I tend to take loads of pictures of us all lounging at the beach each weekend, but until yesterday I had never attempted taking shots of the daily African life we see in Port-Gentil. Many friends and family have asked me what things LOOK like here, so I loaded the kids and Ines up in the car yesterday and drove into her neighborhood where she took shots of her neighbors and the local market from the passenger seat while I drove on pretending I didn't know what she was up to. Needless to say, we got yelled at by plenty of people who thought we were trying to take pictures specifically of them. (Click on picture of woman selling bananas to get a feel for this.)
We stopped the car numerous times to show them that no, we were actually taking a picture of the FOOD in the market, or the BUILDING that people just happened to be walking in front of. It wasn't an easy sell, but having Ines with me helped (two small kids in the back seat didn't hurt either).
One exception was a man who came up to us and asked us to take a picture of his boat in the canal (first canal picture, closest boat) and was then so excited by the image on my digital camera that he asked me to please be sure to print out a copy for him. I told him I would do so as soon as I got to my father's, where I'll be heading next week for a vacation. Th
e guy can't wait for my return.Keep in mind this is a part of town you have to actually go into to see, as the main street of Port-Gentil and the areas the expats (and middle and upper class Africans) spend most of their time in don't look nearly as "traditional" as this. You might also want to know that when Olivier reads this blog tom
orrow it will be the first time for him to see this part of Port-Gentil too!! The kids and I go to this area--called "Le Grand Village"-- almost daily, to drop Ines and her children off at their house or to buy local products or veggies at the market. It's entirely safe, with the only offence ever carried out against me or the kids being a SERIOUS price hike as soon as we step out of our car.
