LONG LEGS, HIGH HEELS AND GINFIZZ

In the corner, taking up two tables, a white man, nearing sixty, sits alone. A bottle of champagne is cooling in a bucket in front of him, next to a bottle of wine and several snacks he doesn't even touch. The man calls one of the waitresses and gently strokes her arm while he orders a beer. She doesn't seem bothered by his forward behaviour. On the contrary, she flirts back. She'd better, too - he's one of the regulars, he comes a few nights a week and leaves a lot of money in Casino Croisette.

The Casino is a very strange place. You'd think I'd be more surprised at the African restaurants, markets or customs but no - I think it's safe to say that the weirdest place in Libreville is precisely Casino Croisette. It is an attempt at recreating Las Vegas in a completely inadequate environment, which makes it rather ridiculous. Let me walk you through the experience.

First of all, the door boasts an official note that elegant attire is obligatory to enter the Casino. I've been there three times (all three I consider a cultural experiment) and each time I was wearing trainers and jeans, my sophisticated white skin giving me an unquestionable - apparently - right to enter. Once inside, you pass all the blackjack machines and roulette tables, mostly occupied by the Chinese, and you look for a place to sit. If you're lucky, a long-haired Gabonese entertainer, who happens to be my neighbour, will play his keyboard and sing a French serenade, while you sip your whisky and coke. Many short-skirted girls come here to find a sponsor for the evening and the waitresses... well, they deserve a whole new paragraph.

It must not be easy to become a waitress at the Casino. First of all, you must be at least 180 centimetres tall, half of which should be your legs. You should weigh around 50 kilos and one third of the weight should be your hair and eyelashes. If you satisfy these harsh criteria, you will get a tiny leopard-skin dress and you are all set to take your compulsory training on how to walk on incredibly high heels. The preparatory stage completed, you can start serving drinks, inevitably tied to the constant stroking and patting, which you must bear with a smile.

Casino Croisette is a parallel universe, a world apart. It does not fit Libreville at all, and yet it exists - a heaven for all sorts of funny individuals. Yes, we feel completely out of place in the Casino. But I think you should try a bit of everything when experiencing a different country, and this place definitely reflects certain social tendencies visible in Gabon, which makes it - honestly - interesting from the anthropological point of view. And, accidentally, GinFizz is actually an excellent drink!

PS. Happy anniversary to all of you! This is my 100th post! Thanks for reading me!