Well Pack...thanks to all your tips and suggestions I had a wonderful trip to Equatorial Guinea 
But not without a few bumps in the road, minor inconveniences, and lost teeth (side effect of Dengue Fever - who knew?)
First off let me just say; you haven't lived until you've dipped your toes in the Gulf of Guinea (let me clarify - toes ONLY cause the sea leeches are bad this time of year) while sipping on the local Asonga Lager. What an experience!
Part One: The trip was off to a great start as I had no ill reactions to my mandatory Yellow Fever and Polio booster vaccines. Yea! The 22 hour flight to Malabo gave me plenty of time to brush up on my Pidgin English as well as refine some of my "clicks and pops" of the native Bube dialect. The first hiccup occurred when my "tour guide" Teodoro OBiang (tay-oh-DOOR-oh obh-YAHNG) was 4 hours late to pick me up at the airport. Apparently, his 1985 Mazda 323 was experiencing some mechanical issues that day. No worries, this gave me time to exchange currency since no credit cards are accepted here. Freshly armed with 75,000 Central African Francs (approx $133 USD) I was told I could live like a king for 10 days. Splurge I will!
Obiang (I call him Obi) and I hit it off immediately. Our first destination was the beach. Obi knew a remote beach on the west side of the island where the hippest and most scantily clad Equatoguineans would hang out and party. We only had to go through 7 military checkpoints to get there and even one to get on the beach! One would think with that level of security your belongings would be safe. Well, apparently there is more than one reason that shoes are highly recommended on the beach besides the invasive sand fleas and sharp trash. While dipping my feet in the water somebody janked my shoes and towel. Lesson learned. However, as Obi so eloquently stated "Barefoot make you fit in better, have more experience authentic" That Obi, always the optimist!
To be continued...tales to include the journey to mainland, wooden trumpets, bilola, and John Riek?
But not without a few bumps in the road, minor inconveniences, and lost teeth (side effect of Dengue Fever - who knew?) First off let me just say; you haven't lived until you've dipped your toes in the Gulf of Guinea (let me clarify - toes ONLY cause the sea leeches are bad this time of year) while sipping on the local Asonga Lager. What an experience!
Part One: The trip was off to a great start as I had no ill reactions to my mandatory Yellow Fever and Polio booster vaccines. Yea! The 22 hour flight to Malabo gave me plenty of time to brush up on my Pidgin English as well as refine some of my "clicks and pops" of the native Bube dialect. The first hiccup occurred when my "tour guide" Teodoro OBiang (tay-oh-DOOR-oh obh-YAHNG) was 4 hours late to pick me up at the airport. Apparently, his 1985 Mazda 323 was experiencing some mechanical issues that day. No worries, this gave me time to exchange currency since no credit cards are accepted here. Freshly armed with 75,000 Central African Francs (approx $133 USD) I was told I could live like a king for 10 days. Splurge I will!
Obiang (I call him Obi) and I hit it off immediately. Our first destination was the beach. Obi knew a remote beach on the west side of the island where the hippest and most scantily clad Equatoguineans would hang out and party. We only had to go through 7 military checkpoints to get there and even one to get on the beach! One would think with that level of security your belongings would be safe. Well, apparently there is more than one reason that shoes are highly recommended on the beach besides the invasive sand fleas and sharp trash. While dipping my feet in the water somebody janked my shoes and towel. Lesson learned. However, as Obi so eloquently stated "Barefoot make you fit in better, have more experience authentic" That Obi, always the optimist!
To be continued...tales to include the journey to mainland, wooden trumpets, bilola, and John Riek?
