Every day's pretty much the same except Sundays. Now, this means I'm resting the whole day, but once I receive Guinean ID (Permiso de residencia) I'll be able to go out of the camp and see other parts of the country. So, for the time being, I'm sentenced to stay behind the fence ;) I mean, I can go anywhere I want, but if the police ask for my documents - I'm screwed. And there are road barriers with police and/or military approximately every 30-40km.
First time I left my camp, we went to camp 4 so I can be vaccinated. The camps are about 40km apart, so 30 minutes drive. Between are about dozen villages, each one having up to 30 houses. There's one bigger, close to our camp, called Mongomeyen - about 500 people live there. Guys form the camp go out there on Saturday nights, to the pubs. There's a lot of pubs, but in fact it's just a house that sells alcohol and maybe have some music. Nevertheless, I can't wait to see what is like to go out here. Heard the stories that it's boring and all the same, but still it's new for me and I'd like to see it with my own eyes.
The second weekend after my arrival was a "short Saturday", meaning we work till noon and the Africans collect their money afterwards. It's like that every second Saturday. The economist's got to wait for the people from Bata, from the central, to come to the camp at around 1pm, collect the money for the administration and then wait till 5-6pm till they finish, count what is left, get the lists and then it's over. So "short Saturday" isn't short for everyone...
Another thing about that day is there's a football tournament between camps, held on different camp in rotation. I was particularly looking forward to that, as it is the chance to see some other faces apart from the ones on your camp. That weeks' it was our turn to host the tournament. We've bought a lot of beer, the cook prepared a feast, we made the trophies...All five teams showed up. In the end, we won :D It was close, everybody was tired, we drank a few beer in the mess and rested the whole day tomorrow.
The second time I left the camp was some two week after arrival. We went to the hospital - as this was a part of my job, taking care of the sick ones. The hospital is in the city of Mongomo, 50 km away from camp. It's located on the border with Gabon. Some 3000 people's living there. I had the chance to buy some cereals for breakfast and other stuff, as that's the closest store. It's crowded on the streets around the market, but they start working quite late, around 10am. It was an interesting experience.
The next week I went to Bata, didn't have time to go around the city - it was strictly business, but have seen my friend who told me about this and had time to shat with him for a while. On the way from and to the camp, once again I've seen colorful houses, beautiful landscapes and people selling bananas and monkeys along the road. When you go to Bata, the whole day pass so fast as you drive 2h in one direction, finish what you came for and head back and you return to the camp around 5-6pm, just in time for dinner. It's a bit tiring, but I'm looking forward of doing that at least once a week once I receive my ID and a car. Until then, I'm gonna enjoy occasional trips...
First time I left my camp, we went to camp 4 so I can be vaccinated. The camps are about 40km apart, so 30 minutes drive. Between are about dozen villages, each one having up to 30 houses. There's one bigger, close to our camp, called Mongomeyen - about 500 people live there. Guys form the camp go out there on Saturday nights, to the pubs. There's a lot of pubs, but in fact it's just a house that sells alcohol and maybe have some music. Nevertheless, I can't wait to see what is like to go out here. Heard the stories that it's boring and all the same, but still it's new for me and I'd like to see it with my own eyes.
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| Typical African houses |
The second weekend after my arrival was a "short Saturday", meaning we work till noon and the Africans collect their money afterwards. It's like that every second Saturday. The economist's got to wait for the people from Bata, from the central, to come to the camp at around 1pm, collect the money for the administration and then wait till 5-6pm till they finish, count what is left, get the lists and then it's over. So "short Saturday" isn't short for everyone...
Another thing about that day is there's a football tournament between camps, held on different camp in rotation. I was particularly looking forward to that, as it is the chance to see some other faces apart from the ones on your camp. That weeks' it was our turn to host the tournament. We've bought a lot of beer, the cook prepared a feast, we made the trophies...All five teams showed up. In the end, we won :D It was close, everybody was tired, we drank a few beer in the mess and rested the whole day tomorrow.
The second time I left the camp was some two week after arrival. We went to the hospital - as this was a part of my job, taking care of the sick ones. The hospital is in the city of Mongomo, 50 km away from camp. It's located on the border with Gabon. Some 3000 people's living there. I had the chance to buy some cereals for breakfast and other stuff, as that's the closest store. It's crowded on the streets around the market, but they start working quite late, around 10am. It was an interesting experience.
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| Border with Gabon (the dirt road is another country) |
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| Street in Malabo |
The next week I went to Bata, didn't have time to go around the city - it was strictly business, but have seen my friend who told me about this and had time to shat with him for a while. On the way from and to the camp, once again I've seen colorful houses, beautiful landscapes and people selling bananas and monkeys along the road. When you go to Bata, the whole day pass so fast as you drive 2h in one direction, finish what you came for and head back and you return to the camp around 5-6pm, just in time for dinner. It's a bit tiring, but I'm looking forward of doing that at least once a week once I receive my ID and a car. Until then, I'm gonna enjoy occasional trips...
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