Blogs from Bubaque, Bissagos Islands, Guinea-Bissau, Africa

My colleagues jaw had not un-clenched for about an hour, the tendons were standing out like cordage. It it was hardly surprising. The return journey had been long and the greenish coloured sea had been heavy. The incidental background music for the trip was the Gee-Jaw sound of the engine; the swells causing the propeller to go in and out of the water. We were also running out of petrol. A garishly painted fishing canoe, so typical all along the West African coast, was waved down. A wad of CFA's exchanged for a white plastic jerry can of petrol and we were on our way back to Bissau's port. The entrance was again guarded by huge, rather decrepit Chinese fishing trawlers. New pilings were being sunk at the pier, a sign that after years of stagnation, ... read more