Destination Guinea - Part 6

Part 6: Ready to Hit the Road ... or Plateau!

The American Embassy in Conakry is an old British colonial building near the heart of the business center. In the courtyard, an Army colonel and sergeant emerged from the guard shack. When they learned I was American, they asked how their beloved Bengals and Cowboys were faring. Masamba tried to update them on the Falcons; they weren’t interested. I wished their teams well (except when they played the Packers or Vikings) and entered the embassy.            

Inside, I placed my shoes, watch, and other belongings in a box to be kept in a vault until my departure; my passport and security clearance card stayed with me so I could claim my my things. I completed the standard visitor’s form (purpose of visit, length of stay, local address and contact person) and, within ten minutes, I was out of there with a “have a good stay, sir.” Returning to the Camayenne, taciturn Jamila wordlessly calculated the number of G-francs I’d need for lodging, meals, and spending money. As before, she held my hundred-dollar bills to the light before giving me my Guinea currency.

The next morning with Ekwueme behind the wheel, Masamba and I headed out of Conakry. The men, conversing in French, discussed the odds of being involved in an accident; high speeds, poor visibility around sharp curves, narrow highways, and sleepy drivers topped the list of hazards. Seemingly endless savannah stretched alongside as we traversed the Fouta Djallon plateau on our way to Kindia City, where we were to deliver a report to Masamba’s colleague at the Ministry of Agriculture. Distant forested hills and mountains created a backdrop for scattered family huts. Beef cattle, short ropes attached to their horns, clustered with herders near a river while others grazed or rested. Many of these farmers moved to higher ground during the rainy season. My hopes of seeing Baobab trees, producers of tasty Monkey Bread fruit, plummeted. Masamba said he knew of these trees in Mali and Senegal and, possibly, eastern Guinea but said none grew in this area.

As we neared each small village foot traffic increased as people, seemingly oblivious to the cars and trucks and occasionally stopping to relieve themselves on the roadside, followed age-old paths that angled across the open land. Masamba’s grumble that these folks didn’t have the “common sense to step aside when trucks approached” reminded me that Masamba and Ekwueme were, like me, tired and anxious to reach Kindia City.

 

by Everil Quist, International Agri-business Consultant

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Everil Quist - President & CEO of QuistSpeaks, LLC

"Enjoy this story about the noble peoples of third world countries.  I've truly enjoyed working with them and have many heartwarming and entertaining stories to tell. 

I enjoy sharing my adventures with my audiences, where I feel I am truly 'Creating Positive Change'."

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“Everil Quist delivers with knowledge, humor and compassion.  His trials and tribulations during his stints in Former Soviet Union countries impart the difficulties and perseverance these dynamic people have to overcome—difficulties we seldom experience here in America.”

-Virginia Dessart, N2 Area Governor, District 35, Toastmasters International