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We had a light breakfast with a Frenchman, Eric, who
was living in the village. He was the only white man living in the area, so he told us that some of the local girls were so curious about what white men are like that they gave him a test drive, which he was quite
pleased about. It seems that in this part of the world the women are very free with sex. … No, I did not!
By 8 am the rain had stopped and we were soon on our
way. After about an hour's flying we landed at the little town of Omboué to refuel. No one bothered us and we were soon on our way again. The weather looked better, although there was a lot of cloud everywhere and a
few small pockets of rain.
Again we spotted elephants and lots of buffalo.
We landed near to the town of Mayumba on a runway in
a clearing in the forest to transfer fuel to the main tanks for the last leg to Pointe-Noire, Congo.
About 30 km before Pointe-Noire we were joined in the
air by two microlights – a Chickinox and a Weedhopper. Interesting names, but well-known microlights that have been around for a long time. They guided us to Pointe-Noire airport and after landing even took our
passports to immigration to get stamped, while we taxied to the reception at the Pointe-Noire Aeroclub. It was interesting to see the amount of air traffic at Pointe-Noire and also the amount of people, animals and
vehicles that freely cross the runway sometimes just in front an aircraft taking off or landing.
Again I was pleasantly surprised to see such a
well-supported and active club. After meeting some of the members and having a drink, we put the trikes under cover and headed off to Christophe and Emmanuelle's home for a quick shower.
Later, back at the club we enjoyed a special dinner
in our honour with about 45 club members. It was a great evening with good food, good wine and great company.
Olivier mentioned to me before going to sleep that he
was now sure that he had malaria.
In the middle of the night he woke up with the
shivers. He got up and ran a hot bath, but then suffered from very high temperature. The fever was upon him!
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