Senegal - Casamance

The quickest way to get a Guinea-Bissau Visa is in Ziguinchor, 10.000CFA (zig info 03-07-06) and for that you get 30 days and 2 entries, the consulate is over the road from the hotel le flamboyant, up the stairs at the side of the building. It’s an easy ride to Bissau from zig taxi station. there are a lot of hangers-on at Zg gare routiere though so be firm with them.. Guinea-Bissau visa is incredibly easy to get in Ziguinchor if you're going there first. Guinea Bissau was fine when i passed through, apparently 3 weeks earlier you could hear mortar fire in Ziguinchor coming from M’pack at the crossing into G-B. Keep an ear to the ground but you'd have to be pretty unlucky.. In any case, trouble would be more likely in Casamance or just over the border in G-B, if taxi drivers are happy to go from Zig to Bissau you should be happy to as well!

I’m staying at the Auberge Casafrique, we negotiated a triple room for 7.000CFA but its low season and that's usually the price for a double room. Nice place though...

Security in Casamance; I'm in Ziguinchor now, there was apparently a lot of trouble a couple of weeks ago (i was told this afternoon that mortars could be heard in Ziguinchor at that time) but generally it's fine. There is a lot of traffic on the road between here and the Gambian border and I’m getting a lift with a semi-resident businessman to Bissau tomorrow who isn't concerned either. it's a bit of a hop from (or to) Banjul - from Banjul you get a minibus to Westfield junction in Serekunda (6 dalasi) and from there another minibus to Brikama (10 dalasi), from the Brikama gare routiere a bush taxi to Seleti (40 dalasi plus baggage) and from there another taxi to Ziguinchor (2200CFA plus baggage). The driver from Seleti to Zig was pretty impatient to get going although i don't know if he wanted to avoid night time driving or if he just wanted to push us into buying the 1 remaining seat in the taxi. The road to Zig is in great shape, no problem in the wet season (a few potholes but generally flat tarmac all the way), and it really is very wet at the moment, the most violent storms I’ve ever seen!! In any case there is no problem at the moment, it's calm and people are not tense at all. So the message is that Casamance is beautiful, come and enjoy it... keep your ears to the ground but don't be scared away by its reputation!!! From what I heard in Ziguinchor - when the trouble flared in in Casamance, people just went on going there anyway (at least several of the guys that I met have been going there, and to villages in the area as well, regularly for the last 15 years - one even owns a house there). Anyway, the rebels went hiding into the bushes when i came around so if they hear a tough irish girl is on the way they'll probably do a serious runner and join the GSPC or something....