Dalaba, Guinea

2019-02-23/25: Dalaba: Waterfall, Miriam Makeba Villa, Case à Palabres and Maison du Gouverneur

 2019-02-24 : Sightseeing tour in Dalaba


It is much milder as we start this pleasant walk in the village at the end of the afternoon. We start with the house of Myriam Makéba. This famous South African singer had a house here where she came very often to stay. The house is now in pretty bad condition, his son has promised to restore it very soon. He will have work! We just go around the outside. Some openings allow to guess the inside and even to make some pictures.

The house of Myriam Makéba in Dalaba

The house of Myriam Makéba in Dalaba

The bathroom

In the living room

The living room

The decoration on the wall

Our steps lead us then to the "Case des Palabres". Built in 1936 by the colonial authority, it is here that the chiefs of the 12 cantons of the region met regularly the governor. Cherif li Lefa is now the guardian and guide. He opens the locked door with a primitive key which he is very proud to present the operation. The hut itself is beautifully renovated and maintained with beautiful wall frescoes with symbols of each canton and a wonderfull wicker ceiling.

La Maison des Palabres in Dalaba

Cherif Li Lefa and le lock of the door

Wall ornaments with the symbols of each canton

The flloor

In "La Maison des Palabres"

In the House

The wicker ceiling

Christine pays twice 20,000 GNF for the visit of the box. As I have the impression that they will ask us to pay for the visit of the governor's house some tens of meters away, I immediately put things straight: we pay for the house of palaver and we consider that the governor's house is included in the price. Everything happens anyway without any ticket or receipt. It is not really transparent but the price is correct.

The governor's house dates from 1935. It was here that the governor of the colonial authority lived with his family. The house was built above the cliffs, the swimming pool on the terrace in front of a magnificent panorama no longer exists. We visit some rooms and a luxurious bathroom. The highlight is the fireplace! Something unknown here among the young people who look at it from every angle. It seems that it was much cooler in the Fouta Djallon at the time. The house is no longer used today. Sékou Touré the first president of the country after independence stayed there, but since then it is no more than a museum.

The House of the Governor, the terrace where the swimming pool was

The Governor's House with Thierry and the guide

The fire place

Ibrahim then leads us to the William Baht Museum, a private initiative of a woman from the village. A museum today abandoned but that the woman still makes us visit while apologizing for the inventory. She tries to revive but it does not seem to want to take.

She is trying to revive her museum

Masks in the museum

Ibrahim takes us to the institute of veterinary medicine that seems to be the pride of Dalaba. Honestly, I do not really see the point of having trained here.
The seamstress cooperative would certainly have been more interesting but it is closed to the surprise of Ibrahim who did not expect it. Maybe because we are today Sunday.

Laundry in Dalaba

Hairdresser in Dalaba

The Renault dealer ??

Christine and Ibrahim on the way back to the camp

We are back at 19:30 at the camper. I pay him the 100,000 GNF (9.95 €) agreed for this tour. The financing of the next sheep is on track!

Sunset on the terrace of the SIB Hotel in Dalaba

2019-02-23 : Hiking to the Garaya Waterfall

Ibrahim, our guide, is on time and it's 9:30 just past when we get going. We must first leave the city and cut through the mountain by a path where Ibrahim will show us and explain the shrubs that we meet there: coffee, avocado, mango and many others.

We starts through the mountain

Banana tree

Coffee tree

Coffee tree

Avocado tree

After a steep descent of the mountain we find the road, in fact a pretty bad track that we will follow to the end. Ibrahim explains the medicinal properties of a large number of plants. For the most part, these are plants used against malaria, diarrhea or to heal and disinfect wounds.
He seems to know well although I have a little doubt when he confuses a kapok tree with a baobab. And although we point out to him that this is indeed a kapok tree, he keeps the contrary.
The weather is still fine but the morning is avancing and we are also losing altitude. It's heating up noticeably.

On the way

 After 6 km we take a short break under a large tree.

Break under a nere tree

The track is narrowing. We pass near some sleepy hamlets. After 8 km the track becomes definitely impassable for cars. Ibrahim shows us where Americans had parked their jeep before continuing on foot. We see the tracks left during the half hour they needed to get the 4x4 out of this bad terrain. Ibrahim was in the game.

Steep descent towards the waterfall

After a very steep descent we arrive at a last small hamlet of 2 or 3 huts. This is where the "guardian" of the site lives with his family. We wait on the side of the path in the shade of a beautiful mango tree while Ibrahim anounces us to the good man. He warned us that access to the falls costs 20,000 GNF per person. He takes care of it and we will do the accounts on the return. I guess he must have his share on that, but I'm not arguing. It's part of the business.
It remains a little less than 700 m to the falls. The guardian accompanies us on the very steep path he has cleared in the brush and undergrowth and where it is difficult to advance. In any case he deserves his money because maintain this path is really a lot of work!
We arrive at the foot of the falls at one pm after having followed the river for a hundred meters.

Garaya waterfall

Garaya Waterfall

Garaya waterfall

Garaya waterfall

Garaya Waterfall

Garaya waterfall

We are sweaty because the last hectometres have been particularly difficult. Unfortunately the falls are not as spectacular as we expected. The cascade extends only about ten meters wide and the flow is rather weak. It tumbles in several steps on about fifty meters. We take the opportunity anyway to refresh us. The site is idyllic and peaceful. Ibrahim explains that during the rainy season the show is different. It would not be possible for us to advance so far as there is a lot of water.
We did not have any bread this morning to make sandwiches and we just have apples and oranges and a cereal bar as a snack. It's really too less after the efforts of the morning and in view of the 10 km of the return. Especially in this heat and with the elevation, because we have actually descended to about 700 m altitude.
We stay there a long time but it will be necessary to think to turn back. I guess we will need about 4 hours of walking to reach the hotel. It is 2:40 pm when we restart.
The climb in the undergrowth is less difficult than the descent. We quickly reach the huts of the keeper. Ibrahim will say him goodbye while we wait under our mango tree. He reappears only ten minutes later, but he is all excused because he brings us a small bag of peeled oranges, a gift from the old man.
We are back on the track that starts with a long and steep climb. It keeps climbing and Christine is exhausted. She is hypoglycemic because we have definitely not eaten enough today compared to the efforts provided. After 3 km she asks Ibrahim to call a motorcycle taxi that we will wait under the nere tree where we had our break on the way. I'm still in shape and decided to continue walking with Ibrahim.
The bike arrives and embarks Christine.

Christine continues with a moto-taxi

Christine with the moto-taxi

Ibrahim and I are making good progress, this is fine until we have to take the shortcut that goes up the mountain.
Ibrahim explains to me that the money he earns by doing the guide is immediately largely reinvested in sheeps. He has a small farm in his parents' village and has already been able to buy 15 sheeps. A beautiful sheep can resell a million Guinean francs at the time of Eid (a hundred euros). He hopes to reach 50 sheeps, then he will grow to buy cows.
The first meters on the mountainside are still pretty good, but soon my reserves are exhausted. I'm at the same point as Christine earlier. The batteries are flat! I will have to take several breaks while climbing. While saving my strength I finally reach the top. Then it's better, but slowly. We make a stop at a drilling to fill our bottles. A group of women is getting supplies. They carry their cans with wheelbarrows.
I meet Christine at the camper at 6:15 pm, Ibrahim goes directly to the hotel to take a shower. Christine is waiting for me with a bad surprise: she found the camper upside down when arriving. We were robbed during our absence. Someone managed to get in through the kitchen window we had left open. It is small and high, we did not think that someone can be introduced by that in the parking of a guarded hotel. Obviously the burglars were only looking for money because nothing was stolen: the computer, the GoPro, the drone, the tools ... no
thing! Everything is here ! We had taken some money with us, the rest is in the safe with the other important documents. The only drawback is the brothel they left and we now need to put away. We are relieved, it could have been worse.