Boffa, a quiet town at the mouth of the Pongo River, is best known as the site of the first Catholic mission in Guinea. Its pretty red-brick church is well worth a visit, especially for Sunday mass. Rent a pirogue (dugout canoe) and paddle around the river's mangroves; downstream a few miles/kilometers is the site of the original Anglican chapel that preceded the Catholic mission. Not far from Boffa (43 mi/69 km) is Bel Air, a 30-mi-/48-km-long, deserted white-sand beach with a luxury hotel. 90 mi/146 km northwest of Conakry.
