Bubaque
17 december 2022
This is certainly a place where you could stay and relax for days.
Today I just walked on the beach for miles; its endless, empty except for the few cows and flocks of birds. There are no friendly local boys to navigate past. In fact you see nobody - its empty except for the wild life.
I'd made enquiries about boat trips to other islands but this seems prohibitively expensive on your own and unreliable if trying to get on a trip with a group. It seems only possible if you are staying at the main Eco Lodge on Rubana Island or as part of an all inclusive package. There seem to be boats going between islands on set days and private boats to rent if you want to pay the hiring costs.
Instead, I did a trip around the island in the back of the pickup with Fatu as she drove around to do her tasks. This enabled me to get an inside view of life on the island.
Bubaque village.
I walked around the small fish market to see the fish drying and the range of fillets on sale. Down by the water side the fishermen were preparing the boats for the evening fishing session.
We passed the crumbling remains of Luis Cabal, the first president of independent Guinea Bissau's retreat and a random collection of properties clustered around the market.
Election preparation
We stopped at another village so that Fatu and her companion could register to vote. They had their photo taken and were then issued with an ID card.
In this village, the men where digging trenches between the houses to take water piping. They had purchased a water tank and were trying to get each house on line.
I visited the school which was in concrete buildings with few resources and furnishings.
There seemed a strange contrast with these village facilities and the generator and sophisticated technology that had been brought to the village to produce the ID cards for the election. I wondered about the priorities of this governments' actions.
Back at the beach, I joined the Saturday day trippers who had come to enjoy a relaxed afternoon and another sunset before heading back to their homes in Bubaque.
