"The continental side of Equatorial Guinea" Bata by harrymitsidis

Well, getting to Bata from Malabo is quite simple, you just take a 30-minute flight (if you are willing to risk your life, hehe) and there you are, on the African mainland. The surprising thing at the airport on arrival is that you have to go through passport control once again, and then get a little ID card for about $5. This can be your personal souvenir from Equatorial Guinea once you leave...Just take a taxi to the centre of town, and enjoy what will be a great surprise! Instead of shacks and destitution, Bata is on the way to being rebuilt and becoming one of the nicest places in Africa! Since there was hardly nothing there before, now that the country is richer, it can start from scratch...

The Cathedral in Bata

Well, to be honest, there is not all that much to do in town, especially if the sun is beating down on you so you will be bloody hot. Bring your swimsuit (which I completely forgot to do) so you can spend a couple of hours by the beach. Otherwise, one of the nicest places is the cathedral, which is impressive both outside and inside with nice paintings. I bumped into a Spanish group while there, which must be an extremely unusual occurence. It was Good Friday so the entire town was deserted, as was the waterfront which is one of the nicer places to go for a walk. You can potter about and see some of the new constructions, but otherwise I really don't know how you can fill more than an hour in this pleasant place with not much to do. Maybe just go bar-hopping, there are quite a few places for a drink, which you will need!

Smiling away to a Serb clicking the camera

Believe it or not, I bumped into Serbs in the middle of Bata. This can only be called destiny! Just as I arrived in the central square, I see some caucasians drinking beer, and upon approaching them I heard they were speaking the language of where I live. Serbian! Oh my God, I exclaimed in disbelief. They were already half-drunk, being Good Friday it was their free day. They were engineers, building roads and bridges in a country whose infrustructure is almost non-existent, yet with all the oil dollars, the place can soon get up to scratch. So we chatted away, I told them what was new in Serbia and then they took this picture of me under the canopy where they were drinking. But of course they offered me a drink too, and since I don't drink beer, one of the half-drunk guys went to the store to bring me a Coke. Unbelievable, all in Bata...

• Pros:lovely promenade, small and compact, feeling of true Africa
• Cons:not really the centre of activity
• In a nutshell:A real breath of fresh air when you most need it