Labé-Centre
We spent 3 nights in Labé, a small town of 200,000 souls. I didn’t really do much except have the occasional ramble around. I went for a long walk one evening to the centre to get some cash from an ATM to pay for visas. This coincided with the rush hour but also when the market stalls were open to catch the commuters.
Traffic in Guinea is very different to other countries. Due to the poverty, and possibly atrocious roads, there are very few cars and nearly all traffic consists of motorbikes. Many of these are called ‘Taxi Moto’ and is the local taxi system. You negotiate a price, hop up on the back – no helmets, natch – while the driver practices his kamikaze skills while texting at the same time and simultaneously trying to break the sound barrier. And they’re the good ones.
Horns are used incessantly, not so much in anger, as often in the west, but to let other drivers know you’re coming, or overtaking. It’s a type of sonar, a soundscape of beeps and blasts and honks where everybody seems to have a sense of where other drivers are. It seems to work OK as I haven’t seen an accident yet. I’m sure there are many, though.
There actually are some cars on the road and these are generally incredibly old and battered French brands. They are used as long distance taxis and cargo carriers. You’d frequently seem a rusty old relic of a Renault chugging and puttering along, churning out clouds of smoke with 5 or more passengers inside, the height of the car, or higher, of cargo balanced precariously on the roof tied with a net. Often, there are 3 or 4 passengers balanced on top of this. How they manage to avaid being launched into outer space because of all the bumps on the road is another one of those African mysteries I’ll never fathom.
Anyway, the trip to the bank was a blast. The distance was about 2km from our campsite and I walked along the side of the road dodging aforementioned motorcycles and ensuring I didn’t trip and fall headlong into the open drains, never to be seen again. The traffic was fierce, as was the noise of horns and people communicating with their relations in distant townships without the benefit of mobile phones and depending on lung power alone. It was exciting.
When I got to the market the volume and intensity shot up several degrees. It was a poorer version of the African markets I have seen in the past and there seemed to be a lot of what appeared ad hoc trading – people who threw an old piece of cloth on the road and sold used items. There were also established stalls selling foodstuffs and household items. I got lost at this point and just surrendered to the tsunami of activity and noise. It was exhilarating, eventually.
The day before, a group of us walked to the centre looking for a copy shop and to get lunch. We found a restaurant and were guided through several rooms to get to a bare room with about 6 tables and chairs. There were about 8 of us so we pushed them together into one long table. I had a shawarma, my staple go to snack or lunch in Africa and Arabia. It’s hard to go wrong with a shawarma and this one was ok. I think it was goat meat.
The site was pretty ok, run by an African woman who was partial to the sup and her Italian husband. The pizza was fab.
I was getting a bit peopled out at this stage and upgraded to a room. It was fine; basic and clean with a huge bed and a good mosquito net. I didn’t really need the net as our altitude was 1250 meters and the nights were quite chilly.
Best of all, the room had a hot shower and I luxuriate under my first really hot shower in a month. Eventually, after half an hour, the hot water was gone. I waited until it was hot again and repeated the experience
I’m a very solitary and self-reliant person; maybe too much so, on occasions but that’s not for exploring here. I like people and being in a group but frequently need to go off on my own and recharge my batteries as I feel I’m losing my sense of self. The reverse is also true and I feel the need to be connected with others.
This self-regulation is very easy in Dublin but a bit different on this truck where we’re living cheek to jowl, day in, day out. I have to draw on resources I rarely used to manage this and it works reasonably well, allowing me to get comfortable and unstressed. in the truck. An important strategy to upgrade to a room every week or 10 days or so.
Here are some factoids from Wikipedia:
Labé (Pular: 𞤂𞤢𞤦𞤫) is the main city and administrative capital of the Fouta Djallon region of Guinea. It has a population of about 200,000. It is the second largest city in the country after the capital Conakry in terms of economic importance. Labé is situated some 450 kilometres or 280 miles northeast of Conakry close to the geographic centre of Guinea.
The city was founded in the 1720s by the Fulani people and named for their chief, Manga Labé. It developed as a major trade center linking the Niger river to the Atlantic coast.
The city was the capital of the Diwal/province of Labe within the Imamate of Futa Jallon prior to French colonisation. It was home to Muslim leaders and scholars who resisted colonisation, such as Alpha Yaya Diallo. Labe is the most important city in the Moyenne (Middle) Guinea region also known as Fouta Djallon.
Labe is considered as a major cultural and religious center in West Africa, especially among the Fulani people. Many Muslim scholars made Labe a famous learning place in Islamic studies. The most prominent of the erudites being Alfa Oumarou Rafiou (Dara Labe), Thierno Doura Sombili, Thierno Diawo Pellel, Thierno Aliou Bhouba Dian.
Labé is an important commercial centre in the region, arising out of its strategic geographical position between several other countries. Traders from nearby regions such as Pita, Tougué, Koubia, Lélouma, Mali Yemberin and other countries including Mali, Senegal, the Gambia and Sierra Leone gather in Labé. Its central market is the second largest in the country after the Madina market in Conakry. Trade or commerce has become the main activity in the city, but Labe also has a small manufacturing industry consisting mainly of shoe making, textile, carpentry, blacksmithing… It is known for weaving and honey.
The city also benefits from a considerable diaspora whose repatriated income contributes significantly to infrastructural development in Labé and helps to overcome the region’s relatively poorer revenue stream. Merchants from the city dominate the informal economy in most Guinean cities and are also economically active in cities further afield, such as Dakar, Bamako, Abidjan, Bissau and Freetown.
About Author
