A QUICK GUIDE FOR A NEWCOMER: LIBREVILLE

I've been telling you quite a lot about our travels around the country and by now you should definitely know where to go if you happen to visit Gabon. But what about Libreville, the very city in which we spend most of our time? You can definitely have fun here, too. Let me guide you through my favourite, unmissable places in the ville.

Go for a walk!
As in any city, there are places where you shouldn't wander, especially if you're white and on your own. But Libreville is rather safe and you should definitely explore parts of it on foot. It is a bit intimidating at first but don't get discouraged! The Luis neighbourhood with its small shops and restaurants is very recommendable. On your way to the centre you will be stunned by the huge Presidential Palace (remember not to take pictures!) and the strange statue in front of it. You might also find interesting the huge ministry buildings. Sablière will give you an insight to what the posh part of the city is like, while in the city centre, always full of life and traffic, you can have nice coffee and walk around undisturbed.

Go to church!
Oh yes, excellent idea, not only from the spiritual point of view. But not just any church! You should definitely take a trip to Saint Michel de N'kembo, probably the only example of interesting architecture in the city. It has dozens of beautifully sculpted columns, which represent scenes from the Bible. The mosaic with a black Christ is also worth noting. And the mass itself with its singing and dancing is a must! Even if going to church isn't usually your thing.

Go shopping!
Libreville offers a wide range of places to do just that. Personally, I would suggest Petit Paris and the Mount Buet market. The former is the place if what you're looking for is pagne, the typical African-style material, which, by the way, you should totally get and then go straight to a good tailor and have some clothes made to measure. It's an amazing souvenir and it can be done in a couple of days! Straight from Petit Paris you should head for Mount Buet and just take a walk: fruit, shoes, pagne, meat, clothes, soap, make-up, hairdressers, plates, machetes... and more. Everything can be found in Mount Buet. Trust me. If, however, you're looking for a less extreme shopping experience, take a taxi to the Village Artesanal and haggle to buy souvenirs, or to one of the three supermarkets: M'bolo (which is actually a French Casino), Geant CKdo or the Libanese Prix Import. It will give you an idea of what you can get in Libreville and for how much. Be ready for a real price shock!

Go out!
Libreville, unlike any other African capital, is full of restaurants and clubs. The choice is stunning. You can start by having coffee at Pelisson, a bakery and coffee house, which serves horrible coffee on an absolutely lovely colonial terrace (the fresh pineapple juice is to die for, though!). If you feel like decent coffee in less appealing surroundings, you might choose the Libanese La Genoise, which also has fantastic cakes. And don't forget the Tropicana, located at the beach, definitely worth a visit. For lunch, we usually choose a cheap Libanese restaurant (Les Arcades or L'Emir are equally good) or the absolute king of African kebabs, l'Embuscade. And for dinner... take a walk around Montée de Luis, which is absolutely full of restaurants and discos. Chinese, Italian, European (you might forget you're in Africa altogether), Libanese, African but posh, African but cheap... your call! I personally recommend Mississipi or L'Odika for a pleasant African experience nicely packaged for tourists (it has its price, though), or the famous Jean Paul II, for those of you who are more resistant to the general lack of hygiene in the kitchen.

Go to the beach!
Libreville's location couldn't be better. The whole province is actually called l'Estuaire, and the city is right at the seaside. You might want to take a walk on the urban beach and end up having a drink at Tropicana. You could also go to the very end of the Sablière neighbourhood, and have a Coke on the beach at the SunSetBeach hotel. Here the water is clean enough to have a quick bath and as a special bonus you might see fishermen selling their catch in the morning. For a real beach experience you should take a 30-minute boat ride from Port Môle and relax at the lovely beaches of Pointe Denis, where you can also spend the night in one of the luxurious hotels (Wingombe, Phare de Gombe or La Baie des Tortues to name a few).

Go cultural!
If you're extremely lucky, you might actually find the notoriously closed Museum of Arts and Traditions... open. Don't put it off, then, go right in! It's your only chance to see their - usually extremely well hidden - collection of masks. For more cultural experiences, get La Lettre or an event programme of the French Cultural Centre. Every Tuesday at 20:30 there is a film but that's not all - the Centre is actually very active, so don't miss any of their concerts, theatre plays or dance festivals. Not to mention the library, cafeteria and cheap Internet access.

Well, I hope you're ready to explore the city now. And to those of you who actually live in Libreville: what are your favourite places? What did I miss?

MY LAND, MY FUTURE

Recovering from a welcome- back- hope- you- enjoyed- your- illnessless- holiday gastroenteritis, we decided to take it easy and not venture out of Libreville. It was Saturday, and a potentially boring one, but this time we were in luck: celebrating its 50th anniversary of independence, Libreville decided to finally offer a cultural event - yesterday we visited the grand exhibition under an even grand-er title Gabon: Ma Terre, Mon Futur (Gabon: My Land, My Future). And, contrary to what you might suspect from the slightly ironic tone of this introduction, we were not disappointed. Quite the contrary, actually - we were rather impressed.

The exhibition is divided into six thematic rooms: Le Jardin des Origines (The Garden of Origins), Le Patrimoine des Cultures (The Heritage of Cultures), Designed by Nature (believe it or not, in English it stands), Regards sur le Passé (Looking at the Past), La République Ciquantenaire (The Fifty-Year-Old Republic) and La Nouvelle Ere (The New Era). Each of these spaces was professionally designed and equipped on a European level.

There is a large room with a flat screen, where you can watch a film on the origins of the Earth. Prehistoric tools are displayed and, more importantly, provided with exhaustive explanations (very rare in Gabon). Several museum exhibits, such as masks and traditional tools, were brought in, together with touchscreens, which show films of traditional dances. Pictures of the colonial era are displayed as a kind of installation - much more interesting than just hanging them on the walls. And the nature room is just lovely: all three Gabonese ecosystems are presented, together with a lot of information and still more touchscreens. A nice gentleman, the boss of the nature space, was very helpful and explained a lot. Only the Independence part, where the government boasts of its dubious achievements, made us want to press a "dislike" button.

All this is packaged in a really superb way: colourful, diverse, touchable... Istead of a guestbook - an ingenious pink plastic tree, on which you stick yellow post-its with your impressions. And right next to the exhibition - a handicraft market. All in all - well done Gabon! We loved the exhibition and are really looking forward to more events of the kind!

Technical info: the exhibition is located on the Gabon Expo grounds, right next to Port Môle, and it's free. The handicraft market is not your regular Village Artesanal, and it's definitely worth taking a look at. Of course, pictures strictly forbidden.

A VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE MUSEUM - PART 2

Not long ago, we took our visiting friend German to the notorious Museum of Arts and Traditions. The gate was open and so we entered the museum grounds, hardly believing our luck. The establishement itself, however, proved to be closed. We knocked on the door several times and, just as we were leaving, a gentleman in a smart suit appeared and opened the door. He told us it was indeed after opening hours but he, the director of the museum, would make an exception for us. And he did - he gave us a guided tour of the exhibition and played a film about Pygmies, whom he, an anthropologist, generously called the link between animals and civilised man. I jumped at my chance for more illegal photos and I proudly present the results below.

Ngon'Ntang, the White Girl (from Estuaire)

It is a Fang mask, of anthropomorphic shape and four female faces. It is made of raffia, wood and eagle feathers, with coffee grains for eyes. It is used at the end of mourning, to bring the spirits of the dead home and thus avoid their getting lost.




Lekoka or Kidumu or Mvri, the Moonlight or the Terror (from Haut-Ogooué)

A Téké initiation mask, which above all symbolises moonlight that illuminates the society. Made of light osongo wood and toucan or eagle feathers, as well as raffia. This mask lets a boy become a real man. It is present during ceremonies held at the end of mourning, fortune-telling and it protects the village from evil.



Nzambe Kana, God Creator or the First Ancestor of Man (from Ngounié)

An anthropomorphic Tsogho mask made of wood and raffia. It is an initiation mask usually called Moghondzi, the spirit of the dead. It is used in various rites of passage, as well as in the event of death and in mourning. It promotes fertility.




Mukudji or Mbwand or Ngondji, the Tallest One or the Extreme Beauty (from Ngounié)

An anthropomorphic initiation mask from the Bapunu tribe has a face of a young girl, which has several scars: nine on the forehead, and nine on each temple. These scars are signs of beauty. The hair-do is typical of women in mourning and the eyes are made of almonds. The figure is elevated on stilts and its costume is made of raffia. It is used to appease the spirits of beautiful girls who died. Also, it is used in the celebrations at the end of mourning.

All the information is a direct translation from the museum's information panels. If you can spot any mistakes, please let me know!

A VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE MUSEUM - PART 1

As you know, some time ago we visited Libreville's only museum, the museum of arts and traditions, which has just re-opened. Today, using my illegal photos which I stubbornly refused to erase, I would like to take you on a tour around the exhibition of Gabonese masks.

Ezengi or Jengi, the Spirit of the Forest (from Woleu-Ntem)

It is made of branches and covered in dry raffia. This abstract mask represents good luck. It has a propitiatory function and is used in such circumstances as the ritual before elephant hunt or the ritual of blessing before going hunting.





Mungala or Mongondo, the Alert (from Ogooué-Ivindo)

The mask is shaped as a turtle or sky. It is made of branches, covered with raffia fabric and genet skin; it is painted in red and black. This mask is used in the male initiation ritual, in the circumsicion ritual or after twins' birth. Moreover, it has the function of warning women and children of social danger in which improper conduct might result.




Bodi or Pove (from Ogooué-Lolo)

The mask is made of branches, dry raffia, fabric and eagle feathers. It is an initiation mask, used for funeral ceremonies or at the end of mourning. It protects the little ones and so women offer their children to Bodi, in order to ensure they have enough energy and livelihood.





Emboli, the Burden (from Ogooué-Ivindo)

It is half-human half-animal, made of wood and raffia, and painted in red, white and black. It protects the village against evil spirits and is used when twins are born or die and during circumcision rituals.





Mbudi, Mvudi or Mukuyi, the Ghost (from Ogooué-Lolo)

This anthropomorphic mask is made of wood, animal skin and raffia fabric. It represents the spirit of an ancestor who comes back to the world of the living. Mbudi comes out from Likogha, the sacred part of the forest, when twins are born or die, when there is a trial (to dispense justice) and during the blessing of the village.




Okuyi or Okukwe, the Big Boss (from Moyen Ogooué)

It is made of painted wood, raffia, genet skin and badamier branches. It is an anthropomorphic mask used in the rite of passage from boyhood to manhood. Also, it may be seen during the funeral of an important person, rituals related to birth or death of twins and problems of justice.


All the information is a direct translation from the museum's information panels. If you can spot any mistakes, please let me know!

ARTS AND TRADITIONS

Saturday was a grey rainy day. Bored, we decided to get some bad coffee downtown. On our way out of the café we noticed something infinitely puzzling. Apparently, the Museum of Arts and Traditions, closed for the past three years, has re-opened! We rushed towards it and saw at least a dozen people wearing identical T-shirts with a collection of Gabonese masks. They must have been museum employees and their number suggested a very promising visit: the museum, located in a huge modern building, looked grand indeed. We were not stopped by anyone. On the contrary, we were actually encouraged to go in and, our curiousity rising, we did.

On entering the museum, we realised it consisted of a single room, and not a very big one, either. There was a big poster with some information on Gabonese masks and eight (eight!) masks described in more detail. This was accompanied by a few musical instruments, brief info on the materials masks are made of and a video presentation of a traditional dance with the use of masks (all chairs taken by some tired Gabonese who seemed to have spent their whole afternoon watching the video).

Despite the obvious scarcity of exhibits, we were not discouraged. As no catalogue was available, and by happy conincidence I had my camera with me, I started taking pictures of the masks and the information posters, to give you a blog tour of them later. When I was about to take my last picture, a big lady sporting the above mentioned T-shirt came running and, with anger worth a better cause, started shouting at me.

- It is strictly forbidden!
- Oh, I'm sorry, Madam, there is no sign informing that I can't take pictures.
- It is strictly forbidden! C'est pas bon!
- But why, Madam? I was not using flash.
- It is strictly forbidden! C'est pas bon! You must erase them!
I started "erasing" my illegal pictures, as she kept repeating I had to do it. Of course, I didn't really get rid of them, as I saw no real need for that. In the meantime, Jandro joined the conversation.
- Can we get a catalogue, then, Madam?
- No! It will come out! But we sell these T-shirts (she proudly pointed to her chest).

The conversation with the helpful lady did not end there, however. I was too curious to let go now. Pointing to one of the posters, I asked why it said that the exhibition had been open since 29th January if the museum had only opened a few days before. She managed to confuse me by the following answer: It was open but not to the public and now it's open to everybody so they can see our exhibition. This made me drop the subject. Nevertheless, as the poster informed that the exhibition would end on 30th June, I asked if they had an idea for the next one. Oh... We've just opened. We'll leave this exhibition till September, October... No, no idea yet. But we have a lot of good exhibits. I said nothing but I couldn't help thinking that yes, they had had a lot of great exhibits, before the French took them away to save them because they were rotting in Gabonese warehouses.

On our way out we were told that in a quarter of an hour, at 6, there would be a traditional dance performance. We hanged around until 6:25, when we saw a technician slowly starting to set the lights. We watched his deliberate, studied moves and thought we'd had enough for one afternoon. We went home, bitterly telling ourselves that we had to visit that African museum in Paris.