Cap Esterias

Now that my excitement over the lumbar puncture has died down a bit, I can write with a clear head about this weekend. It was definitely time to get out of Lambarene. I have been in country for a month with only small weekend day trips and outings with the PMI as my means of escape. The other Americans also needed to move a bit and shake things up. Initially we planned to go to Nyonie, which is a beach resort just south of Libreville. It is run by an expatriate French woman who has set up nice bungalows near the water with day-long safaris organized every day. Did I mention that alcohol is included in the price of the weekend? And there is the possibility of seeing elephants on the beach? All in all it sounded like a sweet set-up. Except we ran into two artists at the hospital who convinced us that the Nyonie experience was too expensive to be worth it. They also connected us with a ride to Libreville and recommendations for other beach resorts to try.

Armed with knowledge and a resolve to have a relaxing weekend we gamely decided to try their suggestions. We arrived in Libreville at 4pm on Friday afternoon, with enough time to enjoy an awesome exhibit about the history of Gabon called “Ma Terre, Ma Future.” It was organized by the Ministry of Tourism for the 50th anniversary of Gabon and was the best thing I have seen put out by this country so far. In giant air-conditioned tents there were six exhibits about the country: geological and archeological history (apparently multi-cellular life began in Gabon!), the different ecosystems, the traditional foods and arts, French colonial presence, independence and the government, and the future plans. Local college students who are studying the different subjects acted as guides. This was in many ways the best part of the exhibit: these people were so enthusiastic and proud of their country. It was very cool to add that interaction to the exhibit. We loved it.

The next morning we woke up with dual goals in mind: find local tissue/panne (fabric) at the big market near our hotel and find a clandestine taxi (unofficial/unlicensed) to take us to Cap Esterias. Done and done. The market was huge and crazy but we managed to get some cool tissue even in the midst of all that turmoil. I'm going to have a dress and pants made by a tailor here. When in Afrique, il faut faire comme les Afriquaines.

We also had pretty great luck getting out to the cape, which turned out to be a gem of a town. Libreville is a big crowded bustling dirty African city and this town just 25km away was completely calm and cute. No one hassled us like they do in the cities. We took long walks, hung out on the beach, drank local beers, ate some good seafood, and swam in the ocean. Then at night, the owner of our hotel's niece invited us to the one local bar in town to drink and dance. So fun. Dancing here is a lot like home, girls on one side, boys on the other, circles of dance-offs, lots of giggling and high fives. I love it-- it's so fun. (As a sidenote for my friends who know how I love a good non-judgemental dance party, I now have to call it a SDSJ, or soiree de dance sans jugement).

The next morning, the nephew of the hotel owner took us on a long walk on the beach and explained about local trees and plants and showed us the site of the first local Catholic mission. Amusingly enough the mission is now a training site for the French military and when we showed up there were about 30 shirtless men in tiny running shorts milling about. The scene was very homoerotic lost boys style. The coastline running north from the cape was so beautiful. I loathe that my internet is not fast enough to load photos because I would love to show it to everyone. When I get back to the states, I will add pictures to the blog which to make it complete and illustrative. For now imagine an unspoilt greenish gray paradise. That was my backdrop this weekend.