2021 Travel the World - Week 26

I started a 50-week series in 2019 that I called Travel the World. Each week of the series I visited a randomly-selected country, sharing bits of information about that country. I then chose one tidbit of information about that week's country as inspiration for a card. As I explored those 50 countries in 2019, I knew I would continue on until I've visited every one of the 195 countries in the world, so I continued the series in 2020 and here I am in 2021, the third year of traveling the world. 

This week's country is...

Guinea

Guinea is a country located on the western coast of Africa. It is bordered by Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Ivory Coast to the southeast, Liberia, and Sierra Leone to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.

Guinea is also known as Guinea-Conakry in order to distinction it from the neighboring nations of Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, which all contain the word “Guinea” in their name.

Guinea used to be named French Guinea because it was a French colony established in 1891, and was part of French West Africa. Guinea was a French colony for nearly 70 years until it gained independence on October 2, 1958.

The official language of Guinea is French.

Conakry is the capital and largest city of Guinea. Conakry is a port city on the Atlantic Ocean and serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea.

Guinea is known for its rich mineral resources and diverse habitats and wildlife. 

The coastline in Guinea has a length of 200 miles. 

Guinea encompasses a total land area 94,926 sq mi. Of this total, 33,793 sq mi are protected for the conservation of wildlife and forests. This area under protection translates to 35.6% of the country’s size, and includes three national parks, as well as other types of protected areas.

The Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve, which Guinea shares with Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) is rich in flora and fauna. The Reserve is home to the Nimba Range, a chain of mountains that culminate at Mount Nimba. At 5,748 feet tall, it is the highest mountain in both Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire.

It was in the Nimba Mountains of Guinea that chimpanzees were first observed using tools to chop up and reduce food into smaller bite-sized portions. In 2009, they were seen using both stone and wooden cleavers, as well as stone anvils, to process Treculia fruits.

The Niger River, the Gambia River, and the Senegal River are among the 22 West African rivers that have their origins in Guinea.

In 2017, a new species of tree called Talbotiella cheekii was discovered in Guinea. Incredibly for an undiscovered species, the tree can grow up to 78 feet high and has fruit in “exploding pods”.

Guinea's Kambadaga Falls is spectacular, 817 feet tall and 226 feet wide waterfall. The waterfalls crash over three separate falls and they’re surrounded by jungle where monkeys and a wealth of colorful birds are common.

The majority of Guineans work in the agriculture sector, which employs approximately 75% of the country.

Guinea's agriculture products include rice, coffee, pineapples, palm kernels, tapioca, bananas, sweet potatoes, cattle, sheep, goats, and timber.

While Guinea is among the poorest nations in the world, it contains significant mineral deposits. The country is known to have one-quarter of the world’s bauxite reserves, as well as more than 1.8 billion metric tons of high-quality iron ore. Guinea is also known to possess large deposits of gold, uranium, and diamonds.

Guinea is one of just four countries in the world that doesn’t have any telephone fixed lines.

The most dangerous animals in Guinea include the African Buffalo, Hippopotamus, West African Lion, African Puffer Adder, Anopheles Mosquito and Elephant.

Endangered animals in Guinea include the African Forest Elephant, West African Lion, Pygmy Hippopotamus, Western Giant Eland, and Western Chimpanzee.

As of 2017, the adult literacy rate in Guinea was 41%, causing the country to be ranked as having the 9th lowest adult illiteracy rate in the world. In Guinea, primary education is compulsory for only 6 years, after which point students may choose to continue school or drop out. Unfortunately, most students do not even reach the required 6 years of school. A primary reason for the low literacy rate in Guinea is the country's high poverty rate. 

Football is the most popular sport in Guinea. Their national football team is called Syli Nationale which literally means National Elephants.

The Centre d’Art Acrobatique Keita Fodeba in Conakry (Guinea's capital) is famed for training some of Africa’s greatest acrobats and contortionists who go on to perform all around the world.

Rice is the staple food of Guinea. However, other traditional West African dishes are commonly consumed in Guinea. These include jollof rice, fufu, tapalapa bread, and maafe. Fried plantain, Boille (made of rice and corn), boiled mango, and konkoe (smoked fish) are other popular dishes. Boiled cassava leaf sauce is normally served as an accompaniment. 

Africa's fourth largest mosque is located in Guinea.

Guinea suffers from some of the world’s worst air pollution. A recent analysis suggests it has the world’s seventh-highest death rate from air pollution.

My inspiration for this week's card is based on this fact about Guinea... Where electricity to its capital city has electricity for only a few hours a day - early morning and evening, while other cities might be without electricity for half of the year until the rainy season starts and hydropower begins to operate.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamp Set: MFT A La Mode Lightbulb Moment stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Paper: Cougar 110# White and SU Daffodil Delight CS and DP from my scrap file

Dies: MFT Stitched Mod Rectangles, MFT Stitched Rectangles, and Spellbinders Rectangles

Embellishments: Echo Park Enamel Dots and a Lightbulb Brad from an unknown vendor