THE CHEAP, THE EXPENSIVE AND THE MORE EXPENSIVE

According to an article from the French Libération, Libreville occupies a respectable 13th position on the list of the most expensive cities in the world (which evaluates the cost of life for expatriates). It is worth noting, that it is also the second most pricey ville in Africa, with only the notorious Luanda surpassing it, classified on position number 3. Believe it or not, this means that Libreville is more expensive than Paris, Helsinki or London. Today I will give you an idea of what it means.

Eat up!
Every week we spend more or less 100 000 CFA (around 150 euro) on... food. And no, we don't usually have caviar for starters and lobster for main course. Here is more or less what we buy:

• yoghurts: I must admit I go a bit over the line here; I insist on getting real brand European yoghurts, as I find the local ones inedible; price: 4000 CFA (6 euro) for a pack of four;
• meat: two steaks cost around 5000 CFA (7,5 euro);
• wine: usually a couple of bottles, a bit under 6000 CFA (9 euro) each;
• Spanish ham (oh yes, you can find your jamón serrano - if you know where to look!): 15000 CFA (22,5 euro) per kilo, we tend to buy 300 grams every week;
• cheese: there is a wide selection of French cheese available in two of the three supermarkets, and we might spend 5000 - 6000 CFA (7,5 - 9 euro) on our luxury fromage;
• bread: we buy three loaves a week and freeze them (note: very difficult to find bread made of anything more that air...); price: 1500 CFA ( per 2,25 euro) per loaf;
• fruit and vegetables: we buy from our favourite fruit stands and we generally spend around 12000 CFA (18 euro) a week;
• biscuits and other things to nibble: maybe around 4000 CFA (6 euro);

Not to mention what you don't buy every week: jam, nutella, pasta, rice, olive oil, juice, etc. On the other hand, we drink tap water, which makes things slightly cheaper for us.

Stay fit!
Detached as we are from our cultures and previous lives, we must be very careful to stay fit, both in our heads and physically - although I strongly believe that the two are related. To drive away mood swings and sullen thoughts, you do sports, lots of sports (are you appreciating who this is coming from? The girl who would always skip her P.E. classes?), which also helps you keep malaria and other nasty stuff at bay. The cheapest way to stay fit is to go running at the beach, which is always full of happy joggers, Gabonese and whites (the former tend to wear raincoats - hood included - in order to sweat better!). Unfortunately, due to my asthma I can't really jog: after a few minutes I'm out of breath (even though I'm in really good shape) and that always results in a small asthma crisis. Instead, I take classes. Step, tae bo, bosu and other funny words have come to structure my week. However, to enjoy all these fabulous activities, I have no choice but to pay a monthly fee of... 50000 CFA, which amounts to no less than 75 euro (swimming pool not included and costing 20000 CFA or 30 euro). And this is the cheapest gym in town.

Voyage, voyage...
Yes, being in Africa makes you want to travel the whole time. There is always somebody recommending a new amazing place to go, and no matter how much you travel, you constantly feel that you're missing out. As I have already told you, visiting places in Gabon is anything but cheap and simple. Most of our trips cost between 200000 and 300000 CFA (300 to 450 euro) per person for 3 to 5 days, of which you usually spend two in a plane/train/boat. Luckily, the boat trip to Pointe Denis on the other side of the Estuary is only 10000 CFA (15 euro), which is a decent European price.

Cheaper
Luckily, not everything is extremely expensive in Gabon. Here's a quick list of my favourite cheap pleasures:

• having clothes made to measure: fabric for three shirts costs 4000 CFA (6 euros) and a shirt is 5000 CFA (7,5 euro);
  
• a coconut bought at the beach: 300 CFA (0,45 euro);
• Gabonese lunch at a local restaurant: 2500 CFA (3,75 euro) per person, including drinks;
• basic fare for a taxi ride: 100 CFA (0,15 euro);
• tickets to CCF: if it's not free, you might pay between 2000 and 4000 CFA (3 to 4,5 euro) for a concert/film/spectacle;

And then the cheapest and most rewarding thing of all: the closeness of nature, the possibility to spend the day hiking in the jungle or swimming in the ocean, the picnics and deserted beaches, the sounds of the forest... An amazing, relaxing package, available all year long, and free.

The picture comes from here.

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!

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?