Those Beach Pictures I Promised

If you frequent my blog, you know that I absolutely love the beach.  The beaches here, can be very beautiful…depending on tides and storms.  High tide and heavy rain usually result in a flow of “stuff”, both natural and unnatural, washed up on the beach.  This time we were fortunate to have neither.

This beach is close, just outside the city, north of Libreville.  If I could count on a consistent low tide, it’s probably closer to walk along the shore rather than drive.

A Brief Pictorial, What a Difference 15 Minutes Makes

I wanted to show you how the country changes during a 15 minute drive from the middle of Libreville up north along L101.  The change is dramatic recognizing that while Gabon is the #2 or #3 richest country on the continent, very little gets spent beyond the capital.  Some visiting military officers from Senegal and Cameroon pointed this out to me a few weeks ago.  They were enlisted in a military exchange program here and were remarking that while their countries are poor, at least they have roads.

Meet the Boys...and Stop With the Trash Already

These are the boys, my buddies Toby and Blackie; and this is the back entrance to the compound where we live.  As you can see, the compound backs onto a beach and the boys love it.  The area has been cleared of all brush and the back wall does not go all the way to the shoreline like on other properties.  This sandy area is outfitted with two concrete benches and since logs regularly wash up onshore, additional “seating” is arranged by visitors; makeshift “beach furniture”.

This clearing was probably a nice concept when the compound was built, however, the clearing is way too inviting to locals for my taste…

South Africa - Durban

From South Africa

Drove to the east coast and stopped for the evening in Durban on the Indian Ocean.  Very beautiful, another example of the diversity of landscape in South Africa.  The city reminded me of South Beach with the ocean, hotels and restaurants all in close proximity.  The only place in the world that has more people of Indian decent is India.  They were brought over by the British for labor and stayed.  Now they own most of the big hotels.