Guinea Bissau : The Art of Non-Conformity

Getting to Guinea Bissau

The biggest challenge was the uncertainty. Stepping onto the transfer bus for Heathrow Airport's Terminal 1, I considered the journey thus far and the upcoming adventure that the next few days would hold. I was coming off two weeks in India with events and media every day. Then I flew to London after two other quick stops in Singapore and Hong Kong. After making it to London I camped out in Heathrow airport for a few hours—due to flight schedules there wasn't room for a day off where I could go to the city—and then I flew down to Lisbon and eventually Dakar, Senegal.

Travel

On the Road Again: Next Stop, Portuguese Africa

I'm off to see the world again, heading out to West Africa via JFK, LHR, LIS, and DKR over the next couple of days. This time, I'm attempting to visit two challenging countries, Guinea Bissau and Sao Tome. After ten years of active travel, these are also my final countries in all of Africa. These countries are hard to visit. In addition to being difficult to limited flight schedules and far-away jumping-off points (Lisbon and Dakar), I don't have a visa for either country, something that both require prior to departure. Why am I going anyway, with a real chance that one or both of the visits could fail? Because I have no choice.