Guinea-Bissau

The small country of Guinea-Bissau is a product of West African and Portuguese colonial cultural influences. Portuguese and the local Crioulo are the officially recognized languages; Balanta, Fula, Manjaca, Mandinga, and Papel peoples make for an ethnically-varied community. The flat terrain and tropical weather are significantly less varied. Agriculture is the mainstay of a pretty depressed economy, and cashew nuts and ground nuts are big exports. In Bissau, the neoclassical façade of the former presidential palace retains damage from the civil war era, but restoration is underway. The Arquip├®lago dos Bijagós are beautiful delta islands with great beaches and a population whose isolation has preserved an old culture quite distinct in West Africa.

Seafood is a central part of the diet in Guinea-Bissau. Cassava, yams, and maize are popular starchy staples, and okra, carrots, and squash are common vegetables. Jollof rice is eaten here, as in many other West African nations. Caña de cajeu, cashew rum, is a spirit which may excite your adventurous spirit.