Days 30/31/32… 1st/2nd/3rd May
Having arrived in Conakry on a Sunday, we soon discovered that Monday was a national holiday and the Ivory Coast embassy would not be open. We visited on Tuesday and the visa turnaround process was 24 hours so we extended our hotel stay. No complaints! We tried to get to a nearby garage to fix a couple of minor issues with Greta but couldn’t find the recommended garage and decided that sitting in city traffic was something to avoid. Greta would get fixed up once we were out of this city.
Day 32 – Picked up our visas for Ivory Coast and we were finally heading out of this city. Traffic out was ok until one pinch point where police were directing and combined with market day, motorbikes everywhere and dirt roads, it was carnage. Travelled over some mountains to Kindia – rural dirt roads with roadside villages. A welcome pleasant change to the hectic city of Conakry. Our campsite was next to 3 waterfalls and part of a village community. Joined by 4 friendly dogs and cats for the night.
Allen’s perspective…
In preparation for the trip I knew that passport photos would be required and got a few hundred printed for us both. But, best laid plans… when sorting out our Ivory Coast visa the chap requested a photo for each of us and we had left them somewhere in the car. Well, after a little while the chap ‘Fanny’ who was helping process us directed us out to a chap across the road, where for a pound or two each we managed to get our photos taken and printed out right there on the street. Ingenious
Once we left Conakry and arrived at Kindia I finally managed to spend about 2 hours washing Greta. I know we’ll come across dirt roads again, but to be able to access the car without getting filthy every time is a blessing.