Day 121-125

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GAB 31st March - 4th April 2007, Gabon

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Day 121 31/3. Bush camp, old quarry in-between Bitam and Oyem, Gabon
1°49.54'N 11°38.11'E. Miles today 209, Total Miles 11220
quarryAnd so we trundled across a fancy bridge and Hello Gabon and Hello Police, which resulted in us having to go into three government buildings and get our passports checked - but not stamped - and had to fill out some silly tourist form. A bit further down the road at a roadblock, we got the carnet stamped with no problems and headed off towards Bitam, in search of the ominous entry stamp. We found the police station/immigration and were greeted by a rather gruff, fat Gabonese policeman, who at the same time as eating his lunch out of his desk drawer, insisted we fill out yet another silly tourist form. He was quite rude actually, which encouraged me to be even more sickly sweet to him. Bon Journee and all that malarkey, you know. We had a way point of a quarry for a bushcamp for the night and so made our way on the fantastic tarmac road sweeping it's way through the jungle. Here Rob was so wishing for a sports car rather than a big lump of a land rover. The bushcamp in a quarry (thanks Duks journey) turned out to be a great spot and there didn't appear to be too many scary bugs. Or so we thought……………..
Day 122 1/4. Bush camp, 50km from west end of 'Yellow' road to Libreville, Gabon
0°28.80'N 10°08.48'E. Miles today 200, Total Miles 11420
rain forest highway small road bridge Surely this must be some sort of Aprils Fools joke but we woke up covered in red itchy bites. I wasn't too bad, mainly just my hands and ears. Rob looks like he's got measles. They are apparently from these small flies called "Forreaux" which are practically invisible until they fill with blood. Yours obviously and by then it's too late. Lovely! On a recommendation from other overlanders, we decided to investigate the "yellow brick road" to Libreville so Rob could have some fun. Although the scenery of thick steamy jungle was awesome, the road was a huge disappointment, as it had obviously very recently been graded and so was easy as pie. We had planned to spend at least two nights out here on this route but now it looks like we wouldn't even spend one. Around 50 km from the end, we decided we had to spend at least one night out here and so bushcamped at the side of the road for the night. No problems at first, just a few very jovial locals driving by until the bugs came out. With both of our skins not wishing to sport any more bites, I made the quickest tuna pasta ever and we dived into bed to eat dinner and watch a movie. Thanks Nats for the Dvd's.
Day 123 2/4. Hotel Sanata Barbara, Ntoum, Gabon
0°23.30'N 9°45.32'E. Miles today 34, Total Miles 11454
getting into the mud any mud on the wheel ant highway
Now formally known as Itchy and Scratchy, we woke up to a massive rainstorm and after a quick cuppa tea, were back on this boring road. Only now, do we thank our lucky stars that we pulled off for the night, as the road deteriorates quite a bit with loads of muddy bits made even muddier after this mornings rain. Rob is delighted and had a great time getting Dino completely covered in mud. The scenery was still awesome and everyone in the villages super friendly. The number of scary insects and animals was increasing rapidly, with huge 2m long black snakes, a highway of ants and some odd looking light yellow monster that flew into the window and then into me! We are definitely now in the "jungle". We soon joined the tarred but badly potholed road towards Libreville and decided to stop in Ntoum, as we heard that there was a hotel where we could camp if we ate in their restaurant. The manager wasn't around when we arrived but the young Gabonese woman directed us to the shady garden. The heat and humidity was unbearable and we retired to the bar for a coke but then saw the prices and so sadly just made it one to share. Took a quick wander into town and found some cheaper coke at one of the many aircon supermarkets. Just how long can you wander around a supermarket before you get thrown out for loitering? Back at the hotel, we must have looked awful, as this rather large lady, who was of some obvious importance brought us a couple of mandarins and offered us a room for free where we could take a hot shower and use the loo. Wow, we were so grateful. Clean and refreshed we settled down to the cheapest thing on the menu….omelettes for €3.50 each. But they were pretty big omelettes with potato inside and fries and they did give us a free starter of avocado vinaigrette straight off the garden tree. The temperature was dropping slightly and we both hoped for a scratch-free cool sleep in the tent.
Day 124 3/4. Auberge La Maree, Cap Esterias, Gabon
0°37.10'N 9°19.43'W. Miles today 52, Total Miles 11506
LibrevilleWoke up to heavy rain and miserably tried to muster up the energy to rustle up a cup of tea. Seeing as the rain wasn't about to let up, we thanked the hotel and headed off on the horrible pot holed road towards Libreville. Whoa, what a culture shock. An exceptionally modern city, with the most amazing architectural monstrosities. The Mission Libebermann didn't look all that inviting, and after a quick trip to the BGFI bank to change some travellers cheques for a silly rate (but by now we are desperate to use these things), we pulled into the Hypermarche Mbolo purely as a laugh. It looks just like a Carrefour straight outta France and has anything any foodie would ever want, at prices no overlander can afford. We decided there was no reason for us to stay in Libreville, as we have done our fair share of big African cities and so headed north for 30km on a horrendous road to Cap Estarias. Here we found the most wonderful Auberge right on the beach, where the French women let us camp in her garden for free. She then promptly gave us a room to use the shower and loo. Once again, the hospitality of everyone has been overwhelming. I just really wish we could speak French, as communication was very basic. I did manage to grasp that she was confused as to why so many tourists in big trucks keep turning up at her house? The itching seems to have subsided a little and after a rice concoction, we collapsed into bed.
Day 125 4/4. Auberge La Maree, Cap Esterias, Gabon
0°37.10'N 9°19.43'W. Miles today 0, Total Miles 11506
La MareeDecided to stay on another day here and the French woman was delighted. "My home is your home" were her words to me this morning. We wondered into the small village and bought some bread and coke for lunch and some very nasty and expensive peanuts. Just chilled out by the sea, discussing the rest of our trip. Roll on Namibia and savannah is what we say. A lovely sunset swim followed by more rice for dinner (we went halves on an enormous 6kg bag with T and M in Yaounde) and another cool nights sleep thanks to our little fans. We both cannot bear to think how bad things would be without these lifesavers.
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