Blogs from Gabon, Africa

At the beginning of the of the last oil boom in 2007, I read a Time Magazine article entitled ”The World's Most Expensive City” about the town Port Gentil located on the coast of Gabon. (http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1599163,00.html). It painted a vivid picture of a latter-day mineral boom town suffering a severe inflationary bubble and consequently awash and drowning in petro dollars with all the associated vice-y excesses. The resource curse is, however, double-edged. When the oil price tanked in 2014, the effects soon followed and three years from the 2014 crash Port Gentil presented a very different type of “ville petrolier” than it had in 2007. Arriving at the small airport from Libreville you notice oil company charters are still going strong ferrying oil workers to the fields. One consequence of the down turn was the flight ... read more

Back in February, our good friend Ann was preparing to leave Gabon and wanted to do one more trip before she departed. A look on the map set the destination: Ivindo National Park. Ivindo is famous for its waterfalls and also appeared in the latest Tarzan movie. Little did we know that Ann’s reputation (always excitement when on a trip with Ann) would follow us…. Teun, Andrea and our two friends, Ann and Aly, left Friday afternoon just after work and had to wait for the ferry at Mayumba. Ferry is a nice word for a little 2 car floating pontoon thrusted with a single 40hp outboard engine…slightly overconfident Teun quickly drove up the ramp of the ferry, but the rear right tire missed the narrow ramp and the car became stuck precariously on the ramp. ... read more

“The greatest problem with communication,” George Shaw writes, “is the illusion that it has taken place.” I had come across this quote several times in the past and, rather than understanding the core issue, I had fallen victim to its detriment – one of many of life’s self-fulfilling prophecy, I suppose. Having started a new job less than three months ago, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the ground, my feet dirty and, frankly, to get new stamps in my passport! The opportunity presented itself rather auspiciously when, less than a couple of weeks into the new job, my new boss, Sean, asked if I would join him to Gabon to help teach a ‘Communications for Development’ workshop to a team of 9 Congolese and Gabonese Graduate students, as part of a Masters’ Program ... read more

Last time we talked about the Marché Mon Bouet and the Sabière. Today I’ll talk about the sea food market—Port Moel and Quartière London. The port moel is one of the principal ports of Libreville. There you find a sea food market. I got there was because that I was about to hold an arriving BBQ. The price was not expensive. I bought a 1.8kg carp at 5000 FCFA which is about 8 euros. (1 euro= 656 FCFA) Then after I got to Chinese market, which was not so far from the port. It was run by a person from Northeast China. I found it big and I got what I wanted. In Gabon, there’re lots of Chinese workers who are in the construction field, telecommunication field or even fishing industry. Then I went to the ... read more

I waked up with a one-hour time difference. I decided to get out. I was a little bit worried by the new environment about the security without doubt. Finally I got a city tour with my first guide: Michelle. Transport: There’re not buses or trams in the city. But “taxi” is the main public transport. You can share the taxi with the other people or you can make a “course” that means the taxi driver will just take you on board. The starting minimum fare is only 100 F CFA. But attention, because the “taximan” can tell the tourist from the citizens, and they’ll ask much more than it should be. Never should you put a doubt if your proposition is so low, they are always greedy. I can’t give you more advice, but if you ... read more