With 'Mortu Nega' (1988), director Flora Gomes made Guinea-Bissau's first fiction feature film, acclaimed at the Venice Film Festival; his 'Udju Azul di Yonta' was later selected for Un Certain Regard at Cannes in 1992.
On Orango, in the Bijagós archipelago, hippos swim in the ocean's salt water — behaviour nearly unique on Earth. The islands have been a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1996.
Take a boat from Bissau to Bubaque, then on to Orango for the hippos; in Bissau, browse Bandim market and catch the carnival in February or March, depending on the year. An eSIM helps: checking ever-shifting boat schedules online, messaging Bijagós lodges on WhatsApp and reading the tides before each crossing.
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