stroll up mount Gangan so we continued until we reached a Plato between two peaks. We overlooked the valley, seeing the village below and Kindia in the distance was breathtaking. Behind us sat villages built along Banana Plantations. Below us we could see caves, and farms, while above us were young boys leading their herds of cows up the rocky trails. 
We shared our snacks in our group of 8 and enjoyed the view before making our way back down towards the valley. Once back on the motorcycles we made our way to the main road, waving at all the little kids as they ran out yelling Forte Forte! Once on the highway the men made a wrong turn and returned us to the truck stop, after clearing up the confusion we got back on the bikes and headed for the Grand Park. On our way we came up to a political rally of 40 bikes and 10 Vans full of people waving banners about the upcoming elections. (Yes the ships 
We then found a public taxi and started our drive back down to Conakry. Our driver was quiet aggressive and we were making good time, we were smushed in like sardines and the chickens would let out a squawk every now and then. about 2 1/2 hours into the drive we had to make a stop to repair our very flat tire, even after the 15 min quick repair it continued to be a problem and we had to stop for air a couple times. Upon arriving at the Conakry airport it was a quick walk across the street to catch another public taxi to the Port. We arrived to the Port gates with 10 min to spare, we made it back onto the ship just in time for 
dinner and a quick shower before church! All four of us agreed that the entire weekend fell together so well when so many variables could have gone astray. We felt blessed and rejuvenated after our weekend and ready to get back serving and working with the patients on board the Africa Mercy!
No comments:
Post a Comment