Pico Basile of My Day

What was the first thing that came to my mind when my RD told us that we’d have to climb the 2nd highest peak in West Africa and the highest mountain here in Equatorial Guinea? OH MAN THIS IS GOING TO BE SUPER INTERESTING. Like I mentioned before in one of my posts, Guam has its fair share of difficult hikes so I’m not a complete beginner but when you hear that sort of ranking, it’s going to get a real good reaction out of ya, real fast. Anyways, we all accepted our fate that maybe it wasn’t going to be a chill Saturday and got packed for extreme weather since according to David, our program director, there was a chance that we’d either turn into popsicles or become a pool of nonexistence depending on dear Mother Nature. The night before and morning of the hike, all hell broke loose as a storm was passing through. It literally seemed like the tin roof of our house was going to be ripped off or the lightning was going to set the little garden on fire. Either prospects were terrifying and kept almost all of us up as we hoped the rain would start to subside. Come 8AM and the rain was still going strong and we didn’t think we were going to be able to go but we gave it another hour cause when else are you going to be able to say that you conquered the tallest peak in a country again? Low and behold, at 9AM the skies had cleared and you could almost hear angels in the distance…or maybe they were just the squawks of the birds in the distance LOL.

We set off and made it to the base of the mountain in good time. We waited for the gates to be opened as they checked out our permit. As we waited, another truck passed by with a man and his gun in the truckbed. He eyed the Bioko Biodiversity Protection Program van we were in and yelled something to the driver, who subsequently sped up. Once they were out of sight, David turned to us to tell us that from the looks of it, the man was going to be hunting for bushmeat and didn’t want to be stopped. It made me sick just thinking about the porcupines, monkeys, pangolins, and giant pouched rats that would meet their fates that day. Even though it is illegal by law to trade bushmeat, it really isn’t enforced by the government here and so when you go to markets or see the little vendors on the streets surrounding these environments, you can see bushmeat being sold. More on bushmeat later in another post though! Anyways, we got our permit approved and drove a little ways to the beginning of the trail and began our trek into the fog-shrouded forests of the mountain. The altitude and the fact that I was super congested from still being sick made the hike all the more difficult. It was still beautiful though. Moss-covered trees lined the path with vines hanging down their impressive trunks and canopies. You could hear the birds singing around us but their speed and the fog curtain made it difficult to actually see and identify them. The stinging ferns on the trail sped up the hike by a mile, each prick motivating you to keep walking quickly. There was a constant light drizzle of rain but little wind making the forest seem almost ethereal( not going to lie, I half expected beautiful elves to come down with their bows and arrows with Legolas leading the troops LMAO). We took occasional breaks because the hike was turning out to be fairly challenging but nothing we all couldn’t handle with a little push. Throughout the hike, we saw several traps strategically placed to capture certain animals. If triggered, the animal would be caught in the trap’s loop and either die from starvation or be predated on by another animal. Off the top of my head, I would say we saw a good 15 traps total during the hike and each one of those, we made sure to take down. Making it to the top was really rewarding but because of the heavy fog and strong winds, we turned around almost immediately. We made our way down really fast and as we neared our starting point, we ran into a couple hunters. David and our RD had a conversation with them telling them that what they were doing was illegal and should try to seek out alternatives. When we asked why they didn’t seek out alternatives to hunting such animals, they asked us if they should then risk their life by stealing and end up in a place as terrifying as Black Birch Prison. It just makes me wonder why that might only seem like the only other option, but again, there are circumstances that I, as an outsider, could never really understand. There are cultural aspects to take into consideration that I don’t truly understand as of now and until I do, I need to save judgement. That’s why every time I hear of the bushmeat market, although my first thoughts are why, I then understand I have to take a step back and try to see it from a different and more open perspective.

Once we finished the hike, we drove up the top where a giant statue of Saint Bisila (equivalent to Virgin Mary in the Catholic religion) was mounted in front of the church. It was magnificent and to be able to see all the offerings of flowers and food was also amazing. The only downside to that experience was the insanely strong and cold winds that were blowing. After waddling in the cold for a good 10 minutes trying to capture pictures of the monuments together with the group, I gave up and ran back to the van in search of warmth. We concluded our day with our lunches in the safe spaces of the van and drove back to the house after the exhausting day.