Boke’ to Conakry, my infraction and the corrupt police.

Waking early in Boke’ was normal, I readied myself for the day and wasn’t sure what to do? Do I go or do I stay?

When I visited the ‘facilities’ I returned to discover the drum maker looking in my tent, that’s decided then, I go. I can’t be concerned about security, the tent was empty anyway and I hope he got a good nose full of the dreadful smell too, cheeky, He even stole my t shirt from the back of a chair, when you have next to nothing with you it’s easy to see when something isn’t there. It was horribly dirty so I didn’t care, I was already packed apart from the tent so I packed that away, paid my dues and rode down the steep steps of the conference hall, across the yard and straight out onto the road.

Heading out of town I decided that I would find somewhere away from everyone and sort out some coffee and breakfast, I carry food so I didn’t need any outside help.

I was watching intently to find an exclusive place but it’s hard here, almost every suitable place, generally by a river crossing is filled with women washing clothes or boys bathing. Eventually, at around 10.30am I came across a river with an overgrown track leading off, I took the track through thick vegetation and ended up on the old bridge, very overgrown and the path was not in frequent use, the bridge has seen better days but it’s perfect.

I pulled into the shade of the trees at the end of the bridge and cracked out the cooking pans, muesli with hot water and a large black coffee. I decided to give the bike a once over, the only damage apparent was a looked mirror from the jungle ride. My hand guards had done their job well brushing away almost all the branches and the occasional collision with a tree, the Kerrigan luggage is battle scarred but it’s tough gear and is just a bit, well, a lot dirty, ok they are a little scuffed from contact with many trees but all is in good order.

I notice that my rack is a little loose and try to tighten the rest bolts, it’s not working and I think the thread is damaged, it will be fine for now but I will keep an eye on it, chain is lubricated things packed away and I hungrily consume my breakfast.

It was lovely to have a little peace and quiet, everywhere I go I’m inundated with attention, I might as well have a traffic cone on my head, I am very much a novelty and attract a lot of attention, I can handle that but it’s not really what I want, so peace and quiet is rare and normally only found in isolation.

I ride back out onto the road on a very narrow overgrown path and rejoin the road. It’s actually pretty nice to be on tarmac, the last few days have been tough and I’m just pottering along and enjoying the changing scenery.

Guinea is really rather picturesque, the rainy season is still here and regular downpours leave a lush and green landscape, I even found some small mountains which was good to see, I imagined climbing them and wondered about the creatures living in the jungle which cloaked the lower slopes. It’s a good day and I have a goal in mind.

I am heading for Conakry where I hope to score my last visa for this trip, the one for Liberia, apparently it’s not easy, and it’s expensive too, but I do like a challenge.

I have around 50K to Conakry when I’m stopped by the police, it’s usually a minor inconvenience but this time the cop is crooked. He wants money but I’m not keen on handing it out. He claims that I don’t have ‘carte gris’ which is my logbook, that’s rubbish but he won’t take no for an answer. I get a little fed up as this checkpoint is marked as being crooked and I let him know in no uncertain terms, I don’t think we are getting on well..

The police officer has a copy of my carte Gris and my brown card for West Africa insurance he wants my passport but I won’t give it to him! He pulls out his ID card showing he’s a sergeant but I’m not giving him my passport, I put it away and demand my documents back.

Eventually the main man comes over to see what all the fuss is about. This guy wants 200,000GF which is about 20 €, to be honest I don’t have that amount in GF so I couldn’t pay him anyway. In the end the chief settles on 50,000GF which is about 5€, I’m fed up and really hot, I have that amount so I give in and pay the man. He wants the money first but I say no and we exchange at the same time. I gear up and look over my shoulder to check traffic, as I ride off the Sergeant waves goodbye, I exchange a different, less happy signal and get up to speed.

I don’t have any local cash so I can’t afford to be stopped again, I decide that if I pass another checkpoint I’m not stopping, I will just keep going, that may sound risky but I have seen many vehicles do just that, it’s that traffic cone on my head saying pull this guy, he’s probably got money!

The ride into Conakry was fine in the end, of course the traffic builds as with every city but this one isn’t too bad. I aim for a nice hotel I found online called Les Palmiers, it’s French run and for Guinea quite expensive but I don’t care.

The hotel is found easily and it looks nice, there is a local biker here on a Yamaha YZFR125, he’s a happy chap as you really don’t see anything other than cheap Chinese bikes here. I chatted with him for a while, very lovely man, about my age.

I ask about a room but they need to get it ready. I sat in the lounge in full bike gear and was eventually asked to sit outside as I was so dirty, I didn’t realise how dirty I actually was! I did explain that if I could have my room then maybe I could clean up! It still took three hours before I forced the issue and got a place.

The owner arranged for a money changer to come to the hotel, I changed a couple of hundred pounds and became a multi millionaire. The cash here is very dirty, it smells bad and comes in very large amounts, the exchange rate wasn’t the best but I got 2,160,000 Guinean Francs, it does cost half a million a night though so I don’t expect that to last long…

The food was lovely and I dined on steak, vegetables with a dash of cold beer. Caught up on the internet and spoke with family at home, I needed that.

My room has aircon which is fabulous, it doesn’t work all the time but the room is cool, has a mosquito net and I’m comfortable. One problem, which isn’t the first time this has happened is that it’s Friday and the Liberia Consulate will be closed until Monday, damn, I didn’t realise what day it was so I’m stuck here for a few days, I didn’t really want that but you can’t win every time.

Today I woke with the sunrise and decided to wash everything I have in terms of clothes and sleeping gear including my superb Exped ULLW sleepmat, everything stinks and now thankfully almost everything smells acceptable again. I was surprised how much jungle I bought with me to Conakry!

I ventured out later to have a look around, it’s uncomfortably busy but I get some supplies and buy fried fish, fried banana and some kind of fried dough all topped with a generous helping of very hot chilli sauce, the woman vendor warns me of the heat but I dip in my finger and find it perfect, it was hot though!

I chatted with the hotel owner, he’s called Ishmael and he used to be a biker, he had four bikes and his favourite was a Suzuki DR650 he had in France, good bikes those, I rode one through Peru a few years ago, great plodding travel bike.

So I’m now back at the hotel and catching up with you guys, I have more mosquito spray and I’ve had some nice street food and stocked up on water. I’m good for the evening.

This was a good enough breakfast stop where I ate, drank coffee and sorted a few things on the bike. At least I wasn’t disturbed.

There are some impressive rock formations in Guinea, I would love to have climbed this one!

I really didn’t realise how dirty I actually was, three days in the jungle and the belching fumes from various forms of traffic had taken its toll. No wonder they asked me to wait outside this lovely )and expensive) hotel!

Imagine appearing at an upmarket hotel in the UK looking like this!!

If you are in the right place the sunsets never fail to disappoint. It’s just a shame that the beach is literally covered in plastic waste, and a few seafaring pigs too!!