Oh! How lush and lovely the land of Gabon is! It has been a minute since I posted up a “Gotta Get There” post, and I thought that Gabon would be the perfect inspiration! What caught my eye about Gabon was the music! Oh, it's filled with emotion, beauty, and talent, as most African music is! Another thing that grabbed my interest was the fact that Gabon is one of the most prosperous regions of the Sub-Sahara. I think that it is important to know that while there are many regions that are very poor, that there are also regions where they have much more.

Click here for one of the best sites that I have found that really captures the beauty and culture of Gabon. I must have spent hours on here checking out the art and culture. I spent most of my time in the “Travel Diary, which is literally filled with information from restaurants, lodging, sculptural definitions, nature, and fashion. I was intrigued by the Fashion Designs of Gabon fashion designer Chouchou Lazare. His pieces are lovely! Once you get to the site, just roll over “Art & Culture” and select: “Travel Diary” and then click the fashion tab and flip through until you see the video of his pieces on the runway! Trust me, you will have quite a ball flipping through all the pages.

A Little Bit of Facts:

Located on the Equator, Gabon (pronounced /gəˈbɒn/) is a country in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo and the Gulf of Guinea

Almost all Gabonese are of Bantu origin. The earliest inhabitants of the area were Pygmy peoples. They were largely replaced and absorbed by Bantu tribes as they migrated.

President Omar Bongo Ondimba put Gabon firmly on the map as an important future ecotourism destination by nominating more than 11% of the nation's territory as National Park (13 in total), which may be the largest area of nature parks in the world.

One of the most celebrated songstress of Gabon would be Annie Flore Batchiellilys. Her music is beautiful, and her voice is filled with so much grace and smoothness. While my French is pretty much lacking in all ways, I can still seem to find beauty in the emotions of her lyrics. Especially with her song: “je t'invite”, which I believe translates to “I Invite You”, a song in which I believe is her tribute to Gabon, and what a beautiful tribute it is. For those who are fluent in French, please do share a loose translation of this song!

Here is a very simple and easy recipe for Baked Bananas Gabon style! You might also want to check out these recipes for Gabon Cucumber Salad, Nyembwe Sauce, Poulet Nyembwe, and Gabon Mustard Chicken! Many of the recipes of Gabon call for Palm Oil, which you can probably find at a local African grocer or you can order it online here.

Baked Bananas: Gabon

Ingredients:

8 bananas cut into three equal diagonal pieces

1 egg, lightly beaten in: 2 tbsp orange juice

100g breadcrumbs

120ml vegetable oil

24 tbsp sour cream

8 tbsp brown sugar

Directions:

Beat the egg with the orange juice and dip the bananas in this before rolling in the bread crubms. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the bananas in this until they begin to brown lightly.

Transfer to a baking sheet and place in an oven pre-heated to 170°C for 5 minutes.

Serve 1 banana per person, topped with 3 tbsp sour cream and sprinkled with brown sugar.

So, all in all, I have found myself falling in love with the land, the art, the fashion, and the music of all things Gabon, and I hope after reading this post, that you all are inspired all the same. If any of you have ever traveled to Gabon, please do share your experiences with us by leaving a comment!