So....Libreville

We arrived back from Loango on Sunday, on tenterhooks about retrieving the Chopper the following morning. Getma, the port agent had told us it would arrive some time last week, and Grimaldi’s London office (the shipping line) had told us it was due to be unloaded over the weekend. Long story short, they’re all liars and it wasn’t there. Corinne, the Getma manager has told us quite matter of factly that the delay is whole heartedly down to the four day independence holiday (thanks very much France), and that normally boats are never delayed by more than a day or two vs schedule. My question to her and to Grimaldi I think is fairly reasonable....did you not see this coming? Gabon gained independence 53 years ago, and has been celebrating the fact every year, like clockwork, ever since. I wonder if they crumble in a flurry of panic each year as independence yet again catches them by surprise?

Oh well. C’est la vie. C’est l’Afrique! So what to do? This was Monday and Jez was flying in to Kinshasa some 1000km away on Tuesday evening to meet us. Being a complete baller he has booked two nights in 5 star luxury, but after that, spending his remaining 10 days of annual leave alone in the DRC getting robbed might wear a little thin. With little faith in anything the port tells us we had to plan for a worst case scenario of the car not coming in for at least another week, so we decided to split. Alfie would fly solo for two days, driving south to meet Mr. Simmons and Daisy and I would wait it out here for the Chopper to land. Hopefully we’ll be chasing them down in a couple of days, but should the car not arrive until next week at least we’ll be in two pairs.

So we ate consolatory burgers for lunch, and having finished decided that they were definitely cold enough to give us the shits. Fate can be a cruel mistress at times but only time would tell if she was really out to get us today. Then we divvied up the gear and waved goodbye to Alfie, leaving the original wrecking crew from parts 1 and 2. Ten minutes later I realised I’d misplaced my wallet. The only possible way for this day to get any worse would be for that burger to kick in and an explosion of watery faeces to trickle down my leg.