Guinea – 147th Country

Guinea – 147th Country. To see where I have been so far, check out my map as I count down the final 93 countries on the road to all 193 UN countries. Guinea is my 147^th country.

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Guinea or Guinea-Conakry, not to be confused with its neighbor, Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is also located in West Africa on the Atlantic Ocean albeit much larger with over 12 million souls. Guinea was a former colony of France and it gained its independence in 1958. Over 85% of the population practices Islam with 24 ethnic groups. The official language is French with an additional 24 indigenous languages. The economy is driven by agriculture and mining.

I entered Guinea overland from Gabu, Guinea-Bissau. The roads were brutal resulting in a 14 hour drive to Labe, a town of 200,000 in the Guinea Highlands. Bu luck, I was a guest of a wedding in a local and remote village. The other highlight was a private performance by a group of Griots, the minstrels of West Africa. These singers and dancers are a combination of historians, poets, praise singers, and storytellers.