We have just left Loango behind and rejoined the main dirt road, when at some totally unmarked point our driver turns and takes the car onto the sand, through the savannah, the forest, the savannah, the jungle, and it’s shaking all over, and it’s the sea, the wind, the sound of the waves, and a few wooden houses scattered on a stretch of grass overlooking the sea. It’s the Enamino camp, and it cannot be found by someone who has never been there before.
Enamino is the life’s work of Philippe, a legendary local guide. He created the camp some 20 years ago, from scratch, from the very wild jungle, which he cut and cleared with his own hands, tree after tree, sleeping in a tent for a few years until he would build these rustic houses and make the place livable, lovable and super ecological. No running water, and the generator produces electricity for one hour a day, but who cares when the view looks like this and the first neighbour is 50 km away?
We spend time soaking in the atmosphere. As we have a first swim in the warm sea, staying close to the shore as the currents are strong, we are in company of a huge turtle poking its head out at the top of the waves, enjoying the swell.
The next morning, Philippe is looking for hands to help him and his friends fishing in the lagoon, which is supposedly a 30-minute walk away. 90 minutes later, we are where the fresh water meets the sea. The lagoon is wide, circled by mangrove. We put our feet in a mix of mud, sand, and hundreds of broken oyster shells that make for quite a sharp massage. The fishing net is 300 meters long. With 3-4 people at each end, we deploy it vertically across the lagoon, then take it gradually closer to the shore, trying to keep it in contact with the sand at our feet so that the fish does not slip under. Though we do lose fish under and over the net, the technique works well. We repeat this 4 times, and end up with full buckets securing lunches and dinners for the community for at least a couple of weeks, and quite a few cuts at our feet – but it was well worth the pain.
In the late afternoon, we take a hike in the surrounding jungle with Paul, who works with Philippe. He teaches us the magic properties of some trees, like the okoumé, which sap makes for a perfect mosquito repeller as well as a natural light torch, or the water liana, which can save your life, as when you cut a chunk of it and hold it vertically, delicious natural water flows right out of it. Paul tells us stories of hippos, elephants, gorillas, crocodiles, shows us where they roam, their favourite itineraries, as we get deeper into the humid jungle. Flora still remembers the elephant charge a couple of days ago in Loango and she squeezes my hand at every tiny noise we hear. We spot fresh hippo and gorilla footprints. We feel observed, but we can’t see anything. It’s both an oppressing and fascinating feeling. We jump in a small motor boat and start gliding on the black and calm waters of a lake that looks bottomless and ready to swallow anything that falls in. The grey skies, the trees and the mangrove around us wrap up the lake in a veil of menace and sheer mystery. In this place, even the most rational person will surrender to the spirits. Still, the only living thing we see is a thin green snake undulating at the surface of the water.
After this surreal experience, some of us are happy to reach the sea shore. Around Enamino, it’s frequent to see elephants and hippos taking a beach stroll in the early morning or later at night – Gabon is actually the only country in the world where such scenes can be seen. At the camp around lunch time, we did see from far a hippo jogging around the area we are in now. We find his footprints in the sand quite easily. They are surrounded by a few others – Paul can tell it was a mum elephant with her baby.
While we eat our delicious morning fish and giant oysters at dinner, Philippe and Paul’s friends are nightfishing in front of the camp, simply throwing the hook from the small cliff. Fantastic beasts come out one after the other:
In two very intense days, we have just scratched the surface of the mysteries of Enamino. It’s the kind of place that opens something in you, and you do not want to close whatever that thing is. We know we will come back here someday.
Tanad stories from Gabon 