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The expedition had originally been planned for April, but since an opportunity arose for ZS8W, it had to be postponed. The license was issued for one month only, so a new one had to be arranged.
On August 29, we flew to Malabo.
There was no clarity about transport to Annobón Island. We had planned to wait for the ferry, but its schedule was not available. However, it turned out that air service had been restored once a week, so we bought tickets for September 6th outbound and September 29th return. We spent a week at Hotel Kolytero.
On the morning of September 6th, we went to the airport and paid an extra fee for 4 pieces of luggage.
The plane departed on time, and by 1 PM we were already in Annobón.
According to the license conditions , our equipment and antennas had to be inspected by an ORTEL representative before transmission, and a fee for this was included.
We had planned to set up the antennas and equipment, and then the representative would fly in the following Friday, inspect everything within two hours, and return to Malabo the same day. There were no facilities for him to stay overnight, and there are no hotels on the island.
At the airport, we were met by Ernesto, who took us to the house where we planned to set up the station. It was the same house used in our previous expeditions in 2017 and 2018. In the meantime, a beautiful hotel had been built on the island, but it has not been opened for operation and cannot accommodate guests.
Afterwards, we went to the police station to register. We presented our licenses, visas, and all documents. Then the police commissioner Silvestre, ordered us to bring all our luggage and display everything openly in detail. After lengthy discussions, he said that we did not have an entry permit from the Ministry of Security, and all our luggage had to remain at the police station. They had to verify whether we were even allowed to be on the island.
The next day was Sunday, so naturally, nothing happened, and we could only wait. The following days were the same—no answers. By Tuesday, we realized that nothing would be resolved, so we rescheduled our return flight to Malabo for Friday, September 12th.
On Wednesday morning, the commissioner informed us that there was a flight to Malabo that day, and we would be sent back.
The plane departed in the afternoon and arrived in Malabo in the evening. Our escorting policeman told us that a hotel had been arranged for us, and we would be taken there. However, we were escorted out of the airport grounds and handed over to another police unit, which brought us to the main gendarmerie station in Malabo.
We spent the night in this “hotel.” The next afternoon, the ORTEL representative arrived with documents—our licenses and the equipment list. In the presence of the police, the equipment was checked and found to be in order.
Afterwards, in the main commissioner’s office, our violation was reviewed. Only one issue was mentioned: we had arrived in Annobón without the ORTEL representative, who was supposed to check our equipment. Our explanations were not taken into account. Any attempt to clarify or prove otherwise was pointless.
At 6 PM that evening, we were told that we could fly out that day with Lufthansa, but we had tickets with Air France, which departed the next day. We were allowed to spend the night at Hotel Kolytero.
This was my fourth trip to Equatorial Guinea. There will not be a fifth.
Thank God, we have returned home safe and sound.
By Yuris/YL2GM