Bubaque

18 december 2022

This island stay is certainly conducive to deep sleep and beautiful scenes. This morning I woke up to the most incredible sunrise over the sea and total solitude on the beach.

I was filled with an incredible sense of gratitude and expansion. Any thing seems possible when you see horizons like this and nature in such wild untouched magnificence. I walked for hours in this space.

Returning to my room I met a couple who'd been camping back from the beach. They were dancing on the beach to Guinea music - true joy, being expressed in the most wonderful of environments. They joined me for breakfast.

I connected to my family today as the internet at the restaurant is really good. What a wild experience - talking to my internationally based siblings and mother from a tropical island! and they have snow in the UK and extreme heat in Aus... The world is small and connections cross countries and borders.

I took a lift in a 4x4 to the market place in Bubaque to prepare for the return trip to Bissau. The market was bustling with the selling of fish, vegetables and items. There were many people trying to get into smaller boats heading to Bissau - its the holiday season and it seems that many people are wanting to spend Xmas on the mainland. I love watching what on the surface seems chaotic, manage out into orderliness and design. These boats all left with the correct number of passengers and no one left behind.

On the ferry I met a range of different people this time; conversations interspersed with watching France play Argentina on the screen in the bar below deck. It was fascinating to meet a group of Brazilian missionaries working for the Evangelical church. Their influence is evident throughout Guinea Bissau and I was fortunate to be able to ask them about their work and mission.

As we arrived into Bissau we passed the power ship supplied by Turkey which boosts the grid supply for Bissau. The signs are ever present that GB is still very dependent on external help in run.

It felt good to return to Bissau - I love the vibe of this city and the familiarity of its layout. It seems that the banks are out of money so getting a cash supply might be my endeavour tomorrow.