(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…?
Travel Personal 