After breakfast, there was nothing to do, so I just spent some time on my laptop, listening to those songs which I have stored, just for the single reason, that I got it from somewhere and my laptop had a lot of space. Sometimes you have so much time that if you believe in the old saying that time is money, you will feel like a billionaire. It was just like that. My guide here has gone to Libreville for a meeting and I was here alone, fighting with the French language and giving a very tough time to the person to whom I am talking too.

One of my seniors told me, don’t take tension that you don’t know French, make other people tense that you don’t know French. And let him understand. So basically I was doing the same thing.

Afternoon, Paul came to pick me up and in his heavily accented but fairly good English explained to me that we are going to visit the city and places around it. What more I could have asked for!  Really great. Outside my hotel, there was an old Landcruiser waiting for me. I just took my laptop, camera and passport and was ready for action. First, we visited a nearby village in Makokou and it was really beautiful. Located on the banks of a river ‘La river de obenduâ’, I asked for the name but Paul’sheavy accented reply and my ears’ refusal to get accustomed to that accent, suggested me to not waste time getting the right name. 

I went to the river and was surprised to see that the color of the water was black. O my god, I am seeing a black river in this Dark Continent! I asked the reason to Paul, expecting a really interesting answer. But the result was a dud. He simply told this due to the high content of iron ore. Suddenly something caught my attention, some people were there washing their cars in the river, and alongside them some girls taking bath. 

Returning back to my hotel, I was lucky enough to have an encounter that I can never forget. On the way, Paul suddenly stopped the car, and I could see some people moving and making noise. I asked the reason and he told me to get the camera, photo, photo..  I was unable to understand anything that happened, why this fellow is asking me to capture pics of these people. “le serpent” “What?” “Snake” Then I looked at the crowd, on the ground there was a huge black snake moving, and two three-person equipped with small sticks were there to tackle him and 20–30 people around them. I took out my camera and from the car itself took some snaps.

I asked about the snake and the answer was it is a black cobra. One of the most deadly snakes on the planet. And those people were treating him like a harmless non-poisonous creature. Within a few seconds, two-three strikes with the small sticks and the black cobra was flat on the ground.

Though still moving rapidly, unable to go anywhere. I was mesmerized by their skill.

IIFM #africa