Living In Malabo and Beach Day

Arena Blanca Beach, Luba, Ecuatorial Guinea

Today, Sunday June 16, 2013, we decided to finally take a break (I’ve been working up a storm and one of these days I’ll share a bit about that with y’all, however I’m being called to share some of my joys and travel experiences with you today). By us, I am referring to my roommates and I. I haven’t shared with you the details on my living situation here in Malabo. I have three roomies, interns for an American NGO Startup which has provided my housing. While our three bedroom apartment is by no means luxurious, thankfully we tend to have electricity nearly 24 hours a day, allowing such luxuries as a refrigerator that keeps our food and water cold, air conditioning to cool down the house from the steamy heat outside and we can charge our electronics just about whenever we please. We’ve had a few power outages here and there, but thankfully up to now it has neither been with much frequency nor does the power stay out for too long.

Hermit Crabs Chowing Down

The most inconvenient part of living in our house from my perspective is our situation with running water, or lack thereof. In the two weeks here, we have gone for two separate periods of 3 to 5 days without running water. Gracias a Dios on more than one of those days it rained and I was able to collect rainwater and our neighbors/landlords/the American NGO Leadership team allowed us to fetch water from their third floor apartment. When the water does arrive, it arrives between the hours of 6am and 8am. We have a few buckets, about 50 gallons, of which we can fill up and store the water for use later. While it’s definitely inconvenient, it’s certainly not the worst problem to have. I am thankful I don’t have to walk 100 yards or further every day to fetch water for bathing, washing and cleaning, although I am remembering to be judicious with my water usage.

Still going to town on the seed

My roommates have become friends with a community of oil industry workers who are here on the island. Through their friendship, our new friends invited all of us to the beach for the day near a small town called Luba on the southern coast of the island of Bioko. Our new friends drove us, thankfully, since public transportation around the island is basically non-existent. Within the city public taxis are plentiful. They’re white cars with a red hood, roof and trunk. The taxis don’t have any fixed route, which can be a bit frustrating because you have to continually ask where they are going as they pass by common commuter paths.

This guy was casually walking down the beach with a Shark!

The beach we hit up is about an hour away, had a few tables set up in front of small shacks serving food and beverages. The water was warm and inviting, the beach itself was a nice small spot. I had my first taste of Antelope, or maybe it was venison, which if it was venison it was the best I’ve ever had. The day was a much needed respite from the city, work and it was refreshing to see a new part of the island and spend the day with quality and relaxing group of people who are quickly becoming my friends.

Lava Rocks on the Beach