If you want to
reach the Parc National de la Lopé, the best solution is to take a train from
Gare d'Owendo in Libreville departing every day except Saturday at about 4.30pm
and arriving in Lopè at about 2.00am.
But since it was
Saturday and there was no train, I tried to take a minibus to Lopè, going to
Sibang, 8 km east of the capital (the staff of Edenia Hotel took me for free),
where all the vehicles leave headed east of the country, but I found out in
spite of myself that there was no way for Lopè because the road was impassable.
It was the rainy season.
So I decided to
take a Minibus for Lambarenè, paying him 8,000 CFA. I had the feeling of taking
a jab. The run lasted about 5 hours scarce.
The N1 road, in
the section between Libreville and Bifoun, is in very poor condition, with dirt
roads and large holes. In addition, there are numerous checkpoints where they
asked for my passport but they never asked me for money.
The stretch of
road between Bifoun and Lambarenè is clearly better, all paved with few holes.
The
aforementioned minibus took me to my Hotel in Lambarenè, that is to the
Hotellerie Schweitzer Hospital, located on the banks of the Ogooue River, in
Località Abongo, 3 km north of the city center, in a natural setting, really
quiet. The cost for a single room with fan, mosquito net, private bathroom and
hot shower, but without WIFI is CFA 15,000 per night.
Adjacent to the
aforementioned Hotel there is the Albert Schweitzer Hospital Museum, dedicated
to the Franco-German Lutheran doctor, philanthropist, musician, musicologist,
pastor and missionary born in Alsace, who in 1952 was awarded the Nobel Prize
for peace. The museum opens at 10.00 in the morning and closes at 6.00 pm in
the evening, although at my request they allowed me to visit it after 6.00 pm.
The entry fee is 5,000 CFA.
The staff of the
Hotellerie Schweitzer Hospital can help you organize a Pirogue excursion on the
Ogooue River and the adjacent lakes, starting from 15,000 CFA.
Outside the
hospital facility taxis are usually parked that can take you to the city.
I, on the other
hand, stored a free transfer to the guys who worked there.
Keep in mind that
instead of moving to the center of Lambarenè you can take collective taxis at a
cost of 100 CFA, for a short ride.
In the city
center, on the northern shores of the Ogooue River, not far from the Pont
Isaac, regular taxis leave when full taxis for Ndjolè are filled. I waited less
than 1 hour before it filled up. I paid 7,000 CFA for the race. I had the
feeling of taking a jab. The ride lasted about 2 hours.
The road is in
fair condition.
Some police
checks, without problems.
At Ndjolè I
waited a couple of hours before finding a car for Oyem. I paid 8,000 CFA for the
race. The journey lasted 3 hours and a half (about 300 km).
The road is in
excellent condition.
I found several
checkpoints but I was never stopped.
In central Oyem,
they regularly leave when collective taxis are filled for Bitam. I waited less
than 30 minutes before it filled up. I paid 2,000 CFA for the race and it
lasted about 1 hour (about 70 km).
I found a
checkpoint where they asked for my passport. I had no problems.
Road in good
condition.
The taxi driver
in exchange for a tip of 1,000 CFA, found me a cheap Hotel in the city center
near 8,000 CFA, but with very bad hygienic conditions, en-suite bathroom with
water in a bucket, fan, without mosquito net and without WIFI.
Keep in mind that
if you are heading to Cameroon, you need to get the Exit Stamp on your
passport, going to the Bitam Immigration office, located on the main street, in
the city center, near the parking of minibuses and collective taxis. The same
opens every day at 8.00. Anyone trying to reach the border with Cameroon, without
obtaining the exit stamp from Gabon on the Passport, will be sent back to Bitam
in the first place of the checks.
From the
collective taxi stand and in front of the Bitam Immigration office, collective
taxis depart regularly for the City of Akonangui in Cameroon, passing through
the Kye-Ossi border post, located a few tens of meters from Equatorial Guinea.
The race normally costs 2,000 CFAs, even though they paid 2,500 CFA to me. The
same lasts about 1 hour abundant.
Checks on the
Gabon side are numerous, for which it is necessary to get off and register and
sometimes even show the yellow fever certificate. But no one asked me for
money.
The description of
the trip complete with the map, photographs and videos is available at this
link: https://vivendosalendo.blogspot.com/2019/07/viaggio-in-gabon-libreville-lambarene.
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