An African Adventure: The Dalaba Express III

Tuesday the 27th we all woke up, stumbled around the 6 birth cabins in the dark and filtered upstairs ready to head out on our upcountry adventure. We had been planning it for weeks--and it was go time... Excited, we filled out our forms to leave the ship for 6 days and handed in our room keys. We all piled into this beautiful blue van, complete with proper seats AND seat belts....This is where we should have known it was too good to be true.

Before even making it out of the port we were stopped for petrol--handing over a chunk of the cash we had decided was fair to take us 8 hours upcountry. Within 15 minutes of being on the road there was smoke.....a LOT of it, and it was coming from our van. The van began sounding like it was stuck in 2nd gear going up a mountain, and then more and more smoke continued clouding into the van. After picking up his mechanic “friend” on the side of the road, we continued on----until we were legitimately concerned for safety and demanded he stopped. He was determined to fix it, and we gave him a 30 minute clock to beat. He wanted to arrange a different van, but actually ended up just spending our money on a part that in fact, wouldn’t fix the van. We found another man to take us after much negotiation, and what seemed like all of Conakry weighing in on the decision. He agreed after much arguing with all the people who had chosen the other side, and were thus trying to convince us to stay with the broken down van.

We all piled into van #2, and made it about 200 feet down the road. He then pulled over and asked for money. When we told him we would pay him some once we got out of Conakry he decided he didn’t want to take us anymore. Judging by the crowd of people who followed us, it was apparent he never had any intention of taking us and had been paid off by the crowd. After we all groaned, realized what was happening, and decided to vacate the van Ruben opened the door----and then it literally fell off in his hand. Yes- trusty ride this one was, even our driver couldn’t contain his laughter at it all. After another hour of negotiation,a bunch of walking up and down the highway, and then finally finding a bus station we headed off inland in the van we lovingly call the Dalaba Express 3---- ONLY 4 hours after we left the ship.

Typical African Taxi

Our gear being sorted atop the winning van

The Dalaba Express III

Another view of a typical taxi--- and yes, those are chickens. and yes, they are alive. This is also a common transportation mode for goats, but we actually saw our first cow strapped on top of at one of the government checkpoints along the way.

Buying water bags from a kiddo on the street

We were meeting Juma, our guide for the trek the next morning, so when we rolled into Dalaba 12 hours later, we decided it was time for some food! We had a lovely dinner looking out onto the beautiful horizon in which we would spend our next 3 days. 13 people heading in together, not really sure what to expect but knowing the next few days would be life changing. 6 days and almost 28miles of hiking later there are way too many things to say about this trip, and I don’t even know if my words could do it justice. There are so many memories I will cherish forever, and moments with friends in Guinea that I can never get back or recreate. We spent time with locals in their villages, slept in their homes, played with amazing kids, hiked mountains, swam in waterfalls, gazed at the stars, and breathed in fresh African mountain air. So with all of that said, I will simply share with you a few stories and some of our pictures taken by my photographically gifted friends Ruben, Jasmin and Josh.

Water fall #1

We found this gem down a very dusty road and through a thick brush.

This was one of my last moves before I lost my wonderful Ray-Bans forever.....

We stumbled into this man's village. He is a local artist and has been recognized by the government as one of Guinea's best. He happily served us oranges from the tree he is sitting beneath and let us rest while watching him paint.

One of the profitable local trades is mining sand. These caves were 6-10 feet underground

Playing games with the kiddos in village #1

Our lovely guide Juma

Yes, that is her pet monkey

Family Dinner in Village #1

Waterfall #3

We were hoping to see Chimpanzee's but waltzing around at 630 wasn't quite early enough for their migration. So instead we call this our "Sunrise Hike"

Our "buddy group" Jasmin, myself, Steph D and Steph F

Waterfall #4/5

The beautiful view from the top

Jas--a true photographer, getting dirty for an excellent shot

The guys were filming to put together footage for the annual film festival onboard. They are calling it "The Dalaba Express" The story line follows their hunt for Wildebeasts.... should be interesting!

The top of Waterfall #4

Along the way we met many patients who we are unfortunately unable to help---this was a little boy with a devastating neurological condition. What we could give them was prayer and ideas to help them keep him comfortable. Our guide Juma had such a sweet heart, and cried every time we met someone along the way.

Taking a small-small rest, or looking at the view as we like to call it instead.....

Sitting atop the falls

It's all about perspective.......

Swimming upstream from the big falls

Lydia improvising....who needs a rearview mirror anyways?

The picture below is one Ruben took the night we spent in the second village. It was cold-even for my Western self. The mountain air was crisp and we sat around--going deep in conversations with one another. My favorite memory from this night is something my friend Mirjam brought up. She had us listen to a song a friend of theirs had written. She translated the words into English from Dutch, and this is what has stuck with me--How the world needs more Joseph's. Joseph, the husband of Mary was so humble. He doesn't ever take the spotlight, doesn't demand attention, but took the role of a quiet servant. He had a huge role, raising the Son of God, and it must not have been easy. But he did it, quietly, patiently, and lovingly. What would happen to our world if we all followed his model? We would help one another, raise each other up, and lead each other quietly. The world needs more people just like him willing to go out, put in the effort, pour out their love, and not demand anything in return.

On New Years Eve we headed back to a town about 2 hours outside of Conakry. We planned to spend the night here and celebrate the exit of 2012 and entrance of 2013. It was a beautiful night of a family dinner, campfire chats, and just enjoying one another. We slept in hammocks and tents and watched the stars shadowed by the mountains as we cheered in the New Year. It may be my favorite New Years in history--to spend it with friends, talking about life and our experiences in Africa. One of our biggest discussions was if someone had told us the year before this is where we would be bringing in the new year we wouldn't have believed them. It was all too perfect, but this is real--this is our life. We were given the opportunity to serve our God and love his people--making new friends and ridiculous adventures along the way.