Team FODEX are in Gabon
The first difficulty to overcome with tropical fieldwork is getting there.
Last week on Tuesday I flew to Libreville, the capital of Gabon, with Iain (postdoc) and Chiara (2nd year PhD student). Those nine hours of flying were certainly the smoothest part of the journey.
Getting around Libreville to pick up supplies involved taking a lot of taxis, but taking a taxi in Gabon requires a bit of know-how. There are no meters or fixed prices. Instead, there is a bidding system, whereby the customer hails a car and quickly shouts "Taxi! [insert price] [insert destination]" through the window. The driver will then either nod to indicate it's a deal, or simply drive off if they don't like the sound of the offer.
Then, there is a train line that runs from Libreville to Gabon's second city, Franceville. There is one passenger train, which runs through the night, as seemingly freight trains have priority during daylight hours. We had hoped to take this night train to reach Ivindo, the logging camp and village where we are conducting our fieldwork. Unfortunately there were no tickets available.
Fortunately, we had also hired a car and driver. Unfortunately, even a big 4x4 with a roof-rack has finite capacity, and we had a lot of kit. I mean, a lot. Somehow, we succeeded in packing two drones, seven boxes of equipment, a ladder, food, five people and all of their bags into and onto the car. By the time we had done this, however, we were behind schedule.
The reason that being behind schedule was of concern, was that Ivindo river lies between the end of the road (about 10 hours drive from Libreville) and Ivindo camp, and the ferry across the river only operates until a certain time. So, we stopped for nothing. We charged through potholes between towering walls of green jungle with empty bellies, and found ourselves somewhat delirious by the time we skidded to a halt at the muddy banks of the Ivindo. We were twenty minutes late. Darkness was approaching. The ferry sat deserted on the opposite bank.
There was a long moment as we tried to come to terms with not making it to the camp that night. Then, just as we were about to turn back towards the last town, the blissful sight of headlights appeared on the other side of the river! The message had got through to the ferry workers that we were late, and they had almost guessed our arrival perfectly. Mumfumbe, the manager of the logging camp, invited us for dinner around a huge round table made out of the cross section of a tree. Having not had a meal all day, it was the most delicious chicken and rice I had tasted in my life.
After a few days of meeting, greeting, organising equipment and planning, we've recovered from the journey. Now for the next difficulty- actually getting some data.
Last week on Tuesday I flew to Libreville, the capital of Gabon, with Iain (postdoc) and Chiara (2nd year PhD student). Those nine hours of flying were certainly the smoothest part of the journey.
Getting around Libreville to pick up supplies involved taking a lot of taxis, but taking a taxi in Gabon requires a bit of know-how. There are no meters or fixed prices. Instead, there is a bidding system, whereby the customer hails a car and quickly shouts "Taxi! [insert price] [insert destination]" through the window. The driver will then either nod to indicate it's a deal, or simply drive off if they don't like the sound of the offer.
Then, there is a train line that runs from Libreville to Gabon's second city, Franceville. There is one passenger train, which runs through the night, as seemingly freight trains have priority during daylight hours. We had hoped to take this night train to reach Ivindo, the logging camp and village where we are conducting our fieldwork. Unfortunately there were no tickets available.
Fortunately, we had also hired a car and driver. Unfortunately, even a big 4x4 with a roof-rack has finite capacity, and we had a lot of kit. I mean, a lot. Somehow, we succeeded in packing two drones, seven boxes of equipment, a ladder, food, five people and all of their bags into and onto the car. By the time we had done this, however, we were behind schedule.
The reason that being behind schedule was of concern, was that Ivindo river lies between the end of the road (about 10 hours drive from Libreville) and Ivindo camp, and the ferry across the river only operates until a certain time. So, we stopped for nothing. We charged through potholes between towering walls of green jungle with empty bellies, and found ourselves somewhat delirious by the time we skidded to a halt at the muddy banks of the Ivindo. We were twenty minutes late. Darkness was approaching. The ferry sat deserted on the opposite bank.
There was a long moment as we tried to come to terms with not making it to the camp that night. Then, just as we were about to turn back towards the last town, the blissful sight of headlights appeared on the other side of the river! The message had got through to the ferry workers that we were late, and they had almost guessed our arrival perfectly. Mumfumbe, the manager of the logging camp, invited us for dinner around a huge round table made out of the cross section of a tree. Having not had a meal all day, it was the most delicious chicken and rice I had tasted in my life.
After a few days of meeting, greeting, organising equipment and planning, we've recovered from the journey. Now for the next difficulty- actually getting some data.
The first of many adventures! Needs more 360 footage though...
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