Traveling through Central Africa isn’t easy. Language barriers, visa issues, corruption, and logistical problems can make this the traveller’s worst nightmare. So, it probably comes as no surprise that this section of the world was one that was I dragging my heels on a bit. 

Picking the Route

I’m not going to lie….planning a trip through Central Africa was tough. It took me close to a month of going back and forth and back and forth on which route I wanted to take and which countries I wanted to visit. During that time, I was also scurrying around Washington DC as I tried to get as many visas taken care of as possible. 

After much deliberation (and a lot of time spent on the Every Passport Stamp Facebook group page!), I settled on a route that worked in terms of logistics and in terms of timing as I was planning on doing two group tours over the course of the eight-week trip.  I would fly into Kinshasa (there were $400 flights there from NYC which was far cheaper than any other city and it put me roughly where I needed to be when I needed to be there!). From there, I would make my way to Brazzaville, down to Pointe Noire, cross the border into Angola, and then fly to Luanda. From there, I had a flight booked to Sao Tome and then another one from Principe to Libreville, Gabon. 

From that point, I figured I would hit Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Central African Republic. I just wasn’t particularly sure in what order or how much time I would spend in each of them. I had gotten the visas using “fake” airline bookings and figured that it was at least a start!

Country #1 – Democratic Republic of the Congo 

My flight from New York to Cairo was fairly uneventful with the exception of the 6’10 Sudanese man sitting next to me in the emergency exit row. He chewed tobacco and drank his duty-free rum the entire flight which created a disgusting aroma that I won’t forget. He was nice though and told me all about his grandson who he was meeting in Cairo so I let it slide. I know how miserable it is to fly when you are 6’0 tall so I can’t even imagine how rough it is for him. 

I landed in Cairo around 6 a.m. in the morning and immediately took a taxi to my hostel in Tahrir Square. I had debated on booking a hotel but since I had to have a room for two nights thanks to my early arrival and late departure, I decided to save some cash and book a hostel bed instead. I crashed for a few hours before having a much-needed shower and then heading out to my favorite breakfast spot. 

I spent the next few hours wandering around Coptic Cairo before heading back to the hostel and taking a nap. I considered heading to the pyramids but decided it was way more effort than I was willing to give at that point. I headed back out again in the evening when it had cooled off a bit, grabbed some dinner, and then went back to the airport for my 11 p.m. flight to Kinshasa. 

Kinshasa

I arrived in Kinshasa around 3 a.m. I already had booked a taxi through a contact that my Airbnb host (which I highly, highly recommend!) had sent to me so the driver was waiting for me after I breezed through immigration and customs. Thanks to the crazy early arrival time, I didn’t have to endure the horrific traffic that I had heard so much about and I was at my Airbnb by around 4:30 a.m. 

After getting a few hours of sleep, I got up and began to explore the city. My Airbnb host had drawn me a mental map of what areas were safe to walk around and I diligently followed her instructions. As a result, I didn’t actually end up seeing a whole hell of a lot. Luckily, I had made arrangements to meet up with some American diplomats for dinner.  Getting picked up in an embassy car complete with security guards was certainly a new experience but it was lovely to hang out with people who could give me the inside scope of what it was like to live in Kinshasa. 

Lola y Bonobo Sanctuary

The next morning, I got an early start to go to the “main event” of my trip to Kinshasa – the Lola y Bonobo Sanctuary. For those of you that don’t know, bonobos are one of my favourite animals in the world. They are the hippies of the forest and can only be found in DRC. I had read a book about them over 15 years before and desperately wanted to go to the sanctuary. I organized a car and driver for the day for $80 and woke up bright and early ready to go and see my favorite primates!

The drive to the bonobo sanctuary was interesting. I finally got to see the Kinshasa traffic that I had heard so much about and we made it to the sanctuary in just over an hour…..and found out that the next tour wasn’t going for another hour and a half.  Rather than sitting in the car getting swarmed by flies, we drove to a nearby lake where I walked around for about an hour and then drove back to the sanctuary.

A trip through the sanctuary was a wonderful experience. We got to see the babies in their nursery, the teenage bonobos in a slightly larger enclosure, and a few of the mature bonobos who have graduated to the larger part of the sanctuary. For these bonobos, the next step will be being released into the wild. 

Country #2 – Republic of Congo 

Brazzaville

After spending a few days exploring Kinshasa, I took the “ferry” across the Congo River to the city of Brazzaville.  Brazza is the capital of the Republic of Congo and couldn’t be more different than Kinshasa. Safe and laid-back, it was a great place to spend a few days wandering the streets. While I was there, I was lucky enough to couchsurf with a Belgian diplomat who was living there and she took me under her wing as we went from one expat activity to the next. It was a really great experience and a far cry from most of my travels in western Africa which has normally just been me trying to figure out how to get from one place to another.  

Before I travelled to Congo, I tried to arrange a trip to Lesio Louana Park. Located just two hours from Brazzaville, this park is a pseudo-rehabilitation center for gorillas. Unfortunately, the cheapest day trip to visit the park would have cost more than $500 which I simply wasn’t willing to spend. I have already visited gorillas in Uganda and it seemed a bit excessive to dish out so much money to see some primates. 

Instead, I ended up spending the next four days simply enjoying the expat life there and drank far too much beer. And I don’t regret any of it! so I decided to skip it. Instead, I spent the days wandering around different parts of the city, getting caught up on some freelance work, and eating as much delicious food as possible!

Pointe-Noire

Once I realized that going to Lesio Louana Park wasn’t an option, I decided to do the second thing on my list….take a train in the Congo! There is a weekly train that runs from Brazzaville to Pointe-Noire which I knew that I had to take. First of all, I love trains and second of all, it was much more comfortable than sitting on a bus for eight hours. I went a few days ahead of time to purchase my ticket and was thrilled to find out that they provided pillows and blankets which made it a completely different experience than my hellish overnight train rides in Algeria and Iraq.

I boarded the train at 4 p.m. on Saturday and greeted my cheerful bunkmate, an elderly Congolese woman with a lovely smile and the aura of a very well-organized woman. So, of course, I burst into that tiny train cabin and immediately exploded my backpack all over my bed. As I tried to get organized, she gracefully left the cabin to go find the restaurant car.  When she returned, we spent the rest of the evening in a comfortable silence before we passed out for the night.

The train arrived in Pointe Noire around 6:30 a.m. and I walked over to a hotel that I saw recommended in a Facebook group. It turns out that it was very, very closed and looked like it had been for a long time. So I then hopped in a taxi to the cheapest hotel I could find on Booking.com, the Residence Saint-Jacques Centre Ville Pointe Noire. The reviews made it sound a bit sketchy so I asked if I could see the room before I paid. The man working at reception then led me through a narrow hallway and suddenly, a doorway opened up into a gorgeous courtyard full of plants, flowers, and a swimming pool. My room was small but comfy and I immediately decided to stay three nights. Spoiler alert: I loved it so much that I stayed for six nights!

I visit the salt flats and a beautiful canyon near Pointe Noire on two separate day trips. Rather than booking anything in advance (which didn’t seem possible regardless), I simply went and found a taxi willing to take me there. The taxi to the salt flats stayed with me all day while the other taxi dropped me off at the canyon. I hiked all the way down to the beach far below and then caught public transport back. Although it didn’t seem necessary at first, I hired one of the local guys standing around to serve as a guide and he helped me stay on the right path. The trail ended up being much longer than I originally anticipated so I’m glad that I had him around!

I spent the other four days in Pointe Noire enjoying all of the great restaurants, sitting in cute cafes, and relaxing. It was a great little break to have after rushing around DC for the previous month and a good way to rest up for what lay ahead!

Country #3 –  Angola

Cabinda

I did have one little odd event where I was stopped by “Interpol” and taken into a back room. I was absolutely sure that they weren’t actually Interpol and it was simply going to be an attempt to extort a bribe. However, shockingly, they didn’t ask me for any money and after a few minutes wait, they sent me away with a printed-out document saying that I wasn’t a wanted criminal. Thanks for checking up on that guys. I’m sure I looked super suspicious as a tall, blond backpacker walking across the border.

Anyhow, I then jumped in another shared taxi which would take me all the way to Cabinda. The guy made me pay extra for my bag but there wasn’t much I could do. We drove the next two hours to the town of Cabinda and I was conveniently dropped off right outside of my hotel for the next two nights, the Hotel Jamal Tropical. I got myself checked in and went to get a SIM card with the help of one of the local staff members and then I was free to explore! The hotel is inexpensive and pretty solid in my opinion. Just make sure to ask for a room at the back of the hotel if you are a light sleeper. Apparently, the noise from the street and from the attached bar went on throughout the night.

I spent a few hours walking around the surprisingly neat and orderly city center of Cabinda. I was amazed at the different types of architecture there ranging from Brasilia-esque modern buildings to charming Art Deco houses that looked like they belonged in Miami Beach. I found the town quite pleasant but there definitely isn’t much to do. That afternoon, I met up with one of my fellow Angola tour-ists who had arrived in Cabinda the day before. We proceeded to drink copious amounts of Cuca beer before heading back to the hotel to crash for the night. 

The next morning, I set off once again to explore but found myself out of places to walk around by the mid-afternoon. I ended up going back to the hotel to enjoy the air conditioning and to work on some upcoming travel plans. I was planning on going back to the United States for a few weeks to visit my boyfriend but he ended it instead. So I had a few weeks to fill which meant that there was a LOT of planning and strategising that needed to be done. 

Tour of Angola

After spending two days exploring Cabinda, I boarded a flight to Luanda as my tour of Angola was set to begin that day. The flight left a few hours late but no big deal. I spent the morning going for a run and then taking a dip in the hotel’s teeny tiny swimming pool.  I arrived in Luanda in the late afternoon which was too late to join the first day of my tour but I was lucky enough to be picked up at the airport and dropped off at my hotel right as the sun was beginning to set. 

I spent the next 8 days doing a guided tour of Angola. I normally try to travel on my own but chose to do a tour as the logistics of getting into the Namibe Desert and some of the other scenic places just seemed to be a bit too much to deal with. Plus, I was asked to join a tour that simply needed a 3rd person which meant that I didn’t have to do any of the work myself!  The tour showed us the many different sides of Angola and certainly left me longing to go back and see more!

You can read more about my Angola tour here.

Country # 4 – Sao Tome & Principe

After the tour ended, I spent a few more days in Luanda and attempted to fly to Sao Tome. My initial flight was canceled which I only found out after sitting in the airport for six hours. I had to spend the night at a slightly depressing airport hotel and then took a morning flight to Sao Tome. I had booked a shuttle to my hotel in advance when I thought I would be arriving late at night but I was still quite happy when I saw a man standing there with my name on the sign when I arrived in the early afternoon.  

I got dropped off at my guest house, the Casa de Ferias (a pleasant little place with a really friendly and helpful owner), tossed my bags into my room, charged my phone for a bit, and then headed out on the town. I spent one day exploring Sao Tome and then the next full day driving along the island’s southern route. You can check out the full details of my Sao Tome road trip here.  After three days in Sao Tome, I flew to Principe. I had four full days there which, believe me, is more than enough!  

Country #5 – Gabon

Libreville

From Principe, I got a flight to Libreville via Sao Tome. It was a pretty uneventful trip except for the fact that I was about one of five people on the plane. I have very rarely been on flights that are that empty and I must say, it was amazing!  No rush to get your bags out of the overhead compartment, no mad dash to get through immigration before a horde of people show up. It was all very chilled out and easy.

Luckily, this basically sums up my five days in Libreville. I initially wanted to head out of town to go to Lope National Park which is a roughly 6-8 hour train ride away. Unfortunately, the train schedules worked out that I would either get to Lope at 9 p.m. and then have to be back on the train the following evening at 9 p.m. for the trip back to Libreville. Alternatively, I would have to wait a few more days for the next train which meant taking extra time off work which I really didn’t want to do for the possibility of seeing a handful of elephants. I decided to skip it and explore the area surrounding Libreville instead.

It turned out to be a really good experience. One day, I took a day trip to the River Lodge in Point Denis, a beach-y area about a 20-minute boat ride across the Gabon Estuary from Libreville. It cost around $65 which seemed like a lot of money to go hang out at a beach but I honestly didn’t really know what else to do with my time. In the end, I’m really glad that I went. The whole experience was completely relaxed, the food was great, and the staff were really nice. It was a far cry from other spots in Libreville where the staff looked at me like I was an idiot for not speaking French. 

On another day, I joined up with a fellow backpacker to go hiking in the arboretum about an hour north of Libreville. I was expecting a small park but instead, it was a beautiful jungle with enormous trees. We spent a few hours getting somewhat lost and turned around on the hiking trails but the scenery was so beautiful, it didn’t even matter!  (Plus, the park is actually very small with a beach on one side and a road on the other so your chances of getting too lost are pretty slim). It was a great way to get a taste of Gabon’s breathtaking nature and it made me feel slightly better about missing Lope National Park.

Besides that, I spent a lot of time just hanging out with some expats who live there. There isn’t a huge amount to see in Libreville and the city is fairly spread out. It’s challenging to get a taxi on the street and although there is a ride-share app there, I struggled to get cars to show up within a reasonable timeframe and found the whole experience a little stressful. This kept me from wanting to venture out too far or too late on my own so I just stayed around the city center and the beachfront bars for most of my time there. 

I stayed at the Hotel Imperial, a business hotel located in the city center. I was able to walk to most of things that I wanted to see. The AC worked and the bed was comfortable. The rooms were also very spacious and there was breakfast included. It had basically everything that I needed.

Country #6 – Cameroon

Douala

After a relatively relaxing five days in Gabon, it was time to head to Cameroon. My original plan was to visit Equatorial Guinea in between but I sadly got my visa application rejected. I booked a last-minute flight to Douala and arrived in the early afternoon and checked into the Hotel Astoria, another property that I highly recommend thanks to its comfy rooms and city center location.

At first glance (and second, and third glance), the city doesn’t have much as far as attractions, landmarks, etc. However, most travellers end up having to spend a decent amount of time there while they apply for various visas at the many consulates there.  I attempted to go to the Equatorial Guinea consulate to get a visa and was told that they could help if I paid them $500 in visa fees. Considering that the e-visa is only $75 and the visa in the US is $200, I decided to say no to this outright bribery and finally gave up on Equatorial Guinea for the time being.

I spent about a day and a half wandering around the city, attempting to find any redeeming qualities in it. Sadly, there aren’t many. But the hotels are expensive and good value for money and Cameroonians speak much better English than their Francophone country counterparts which made everything feel much easier. 

Yaounde

From Douala, I took the train to Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon. The train ride was expected to take five hours but ended up taking 6.5 which isn’t actually too bad by African standards!  The ride was really nice as we made our way through thick vegetation and small villages. The seats were a bit cramped for my 6’0 tall body but I luckily the seat next to me was empty so I could at least sit sideways. 

I arrived in Yaounde and met my Couchsurfing host who took me back to her place where I would be staying the next two nights. Her house was very modest and in an area that felt more like a rural village than a neighbourhood that was just a 20-minute drive from the country’s capital (and in a very urban area).  It was an interesting experience to see the many sides of life in Cameroon. My host, Ernestine, took me under her wing and within 20 minutes of arriving at her place, we were back on our way to go out sightseeing. We visited the National Museum and the Reunification Monument and tried some of the best natural yoghurts I have ever had at a small restaurant about halfway between her house and the city center. 

I went to bed early that night, eager to get a decent night’s sleep after having woken up around 4 a.m. every single day for the past 5 days. I managed to get a solid eight hours in and the next morning felt like a whole new person. I set off on my own to wander around the city center with the aim of getting photos of some of the interesting architectural sites. After walking around for about an hour, I was a bit too stressed to deal with all the men there and found a cafe to sit and work in. I spent the rest of the afternoon in the cafe and went back to Ernestine’s house just in time for dark. We headed out to a local bar near her place and had a few drinks and then I was back in bed again nice and early so I could get another good night’s sleep. 

The next day, I walked around town a little bit more and then caught the 5 p.m. train back to Douala. I arrived around 11 p.m. at night and got a motorbike taxi to my hotel where I happily took a shower with running water and collapsed into a comfy bed.

Buea / Limbe

The next morning, I ate breakfast at a nearby cafe and then headed to the Rond Pointe, where I could get shared taxis to Buea or Limbe. I had read about Buea being a mountain town perched on the slope of Mount Cameroon and that Limbe was a touristy beach town. Beyond that, I knew very little about either except that it was in the Anglophone section of Cameroon which I was very, very excited about (and which led to some big problems later on. I’ll get to that in a bit!).  

Since I had been around a lot of beaches between Sao Tome, Principe, and Libreville, I decided to head to Buea first. The shared taxi took about two hours and I was unfortunately stuck in the middle of the back seat next to a chubby, 5’0 tall woman who wanted to take up as much space as humanely possible. At different times during the ride, she either had her arm up on my shoulder (I get shrugging it off and telling her to stop) or was slumped down so low that she looked like she could fall off the edge of the seat. Her antics pushed me into the incredibly bony shoulder of the guy next to me and within about 30 minutes, I felt like I had razor blades digging into my shoulder bone. This, in turn, led to a big argument where they ganged up on me about taking up too much space. I responded in English that you normally don’t put the tallest person in the middle. When we finally got out of the car, I was validated by being the tallest person by far. I think they finally realized why I needed more space.  Needless to say, it was a very uncomfortable ride and I was very happy when it was over.

From the final point in the shared taxi, I took another taxi up to my guest house, the Apex Guest Facility. I had rented a one-bedroom apartment for one night which was a bit humid and stuffy on the inside but I was grateful to have space to spread out. Unfortunately, it also didn’t have a working water supply and I ended up having to take bucket showers. Oh well…..I figured I could suck it up for one night. I was also informed that since the next day was Monday, I wouldn’t be able to travel to Limbe as planned and would have to stay another night. Turns out that there is something called Ghost Town Mondays in Anglophone Cameroon where separatist militia groups have a tendency to stop people’s cars, set them on fire, and/on shoot the occupants. It doesn’t happen very often but it’s often enough that many people are too scared to travel anywhere on Mondays. And I became one of them. 

I set out to walk around Buea which was much different than I expected. At one point, it was the capital of German Cameroon so I expected to see some charming colonial buildings. Instead, I saw suburban sprawl that looked much like Douala or Yaounde. Only this time, it was on the slope of a mountain…..which I couldn’t see because it was completely clouded over. I still tried to make the best of the afternoon and decided to just enjoy being there as much as possible since I didn’t really have an option and was going to be there for another 40 hours. 

I spent the next day walking around town again. I attempted to go up to Mount Cameroon National Park but it was cloudy even at the entrance so I decided that it probably wasn’t worth venturing much further. So instead, I went back to the guest house early to get a head start on work and prepare for a call that I had at 5 p.m.  I decided to poke my head out around 4 p.m. and lo and behold, Mount Cameroon was finally visible. I rushed outside to take some photos and then got ready for my call.  Immediately afterwards, I rushed back outside to walk around a bit before it got dark and watched as the clouds silently drifted in and obscured the mountain once again.

The next morning, I got up early to start the journey to Limbe. I was told that it would take around 40 minutes. In the end, it took close to two hours by shared taxi. I eventually made it there around 11 a.m. and rushed to see the Limbe Botanical Gardens and the Limbe Animal Sanctuary. I then grabbed some lunch at a Lebanese restaurant called Big Bite, took a very quick walk around the beachfront neighborhood, and then rushed back to Douala in time for work that afternoon.

Country # 7 – Central African Republic

Bangui

From Douala, I caught a Kenya Airways flight to Bangui where I was doing a tour of the Central African Republic with a guide named Norbert and a fellow traveler named Partha. I had never met Partha before but he posted in a Facebook group looking for someone to join him and I decided to go for it. Our flight to Bangui was delayed for a couple of hours which gave us the chance to get to know each other a little bit before starting the trip. 

We arrived in Bangui and Norbert was there at immigration with a sign with our names on it and a big smile on his face. He helped us get through immigration relatively quickly (he had also arranged our visas in advance which was a huge help!). He took us to the Hotel Oubangui around 3:30 p.m. After explaining the itinerary and payment of the tour, he ordered some local beers for us and headed out. Partha and I spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the gorgeous riverside bar at the hotel and watched small wooden boats dart back and forth across the river between the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

Baoli Falls

The next morning, Norbert picked us up at 9 a.m. to start our day trip to Baoli Falls. Before we left town, we stopped by one of the high-end hotels to buy a SIM card at the shop inside. As we were waiting for our car to pick us up afterwards, a convoy of UN trucks full of peace-keeping soldiers and an armoured SUV pulled up. A tall man got out and Norbert informed me that he was the Prime Minister of the country. The three of us just stood there awkwardly as the PM was ushered inside surrounded by armed guards. 

After that, we jumped into our own car and started the two-hour drive to the falls. We wound our way through a very busy market and then were suddenly surrounded by thick grass and lush forests. The transition from the city to the countryside was so abrupt that it felt like it was fake. The drive to the falls was uneventful as we drove by small villages full of tiny houses. There were no checkpoints or roadblocks and everything felt surprisingly relaxed.

We finally made it to the falls and met another guide who would take us through the park. We stopped by a few different viewing points to get different views of the falls and then the fun part began. I had read online that the steps down to the base of the falls were broken and that you couldn’t go all the way down. Our park guide obviously didn’t know that and we precariously made our over slippery rocks, broken steps, and muddy paths to reach the base of the falls. I was terrified I was going to fall the entire time but eventually made it without incident…..and boy was it worth it! Stretching 250 meters wide and 50 meters tall, the falls were very impressive. 

We hiked back up to the entry of the park and visited a few more areas before finally settling down for a much-needed cool-off beer. By that point, I was soaking wet with sweat and waterfall spray so was very happy for a break.  Afterwards, we jumped back in the car to drive back to Bangui. We did a very quick city tour when we got back and saw a handful of sights before Norbert dropped us back off at the hotel and we spent the rest of the evening much like the day before. 

Pygmy Village, Mbaiki, and M’beiko Forest

The next day, we did a very brief trip to the infamous Wagner State that Russians apparently erected in honour of themselves.  We also stopped by the National Museum which is basically just a few rooms full of dusty and historical artifacts. I had seen very similar things in Cameroon so I didn’t really feel like I had learned anything new. However, a mural depicting the Central African Republic’s first president and Charles de Gaulle really caught my eye. The mural looked very out of scale with de Gaulle looking like Lurch from the Addams Family and the president of CAR resembling Uncle Fester. We later saw the photo that the mural was based on and I was tickled to see that de Gaulle was actually that tall!

After the museum, we started driving towards the village of Mbaiki, located about two hours southwest of Bangui.  On the way to Mbaiki, we stopped at a pygmy village where we watched the locals dance. From there, we drove to a small town called Pissa where there was a bustling market, complete with roadside bars where we imbibed in what felt like my millionth beer since arriving in Central Africa nearly two months before. 

From Pissa, we finished the drive to Mbaiki, arriving at around 2:30 p.m. Our guide dropped us off at our guest house which was located on the grounds of a beautiful brick church. He told us he would come back in an hour to start a tour of the town. Within the next 60 minutes, the skies darkened and you could hear thunder in the distance. Unsurprisingly,  our guide came back to say that it wasn’t a good day for a tour and that we would have to do it in the morning.  We asked what else we could do and he suggested going into town for a beer. So that’s exactly what we did. He took us to a cute little neighborhood bar covered in murals of the Mbaiki countryside and then took us back to the guest house a few hours later. 

That night, we were serenaded by the sounds of party music until 4 a.m. and then awakened at 5:30 to the sounds of church bells and then again at 6 to the screeching of the church PA system. Oh, and let’s not forget the sounds of goats having a meltdown right outside our windows. Needless to say, it wasn’t the best night’s sleep in my life.  

The next morning, we packed up the car and drove to the M’beiko Forest where we did a short walk to a gorgeous waterfall. We were flanked by about 10 local men who expertly cleared the path and helped me manoeuvre the slippery rocks to get to the viewing point of the falls.  It was a pleasant surprise and I really enjoyed being in nature, even if it was only for an hour.  

We were soon back in the car and making our way to Bangui. We arrived back into the city around 2 p m.  We were promised a pirogue tour that afternoon and I excitedly went down to the river after checking into the hotel. Turns out, the “tour” just took us to a nearby island that I could have swum to where we sat for about 10 minutes and then came back. The total excursion took 36 minutes and our guide was trying to charge us $50 for it. I argued with him and we were able to get about half the money back. It was still really expensive and very disappointing but oh well……

The rest of the evening was spent just like the others. We drank beer while we waited for sunset before eating dinner and passing out early.

On my last morning in the Central African Republic, I woke up bright and early at 6 a.m. (I actually woke up at 4:30 a.m. but was luckily able to go back to sleep for another hour and a half). I decided to go for a little walk through the Bangui city center since we hadn’t had a chance to do that yet.  There wasn’t much else to see but it was nice to be walking around on my own after spending the past four days being attached at the hip with other people. I even stopped to have a coffee at the Bangui Mall.