"It smells like pilots in here; coffee and cologne." I can't help but smile.
At my favourite restaurant with the resident rat (I'm assuming there's just the one), we asked the owner if she knew anyone with a boat, and she hooked us up with Paul, a local Frenchman that has lived in Gabon most of his life. We gave him a call and haggled over prices and soon had a marlin and barracuda fishing trip booked off the coast of Gabon! I conjured up images of Ernest Hemingway and "To Have and Have Not", and pictured myself looking like the old man of the sea himself in one of those deep sea fishing boats like I'd seen moored around the Hemingway resort North of Mombasa, Kenya, the ones I could not afford for a day at sea but admired longingly. All geared up for the day, we made our way to the small wharf and looked for the smurf blue deep sea fishing vessel. Well, turns out it wasn't that sort of a boat. It was more of a big fibreglass canoe. First there was the total lack of shade, and of course it was the first day I'd seen any sun in Gabon, with the skies a deep azure blue, and nary a breeze. We doubted it even had a bar. But damn it, we were going deep sea fishing!
The small boat pounded happily over the swells as we headed far out to sea in the early morning, whales frolicking everywhere, but try as I might I just could not capture one breaching and slapping his tale, often within metres of our boat. That's the best shot I got.
The best shot I managed all day was a couple of tortoises making whoopy far offshore. They didn't seem at all concerned about the cheering fishermen, as they were obviously lost in tortoise passion, and couldn't be bothered.
Five hours later we drifted back into port, having snagged a few sandbars on the way in, most everyone sunburnt, and without one bite to brag about.
It was a fun day out nevertheless! I've been deep sea fishing off the coast of Africa!
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