Equatorial Guinea

Nearing the end of a long trip through Africa, I flew from Cameroon to Equatorial Guinea’s island capital of Malabo, where I met up with Leon, a German traveler two years younger than me. Leon had already visited well over 100 countries, and after years of being friends on Instagram, we were excited to finally meet in person. We were also joined by Eric, a Canadian traveler I’d met while going through immigration at the airport, who happened to be on the same mission of visiting every country in the world. Together, the three of us set out to explore one of Africa’s most mysterious nations.

Equatorial Guinea was well known for corruption. Public money had reportedly been siphoned away through unnecessary infrastructure projects, with contracts inflated and funds diverted. As we ventured around the island, the results were impossible to ignore. Immaculate, yet almost entirely empty, highways crisscrossed the landscape. We even came across an abandoned water park and hotel reportedly linked to the president’s family. Just beyond them were villages where many people still lived in poverty in simple tin-roofed homes. With the help of a local guide, who openly bribed officials at several checkpoints to secure the permits we needed, we were able to reach some of the island’s more remote areas, including Pico Basile, the country’s highest peak, and Ureka, a tiny coastal village surrounded by lush rainforest and black-sand beaches that can only be reached by a rough mountain road.

Back in the capital, Malabo, we wandered through the city’s main market, where nearly every type of bushmeat imaginable was for sale, including rats, crocodiles, and monkeys. Later that day, we came across an abandoned presidential palace. Curiosity got the better of us, and we decided to sneak inside to explore. When we suddenly spotted police cars nearby, we quickly ducked out of sight and waited until the area was clear before sprinting across an open field to make our escape. A fitting finale to a very odd trip.