Equitorial Guinea - June 2018

It was a nightmare obtaining a visa for Equatorial Guinea.  My plan of action was to fly to Malabo, drive to the top of the mountain and afterwards fly to Sao Tome.

Entering Equatorial Guinea

We have entered Gabon without having our passports stamped, so my nerves were already shot at the Gabon border - but it was nothing compared to the Equatorial Guinea border! Our luggage were searched thoroughly.  E G’s Minister strived to make "his" country a paradise for tourists, so I was more relaxed when we were across the border.  It gave me a very false sense of security though.

Bush meat

Francis (busy taking a selfie) almost got run over by a guy in a makeshift wheelchair and we were told that the taking of photos were forbidden!  By this time I was exhausted and fortunately I missed the bush meat market (Yep, some pangolins).  We were lucky to get a flight from Bata to Malabo – for only $200.  So far, so good!  

But the next day Francis got back with some more bad news!  After spending hours at the Minister of Tourism and Head of Security’s offices, he was told that we were not allowed on the mountain AND we needed permits to drive around the island ($30 each), BUT it would only be available after 2 days!

So much for the president’s vision to make E G a tourist friendly place!  We did the next best thing – we took a taxi to as close as possible to the mountain.   The next day we waited patiently at the airport – just to be told that there won’t be any flights to Sao Tome that day. 

The Ceiba office at the airport referred us to the main office in town where we learned that all flights to Sao Tome have been stopped a month ago!!!!!!  It was only in Sao tome that we learned that the airline has been blacklisted.  The good news was that we bumped into an electrician working at the top of the mountain and soon we were driving up the mountain with a friend of his.  YES, YES, YES!!!!!  At the police barrier, the car overheated and we had to turn back.  By then I was very close to tears. 

Our vehicle overheated

Never fear!  Francis stopped at the village and arranged anoth

er lift for the next morning. He also discovered a flight to Sao Tome via Cameroon via Gabon that costed an arm and a leg but we wanted to get out of E G as soon as possible.  Unfortunately, the Internet connection in Malabo was so bad that we could not book online. 

The next morning we arrived at the police barrier at 7:30 just to be told that the arranged transport left an hour ago.  I started to cry.  Every time I got my hopes up, something else happened.  I did not understand one word of what was being said – but soon money changed hands and off we went.  It was quite a steep road to the top – but I dared not to  get too excited.  

And then we stopped at a newly build church – intended (I presumed) for tourists!  Going further without being shot by the military was a slight challenge, so 130m from the top, we reluctantly turned back.  

I gave up the idea of flying to Sao Tome but Francis insisted that, on a previous occasion he arrived at the airport only 15 minutes prior to take-off.  We stopped at the Internet cafe and I almost had my third nervous breakdown on the trip.  The flight bookings were closed, so luckily we had 3 more days to spend in E G.  

Chinese Windows

In the office of the Minister of Tourism

We bought the expensive tickets (Yes – Ceiba flies to Cameroon).  We then went to the Minister of Tourism’s office, and tried to arrange for another permit to drive around the island.  After waiting 3 hours Francis well asleep, and so was the secretary!

When returning to our host, we were informed that Ceiba’s flight is now scheduled for one day EARLIER!!  We forfeited the $60 we paid for the trip around the island and arrived at the airport very early!  I was feeling ecstatic after checking in our luggage but I felt only truly relaxed after the plane took off.

Yebo Yes!