I got up about 3am. A mouse had awakened me foraging around my donut fritter things and the tube of cookies. Also I heard the buzz of a mosquito. Fortunately, le Concorde is equipped with a mosquito net tied up above the bed, so I deployed it. But I couldn't get back to sleep. I didn't really want to stay at le Concorde another night and I was apprehensive about the Hotel Niger. I listened to some music to try to calm myself down. I must have dozed off because when I awoke again, it was about 6:30. I took a bucket water shower, brushed my teeth, shaved and packed. (Yes, I did take the condom, if you're curious.) Then I headed out to find the Hotel Niger in downtown Conakry.
I thought maybe I could walk it. My backpack was heavy and the laptop weighed a ton. But I actually managed for an hour and a half like this. I made significant progress, but I was only halfway there. I had been trying to figure out how the taxi system worked. At a couple points I evens stopped where a bunch of people were standing and taxis were stopping, but more people were coming and I didn't understand the system. Finally, too tired to continue, I saw a taxi that had just let off about 3 passengers and I asked if he going to La Ville. He said he was so I got in. As we drove I was happy to be riding instead of walking. I met a guy named François Conte who does IT work for Catholic Relief Services. I gave him my email since we are in similar fields. He was quite excited to meet a computer engineer from America.
They got me dropped off right in front of the Hotel Niger. I went in and asked for a room. Lonely Planet says GF35000 (US$7) but I got charged GF100000 (US$20). Hotel prices in Conakry seem to be coming up to more reasonable prices. The room is OK. The bathroom is huge. There is a sitting room and the bedroom. The ceiling is covered in a red, white, and blue tarp and I can hear vermin running around and see when they walk on the tarp. The bed has no sheets but it had a blanket. There is a bucket. They told me the electricity would eventually come on.
I needed some cash so I went to the BICIGUI and saw a line of about 10 people (one white) in front of the ATM. I waited and eventually got my turn whereupon I withdrew 4 tranches of GF200000 (US$40) so that I would have enough Guinea Francs if I could use them at the Malian embassy. Then I went off to find the Malian embassy. It actually isn't hard to find, but it's a bit of a walk--maybe a half hour. I got there at about 11:30. Today is a Guinea holiday--Women's Market Revolt Day. So I was worried the embassy would be closed to consular services. The gate was cracked a bit open--maybe 6 inches. I stood there. Then 2 guys came. I asked if they were open and they said the embassy was open and led me in. They were actually there for consular services also. One guy spoke English and was happy to have a chance to help me.
The charge d'affair's office is air conditioned. It felt good. He looked at my passport and told me what I feared--that I had to buy the biggest and best visa--a 5 year multiple entry visa. They refuse to issue anything lesser to us rich Americans. And on top of that, he wanted US currency--$131. That pretty much wiped out my supply of dollars. He wasn't terribly happy that I lacked a Benjamin Franklin but had only 2 Ulysses S. Grants. At least I have a good supply of Euros still. The good thing is that he told me to return at 1pm to get my passport. Nice. No overnight wait. I guess they better expedite it if they're going to charge me so much.
I went out and found a little stand where I sat down and drank an Orange Fanta for GF1800 (US$0.36). ThenI found a place called Food right by the place where the Corniche Nord passes over the road that goes by the People's Palace. I got a shawarma for GF15000 + GF2000 for eating it there. And boy am I glad I ate it there. They had AC. It wasn't the light AC, but a refreshing AC. Not super-refreshing, but enough to suck the heat away from me. When I finished, I decided to check out the Hyper-Bobo which was nearby. I found it and wandered the aisles. They didn't have Mir Express. But I bought 2 cans of ravioli for emergencies, a small bottle of Johnson's Baby powder (they didn't have Gold Bond), 2 postcards, and a Strawberry Fanta. The total was GF57000 (US$11.40).
I returned to the Malian embassy and sat in the waiting room. At 12:33, the guy came out and tapped me on the shoulder. He showed me the visa and explained that it was a multiple entry visa valid for 5 years. I smiled and thanked him. He seemed happy that I was happy to visit Mali. Then I headed to the Ghanaian embassy which is right next door. I figured why not get it here since I'll need it anyway. But after inspecting my passport for about a minute, the woman asked if I was a resident of Guinea. They only issue visas to residents of Guinea. That means I'll have to wait till I'm in Ouagadougou. Oh well. The Sierra Leone embassy is up toward the place I stayed last night. I passed it as I walked. Tomorrow I'll take a bus up that way and see how much the visa costs. If it's too expensive, I'll skip Sierra Leone. I wouldn't be able to spend a whole lot of time there anyway.
After my walk home, I rested in the hotel for a while. I was very dehydrated. I tried to spit and couldn't get enough force on the thick spit to get it separate from my mouth. I figured I better get something to drink. I went to Le Gondole, an ice cream shop. I got a scoop of caramel ice cream (4 oz for GF12000 or US$2.40) and a 1.5 liter bottle of water for GF8000 (US$1.60). The place had air conditioning. I ate the ice cream which was pretty good and drank all 1.5 liters of the water. By the time I was done, I felt much much better. Then I returned to my room to type this up since the power had returned.
August 27, 2008 16:23 Guinea local time
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