Conakry, Guinea - we are here at last!

AMAZING sunset, one of those rare ones when
the huge burning fireball sinks into the sea without any obstruction (aka clouds)

We left the Canary Islands on a Thursday morning and after only 5 short and uneventful days we finally arrived to Conakry, Guinea. This country is often called the "Forgotten State of West Africa" since this country wasn't torn apart by a brutal civil war unlike the neighbouring countries (Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Mali, Sierra Leone), so Foreign Aid agencies didn't focus much on this part of West Africa.I don't want to bombard you with stats and details, if you want to know more about this country, you can click here , here or here.

Here are some shots of the arrival, unless indicated otherwise, they are my pictures. It was cloudy all day with some rain. Sadly the rainy season is still here...

First sight of Conakry

That big round building is the President's Home. Yes, he lives "just around the corner"

LE PORT

Happy dock workers welcome us to Guinea

Our Welcome Band!

Some of the Advance Team members (in their funky outfits),
who have been in town for the last 4-5 months to prepare everything

Getting ready for the arrival ceremony

On the couch they had reserved seats for the Min. of Health, the Prime Minister and our CEO

Captain and other important peeps bringing us to our peer 

Sadly this little strip of pavement is our only Dock Area :((( Very small!!!

Our CEO being introduced to the Prime Minister of Guinea.

Donovan Palmer, our Managing Director and the Prime Minister

The Military Band made some noise to celebrate our arrival...

"Ants" on the dock :))

"Ants" on the decks :))

And here is our big problem: the dock side is not long enough for our ship. As you can see about 20 meters are missing for us to dock safely. I guess it would never happen in any European ports, but here everything is possible... :)

Welcome to Guinea!