POG!

When we were there two years ago for half a day, we did not get such a good impression of Port-Gentil (POG), Gabon’s second largest city, and its economic capital thanks to the dozens of offshore oil platforms that have been lighting up its sea and sky at night for decades now. Indeed, the golden days of oil extraction are gone for good, and POG is not anymore the vibrant town it used to be at the end of the twentieth century. Today, the platforms still work and attract workers from abroad, but much less than in the past.

POG is practically an island, isolated by the sea and by the swamps from the rest of the country. Since 2020 you can reach it by car, but from Libreville it’s a very long affair. The overall state of the town reflects this isolation – decayed and rusty buildings eaten by salt and the equatorial humidity, tired and potholed roads.

Yet, in the past months, we have had several conversations with expats living in POG and loving it, praising its laid-back people, its cut-from-the-world island feeling and its crystal-clear waters. So we decided to give it another try, and to follow insiders tips on where to spend time around there. Flying to POG takes 30 minutes and by the kilometre, it has to be the most expensive flight in the world.

We reach our final destination after a short taxi and boat ride. We are at Aux Berges des Trois Rivières, in a wooden bungalow overlooking a river, the sea (and the oil terminal in the far background), and we quickly understand that what we heard was true: POG can indeed be a nice place to linger in. Thanks to the huge and high sandbanks on the East side of Cap Lopez, the water is the clearest you’ll find in all of Gabon, and we will not get enough of it in three days here.

We take the early morning boat back to Libreville. For a while, the Robinson vibe will stay with us. Many places deserve a second chance, and POG is one of them.