so i didn't have time to write about my mission with le ministre de l'environnement du Mali last week. I had to finish things up quickly and prepare for my trip to Sierra Leone. Yes, I've been talking about it for 2 years: going to visit Julie Greene in Freetown, finally!
After checking out various flight options (pricey!) i decided to go overland. Bush-taxi from Bamako to Conakry (Guinea) yesterday and get a ride with Julie's former boss at the GTZ from Conakry to Freetown on Thursday. (I left early for Guinea so as to have a chance to explore Conakry and get a visa for Sierra Leone).

i arrived in conakry this morning after driving through all of guinea "en taxi brousse" all day and all night. beautiful scenery! it rained during our drive through the forested hills. it feels like a long way from bamako! i thought it resembled costa rica!
i've already gone to the sierra leone embassy. my visa will be ready tomorrow morning (unless it is a holiday in which case it will be on wednesday!) and i got in touch with Kaba (my boss who happens to be here on a conference). I'm going to try to meet him at noon.
I haven't seen much of Conakry yet, but got a glimpse of shore, ocean, palms, fishing boats... as we drove from the bus station to the hotel this morning. i am staying at "hotel golfe," recommended by the mother of the taxi brousse driver.
most of the city appears not to have any electricity during the day, unless by private generators. this since 2002 when the turbines of the dam (built by german-italians?) got flooded by mud -- the "gereant de petite-moyenne entreprise" where i had breakfast told me all about the ills of guinea this morning.
it is humid and overcast here. the main streets are crowded by cars, but a block in kids are brushing their teeth in vegetable paths... cette apres-midi je vais essayer de voir le musee, la mer, le centre culturel franco-guinean...