Short guide to Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau has been beset by conflict for decades and it is only the most adventurous traveller that visits this small country on the west coast of Africa.
It is really the natural beauty and occasional urge towards masochism that keeps foreign visitors arriving: The animal life here is as abundant, wild, wonderful (and occasionally dangerous) as the people themselves. Despite all the tales of robbery and near-kidnap that travellers bring back from Guinea-Bissau, it has been said that watching the sunrise over a group of the rare salt-water hippo makes it all worthwhile.
Once colonised by the Portuguese, Guinea-Bissau tumbled into bloody warfare in the late 1990s, and has not yet really emerged, torn as it is by ethnic and political tensions. Government is still not stable, being marked by a succession of coups, almost always involving bloodshed.
Because of this, infrastructure is almost non-existent and travellers may be advised to bring their own off-road vehicle if they want to get around in relative comfort. Stay in Bissau, the capital city, if you want anything resembling creature comforts.
As most visitors to Guinea-Bissau are intrepid, the delights of the Cantanhez Natural Park in Jemberem, populated as it is by occasionally aggressive animals will probably appeal, as will the Bijaos Archipelago, which offers some of the most spectacular scuba diving around.
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