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Tuesday, Nov. 3

Knocking on the door woke us up at 5:30. It was dark outside. By 6:00 we were eating a very nice breakfast with freshly made muffins, French toast, yoghurt, cereal, fresh fruit, coffee or tea on the outside deck. The horizon looked very gray and by 6:30 it was pouring. Fausto, our South African guide, suggested we wait for the worst of the storm to pass before heading out. I spent the time taking pictures.

About 7:30 it seemed the worst of the rain had passed, so we were collected and boarded an open boat with three sets of seats for four. Since our location is about 2 degrees south of the equator, I thought a long sleeved shirt, pants and the plastic poncho they provided would be adequate for the day.

In the Lonely Planet the description of Loango National Park is as follows: “LNP very well may be the most varied and visually stunning of all of Gabon’s national parks. It is known for its mythically surfing hippos, but you will also find the largest concentration and variety of whales and dolphins, elephants wandering white sand beaches and an assortment of rare land mammals cavorting in the savanna.” Apparently the only lodge operating near this park is the one where we are staying, called Operation Loango. From here a guest can take boat and open safari vehicle trips through the park to the lodge’s satellite base camps. The lodge really does an excellent job with its food and the accommodations are first rate.

To get back to the boat trip for the day, when eight of us plus Fausto and 2 local guides departed, it was sprinkling, but then began pouring, a real tropical downpour. It didn’t take long until my pants were totally soaked, so the wet plus the wind chill factor from the boat’s speed, made for a MISERABLE experience. My glasses were totally wet, so impossible to see through and the rain hitting my face felt like pellets. About an hour later we left the lagoon and began motoring at a slower pace up a river in the rain for three more hours. By this time Dave had crawled under the bow of the boat to get out of the rain and warm up (remember this was at the equator!). During this time our guide Fausto was explaining all of the birds, which I couldn’t see, and didn’t want to view through my binoculars, which would have meant opening my backpack which I had put into a large plastic bag. So I hunkered down in my seat and tried to imagine myself in any other location, asked myself why I would have agreed to pay so much money to participate on such a horribly uncomfortable, and miserable excursion. The rest of the group seemed enthusiastic, but…. this was my experience!!! Dave remembers some good sightings of a swamp antelope, monkeys and many birds, including fish eagles and pine nut vultures.

About four hours after leaving the lodge, we stopped at a satellite camp where the crew set up a very tasty picnic lunch: cold fried fish and potato salad served on real plates with silverware, tea, coffee and pudding in small plastic containers. The camp was basic, but at least out of the rain. For the two hours we were there I was really cold and wet, hard to believe when one thinks we were almost right on the equator with the temperature about 80F/26C degrees. Swimming in the river nearby was a pink backed pelican, which of course, I enjoyed photographing.

I was dreading the trip back, but at least knew what was ahead. It wasn’t raining as hard, but still drizzling and we stopped all the time to see birds. Without the rain pelting my face, I could enjoy the beauty of the area. There is absolutely no sign of people, the water is dark from the tannins in the plants and the reflections are spectacular. I would have loved to photograph that, and fortunately Fausto did. This was a bird lovers’ paradise and Fausto was at his best locating and identifying many varieties.

We got back to the lodge at 5:00. All I wanted was a warm shower and to take off the wet clothes. I had intended to write in my journal and read my book, but when dinner was over around 8:00, all I could think of was bed, so by 8:30 I was asleep. In my mind I thought if I get up tomorrow and it’s raining, I’m staying at the lodge. Dave had more reserves to enjoy the evening, remembering a kabob dinner accompanied by wine, vegetable soup and ending with a crepe.

Wednesday, Nov. 4

Wake up again was at 5:30 and fortunately after 9 hours of sleep I felt pretty normal. It wasn’t raining, so I decided to participate in the excursion. By 6:30 we were on our way across the lagoon to Loango National Park where we loaded two new 4×4 Toyota Land Cruisers modified for safari use with three rows of seats and a canopy. Our group of 8 divided in half, 3 women in one vehicle who didn’t want to kayak and the other 5 together. The route took us on a rough track consisting of two ruts in the sand. As a result it was slow going. Eventually we began spotting forest buffalo, first in small groups and finally in larger herds, with one of about 40. They are all shades of brown with fuzzy ears. Often a bird or two are sitting on their backs, helping themselves to insects in the buffalo’s fur.

The African Forest Buffalo (Syncerus caffer nanus) is smaller than the Cape Buffalo, with horns that curve out backwards and upwards. Usually weighing between 265 and 565 kg, they are reddish brown in color. Its native habitat is the equatorial forest found in central and western Africa, and its diet consists primarily of grasses, twigs, and young shoots. African Forest Buffalo are sought after by hunters for their meat and horns. In the wild, leopards are its primary predator.

Further on we came upon small herds of forest elephants, typically with not more than three together. At one stop we spotted a large colony of perhaps 100 rosie bee eaters. They tunnel into the sand to create their nests. As we watched they were coming and going, popping in and out of the holes. While I drove around the park in one vehicle and lots of chances to photograph the buffalo, elephants and birds, Fausto accompanied the kayakers. They loaded into four kayaks and spent a couple of hours on the lagoon just behind the barrier beach. For half an hour they stopped at the turn around point and walked the short distance (500 ft – 170 m) to the Atlantic Ocean. It was low tide and the sand was firm with lots of shells, as well as the usual debris (mostly plastic bottles, etc.). On the beach it was sunny and warm.

Between 12:00 and 12:30 both groups met at one of the lodge’s satellite camps (Tassi Camp) and we ate lunch. There wasn’t enough water, unlike on other days, also the lunch was not nearly as special, probably because the lodge is so far from its supplier.

After lunch we divided into two groups: those who wanted to return to the lodge right away, and others who went to the beach first before returning home. Fausto pointed out animal tracks in the sand, also that the huge amounts of garbage at the high tide mark come from many neighboring countries. A study has been done to explain this, probably someone’s Ph.D. thesis!

As we returned to the vehicle and headed home a tropical downpour began. This time I was prepared with my jacket as well as the poncho, so the rain was not nearly as uncomfortable. Also the vehicle had a top, even though the sides were open. The long and bumpy ride back to the dock took 1 1/2 hours with a few elephant and forest buffalo viewings. En route Fausto explained how this whole area millions of years ago had consisted of forest, but when humans began living here, trees were removed and the land planted with the crops, first eaten by the locals, then sold to the Europeans. In the last 100 years or so, with the departure of the Europeans, the open areas have began the long process of reforestation. This starts with the first ground covers that send out tendrils. Once they have covered a small circular area, then the next plants come in. These are taller and create an environment for the first bush. After a hundred years you end up with a forested area large enough to support the buffalo, elephants, birds and other wildlife. Fausto is an amazingly well educated guide with many talents. We are fortunate to have him leading out group. I personally just wish that he had led more of the excursions that I participated in.

Back at the lodge around 4:30 we waited on the covered porch of our cabin until 5:00 when the electricity came back on, had a beer, looked at the pictures I had taken and deleted the ones of lesser quality. At this point I have 900 on the memory card, space for 200 more and two memory cards in reserve!

We were set up for dinner on the outside deck but just as we started, the rains came, so we quickly moved inside. It was a nice chicken meal with wine and fruit for dessert.

Thursday, Nov. 5

It was about 8:15 before we headed to the lodge for breakfast. I tried unsuccessfully to e-mail, then I wandered around the grounds with another woman in the group and tried to take interesting pictures. There are lots of flowering bushes and tropical plants. Dave read in a lounge chair by the pool. Some of the group had been out on a 4×4 wildlife watching trip again, while four returned to the mainland for the whole day. After lunch it began to rain again, so we read on our deck.

About 3:00 the weather improved and we left in a covered boat with Fausto, motored down the estuary until it discharged into the Atlantic via a gap in the barrier sand beach, where a few local fishermen were at work. We saw a variety of birds, including terns and a fish eagle eating a large fish. Near the gap the lodge had built the satellite Camp Katherine, which we explored. There were 5 cabins in a lovely setting. Just before sunset on the return boat ride to the main lodge, Fausto spotted a family of hippos. The largest one exposed the upper part of his body and opened his huge mouth in an aggressive gesture to encourage us to keep our distance. During the next 15 minutes or so that we observed the “herd”, we counted 7 hippos, including a couple of little ones. Typically the only part of their body that was visible was the top of their head. Since the light was fading and the animals only surfaced sporadically I didn’t try to take any pictures, but several of Fausto’s share the experience.

By 6:00 PM we were back at the lodge, where we heard a review of Principé Island (our next destination) by the lodge manager, who had run the Bom Bom resort there. Following this was a report by a young woman from the UK, who has been advising the locals in Gabon about national park operations since 2001. The fish dinner with wine was very tasty. Then we packed for an early departure the next day.

Since retelling of today’s events didn’t take up much space, I thought this would be a good place in the journal to include some excerpts from the Lonely Planet and other sources about Gabon. Gabon is shaping up to be Africa’s next best ecotourism destination. Thanks to President El Hadj Omar Bongo’s (he just died in 2009 and was succeeded by his son) designation of a whopping 10% of the country’s land as national parks – closing it down to loggers and miners and opening it up to travelers, conservationists and colonists- it is now possible to explore endless white-sand beaches, primate-filled tropical rain forests, rolling savannas and estuaries. The visitor can see wild creatures in their own pristine environment and will transport you back to a time when Mother Earth – not humans- ruled the land.”

A few facts:
Capital: Libreville
Languages: French and Fang
Population 1.42 million

History: Avoiding the coups, wars and poverty that have plagued the rest of the continent, Gabon has been an oasis of stability and prosperity in a very troubled region for more than 40 years. Its president has held power since 1967 and ranks as Africa’s longest-serving head of state. He has presided over an economy bolstered by income from oil, which has made Gabon one of the richest in sub-Saharan Africa – though dwindling reserves have forced planners to seek out other sources of revenue, and ecotourism has become the buzz word of the day.

Gabon has been inhabited for at least 400,000 years. Some 1200 rock paintings have been found that were made by iron-working cultures that razed the forest for agriculture, creating today’s savannah. The earliest modern society, the Pygmies, were displaced between the 16th and 18th centuries by migrating peoples from the north, principally the Fang, who came after settling in what is now Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.

Contact with Europeans, starting with the arrival of the Portuguese in 1472 had a profound effect on tribal structures. British, Dutch and French ships traded for slaves, ivory and tropical woods. The coastal tribes established strong ties with these foreign powers, but the interior tribes defended their lands against European encroachment. Animosity still lingers between the coastal tribes and the rest of the country.

The capital, Libreville, was established in 1849 for freed slaves on an estuary popular with traders and quickly became a mecca for every God-fearing missionary in the Western world. It represented an unlimited source of pagan souls to be saved.

In 1912 Albert Schweitzer, missionary, ex-theologian, and physician, set off for Gabon with his family, eventually setting up a hospital in Lambarene. The original hospital operated out of a converted chicken coop, but over the years grew into a multi-complex health center. Some of his more radical moves included the relaxing of hygiene standards so that families of patients could prepare food on site for their relatives. Schweitzer eventually won the Nobel Peace prize for his work in Gabon.

During the early years of the 20th century, when colonization was still seen as an economic rather than a social or ethical issue, French private companies exploited Gabon by forcing Africans to work for them. Having only recently thrown off the shackles of slavery, the Gabonese were understandably bent out of shape by this new form of indentured slavery and, like other Africans in French Equatorial Africa, vented their anger in periodic revolts. Each successive revolt was quelled, and by the time a new broom swept these old regimes out of the country the companies had destroyed the forests, used up most of the other natural resources and sent the country into an economic slump that lasted until after W.W.I.

The country became self-governing in 1958, and won independence in 1960. Gabon continues to grapple with such issues as substandard health care and schools.

Culture: Someone once said that the Gabonese like to act more French than the French themselves, and this certainly could hold true in Westernized, glitzy Libreville, despite the remaining resentment of the old colonial masters who are also still Gabon’s biggest trading and investment partners. But beyond the big city (and oil-soaked Port Gentil), most Gabonese are still living simply, sometimes in the same conditions and traditions as hundreds of years ago.

Yet even in tiny remote villages you won’t find the kind of poverty seen in other parts of Africa. Everyone in Gabon has enough money for beer, and that’s just what they spend it on. Women are allowed to join in, but only after the wood is gathered, the food is prepared and the rest of the work is done. On Sundays everyone dresses in their best and heads off to church where spirited dancing and singing ensues.

If you are in a hurry to go somewhere or get anything done Gabon can be a frustratingly slow country, both because of the French-inherited bureaucracy as well as the rejection of Westernized work hours.

Environment: Lying flush on the west coast of Africa and straddling the equator, Gabon is about half the size of France and a hundred times more fertile. It is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north and Congo to the east and south.

Gabon is a country of astonishing landscapes and almost insane biodiversity, much of which is still undiscovered and unexploited. Though almost 75% of the country is covered in dense tropical rain forest, this equatorial country is also full of endless white-sand beaches, savannas, rushing rivers, hidden lagoons, rocky plateaus and canyons, cloud-tipped mountains and inselbergs (isolated rock domes overlooking the surrounding forest canopy), all of which are home to an amazing array of flora and fauna.

Friday, Nov. 6

We were up at 5:30 for a 6:30 departure in two Toyota Land Cruisers for the 60 km drive back to the airport. One was pulling a small trailer with our duffel bags. It had rained off and on for the last few days and the tracks (you couldn’t call it a road) were totally rutted. Basically the surface consisted of mud or sand. Eventually one of the vehicles got stuck, so the one we were in maneuvered itself so as to be able to pull the other one out. The 60 km drive took 3 hours!!! It is amazing to me that any tourists find that hotel, even though it is beautifully appointed, in a great location with all of the amenities, including a swimming pool. A new visitor to the area might think the lagoon and nearby ocean would be great places to swim, but there are crocodiles and hippos all around, making a venture into the water very dangerous.

Back to the drive, it rained part of the time. We were sitting in three rows with three to a row in a vehicle that only had a roof. Fortunately we were outfitted with plastic ponchos, so were able to keep relatively dry.

Fausto, was in our vehicle and shared stories of growing up in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, traveling in the bush with friends and alone, of hitchhiking long distances, of being bitten by a very poisonous snake, and enduring bouts of malaria. For the past couple of days he hadn’t eaten much of anything, finally admitted that he had picked up some kind of intestinal problem. His cure was to stay hydrated but to stop eating for 48 hours, and apparently that worked, because even though he did have antibiotics along, he didn’t like to use them, and hadn’t. At age 46 he has endless experience in the wild with every possible situation. He also told us about qualifying for a license as a wildlife guide, which is very rigorous. When asked how many birds he can identify, he figured about 500, not to mention plants, animals, insects, etc.

Sitting next to me in the vehicle on this 3-hour drive was a very nice young man employed at the hotel. We had lots of time to talk, so he told me his story. His first name is Hassan. He was born in a village near Timbuktu in Mali, belongs to the Tuaregs, a nomadic group found in that part of Africa. His father is a “white” Tuareg and his mother a “black”, who had been a slave to the father, but I don’t think slave in the usual sense of the word. When they married, the groom’s father gave her family 60 camels, which shows he was a man of means. Hassan’s father is an imam, (an Islamic leadership position, often the leader of a mosque and the community), who because of his family and tribal connections (the tribe is everything in that culture, also in many others), moved the family to Saudi Arabia, where Hassan grew up along with his 9 siblings. Eventually he studied Hotel Management, has worked in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) and now in Gabon. Amazingly, at least to us Americans, he speaks 6 languages: Arabic, French, English, the Tuareg dialect, and two others. He was with our group, as he was going to meet his fiancée at the plane, and she was to return with him to the resort for the next two weeks.

After a police road block and passport check we arrived at the Omboué airport around 9:30, just before the Africa’s Connection charter landed, a Dornier 228-19 passenger with the same two pilots. I saw Hassan’s fiancée disembark, a very lovely, modern woman named Alice, with an elaborate hairdo. Fortunately I was able to take a picture of them before we had to board the plane.

We flew about an hour back to Libreville. Off to the east about 200 km is the city of Lambaréné, where Albert Schweitzer came almost 100 years ago to set up his hospital. At the Libreville airport we were escorted through the immigration process by a local agent hired by the travel company, then reboarded our plane for the hour’s flight to the island of Principe which lies just north of the equator and about 300 km off the coast of Africa. While waiting to get on the plane I made a note of the different flight destinations that afternoon from the Libreville airport: Cotonau in Benin; Bamako, Mali; Brazzaville, Congo; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Lagos, Nigeria; Paris, France; Johannesburg, South Africa; Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Bata, Equatorial Guinea; Duala, Cameroon; Dakar, Senegal; Ouagadougou, Burkina Fasso; Pointe-Noire, Republic of the Congo.

Our plane landed at the partially paved main airport on the island of Principe about 12:00 noon, having lost an hour flying west. From the air we could see our destination, the Bom Bom Resort, located by itself on the coast. The island is in the same time zone as Great Britain. Principe is 19 km long and 15 wide, the smaller of the 2 islands that make up this tiny nation of Sao Tomé and Principe, consists of jagged mountains covered in a dense tropical forest, similar to the volcanic look of the Hawaiian Islands. The country is the second smallest African country (in terms of population) and is the smallest country in the world that is not a former US trusteeship, a former UK dependency or a European micro state. It is also the smallest Portuguese speaking country in the world and covers an area of 1000 sq. km.

Sao Tomé and Principe, believed to have been originally uninhabited, were discovered by Portuguese navigators in 1471 and settled by the end of the century. Intensive cultivation by slave labor made the islands a major producer of sugar during the 17th century, but when the price of sugar fell and slave labor proved difficult to control, the islands increasingly looked towards the slave trade to bolster the economy, becoming an important weigh station for slave ships heading from Africa to Brazil. In the 19th century two new cash crops, coffee and cocoa, overtook the old sugar plantations. By the early 20th century, Sao Tome was one of the world’s largest producers of cocoa. In 1876 slavery was outlawed, but was simply replaced with a similar system of forced labor for low wages. Contract workers came in from Mozambique, Cape Verde and the other parts of the Portuguese empire. During these times there were frequent uprisings and revolts, often brutally put down by the Portuguese. The Portuguese revolution of 1974 brought the end of the overseas empire, and in 1975, Lisbon granted Sao Tomé independence. The Portuguese exodus left the country with virtually no skilled labor, an illiteracy rate of 90%, only one doctor and many abandoned cocoa plantations. The majority of the plantations were nationalized four months after independence, legislation was passed prohibiting any one person from owning more than 100 hectares (250 acres). The country remained closely aligned with Angola, Cuba and communist Eastern Europe until the demise of the Soviet Union. Sao Tomé and Principe continues to be one of Africa’s poorest countries, even though there are believed to be enormous untapped off-shore oil reserves. It barely scrapes by on $25 million a year of foreign aid along with $5 million US in cocoa exports.

The total population on the two islands is close to 193,000. Only 4500 live on Principe, the rest in Sao Tomé, the capital. All are descended from various ethnic groups that have migrated to the islands since 1485. Here are some other facts: major language is Portuguese, major religion Christianity, life expectancy is 62 for men and 64 for women, main export is cocoa and the money is called the Dobra with the exchange rate of 16,000 to US $1.00. Only about 20 tourists a week come here.

Outside the capital of Sao Tomé most of the people live very simple lives, with agriculture and fishing the main occupations. In the morning the boats come in and fish are distributed, late morning the market bustles, a siesta is taken to avoid the afternoon heat and then its time to drink some palm wine. In the evening people gather wherever there is a TV set or a full deck of cards.

Returning to how our day continued to unfold, we cleared customs at the airport, which consisted of a visual review of our visas, as there was no computer. Then we were on our way down the hill on a red mud road to the resort, a 15- minute drive in two old 4×4s. We passed lots of very poor-looking children and adults living mostly in one and two room shacks, often built on stilts to minimize the effects of rain and bugs. At the resort we first were shown to our room, actually a suite in all-white, directly facing the ocean with our own beach. There is a sitting area with couch and two chairs facing a new TV, which we turned on once, then a large desk with room and plugs for the computer, but not internet connection. The bath is completely sleek with a separate room for the toilet next to the shower and sink.

Right away we walked across the 250 meter bridge to the restaurant, which is located on its own island about a ten-minute walk across the bay with churning waves beneath. The resort grounds are spectacular with tropical plants in every direction and great vistas to the volcanic features in the water. This is definitely a magnificent location. We were the only guests in the restaurant which is also white with spotlessly clean tablecloths and napkins, two different varieties of each eating utensil, views out to the water, smiling waiters ready to offer every kind of service. It was nice to eat a salad that seemed safe, also fish with cooked vegetables and fruit.

Right after lunch we drove to the nearby colonial town of San Antonio, actually the only town on Principe, located at the end of a shallow harbor. It is full of faded, cracked, pastel structures, a sad reminder of former colonial splendor, with all buildings in various states of disrepair. The town has a population of about 2,000, seems pretty basic There are less than 100 vehicles on the island, which includes cars, trucks, buses, but not motorcycles. We saw people going about their normal routine, children sitting around smiling and waving, happy to pose for pictures. Our walk took us around the main square which had a church, post office and city hall, then further toward the market. There are little booths right on the street that sell small quantities of items or offer services like a beauty salon. The main market offered shirts displayed on the walls, small piles of fish, fruits and vegetables, cooking implements, palm wine and red palm oil. Fortunately we were able to take lots of pictures, although I try to be polite, ask people for permission or click surreptitiously.

Back on the street we walked by a booth where I noticed that the man inside had on a t-shirt with stars and stripes in red-white-and blue, and a large Obama picture on the front. He was willing to pose for me, seemed pleased to be selected. Slowly we wandered back to the car and I took as many pictures as I could of houses, laundry drying, kids playing, etc.

Just after we arrived at the hotel a powerful thunderstorm hit. There was a major downpour, so I had a short nap, while Dave went for a walk along the beach. About 6:00 the rain stopped so we could head to the restaurant for pre-dinner wine and a nice meal with the group. By 8:30 we were back in our room where we watched the almost full moon rise over the Atlantic with a pretty sea reflection. Before bed, Dave went for another swim while I updated my journal.

Before leaving for dinner we had been told to turn up the air-conditioning as high as possible, because the power is turned off from midnight until 6:00 AM. Apparently the room will stay relatively cool through the night if it has a good head start. Actually I did sleep well, although was surprised when I got up at 5:00, that there was no water, either.

Sunday, Nov. 8

Today there was nothing planned group-wise, which meant we could enjoy the gardens, beaches, pool, internet…everything the resort offered. Dave got up at 5:00, took a walk along the beach, went swimming, then had tea on the deck watching a morning rain shower. Meanwhile I was still asleep. About 8:30 we headed for breakfast across the long footbridge to the restaurant and fortunately the skies had cleared by then. We were the only guests, had a leisurely meal because we didn’t have to hurry to leave on an outing. I had taken my pictures of Montana along and showed them to the head waiter, as he had probably never heard of Montana before, or moose, ground squirrels and prairie dogs.

We had been wanting to use the internet here, but the satellite connection hadn’t worked before. Fortunately this morning everything performed perfectly. Dave used the hotel’s and I my little laptop. Even more amazing was the possibility to connect to Bresnan, as it usually doesn’t work beyond the borders of the US.

Once we had sent off quick reports to family and friends, Dave had checked the results of the World Series and the U of MT Grizzly football scores, we considered our e-mailing a success and headed down the beautiful, clean and deserted beach for a walk. Huge trees hang out over the sand, which is cleaned of debris at every high tide. At intervals the lava flows reach out into the ocean. It didn’t take long to work up a sweat, because of the high humidity. Actually the temperature doesn’t go much above 85F/30C, but in the sun and away from wind a person begins to perspire profusely. Fortunately there were few bugs, although members of our group who went out for an early morning bird watching walk said as soon as they were away from the water that the mosquitoes were horrible.

Dave tried out the snorkeling possibilities right off the beach in front of our room. There were lots of fish, but not too much color, with the exception of a couple of colorful parrot fish. The small coral formations are dead.

Lunch was very tasty: an Indian dish like a fried wonton with peas, meat and potatoes inside. The main course was very crunchy, freshly prepared fish and chips. The servings tend to be very large, which seems like a waste. I hate to think how much weight we could have gained from cleaning our plates at every meal!

While Dave took a walk along the beach in the other direction I tried to photograph some birds, then read my book, which I’d like to finish. When Dave returned we went swimming right in front of our chalet on our own “private” beach. We are in number 2, but there is not a number 1, which makes us believe that it was damaged in a storm. At 5:00, when Dave returned from a beach walk, the downpour started. The sky had turned black, the wind started up, then the skies opened up. By 6:00 PM Sunday night, the storm was howling outside, blowing rain and salt water onto the glass panes of our door, then running underneath, creating puddles inside.

Tonight is our farewell dinner, as tomorrow at this time we will be sitting in the airport of Douala, Cameroon waiting for the 11:00 PM departure of our flight to Paris. I think I’m ready for home, but this has been a very educational adventure, with almost no negatives. For me the low point was motor boating through a downpour for 4 hours while I got more and more chilled. What I learned is that you can feel cold even when it is 80-plus if your clothes are drenched and the wind chill is high enough. On subsequent days I had my rain jacket along to wear under the plastic poncho, and the combination worked very well. The most positive aspect is that we stayed well throughout. I’m looking forward to looking at my 1100-plus pictures on the computer screen at home, where I can delete, edit and crop.

The rain slowed down enough for us to take the 10 minute walk across the bridge to our “last” dinner here at Bom Bom resort was pleasant. We sampled the bottle of local palm wine. Actually it wasn’t very flavorful, but apparently has a high alcohol content. We parted ways around 9:00 planning on heading to the airport the next day just after lunch.

Dave’s email: helidave@hotmail.com

Cindy’s complete photos are here.

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