The night was restless due to the uncomfortable and worn out beds and noise from the nearby road. There was no water in my room in any of the buckets or from any of the taps. So brushing your teeth with bottled water it was and a quick cleaning with it as well. That’ll have to do for today. The future looked brighter as the hardcore days in Guinea were coming to an end.

We packed our bags, a quick check over of the car, top up of the oil and off we went heading to the border. It was 7:50 am and within a couple of minutes we were at the first check point towards the border. As we arrived, all police officers lined up for the morning drill! We were asked to take a seat and watched the drill like paying spectators. Very interesting to watch and to listen to the commander.
The two local gentlemen in front us were helped first and then we were asked to give our passports and vehicle papers to the officer behind a small window with a computer, camera and finger scanner. At first, he misinterpreted my Guinean visa, we had made such an extra effort for by detouring to Conakry airport and fighting our way back, and told me that it was not yet valid, pointing at the expiration date of November 4th. My heart sank but quickly realised that he was wrong and explained the difference in dates to him. We laughed and he processed my passport, taking my picture and fingerprints.

We were sent on to customs. The friendly officer told me that they were not yet open as it was Sunday and that they open at 09:00 am. No harmonised opening times at the border. Therefore, we had half an hour to kill and sat down at one of the stalls nearby for breakfast and coffee. Christoph quickly grabbed his special box of Vache qui rit. With a view on Eeyore and customs we munched while we waited for their signal. It never came and so we walked over shortly after nine o’clock. The process was quick and efficient. We passed by the gendarmes across the road for a last check whether our passports had a visa. They did! We were sent on. The border was another 20km down the road through the savanna.
There a rope across the road marked the stop to park your car and get yourself finally stamped out of Guinea by a friendly emigration officer who noted everything duly into a big book. He also stamped my Laissez-Passer for Eeyore. Before we could cross the border, though a slightly bossy chap in plain clothes made gestures to park Eeyore in front of his hut with a sign that clearly identified him as Anti-Drug Police. He studied all my car papers very thoroughly, mumbled various things about the Laissez-Passer not being valid, etc before announcing that he would want to search the car. We went outside and he got into the passenger’s seat to check out the dashboard and all boxes and compartments. Then he wanted to sample check our two backpacks and my personal bag inside the hut. No problem. Got those on a table and explained everything while unpacking. Especially cosmetics he was interested in and asked what it was for. Then he discovered my Q-tips in my bag and asked to open their little bag. “What is this for?” – “To clean your ears. Africa is a dirty dusty place.”, I responded. He nodded and grabbed about a third of them out of the bag to put them into his own bag behind him. One he tried out immediately and we nodded reassuringly that that was the way to use them. I only thought that if I have to sacrifice some Q-tips as a small present to shorten this irrelevant search, so be it. He declared the check completed and I packed everything up and back into the car. We grabbed our papers and finally crossed the border into Senegal.

A few kilometres down the road, lined by a national park forest on one side and savannah on the other, we came to the various houses of the Senegalese immigration, health check and customs. But first, we were stopped to wash our hands properly with lots of dishwashing soap. We were immediately surrounded by several hawkers trying to sell us Orange SN sim cards. We bought each one from one of the guys for little money. We were also offered to exchange money for very good rates. They were disappointed when they were told that we don’t need cfa because we were from Abidjan.
We proceeded to the immigration who were very friendly and efficiently. My visa was checked and Christoph received his entry stamp into his passport. On we went to the health check, who wanted to see our yellow fever vaccination booklets. A quick glimpse on it was sufficient and we stood outside faster than a blink of an eye. Next, customs to get a Passavant for Eeyore. Easy and quickly to obtain. Within a couple of minutes we were all legal and able to continue.
The road towards Tabacounda is characterised by long stretches of straight road with savanna with high grass and a few trees and shrubs on both sides. We made good progress.

In the first villages and towns along the way we noticed the major difference between the last couple of days in Guinea and now. The African hardcore laid behind us and we were back in the African civilised world. The houses and roads are better kept, the environment looks cleaner and more organised, the cars more looked after and more shops offered their higher quality produce to clients.
In Tabacounda we passed a petrol station with a bakery and a food place. Very nice and clean. A good lunch of chicken djembe back in civilisation.

Freshly strengthened, we set off for the last 150km to our destination of today.
What a feeling to have a hotel room with functional toilets, running water, a comfy bed, a/c and electricity 24/7 and some ice cold beers and good food later!