Day 126-131
5th - 10th April 2007, Gabon	previous entry next entry

Day 126 5/4. Motel Delices Du Lac's, Lambarene, Gabon

0°41.30'S 10°13.13'E. Miles today 178, Total Miles 11684

Back on the silly road back into Libreville and a quick detour into the supermarket for some cheap special offer mince and a couple of even cheaper takeaway Croque Monsieurs. (French ham and cheese toasties) Oh my word, they were so yum! Headed out on the superb tarmac road towards the equator. Our GPS showed it to be right on a bend in the very twisty road (in a completely different spot as to where their sign was, obviously for safety reasons) We stopped in the hope of a mammoth photo session and a celebratory drink. However, as we opened the back door and turned around, there were about 50 school children storming at full speed towards us. Bollocks! Trust us to cross the middle of the earth at midday just as schools were closing. So, sorry but very few photos and no celebratory bling! Arrived in the beautiful riverside town of Lambarene and investigated the Catholic Mission. Alas, being Easter weekend, they were full - not even space for us to camp. The Spanish nun was so lovely and very apologetic and kept assuring us that usually they were a perfect place to camp with hot showers. While driving off to find a bushcamp, we spotted a sign for Motel Delices Du Lac's. The Gabonese woman running the show was happy to let us camp on the tiny patch of grass for €3 each and insisted that we went to watch telly in the bar. She even picked some flowers for us and served us the coldest beers ever. It was unbelievably hot and the mozzies were out in full force so we ordered another beer and chilled out on her veranda. Just then, the chef arrived, sporting a full chef's outfit. He seemed well chuffed that they actually had guests. I suggested to Rob that maybe we should eat something, purely to give him a reason for being here. He was delighted and turned out, spoke a bit of English. He scurried off and prepared a menu for us and gave a full tour of the restaurant. Rob settled for some Gazelle with Fried Plantain and I opted for Bush Pig with Boiled Cassava. He then brought us a mosquito coil and a bowl of chips. (yup, crisps, oh my word, when last did we have those?) I should have suspected he was up to something, when he never actually went back into the kitchen once and our food was due to be ready in half and hour. I did notice one of the staff load a basket into the back of the car and drive off into town. Half an hour later, he was back and suddenly our dinner was ready. Still, it was delicious and very much enjoyed (except the cassava was pretty grim) until we got the bill! Note to self: always check the prices first! Let's just say it was a little more than a days budget for us but still cheaper than Europe. I just hope that the sweet old pygmy woman in the village, who probably made it, got her fair share. After discovering that our camping spot was now overrun with very scary biting fire ants, we literally jumped into bed.

Day 127 6/4. Bush camp, abandoned auberge 7km north of Lambarene, Gabon

0°37.63'S 10°13.27'E. Miles today 16, Total Miles 11700

Awoke to find even more fire ants invading our car. They are very small and when they bite, which they do, it burns! During lots of frantic hopping about whilst attempting to make a cuppa tea, the chef from last night came over to chat. I told him that the dinner was lovely but quite expensive for us and was there any way they could cancel the fee for camping. "Oh Ok." he said. Geesh, that was easy. With a whole day to kill, we decided to visit the Albert Schweitzer Hospital, as it houses a very special museum. Really worth it, in idyllic surroundings right on the river (as long as you ignore the bushmeat collection of freshly killed monkeys under the trees) A quick stop at the superfast and wonderfully cool internet café in town and we headed off in search of a bushcamp. The usual "spot a dirt track and dash up it" led to an old abandoned auberge on a hilltop with the most awesome views, complete with a few shady pagodas to sit under and hard ground for Dino with minimal ants. But wow, it's warm. I guess it wouldn't be so bad if you didn't have to wear so many bloody clothes to ward off the biting things. Just to put things into perspective: It's 45C and I am wearing long trousers, long sleeved sweatshirt, a headscarf, socks and hiking boots! A while later, a government official arrived and our first thought was "Oh no, here comes trouble! But actually, he was just looking for the security man and absolutely gobsmacked that we had driven all this way from England. He wished us a safe journey and sped off. Phew! A bit later, T and M arrived looking fantastic after their few days adventure in Cameroon and 3 days rest in Oyem. Not a bite or an itch between them but they did have a lot of hassle crossing the border. Rob and I made Shepherds Pie together and devoured it, whilst sweating and swatting bugs.

Day 128 7/4. Ngounie Hotel, Fougamou, Gabon

1°12.72'S 10°35.52'E. Miles today 62, Total Miles 11762

A very bad nights sleep as the bugs were out and guess what? It was the famous tiny ones that can get in through the mozzie net. This time Rob and I were not too bad, just our face, necks and hands (wearing all those clothes obviously paid off) but poor old T and M were covered. Thinking of admitting ourselves to the Albert Schweitzer hospital, we opted for the air-conditioned internet café instead. By now, my right thigh was itching like crazy. One of the little buggers had somehow got into my trousers and made a right meal for himself. Over 80 bites in one spot. Nice! We left T and M to sort out a small battery problem they have developed and arranged to meet up somewhere near the town of Fougamou, 90km south of here on a nasty road. I managed to convince Rob that we should stay in a room tonight, purely to escape more bites and just to get some rest. Africa is tough and living outside all the time is even tougher. We checked into the Ngounie Hotel and the receptionist very kindly gave us a huge discount, (yay, still within our budget!) so we made the best of the aircon and hot showers and chilled out for the rest of the afternoon eating corned beef sandwiches. Amazing how that stuff smells like dog food!

Day 129 8/4. Bush camp, just north of Mouila, Gabon

1°52.03'S 10°59.99'W. Miles today 72, Total Miles 11834

Alas, the aircon packed up at 4am but Rob managed to hot wire it back together to another socket with an english extension cable and within the hour, we were cool again. Have being trying to make contact with T and M all night but their phone doesn't seem to be working. They now have absolutely no idea where we are, which makes waiting pointelss, so made the decision to continue south as planned and keep trying to call them. No chocolate easter eggs for us in this heat, we opted for a long leisurely take away breakfast from the car, we made the best of the superb hot showers and hit the road again towards Mouila. Found a great bushcamp for the night, until the bugs came out in mid bolognaise. I guess they wouldn't freak me out so much, if I just knew what they were. I mean, those long, droopy legged, black and yellow flying furry things. What the hell are those?

Day 130 9/4. Bush camp, just north of Ndende, Gabon

2°23.01'S 11°19.78'W. Miles today 64, Total Miles 11898

Continued on the bumpy road south towards Ndende, with the scenery really starting to open up into tall grasslands and savannah. Hurrah! Being Easter Monday, the immigration was closed and the Hotel BBQ no longer offers free camping, so we opted for another bush camp. A great spot, in a mini quarry for the red gravel that makes up the road surface, and we filled the afternoon with a few chores and made a fire to burn the last of our Moroccan wood (I know….amazing how long we've had that!) Still no sign or word of T and M. Guess we'll just have to head off to the Congo tomorrow without them. Hmmm….Not quite what we had planned.

Day 131 10/4. Gabon-Congo border

2°39.63'S 11°35.42'W. Miles today ?, Total Miles ???

A great nights sleep despite the excitement for Congo today. After a quick stop at the supermarket in town, we approached the dreaded immigration. We have heard that they can be particularly difficult here and so came prepared with any piece of paperwork they could possibly ask for. We were ushered to the front of the queue, which I felt quite guilty about, as I am not sure how long some of those old ladies had been waiting. In actual fact, the police were all very friendly and super efficient. Just goes to show, no ones experience of Africa is like another. After getting our carnet stamped at the border, a small amount of confusion followed, as seeing as we needed three police checks to enter Gabon, we know seemingly needed three to leave. The only way we knew we were still in Gabon was purely by the flags outside each building. Just then the road practically disintegrated into what can only be described as footpath over a bridge and up a hill and we saw the familiar colours of the Congo flag up ahead………….

Day 126-131

5th - 10th April 2007, Gabon