Day 29 - 31st March To the island of Boloma, & the Bijagos Islands off coast of Guinea Bissau

Photo above - a pig in a boat on Rubane Island. Photos to follow below

Quick drive round the capital

Left the hotel and had a short drive around the capital. There are no buildings over 3 stories, dirt roads off the main street, no money in the ATMs, a football stadium, possibly international with terraces of 5 or so steps, very little traffic, a few official buildings, a couple of 5 star hotels, army guards with rocket launchers!!

Boat to Bolama

Next we went down to the docks to catch a boat over to some islands off the coast. We literally had to enter the container port, where we got a small open boat with outboard motors. We sailed for an hour to a small island called Bolama, which believe it or not, was once a colonial capital, but was abandoned in the 1940s when the capital was moved to its current location of Bissau.

Ghost town

It’s Portuguese buildings are slowly being taken over by vegetation and goats and it is a real ghost town. There are however about 3000 people living here on the island in some of the small streets off the main city streets. A couple of buildings have been renovated for secondary and primary schools. Not sure where they buy food. We went into a former cinema, now occupied by birds. The former presidential palace really does look like it was abandoned nearly 100 years ago. There is a police presence here, and we were asked for our passports as we were leaving. A truly unique place.

Boat to Bijagos

Next it was back in the boat for a further two hour cruise to the island of Rubane, part of the Bijagos Islands, a unique area of authentic tribal traditions and unusual wildlife.

The Bijagos Islands are an archipelago of more than forty islands that have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Covered in dense forest and mangroves, the islands are home to some of West Africa’s least adulterated cultural traditions, the islands serving to isolate the inhabitants from too much colonial influence.

Paradise Island

On our arrival we are greeted by white sands, Palm trees, a boy with a pig in his canoe, and a vivacious French lady that owns accommodation here.

The accommodation consists of large thatched villas right on the edge of the beach and a bar and restaurant. We had a cocktail and some lunch, then a couple of us went for a short walk along the coast and through the forest. Lots of bird life here, and crabs! This really is a bit of a paradise island, and although it is very hot there is a cooling breeze.

Tomorrow, we are staying on the island and chilling out.