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A Primary Road Under Construction

Posted on October 30th, 2008 in Africa, Gabon by robjkentjr

At the crossroads of Lastoursville, we decided to cut across Gabon to Mayumba NP.  The map said the road was a primary route under construction, the same as what we were on the day before.
About 30 minutes after we were on the road, we found our first hole.
With three wheels off the ground, we had to winch ourselves out.  This required me crawling into the jungle undergrowth to find a tree for our cable.
After pulling the first tree out of the ground with the winch, the second trunk did the trick and we were free.
Considering there had been no rain, the road was fairly dry, in places.  I can only imagine what this would have been like during the rainy season.
At least this stream had a bridge we could cross.  We did not see a single truck tipped over so it should be okay for a car, right?
In the drier stretches, the dust would stick to everything.  I kept my camera packed away in a dry bag just to keep it from turning red.
Then there were the bugs.  This stretch has been horrible because of the dreaded fourous fly.  You do not see them, feel them, or even know they are biting you until three days later when you start to itch as if you have the chicken pox.
This was a long, slow drive today so we were all relieved to finally find a break in the forest and make camp.  Tomorrow we are planning for more of the same.

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Welcome to the Jungle

Posted on October 24th, 2008 in Africa, Gabon by robjkentjr

After leaving Franceville, we entered the equatorial jungles of Gabon.  We saw nothing but mountains, trees and dirt roads with an occasional local waving hi.
Sneaking photographs usually makes the locals unhappy.  In this case, the kids faced a circumcision ceremony, which I think would make most teenage boys frown.
When you have nothing to work with, your creativity has no bounds.  This push-truck was a typical toy the children made and played with.
We stopped off at the local well for some shower water.
The deeper we went into the interior, the less we saw paved roads.  This part would still be considered an excellent road and we were able to make good time.
The trees also became larger.  For some reason, the loggers left this magnificent tree along side the road.  Follow a logging track in and you only see stumps and softwoods.
This is the view from our campsite.  You can see the road we came in on and nothing else but trees.
At night, the moon gave us another spectacular show.  The light to the right is our tent.
Deceived by the good time today, tomorrow is going to give us a shock.  The road ceases and we only make about 20 km/hr for the next 140km.

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