- 3 min
You can’t beat that beach vibe
Yesterday we tootled off to La Ferme Beach for what turned out to be a lovely lazy lunch, all it was missing was Jimmy Buffett! We went on a Saturday so we didn't have to deal with any kind of traffic which meant it was a quick 13 minute drive on black top roads. I chose the seafood paella that also came with a whole lobster, oh boy! Even though it was only available in a serving size for two I ordered it anyway and it turned out there was enough to feed four people. I took
- 3 min
Urban Photo Safari in Bata
Cruising around Bata on an urban photo safari. Equatorial Guinea or EG as we all call it, is a very small country, with a population around 1 million people spread between the capital city, Malabo on Bioko Island and here on the mainland. As in other African countries I've visited, there are so many building projects that are abandoned because the developers/builders ran out of money. Here's one complete with grass thatched huts out the front. I wonder if it was going to be a
- 2 min
The Well
Fresh drinking water, who ever thinks twice about it? You just go to your kitchen whenever you want some, either from a faucet, or chilled from your fridge. For a lot of people in this country however, while fresh drinking water is free it's not piped to their homes. See that structure on the sidewalk in the pic below? There are 2 taps on the face of that small vertical wall. I didn't realize what it was until one morning I was sitting on my balcony at sunrise and I watched a
- 3 min
In search of a local craft market in Bata
Well that was a bust from the perspective of taking lots of photos at a local market! Tourism is not obviously promoted here, perhaps because there seem to be a lot of coup attempts so the government doesn't want foreigners swarming in. The side effect of that is that Bata is like a huge suburb and just as anywhere in the world, suburbia is not where you find places catering to the tastes of tourists. I asked the guys I work with who are locals for a recommendation for a mark
- 1 min
The night before
It's Friday night and I have planned a visit to the local craft market tomorrow morning. I'm so excited to be actually getting out to do some exploring and I'm online seeing if I can get a hint of unique things to look for when I'm there so I maximize my small window of escape. Oh my.. there's some scary stuff out there. I don't even want to talk about it so instead I'm going to share this spectacular sunset over the Gulf of Guinea. I've hardly left this beautiful building ov
- 1 min
Aleppo Style
I've been waiting so long I forgot that my Aleppo Style soap is ready! Its supposed to cure for at least nine months but as I forgot its now been eleven months and it just keeps getting better with age. What makes this Bastille soap (a predominantly olive oil soap) so unique is the Laurel Berry Oil. This soap is unscented, insofar as I did not add a fragrance or essential oil to it, the scent is purely from the Laurel Berry Oil and I love the smell of it. To me it has a natur
