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Trip to Bioko island, Equatorial Guinea
February 25th to 28th, 2006
The first sense of magic appeared to our group even before arriving on Bioko island. All started at the Consular Office of Equatorial Guinea in Lagos where our visas were handled in a very smooth and effective way. A few minutes of interview, which all of us could handle (especially those of us who could master a few words of French…), and all our passports were properly handed back to us, duly stamped.
On our departure day, our dear friend Mark Snoxell was on duty at Lagos airport to ensure our Aerocontractors plane took off on time, and with all of us in the same plane! Thanks Mark. Magic continued at our transit point, Port Harcourt, where we passed smoothly through Emigration. Our group of 11 only had 10 yellow fever certificates between us, but with some slick prestidigitation we were actually able to show 12 documents!! Our whole group eventually boarded the plane for the second (and shorter) flight to Malabo, capital of Equatorial Guinea.
Malabo conquered our minds from the very first minutes we landed: there is this special feeling of being as if in a small Spanish city, with its nice clean streets. We seldom heard a car using its horn, or saw one speeding on the roads. This is a city where car drivers stop at intersections and give way to other cars, and pedestrians. Walking in Malabo is a thing to experience: from the hills a nice view of the city and its port, a city in which we never lost our way. A safe city where we all felt so comfortable from the first minute we arrived. A small city where it is pleasant to walk and find nice restaurants, sit at terraces, order tasty tapas or paella- to be pronounced “paeya” in English. But be ready to wait quite a long time for the paella, since all ingredients are fresh, and ensure you do not have a busy schedule after eating, so that you can first enjoy it, and appreciate all its cooking secrets, and later on let your mind wonder what to eat for your next meal. Another paella ?
We spent our first afternoon discovering the beaches of Bioko island. Bioko being a volcanic island, it was with quite a surprise to stop at “Arena Blanca”: a white sand beach. We walked, then swam and relaxed in the calm and warm water. It was also for our group the first opportunity to laugh together. We saw local fishermen coming back with their (small) catch.
On Sunday morning we left with three vehicles for Pico Basile, a mountain volcano 3039 meters high, which hosts also the telecommunication antennae for the whole island. The road very quickly became a muddy road under construction, but despite the initial morning rain, we managed to reach the top of this volcano after crossing a deep forest with so many nice flowers, birds and butterflies. Our team leader, Robert, who was also our butterfly expert, was soon running in all directions to chase those amazing creatures.
From the top of Pico Basile, a wonderful view of the island. One could see other small craters far away. One could even see Mt Cameroon appearing shortly across the sea between the clouds. Even in the Tropics, at 3039 m it is quite cold, as our group soon found out ! But the timely appearance of the caretaker of the transmissions post, who invited us inside his building and offered us some nice hot coffee made us quickly forgot the cold!
On Monday we left early for another trip, this time to Crater Lake mountain (Pico Biao). We drove on the south-west coast of Bioko island. We first stopped at Luba memorial, erected to celebrate the handover in 1778 of Bioko island by the Portuguese to the Spanish. A simple memorial, but erected on a nice, quiet beach.
We then continued through the countryside, passing the country’s army training on the road, and eventually left our vehicles at the small village of Mocha at the bottom of Pico Biao. Aided by three local guides we started our climb through a thick forest with grasses taller than us! Two hours of hard walk before finally reaching the top of this crater mountain: a view not to be missed, of a beautiful dark-colour lake within the crater, surrounded by green forest, amid a blue sky. A real paradise.
We had our lunch on top of the crater, eating while watching this peaceful lake. After lunch some of us decided to walk down to the lake, while the others preferred to stay on the top and relax. The trekkers were eventually held back by thick grass and were not able to reach the lake edge - our only disappointment of the day. On the way back to the cars we came across the butterfly baits prepared by Robert in the morning. And for those juts dying to know, the find of the day was Pardaleodes xanthopeplus – only seen a handful of times in West Africa before.
Despite our tiredness we managed to get down the mountain in one hour only.
We had a great walking time, great views, great meals, lot of laughs, especially at a dinner when each of us had to tell her/ his most embarrassing moment in life. A saying goes “laugh 3 times a day, and one will live 100 years”. For sure our group members will be living for another 200 years!
Advice for the next groups :
1. To climb the Pico Basile, do not forget winter clothes and raincoat, especially in the rainy season.
2. Make enough copies of all permission documents. They are requested at each police and army check on the roads
3. Do not forget your vaccination card, and your green/resident card
4. Paella is available at Restaurant Plaza de Meijer, Mrs Ninet, tel 00241-298014, 232677
Michelle Vauthier, Switzerland
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Lagos Branch
