It was early Saturday morning, 5:30 am, when all the volunteers met in the kitchen for coffee and croissants before heading off to Conakry.

This day was going to be very relaxing. Saturday was free from work and devoted to rest and fun. Both Drame and Mac took everyone to two beautiful islands, one named Fotoba and another one called Soro. The first one was located approximately 30 minutes by boat from the capital city and another one 20 minutes from the first island. 

To everyone’s surprise, traffic wasn’t that heavy early in the morning so it took less time than usual to reach Conakry. On the way to the capital, the van stopped for a decent breakfast at a nearby bakery shop. Croissants, sandwiches, pastries and omelettes were served along with tea and coffee. Satisfied and energised, volunteers were ready for a boat ride to the islands.

To start off, the boat took everyone to the first Fotoba island where volunteers saw the first school in Guinea and they could visit the former place where people were held captive in the country years ago. This island is of great historical importance for the country, which is why it was so crucial for everyone to explore it and meet locals living there. The visit ended with a short walk through the island forest and then everyone jumped into the boat that took them to the Soro beach.

After 11:00, everyone reached the island. The sun was shining so everyone had to find a place in the shade. Luckily, Drame and Mac organized a large table with chairs for everyone in the shade of a huge tree just in front of the sea. That was a perfect spot!

The island of Soro is a fairly small island where many tourists and local people were sunbathing, relaxing in the shade, playing football and swimming that day. This place was bustling with life. When some volunteers chose to relax on the beach, the rest immediately ran to the sea! 

At noon, the volunteers had lunch together on the beach – local fish, which is a delicacy of all tourists and local people here, served with fried plantains and fries. It was such a filling and tasty meal.

The entire afternoon was spent in a very relaxing way. Long talks, dancing on the beach, swimming, playing football on the beach, walking – everyone could choose something for themselves. It was all to be enjoyed. 

At the end of the day, the volunteers went back to Conakry from where they went directly to Dubreka. They only stopped for dinner at a nearby restaurant with local fish, couscous, sauce, and fried chicken. Both options were delicious! The traffic was extremely heavy on that night so the final destination, the HB Hotel, was reached past 23:00.