Entering Gabon was easy, it just took some time, as the only official
was just about to pick up a letter at the post office.- 26 kilometers
away. So, there was a little bit of a delay. However, was not of any
importance, as the Gabonese border post was the end of travels by
Michels jeep and there was no other transport to continue the journey
anyway. With the border official another car arrived and my luck of the
day continued.
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| Rose Canyon, Leconi |
Julian, a friendly man over 60 without a single tooth in his mouth,
was pleased to have a tourist in his car and drove me 26 kilometers to
the village of Leconi. Here, we completed the entry formalities
together. Julian is the boss of a factory for processing of manioc –
which is not only used as local food, but also for production of
medicine and oil. I never before came across that, so on a trip like
this one can really learn a lot! For sure, I was interested to see the
factory and the huge manioc plantations. After that, he took me to Hotel
Leconi, and as I showed a lot of interest in his work in the factory
and as he the boss, he decided on the spot, that I am a VIP guest from
Europe, who is paying a visit to the factory, the manioc plantations and
village Leconi. So, accommodation and food will be on expenses of the
factory…. Wow, that is something unusual! Just imagine a reaction like
that in good old Germany!
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| Rose Canyon, Leconi |
At Hotel Leconi, there was also a team accommodated to prepare the
setting for the movie "The lion of Poubara". This movie is about lions,
which will be freed to live in the jungles of Gabon. Emmanuel, an
architect, is working here to construct the huts and villages for the
movie. This was very interesting also, as I learned a lot about the
former life of people in the villages as well as about the work at a
movie setting.
In Leconi itself, there is not so much to do or to see, the
treasuries are outside of town. Not far away, but on a dirt road, there
is the pink canyon. This canyon shines really super pink, especially in
the late afternoon. Unfortunately, the famous infamous porous, very tiny
mosquitoes, wake up exactly at the same time. And they can bite
really terribly. Later, I also learned, that those bites or stings heal
quite badly, above all in this muggy-hot climate with approx. 35 degrees
centigrade and a humidity of about 90 percent.
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| Poubara |
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| Emmanuel |
Next day in the afternoon, Emmanuel had to drive to Franceville, so, I
got a nice ride in a private car again. In Franceville itself, there is
also not so much to see or to do, but the countryside is lovely with a
lot of hills and also forests. In parts, Gabon looks like very green
hilly parts of Europe, just houses and for sure people look different.
Emmanuel was here for work, but as this work was always in the bush, it
was for sure interesting for me to come as well! There was also Jean
from France, who is in charge for the planning of the setting with the
lions, which are to be freed in the forests of Poubara. It was a matter
of finding the right place with the right light, the right trees, with
possibly many lianas and thick bushes, where it is easy to hide the
cage, etc….. Then in the afternoon, Jean left by plane to Libreville and
Emmanuel and me went to a small village. Here, the locals had produced
huge piles of mats for the movie villages. Now, the mats were counted,
loaded in a big truck and transported to Leconi. The negotiations and
the counting of the mats lasted much longer than planned. Normally not a
big problem, but this time I was a bit pressed in time, as my train to
Libreville should go around 7.15 pm… And of course – if you need a local
transport to be late, it is certainly on time. Well, to make it short, I
missed the train! But for sure, there are more disagreeable places than
Franceville to get stuck for 2 days…
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| Poubara |
There are quite a few things to see outside Franceville, however,
without a car, it is somehow difficult to reach them. About one hour
from Franceville and also in Poubara, there is a liana bridge and a big
waterfall. As Emmanuel had to go back to Leconi, I took a taxi to go
there. Already the journey itself was highly adventurous, since already
on the way there a tire burst with a big bang. The bridge was really
great. Of course, it was swinging quite a bit, and my guide, an about 12
year-old fellow, had a lot of fun in making it swing even more…. The
waterfalls and rapids were impressive, above all the setting in the
middle of the rain forest. The way back became even more exciting.
Shortly after our departure, the second tire burst. For sure, no one is
carrying that many spares. In Gabon as in other african countries, there
is of course no phone network in the bush. So, we drove slowly with our
broken tire and increasingly more broken growing rim 20 kilometers up
to the tarred road. From here we could inform a friend of the taxi
driver by phone where we are, so that he can deliver another tire……
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| Poubara |
The same afternoon I found a snake sunbathing just in front of my
door… It was not a really big snake, maybe half a meter, but in Africa I
do not really trust any of these creatures, especially so close to my
room… The waiter, whom I asked for help, had a quick look on the snake,
came back with a big piece of wood – this was the end of the snake.
Apparently it was a poisonous one, not to die from, but one needs to
stay several days in hospital after a bite….
From Franceville it is a long way to the capital of Libreville. Other
overlanders told me, that the road to Libreville is in a very poor
condition. The train is a lot better option to travel these 820
kilometers. If everything goes well, it takes about 10 hours. However,
last week, they had an engine problem and the poor passengers were three
full days and nights stuck in the train….. So, I decided, I better
stock up on food and drinks before entering that train – one never
knows. The train left exactly on time. This allowed me to hope for the
rest of the trip. I was travelling first class, as this assured a
reserved seat. The first 4 hours I travelled together with a nice Cuban
doctor, so we had 6 seats for the two of us. Then 2 more people entered
our compartment, which made sleeping less comfortable, but still a lot
better than in second class without any possibility to reserve a seat.
Strange enough, sometimes, Africans like the cold, the AC in the train
was put so cold, that I got up at night to get my sleeping bag out of
the backpack. Around 8 pm our train stopped in the middle of nowhere and
did not move anymore. There was also no electricity, so it became
rather hot within a very short time. Soon, there was the news about a
more or less severe engine problem…… Several oil-smeared mechanics came
and went, a few uniformed train people came and went without further
explanations. We sat like this for 3 hours – then suddenly, the train
continued without any further problems to Libreville, where we arrived
after 17 hours early in the afternoon.
