HEADS UP: This post has photos of dead rats that have been hunted and cooked.
As we sat on the wooden pirogue (or canoa) waiting to leave Bissau for the Bijagós islands, it seemed they would never stop loading more sacks of food, drinks, washing powder, bits of furniture and luggage. Hundreds of kilos of stuff filled the bottom of the boat, the packages doubling as a secondary floor for people to sit and lie on.
We were not 100% comfortable about taking this mode of transport for the four-five-hour journey to the islands, as accidents and deaths have happened, but the decision was made and we were reassured to see proper life-jackets. And although there was a vast quantity of goods on board, it was a relief to see that it wasn’t dangerously overcrowded with people. After nearly an hour of bobbing, there was a last-minute flurry of vendors on the dock passing homemade cakes and snacks to the passengers, and off we went.
The Bijagós archipelago comprises 88 tropical islands off the coast of Guinea Bissau, around 20 of which are inhabited, mostly with rudimentary villages. They have an incredibly diverse ecosystem which is under Unesco protection. The islands are home to a distinct and relatively isolated ethnic group, the Bijagós, who have retained much of their own ancient culture and language. It’s a mostly matriarchal society in which the women have the central role across all aspects of decision-making in the community, property is passed down through the maternal line, and women are the primary guardians of cultural and spiritual knowledge. Women choose their husbands and have the final say on divorce. All seems eminently sensible so far. Anyone fancy re-locating?
Now that the geography lesson is complete, here’s a photo gallery of our experience of a five-day trip, which was based on the main island of Bubaque, and included day trips to Rubane and Canhabaque.
First things first. Buying coffee and sort-of donuts at the port in Bissau before boarding the piroque. This fried dough, which isn’t as sweet as a donut, is a common street snack.
We’d been partly influenced to take the pirogue by Amy and Peter, a lovely German/Oz/Danish couple we’d first met in The Gambia. On board we were also joined by Roger, from Switzerland (middle). There’s only one basic road on the main island, very few vehicles and no car ferry, so Ivy stayed behind in Bissau.
We passed the offshore power ship I mentioned in the last post – this ship provides all of Guinea Bissau’s electricity.
We felt much better about the journey once we got going but let’s just say we weren’t relaxed enough to lie down and fall asleep as many passengers did. We kept one eye on the guys periodically bailing out dozens of litres of water from the bottom of the boat.
As we arrived in the scrappy port town of Bubaque, everyone had to bend and half-crawl out onto the dock. Here’s our mostly unloaded pirogue.
The tiny dock was full of people jostling with bags and trolleys piled up with food sacks. Although food is grown on the islands a lot of stuff is brought from the mainland.
We were staying at a lovely guesthouse owned by a Spaniard, Mel. There is no mass tourism on the Bijagós but there are a few guesthouses and simple restaurants in Bubaque town and some islands have one or two posh hotels that you have to reach by a private boat. It was noticeable that almost all of the ‘nicer’ accommodation is owned by Europeans.
Our view…
Free dog and cat with every booking.
Bubaque town was rustic but it had a market, a small supermarket for basics like biscuits, bread and tins of sardines – our daily lunch – and a handful of eateries and bars.
Much of Africa would cease to function without its many shops selling plastic buckets and bowls – they are carried on the head for transporting water (and everything else imaginable), and used for washing food, clothes, and bodies.
The islands are known for nature, wildlife and culture and, of course, their beautiful beaches. We walked to ‘Hidden Beach’ via a few villages. Kids chanted ‘branco, branco!’ (‘white’) as we passed. I’m going to cover this topic in future. Some followed us and sat staring for a while but soon tired of how boring we were with our books.
The only other people we saw were Amy and Peter, who dropped in by kayak.
The water was incredibly clear. I was transfixed by this dead crab which looked like a cartoon Chinese warlord (or maybe it’s just me…?).
It can be tricky to arrange trips to other islands. Patience and flexibility is needed as you have to wait for opportunities to share boats with other people. We were lucky to get a few hours on Rubane, as a local hotel was taking its staff there for a beach party and they asked if we wanted a lift. Yes please.
Taking a short hike on Rubane.
When we returned to the beach the staff party was in full swing, including a ‘band’ with pretend instruments.
And did I imagine it or is this mud-sand-bathing piglet rocking to the beat? [sound up]
We cycled about 14km along Bubaque’s one ‘road’ to Bruce Beach, a huge stretch of sand on the south of the island. The bikes were totally crap.
If I was organised I could make a photo-book just featuring random football pitches, which we see in all sorts of cool locations. Seems there were no fixtures this day. Or was there? - there’s a team near my home town called COWdenbeath, but that joke is probably only appreciated by my dad.
We wondered at the fact that Praia Bruce was so empty. Just miles of sand and palms, punctuated by a few cows and three German cyclists with their tents. And at some point, of course, we encountered Amy, Peter, and Roger. There were so few tourists around that within a few days it felt like we knew half of them by name.
We saw just one guesthouse and went in to ask for a coffee. The woman was sleeping at a table on the terrace; she rose to fetch us a flask of hot water and some Nescafe sachets, then slumped back down. Imagine what this place would become if it was elsewhere?! But would they really want mass tourism here, and all that comes with it? Somehow, I doubt it.
When we tried to leave Jeremy had a flat tyre. The repair kit provided was dried out and hopeless. Even when our bikes break down we have to find a mechanic! I sought out the German cyclists and one of them tried to help but the inner tube was basically a teabag and went flat again within a few metres. So, yeah, that was a fun journey back…
We were particularly interested in seeing some village life in the Bijagós and one way to do that is via a guided trip to Canhabaque. We waited several days to get a chance to go there and had almost given up on it when, on our final afternoon, we got a call to say two other tourists were taking the trip and a boat was going.
When we arrived on foot at the first village, the first place we came across was the communal well.
From a very young age, people can carry quantities of water that I’d struggle to lift above my head.
Oops - still learning.
It was fascinating, fun, and quite chaotic. A combination of our presence and the fact that our guide (a local lad) had not been back for four months, since his father’s funeral, caused mayhem in both villages we visited, with kids surrounding us.
We’re not into the ‘white saviour’ photos and actively avoid trying to have ourselves photographed with kids, but here it was totally impossible because with every step we took, little hands reached up and held on. Lots of the children were fascinated with examining our fingernails.
I love photography but I am much more careful about taking photos of people these days. For each one I take, there are many that I decide against for fear of causing offence or being the weird foreigner with a camera permanently stuck to my face. With our guide there it was much easier to be clear about when it was okay.
There’s no mains electricity on the islands. On Canhabaque people just had small solar torches and panels.
There was one battery-generated charging point in this village shop, where people could charge phones. They also have a radio mast that they can use for contacting Bubaque for things like medical emergencies.
We were asked to buy some things at the shop to give to the community – mainly sugarcane juice and biscuits.
The village chief divided up the stuff among the children. We weren’t really comfortable with this plan; it soon descended into arguments. We thought it would have been better to give money to the chief (as we were asked to in the second village) for them to spend as they saw fit.
There was a large gong that was used for calling community meetings.
A new house was being built and the women were ferrying mud to the site.
We hiked through gorgeous forest to the next village. Our guide stopped and chatted to this man who was making an enormous canoe by hand.
The termite mounds are like architectural features
At the next village, the first group we came across were cooking rats on the fire. We had to do a double-take!
This woman was casually chatting away while holding a pile of rats by the tail. They seemed quite surprised when we mentioned we don’t eat rats.
As we left and walked into the forest, we met some young boys who had been hunting rats. Our guide said they sometimes get bitten by snakes while hunting at ground level, which can result in a severely injured or amputated hand.
Heading out to meet our boat back to Bubaque.
We got the proper ferry back to Bissau as this time it worked in with our plans. I’m not sure if these fellow passengers were coming home after a weekend away or visiting the city from the islands – but either way it looks like dinner is sorted.
It was a beautiful – and, again, dusty and bumpy – drive away from Bissau towards (the Republic of) Guinea. The roads were basically a training ground for what lay ahead on the other side of the border.
Camping in the bush on our last night in Guinea Bissau.
Yet again we were being regularly cheered on from the roadside, which really helped motivate us to keep smiling through all those damned potholes.
I’m okay with the camera but rubbish at videos. When I finally captured some kids running alongside us I didn’t realise I had pressed slow motion for most of it. But actually, it turned out quite well. This little moment was an uplifting farewell, and pretty much sums up our time in Guinea Bissau.
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Your inadvertent slowmo video is superb! Also, I’m still really appreciating your thoughtful approach both to travelling and documenting the people you meet
Absolutely marvellous! The photo thing has no easy answers does it. It seems either intrusive or cliched to take photos of people and I’m never comfortable with it. Even though people often make the best photos! So enjoying this blog.
Your inadvertent slowmo video is superb! Also, I’m still really appreciating your thoughtful approach both to travelling and documenting the people you meet
Absolutely marvellous! The photo thing has no easy answers does it. It seems either intrusive or cliched to take photos of people and I’m never comfortable with it. Even though people often make the best photos! So enjoying this blog.