Equatorial Guinea is a country I haven’t traveled to (yet). After visiting Cabo Verde in 2018 and learning Portuguese for that trip, I started looking for other Lusophone countries in Africa. Although Spanish is the language of government, loads of people speak a Portuguese-based creole; these two colonial powers were shuffling ownership from one to the other, expecting the local population to start speaking a different European language. I found this intriguing and started reading more about this country and hope to visit one day. When I figured out that the main island called Bioko used to be called Fernando Pó, I remembered that island being mentioned in the book A Sense of the World as the place where colonizers went to die of malaria.
I hope that in the future, you can find posts about Equatorial Guinea on this page. For now, perhaps read about other countries, such as Cabo Verde, Portugal, or Spain?
Things I’d Like to Do in Equatorial Guinea
- Hitchhike with the locals!
- Explore the capital Malabo on Bioko Island. Since I’m very interested in planned cities, I’m also curious to visit Ciudad de la Paz, the new planned capital city on the mainland
- If possible, (hitch)hike up Pico Basilé (3011masl). There are broadcast towers at the summit, so there should be a maintenance road
- Visit Annobón Island to the south of the equator. That’s where many people speak Annobonese Creole (Portuguese-based). I’d also like to ascend Quioveo (598masl). Preferably I’d arrive and depart by boat, but I’m not sure if there are ferries
- Visit the mainland of this country called Río Muni. The big port city Bata seems like a great place to arrive or depart by boat. The Torre de la Libertad there seems like a marvel of brutalist architecture
- Listen to or perhaps even learn some of the many indigenous or creole languages, such as Pichinglish, Equatoguinean Spanish, or one of the Bantu languages such as Fang
- Perhaps visit one of the smaller islands such as Corisco or Elobey Grande. Maybe even by kayak? I read there are ruins on the island from former habitation. A day trip would be cool
Right now, it’s not really interesting for me to do intensive research into visiting this country and gathering information. But once there are ideas of visiting or if I find inspiration, I might add it here.
If you know cool places and things to do in Equatorial Guinea, comment below so I can always find your suggestions again once I start making the dream come true! Tips are especially welcome if you are Equatoguinean or have lived there for a while
Are you a travel blogger and do you have good posts about Equatorial Guinea? Drop them in a comment below and I’ll read them!