A city girl in the French Southern country… Again

One may assume a city girl needs her city-comfort when taken out of her usual habitat and placed into a green area invisible on most maps, or else she may turn yellow along with nature. Try this (for their safety, please keep children away from this post) ;…

So… Take a city girl out of her natural busy and structured habitat and place her in a destructed, reconstructed country home where rubles have replaced lawns, stones used as stairs and where toilets and bathrooms are standing proudly with no roof nor all 4 walls intact… 

Give her a lantern at night to help her hold her toothbrush in hand and help her find her own two feet. Give her a mop at day to help her sweep the floors and walls in case of nightly rain and don’t forget an extra pack of toilet paper if the others, left outside, have turned into wet sponges…

Take her out to lunch in a fabulous spot overlooking the lake and the mountains. Then take her out for a walk… Let her climb the Gorge-du-Verdon in the rain, wearing nothing but a light city dress and slippery rubber city shoes that will end in hubby’s hands, holding on to her little city pouch for dear life as she faces, barefoot, slippery stones, worms and other bugs that shouldn’t even be mentioned ! The only difference between her and Indiana Jones was Steven Spielberg running after Harrison Ford with a camera on his shoulder screaming “wave your hands in the air like you just don’t care Harry”…

Gorge du Verdon

Si non, in the country side, the Mediterranean one in any case which is probably my favorite green shiny area, one can also harvest lavender. You cut it, collect it, smell it, sit by the pool and assemble it into small bouquets that you will then let dry for a month. before decorating your city home with. There’s nothing better than fresh lavender smell…

Fresh lavender

Once she got back to her everyday city life, she started (strangely enough) missing her Southern country (and it must be said, her friends that go with it)… And so the city girl has decided to take her bag out and pack all over again. A second trip to the country side is starting tomorrow…

Lavender

Last day in Bata, Africa

(Due to no Internet last night, yesterday’s post has now become now today’s)…

Sunset on the Paseo, Bata

This was my last day in Bata, Equatorial Guinea. Tomorrow at 5pm we are taking off to Malabo (Bioko Island) where we will be waiting for our Air -France flight to take off sometime past 11pm before wishing everyone on board a Happy New Year and merry Champagne. My first New Year’s Eve with my head in the sky and my man, hopefully not asleep at that precise moment, by my side. The Malabo International airport is small, very small. There are two bars, both empty and closed. There are two shops, two little booths where one can get a can of soda, water or beer and maybe some candy. If you count on doing your last shopping at the Malabo airport… don’t.

Bata International airport is even smaller. One hall, a handful of check-in desks and a few doors, so when you are told you should be there 3 hours before your flight just to make sure to board with your bags and not get left behind… You are allowed to freak out. Air-conditioning… I beg your pardon, “air” what ??…..

So on this last Bata day I have interviewed for a potential job. Have bought some more malaria pills and said goodbye to my Israeli doctor friends. Went for a last tour at the E.G.T.C supermarket, just for fun and was blessed with a small stock of Kinder Buenos. To end it, met with Anne, Pierre and Anne-Sophie for a last drink and food by the sea at the French Cultural Centre. No more Tuesday and Thursday post-karate drinks for me here… Simple things in my everyday Bata life that made it pleasurable.

Sunset on the Paseo, Bata

Hearing the waves break in is something I will for sure miss. Sitting outside in December in linen pants and a tank top… That I miss already while still wearing it. Picnicking on the beach. I sense the meteorological drop Saturday morning will hit me hard…!!

It was sad saying goodbye to everyone I’ve met and grown to know and appreciate here. As I wrote yesterday… You tie bonds. Strong bonds. No matter the age, where you are from or what you do in life. When you get along with someone (as obviously you cannot click with everyone) the ties are strong and honest ones.

On this last night here, a concert was supposed to be on out on the Paseo. Some Bata night life as I was told there would be. The concert has not yet started as we passed by and we are now home, sitting in the dark with no electricity… probably just for me to appreciate it back at home in about 30 hours. If I say this moment has its charm, will you think I have gone completely mad or just going through an African melancholy…?

Santa has left Africa

During Christmas and New Years, no cars are allowed to run in the country. You need a special authorization to drive, hopefully not drunk, on those particular days. On one hand, this may come as extremely annoying if on Christmas day, holiday day, you are stuck at home with no driving permission and not much to do (as there is no public transport, moving may come hard) yet on the other, people come out walking and there are no traffic jams or crazy bumper cars around town, making the whole holiday spirit more present and pleasant in a city where the streets have no name.

You realise the holiday is over when on Sunday morning starting at 10am you hear hooting all around you and petrol cans pile up on the streets.

After yesterday’s rainy beach day, today was not much better, yet, extremely pleasant for a short sea and sun time. Calm water (I won’t mention the light jellyfish (yet another) marks on my arm), no strong sun and a lovely breeze… Which in this part of the world means Watch out ! A storm is coming ! And so it came. As Les Pagaies have decide to shut down for a private Christmas weekend and shutting their gates for its usual Bata crowd while welcoming Bata-City tourists, we headed to the Villa Celotti for a Sunday brunch. Burger and fries. Pizza and beer… The Sunday spirit… Followed by a Wii afternoon at Anne’s place. As the storm went on and the skies broke down, our muscles and concentration were put to test with the Wii Resort… A genuine Club-Med session out here in the tropics.

A lovely time to end this last weekend out in Guinea…

Santa, oh Santa… I know it’s late to ask you this and that you’re probably on some island by now relaxing after your hard labour, but how about sending me a Wii and its Fit little belated present… No ribbon needed… I’ve been a good girl and I promise that I will make my best to keep it up till the end of the year (Which one though.. ?)

Christmas day in Africa

It is Christmas in Africa.

Christmas eve, far from snow and family was a nice evening shared among expat friends. Champagne. Wine. French finger food, snails and frog legs… We sat, we talked, we ate, we drank and we waited for Santa. It was lovely. Around 2.30 am we headed home as we all realised, to our horror, that Santa would not be showing up in this part of the world until at least the early morning hours, so may as well rest and greet him well.

So we went home. We slept.

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On this summer Christmas day, we awoke, fresh like birds, at 9am. The alcohol buzz from last night was long gone … Santa came around bearing unexpected gifts… African decoration and jewelery for me. A home-made embroidery Christmas card (the first thing I probably made since I was 13) and a ‘joke’ made-in-China water gun for him to play with… Which was a huge mistake as the ones who ended up soaking wet, were the house walls and myself… obviously, I didn’t think of getting myself one for self-protection. Note to self : don’t let him get you again ! Get ammunition !! Take him down !! Take him down !!

Utunde Beach

Saturday, Christmas day, obviously it was time to head to the beach and celebrate Santa. And so we did. At the Utunde beach with Champagne, Foie gras and a rain storm. It was absolutely fabulous !! Standing under that sun umbrella for shelter and the breeze… Heavenly ! … Caramel (the dog) running around fetching coconuts and everyone playing in the water or resting their eyes on the sand with Champagne in one hand toast in the other. Ho Ho Ho…

Christmas Mass, Bata

In the afternoon as we got back home, we changed for our nice Saturday church (…) cloths and joined Anne and Pierre for a Christmas Mass at the Bata Cathedral. I won’t claim that I (we) expected a “Sister Act” like Mass but something a bit more entertaining than what we actually got. Barely half an hour later, we left and headed to the Paseo, usually empty, to find it filled with people, kids and life.

I found out today that Christmas gifts were distributed to kids all morning in the streets. Water arms for the boys. Blond dolls for the ladies… The Paseo was full of blond and blue-eyed dolls while the boys were all walking around pointing guns at each other or holding their dolls by the hair. It was quite a sight.

Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas day !!

From Bata with love

Merry Christmas from Bata E.G

Christmas sunbathing in Africa

Barbie's pool day

After Wednesday’s pool afternoon at Utunde Beach Les Pagaies, the holiday continued with the same friends yesterday at La Ferme on Bome Beach, proceeded by a short early apero stop to wish Le Kalao happy holidays.

Barbie's beach day

A light lunch and a cold drink later, we ended on the beach, feet in the water and a wet dog running wildly around covering us in sand. Perfect temperature on the outside, even better inside.

On our way out, the most unthinkable almost happened… I almost missed Trufa, who was walking into La Ferme as we were driving out and who came climbing up on me as I called out his name…This is true love !

Trufa

 

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Christmas is all around. Holiday decorations are up on the streets. Some have unfortunately not made it since they’ve been hung up mid November, but others are still shining up on us. A late night open-air karaoke party that I apparently missed and kept up others from sleeping took place out on the streets last night. Christmas spirit is here despite the heat and lack of snow… Champagne is chilling and kitchens are steaming. Ho Ho Ho !

Tonight we are invited to Sylvain and Anne-Sophie, my beach partners these past few days, for a night of French delicatessen and Champagne !! 7 adults. 3 kids. 1 big fluffy dog. 1 quite large hairy cat. 1 big decorated plastic tree. Foie gras. Salmon. Noix de St Jacques. Champagne…Christmas is all around !!

The day will be quiet and light and so before I end this post, I will just wish all of you who read me a VERY HAPPY and MERRY CHRISTMAS !!

Ho Ho Ho