You thought too hard. Same with travel. You can't work too much at it, or it feels like work. You have to surrender yourself to the chaos. To the accidents. - Gayle Forman

26 July 2019, Fougamou to Lambaréné, 95.49km
Motel Bo Bebe 15,000CFA (R375)

What an extraordinary ride, which not even our first negative incident in nearly five months of biking Africa could come close to ruining.
Two of three young men walking the road accosted Charl, cycling a little distance behind me. They stepped into the middle of the road, holding their arms aloft in an effort to halt him. Charl tried to cycle round them, but one of them grabbed his arm, bringing him to a stop. The young man then demanded, in aggressive tones, money. Charl was, of course, angered, and said no in no uncertain terms. He then proposed they depart friends and held out his hand, which the young man shook. When Charl tried to ride off, the man grabbed his bike, again demanding money. When he removed his grip on the bike momentarily, Charl sped off. Luckily he was on a mild decline as the man pursued him, running fast. Once Charl had outdistanced him, he looked back to find the young man drawing his hand across his throat in the international sign “I’ll kill you”. Disturbing.
The road between Fougamou and Lambaréné is narrower than the section from Ndende, mainly because it has no shoulder. In general, there is little traffic, and what there was today gave us plenty of space, including the logging trucks travelling at speed in convoys of three to five trucks at a time. So eager were they to avoid us, they ended driving in the oncoming lane, on occasion causing oncoming traffic to slow and flash their lights. We saw several convoys early in the day, the emptied trucks returning our way mid-afternoon. When empty, the back end of the articulated vehicle is somehow lifted onto the front end, making the trucks considerably shorter and faster moving when unloaded.
Our road dipped and climbed and weaved through forest of exceptional beauty. The sight of green and lush and varied forest, the earthy smell of damp ground and leaves, and the sound of a hundred different bird species, filling and pleasing our senses. A day to remember.
Today particularly, we saw a variety of bush meat displayed for sale outside homes. Many people offer something or other for sale to passing motorists. Usually what is offered is showcased on a wooden shelf lying across a metal drum, or hanging from a sturdy branch secured in a drum or between rocks where it is clearly visible. Cassava, of course, and bananas, and what looks like home-made alcohol. Antelope and gazelle, porcupine and boar, alligator a spotted wild cat, monkeys. What upset us was a small turtle, still alive, tied around its middle and twirling from a branch in the hot sun. I called “monsieur” and a young man came out from the homestead. He spoke some English and said he understood when I said the sun was too hot and pleaded with him to put the turtle in water. Let’s hope he did so.
There are clear signs of greater disposable income in Gabon than in, for example, Congo. Even small shops have functional fridges and the softdrinks they sell are icy cold. Home owners on occasion decorate their homes and gardens, in one case with the statue of an ancestor. Instead of swept earth between huts, there is sometimes an expanse of green lawn. Today we saw many boards on the sides of houses advertising a Chinese / Gabonese project to provide satellite TVs to 10,000 African villages. An interesting priority in a country / continent in desperate need of economic reform, growth and jobs.
We managed this evening to meet up again with Blanca whom we had last seen in Cabinda. She has completed her Libreville embassy run for a new passport and Cameroon visa and is back in Lambaréné, due to hit the road again on Sunday. She met us at our motel and we strolled the main road toward the river and there came across a night market offering the most delicious barbecued fish and chicken and more. We supplemented our meal with baguettes and avocado and ate at a small table behind the stalls.

For today's route see below photos
For overview route, click on ROUTE tab above…