Day trip to Brussels

I am after some advice from any well travelled readers of my blog. One week from now we will have a lot of time to kill in Brussels. Our flight home causes us to land there about 8am and leave about 5pm. We tried to change the flight but will loose our 46 kg luggage allowance down to 20 kg and I am telling you we can not do that! So the result is a forced day in Brussels. First we were none to chuffed about it. We have an overnight flight from Douala so will be tired, we will have heavy hand luggage to carry about but then we thought of beer and chocolate and decided not to fret. So dear readers any advice on what we can do with a day in Brussels to help us absorb and adapt to European life?

Bank Holiday weekend

Labour day is 1st May in Cameroon, this year it fell on a Tuesday. That means that Monday and Tuesday are both public holidays, as there is no point it going to work for just one day. So we thought we would make the most of the day and do one touristic visit. so we went to the crater lake in Kumba. Kumba is not far from Buea but because of the terrible pot-holed road it takes about 2 hours. When we got to the bus station the bus had one last seat meaning we were the first two on the next bus. We then had to wait over 2 hours for the bus to fill. During this time we kept thinking 'if we had just got up 1/2 hour earlier', 'if we had not got to the bakery to get lunch, we would have been on the last bus'. This of course does not make the bus fill any quicker but passes the time. We took the front seats of the bus as we were first which means that we get a whole seat each instead of cramming extra in and we get a great view of the scenery.

Once we got to the lake we got a taxi to the lake, the gate was shut and the gate keeper did not have a key so we had to walk the rest of the way. We were told it was not far but did not believe them as Cameroonians always tell you what they think you want to hear and never tell the truth. But it was not far and within about 10 minutes we arrived at the stunning Mbo Barombi lake. It is a crater lake, one of Cameroon largest. Measuring 2.5km across and gets up to 100m deep. We went for a stroll around, then a swim and then a local fisherman gave us a ride in his dug out canoe. We had a great time, not long enough really but we made the most of it.

Burning Fish 2007

Over the weekend we went to a small beach party in Limbe. It was with a few of our fellow volunteers from Buea and around, to help the American contingent celebrate their spring break. We had a great time, there was burning (both skin and fire (not our skin though)), there was swimming, there was beer and palm wine, there was fish and there was sun - what more do you need? T-shirts - we even had them.

We stayed over two nights camping in tents, lit a fire each night and the workers of the park rosted fish for us. As volunteers in Africa we had to be very resourceful as there were not enough cups, so as you can see from the photo me an Hannah (from England, met her last week) are enjoying our palm wine out of two half's of a water bottle. Palm wine comes from the palm tree, here in Buea we drink the bottom wine, this means the tree is felled and the wine runs from the bottom of the tree, in other areas they drink the up wine, meaning the wine is tapped from the top of the tree meaning you do not need to chop it down unlike the wasteful South Westerners. Palm wine has quite a low alcoholic content so is great for sipping by the sea on a sunny afternoon, it is also pretty cheap we bought 5 litres for 500 francs (50p). If you are so inclined (which I was not) you can top up your palm wine with some fofo to give it an extra kick. Fofo is the local fire water - high in alcohol low in taste. Bill can tell you more about palm wine, or mutango as it is in pidgin.


Sleeping the in the tents was pretty hot and humid but a nice bath in the warm Atlantic soon freshened us up before we went in search of breakfast. However the second night there was a tropical storm, the rain was heavy the lighting was bright and the tents turned out to not be water proof. End result of being very wet, the orange colour of my sleeping bag staining a whole bunch of my cloths and not much sleep. I chose not to be in the crazy group outside watching the storm and shook like a hamster in my sleeping bag.

In the morning most went straight home as too wet and tired to contemplate another day on the beach but Joe and I decided to stay, the weather had improved slightly and the sea was so inviting so we spend the day relaxing on the beach.

Elephant graveyard

The only Elephant we got sight of in Waza park was the skeleton of one. I thought this was really quite cool and we got some great pictures. Each bit I could identify was of course huge, I kept saying to Joe - look there is a vertebrae - its huge, look at the jaw - it's huge, the skull is huge. Then we took a close look at the skull with the guide, no tusks. This elephant was killed by hunters. But this a protected national park I thought, yes it is but the local people and some who come from Chad kill the guards so they can have free roam of the park. killing the elephants for tusks, the antelope and monkeys for bush meat. It is very sad, the park are doing what they can to stop it but with the risk of losing men they have to choose what is more important to protect. The local people are clever, they do not use guns as that would bring attention to themselves, they use poison. They go about putting poison in the grass where they observe animals feeding, then during the night come and collect up the dead animals taking what they want.

More than just begging

As I said before the North appears to have a lot more poverty than the South of Cameroon. At many point along our journey there and back there were many children running along side the train or bus. These children were poor, very poor, their clothes were thread bare with holes everywhere. These children were as you would expect begging, on the roadside or by the train. They would see the train coming in to the station or along the track near their home and run as fast as they could to keep up with the train as long as possible. However these children were not begging for money, they were begging for our old plastic bottles. 'Bouteille bouteille bouteille bouteille' you hear them shout from the window. These children want the means to make their own money. They will collect bottles, fill them with water from the public tap and sell the water - it costs them nothing and they get 100 francs for each bottle they sell. I think it is great these children are trying to help themselves in what small way they can.

It's grim up North

The North of Cameroon is very, very different to the South West. They refer to Cameroon as Africa all in one country and now we have seen it all, we have been in or through each of the 10 provinces, which is more than most Cameroonians have. The North is like the 'Africa' that you may think of, it is dry, desolate, empty expanse of flat land. The people are very different, the speak french, are Muslim meaning the dress is quite different people here also warned us they behave very differently but as we do not understand french we did not notice this.

It is really hot in the North, it was touching 40C, you could not escape the heat. It was hot in the shade, while you were on a bus or in a car if you opened the window you had hot air blowing in your face. On the bus up the window in front of me was open most the journey, it felt like sitting under a hairdryer, I was amazed that closing the window was a relief. Didimus found the conditions really harsh he kept saying things like 'you could not pay me 500 000 francs a month to live here' or 'if I was in the army and got stationed up here I would hand in my gun in and quit'.

The people have to work hard up in the North, here in the South West there is not much hunger food grows easily. The road sides are littered with coco yam plants as if they are weeds. Even if you do not own a farm you can pick food from un-farmed places. It the North they struggle to grow anything the land is so dry and hard. Everything growing was dead there were just a few trees with some green leaves. The rainy season is much shorter than here. Many goods are more expensive also as they have to transport them on the train or import from Nigeria or Chad. There is poverty all over Cameroon but in many ways I felt it was worse here. As we passed villages no-one was doing anything - it is just too hot to move they all shelter under what shade they can find. Life is very tough in the North.

Before we went everyone told us how terrible it was up north, made me chuckle as all the southerners of England say 'its grim up north'. Does every country have this north south divide?

Cameroon 3 - 1 Liberia

We arrived back in Yaounde on the train at 2pm, we were very late as the train the previous night had hit a cow, even though we amazingly left on time we spent about 2 1/2 hours stopped some random place in the middle of the night as they were still clearing the line. At 3pm we were in the national stadium racing to some seats before kick off of the African Cup of National Qualifier Cameroon vs Liberia. We had popped in to Didimus' cousin to drop our bags then had to walk most the way to the stadium as the police had closed the roads. Buying tickets was pretty easy, the 500 franc tickets had sold out so we had to buy 1500 franc tickets (I have not figured out what the difference is other than the price, you sit in the same seats). I was shocked at the prices - 1500 francs to watch the national team play a competitive match, that is £1.50. I know it would be much cheaper that home but £1.50 I was dumbfounded - I figured it would be about £5. Remember that a cheaper 50p seats had sold out already, 50p to watch a national team play football - that's crazy talk.

Anyway so we entered the stadium and found some seats - I say seats we actually sat on concrete steps. All around the stadium were concrete tiers with no seats. The two sides were completely full so we were sat just near one of the ends, there was a wire fence next to us meaning our view of the far end goal was not too good.

Anyway on with the match Cameroon scored first goal scored after 12 minutes by Webo, he then scored again in the 24th minute. Liberia then got a sneaky goal back just 7 minutes before half time. Half time entertainment was a young chap doing some rather nifty tricks with a football and the Orange girls (as in mobile phone company) running around the pitch with pom poms.

The second half was better for us as we not had the Cameroon goal close to our sights and were hopeful they would score another goal we so get a good view. We had a great view of Eto'o (Cameroon's most popular footballer plays for Barcelona) who was positioned just in front of us, however his performance was not his best. The second half was a little slower than the first, Things hotted up when Cameroon were playing 10 men after a Liberian was sent off for a second yellow. Idrissou took advantage of this a scored Cameroons third goal, the crowd went wild, well around us they did as we had a good view.

so this leave Cameroon the top of their group having won three out of three games - Go Lions.

Waza National Park

So the reward for our three day journey was to spend a day in a car - yippee. We organised for a 4X4 to collect us at 6am as it would take us a couple of hours to get to the park and give us a good chance of seeing the animals. We had hoped to stay nearer the park but just did not have the time to get there the night before. In the morning a mini bus appeared, the 4X4 was being serviced but we could still reach most places in the park in the mini bus so off we went.

Arrived in the park and collected our guide, some other random man also got aboard who turned out to be a good Giraffe spotter. His van had broken down and we were giving him a lift back. So soon after we entered we saw a few monkeys and loads of birds - could not tell you what sort in my opinion birds are boring, however I did not find the Vultures, Eagles and Ostriches boring, they were cool.

We also saw many Antelope and Gazelle type things. We would see the odd one by itself and large groups also. At time we had to keep tooting the horn to get them to move off the road as we passed. We did not see any Lions but were told they would be sleeping in the grasses near the Gazelles ready to pounce on them later. We did see some Lion foot prints but that is not quite a cool as seeing a Lion, if we had been able to stay the night and get to the park early we may have seen some but I do not mind not running the risk of being eaten.

We travelled through the park to the Elephants watering hole, although once we arrived the Elephants had gone. If we had the 4X4 we may have been able to follow their track and see them but the bus was unable to pass.

The star's of the day were the Giraffes. I love Giraffes I think they are such cool animals with there hugely long necks. First of all we spotted the odd one or two really tall Giraffes, there were hard to spot in amongst the trees, I know that is kind of the point but our guide and extra passenger had a good eye. A little later we saw a little family of Giraffes this was so cool, Mum, Dad and Junior (less than a year old according to the guide) shading themselves under a tree. They were pretty close to the road and we got out and took a few steps forward but were worried they would run. They were quite happy just standing there looking at us looking at them.

As we travelled out the park we also saw a big group of Giraffes who had been drinking at the watering hole, I think we counted seven in total. At this point we also saw a whole group of monkeys. So we had a great day an I think it was well worth the three days travel.

Journey to the North

As you may have noticed there has been a lack of blogging this is beacuse last week we took a mammoth trip to the Extreme North province. We travelled approximately 1120 km (695 miles). The point of this trip was to visit Waza national park but as with most things in this country the trip there was an experience in itself. Our plan was a six day trip, two days to get there two days in the park and two days back, it ended as a eight day trip with only one day in the park! Travelling in this country is such an experiance in iteself it deserves its own (rather too long, sorry) blog entry.

Step one: Bus from Buea to Yaounde

Buea to Yaounde is a five hour journey so we allowed eight hours to do it in order to catch a train at 6pm. We left Buea at 10am, well we left out house at about 10, we left the bus park in Buea at about 12:30 after waiting 2 hours for the bus to fill. Well not to panic we allowed time for bus filling, it usually about an hour but some women were faffing for ages about getting on the bus. The journey was going well, we passes through Douala in good time and were on the main road to Yaounde. Ahead I saw huge cloud of smoke and commented to Joe 'something is on fire' it just so happened that that thing on fire was a 70 seat coach. Our bus joined a queue of traffic and almost immediately people on the bus knew it was a bus on fire and which company bus which was impressive as we could not see it from where we were. Everybody got out of the bus and many started walking towards the fire, I did not like to go a watch but was slightly concerned there was no medical help on site yet. So we wondered down to the site of the fire, which was not too far from our bus. What looked like an army ambulance arrived soon after we started walking so I knew my medical expertise would not be required and soon after that a fire engine came too. There are of course no emergency services as we know it in Cameroon, the fire engine would have had to come from Douala or Yaounde, which are miles apart with no other services in between. Soon followed a replacement bus for the passengers, there had been a leak in the fuel pipe and the driver noticed the smell or something and evacuated the bus and got the luggage off before the fire really started so thankfully no-one was hurt. The fire crew put the fire out and we were able to pass the smoking shell of a bus - which I am guessing will be left there to rot now. At this point I was singing to myself 'the comedy on the bus goes on and on' oh how true!

OK so running a little behind schedule now but we still have time to get to the train station, well we did have until we joined another queue of traffic. A tanker had crashed and traffic was being diverted on to bush paths, not really suitable for a bus but the drivers do not care about that. We were going along this tiny busy road pretty well until we passed traffic trying to come the other way which made difficult passing, the local villagers were helping out. We then had to pass an uneven bit of road which out the bus on a really steep angle everybody panicked thinking we would tip over, I was really quite worried at this point. So we all got off the bus Joe and I trying to advice on weight distribution, which was not listened too. We all got out and the bus safely passed. By the time we got back on to the main road we were not very hopeful of catching our train. We arrived in Yaounde at 6pm, the time the train was due to leave but as this is Africa and nothing happens on time we decided to try catching it. We got in a taxi and raced across town to the station, the train had of course gone. Our taxi driver had the idea of driving to the next stop about an hour away to try and catch it. He seemed pretty hopeful we would be able to get the train so took his advice and chased the train. As we arrived at the station the train was visible but moving 'arriver ou depart' our taxi driver was asking, turns out it was departing. So back to Yaounde we go to find some food, have a beer and sleep.

Step two: Train from Yaounde to Ngaoundere

Getting the train was good fun, getting the tickets was the hard part, we spent all day in Yaounde train station trying to buy tickets. Our plan was a cabin for 2 for me and Joe and a comfy seat for Didimus, however he got confused when buying his ticket and ended up in the second class over packed plastic seats - poor Didimus did not sleep all night. Anyway our taxi driver from the previous night collected us at 10:30 to take us to the station to buy tickets nice and early. We arrived at the station to discover the ticket office opens at 12:00 - I am sure he knew this all along but wanted to be at the station to met the incoming train for some business. So he conveniently left us at his sisters bar to have a drink and wait for the office to open. At 12:00 we went to the office, we were told to wait until 1:00. Then we were asked if we had reserved, we had no idea we were supposed to, so we were told to come back at 4:00 to find out the availability of the tickets. So we go out in Yaounde for a few hours and visit some of Didimus' family. We return at 4:00 and are told to wait until 5:00 when we got called and finally given tickets for a cabin for two. The train left on time and was much better than we expected. Clean cotton sheets, a sink in the room a lovely waitress who gave us dinner and breakfast - even though she spoke no English.

We arrived in Ngaoundere at 10am, according to the guide book the train should take 12 hours, but also according to the guide book it leaves at 18:30 and arrives at 08:30 - which by my calculations is not 12 hours - so I do not believe much of what Ben West says. I think we made pretty good time.

Step three - Bus from Ngaoundere to Maroua

Didimus had bought bus tickets on the train in advance so we were expecting this to be easy!! They keep the tickets then call your names out as you load the bus. Joe got called out Didimus and I did not, so Joe was on the bus and we were still outside and the bus was full. So Joe jumped off - through the window, not much choice when the bus is so packed. And we argued with the bus company, having already paid for these tickets we were getting a little stressed although we were assured another bus was coming and the three of us would be one it.

Half and hour or so later another bus did indeed turn up and we got up, eight hours later we were in Maroua. pretty smooth journey once we were on the bus. Even spotted a few Baboons on the road side on the way - very exciting. Arrieved in Maroua about 8pm, again Ben West gets it wrong five hour journey to Maroua, I think he meant the previous town Garoua, journey took us 8 hours.

Next instalment will actually be about the park!!

Packing it all in

We are now back to our usual routine in the office as Joe's parents have gone home. We had a great time together although I think we totally exhausted them they appeared to have a good time. After our trip to the North West we went to Limbe for some compulsory relaxing on the beach which involved some great fun in the spring waters. We then had a day in Buea before heading off to Korup National Park. Korup is one of Africa's oldest rain forests as it survived the last ice age. It was a long dusty road to get there in a jacked up car totally overfilled with 4 in the back and 3 in the front plus the driver. A friend of Genesis was in the nearby town to welcome us and help sort us out. Freda was lovely we had a great time with her and are so thankful for the arrangements she made for us.

One of Freda's arrangements was to get motorbikes the 8km to the park entrance, not sure how keen Ted and Glenys were on this idea but it was fun. We spent about 6 hours in the park with a very knowledgeable guide showing us around. To enter the park we had to cross a rope bridge which was fun!

There are many wildlife in the park but they mostly hide from humans. We saw some elephant poo so had some evidence, we also heard some monkeys and saw the trees moving as they moved. The canopy was so high it was impossible to see them though. We had a great time just walking through the forest seeing all the different trees, some of them huge. We learnt about what can be eaten or used for medicinal purposes. We had a bit of time left at the before the bikes came back for us so relaxed by dipping our feet in the rushing river.

The national park was formed in 1989 as the Cameroon Government recognised what a precious forest it is and the Palm oil plantation was rapidly growing. Had the park not been formed the area would now all be the palm oil plantation.

From here we came home for a night then packed up Glenys and Ted and went for a few relaxing days by the sea. I spent the whole time being not so relaxed in the hotel room with vomiting and diarrhoea. I think Joe and Ted had a great time jumping around on the falls though. I usually have guts of steel so was gutted to be sick but fear not I made a quick recovery with thanks to a few injections from Glenys and am now fighting fit.

At the weekend we spent a day in Douala at our favourite haunt Marche de Fleur for Joe (sorry us) to buy more masks and handicrafts - anyone know a good shipping company? We then said our goodbyes and dropped Ted and Glenys at the airport. We have all had a great time together and were very grateful for their visit. Now its back to the work.

To the North West

Last week we all went to the North West, by all I mean the families of Talbots and Tinshus. The North West is the other English speaking province and where Genesis is from. It was a long six hour journey up we were hot and sweaty by the end. We had one whole day to visit and two travel days.

We went to Genesis' village to visit his mum and see where he grew up. The terrain in the North West is very different to here. The soil is red and there are many stones. Genesis village is called Babanki-Tungo which means village under the stones. We had a beautiful journey there, we went the scenic route to get a good view of the stones. We also stopped at Genesis' old school which was fantastic. Once in the village we were lucky to be there the day of a memorial party of a woman that had died 4 years previously. There was lots of dancing and gun firing (Ted got invited to fire the gun).
Also boys in masks dance, they are called Ju Ju. It was great to see masks in use after we look at so many in the markets.

After this we went on to Genesis mothers house. We had a nice time sitting in the compound playing with the children watching them chase a chicken around which turned out to be dinner. They cooked us a great meal then we had to be on our way.

The journey home yesterday was pretty rough. Took about 9 hours instead of 6 in a small bus with 5 people sharing 4 seats. It was squashed, sweaty and long. We were glad to arrive in the lovely hotel in Limbe, such a contrast to the day before. So day we took a well deserved break by the sea. I have many more photos but do not have the time (cannot be bothered) to process them all and up load them so You will have to wait another week for that.

Chill out

We had planned to be away for most of last week in Douala at the conference. Genesis and Marceline had gone off to Douala so we thought we would not get much work done so would go exploring for a few days. We went to Kribi. Its in the south province of Cameroon. A coastal town and popular beach resort. During the dry season at the weekends its full of expats, so we went mid-week to avoid this! This is a very comprehensive account of our trip. There was a lot to say. Lots of photos on flickr and Picasa.

We travelled down on Wednesday, first the bus to Douala where we then get another bus to Kribi. We got to Douala with little trouble quite a few stops at check points along the way where the driver has to go and show his paper work. Then one stop where we all had to show our paper work. One guys ID card was out of date so we ended up leaving him behind with the police. I do not want to get in to a debate but from what I have seen in Cameroon there are many reasons we do not want ID cards in the UK. Anyway we found the bus station for Kribi after checking with the locals and a bit of walking. Next to the bus station was a Chinese restaurant. So we decided we would get some lunch then worry about getting tickets etc. We had a lovely meal, some lovely dumplings and a much bigger serving than they would give you in the UK. After enjoying that and feeling like the day was going well we wondered in to the bus station to discover that they actually have a timetable and do not just leave when buses are full. The next bus is at 4:30, the time is currently 2pm and the previous bus left at 1:30 - doh! So went went for a walk to occupy ourselves and went for a nice cold beer. Trundled back to the bus station and waited in departures. 4:30 came and went and there was no sign of a bus so I went to investigate. The bus leaves from arrivals - of course why did we not think of this. So we got on 2 people to 2 seats - a luxury. It was about a 3 hour journey to Kribi, nice roads making it a very good journey.

It was dark when we arrived and we set out looking for a hotel. We walked along the sea front thinking there would be loads. We passed on but kept going to see what else there was. Saw a nice looking building on a by the sea so wondered up. Thought it looked a little like a fort but could be the hotels style. Gates were locked but there was a buzzer for reception so pressed that. No answer but there was a guy sitting near by so we got his attention. Turns out we had arrived at the presidency - oops. The man we chatted to was the caretaker, Mr Zang. We seamed like a nice bloke and took us to the nearest hotel - the one we had passed eariler! We checked in. It was nice we were told the price was 18 000 CFA a night but they could do us a deal how about 15 000 a night - OK we agreed.

Got up the next day at it was raining grrrr. We did not let this dampen our 'we are at the seaside and will have fun' spirits. We walked though the town to a beach in the south. We were the only ones on the beach most the time - few people wondered through. We splashed about in the sea and drew a map of the world on the beach - cannot really remember why we did this now but it was fun. Jumped around on the rocks until we noticed how the locals use them as a toilet so sat on the smaller rocks near us, read and chilled out. All this was mostly in the rain with it stopping occasionally and the sky being grey. Then trundled back to the town got some lunch and hung out for a bit on the beach near our hotel. Then went back to the hotel and noticed how pink we were. Oh yes we manged to get burnt in the rain. It was grey and rainy did not think about putting sunscreen on - oops

Lovely meal in the evening in a great restaurant called 'Le Marmite De Mole'. Great name and great food - very nice and a short walk from our hotel.

During the day Mr Zang had been to the hotel to offer his services as a guide. We were a little dubious but met up with him for a chat. He was telling us about all the bad people who try to rip us of etc. and said he would come with us to Lombe falls. So we got a cab and off we went. Our cab driver was a very nice man from the North West province so spoke English. The South Province is a French speaking area. The taxi driver stays at the falls with us as it is pretty remote and there will be no way to get home if not, well an 8km walk along the beach in the burning sun.

The falls were amazing we went on a boat trip to get a better view in a dug out canoe. The taxi driver came with us as it was no extra cost but got pretty scared as does not swim! There were a bunch of men on the beach ready to pounce on tourists offering boat rides and food. So after the ride we enjoyed some delicious prawns. They showed us the live prawns then went off too cook them. They were so good fresh prawns by the sea. Am I allowed to have such fun while I am supposed to be volunteering?!

We headed back to Kribi where we had to give Mr Zang a little something for his trouble. Note to self: Next time in Kribi give Felix the taxi driver a call - good man, do not worry too much about Mr. Zang. We then headed to our local beach and went for a swim. Watched the sunset and took far too many photos. While chatting to a nice French expat who appears to dislike Cameroon men. Meal in the same restaurant. Why change when you are on to a good thing.

And when we stopped in Douala on our journey back to Buea we got Pizza. It was soooooo good. They did not have 4 cheeses so I settled for a cheese, ham, mushroom and egg calzone - it was so good.

Road trip

From Cameroon - Tr...

Yesterday was a public holiday in Cameroon. It was the end of Ramadan. Cameroon is a Christian and Muslim country so Public holidays are given to festivals of both religions. Only really the government offices and schools close. HINT was open but our friends Didymus and Sylvester offered to take us on a trip to Limbe so we accepted. Sylvester is the only person I know in Cameroon to have a car. Didymus and Sylvester are brothers and live opposite us in a huge compound. Their Dad has 5 wives, and 22 children. Didymus and Sylvester have different mothers. They all live together, one big happy family.

So off we set. First stop Metegene to visit Sylvester's wife. It is just down the road from Buea. She works there so lives there with her family during the week and comes to the family compound in Buea at the weekends. We have driven though Metegene a few times, it is on the road out of Buea. This is the first time we have stopped there and a doubt we will again. It is a rough place, they make guns and counterfeit money there. You get robbed walking around the market - so we will not be visiting it.

After a nice refreshing drink of top pamplemousse we carried on our way. First stop Limbe zoo. Well its not really a zoo anymore more of a Monkey sanctuary. They have Chimps, Gorillas, Drills, Mandrills and many more. They also have a couple of crocodiles and a snake (don't worry mum it is a big pit so you can easily avoid it).

We then went west of Limbe up the coast. We passed the sight of the 1999 lava flows from Mount Cameroon. We were supposed to pay to climb up the lava and take photos. So we took this sneaky picture from the other side. The lava flowed right over the road so a new road has been built around the edge. No one was killed as a result of the eruption, the local area was evacuated.

We headed to the Seme beach hotel. It was very nice, fully of white people. I have not seen so many in months, it was actually hard not to stare! It was a lovely area. The tide was high so did not really see the beach. Black sand due to the volcano and black rocks at the edge. We went for a paddle, then a walk along the prom to where a spring water river from the mountain flows in to the sea. It was beautiful crystal clear water. We will return with Sylvester and Didymus and teach them to swim. We had to pay 1000CFA each to enter the hotel then swapped our ticket for a beer at the bar with another 200CFA to top up the price.

We then travelled back in to Limbe to the fishing beach. Sylvester wanted to buy some smoked fish. He explained to us he is a vegetarian and only eats smoked fish, not fresh or roasted only smoked. We went to the smoking area of the town. It is an immigrant community from Nigeria and has that feel. The fishing boats had not long come in and people were passing with huge baskets of fish on their heads. So he got the fish and we headed home.

Got stuck in a traffic jam on the way home. They are currently digging up the road that goes in and out of Buea (there is only one). The road is in a terrible state and they are fixing it, very slowly. So currently there is a really big hole in the road and a diversion around it. The diversion is one lane wide but takes traffic from both directions. There is no order or control it is a free for all. One the way out it was easy as there were few cars about but now it is rush hour. I think there had been a crash which made the traffic 10 times worse. So there was about 3 lanes of traffic trying to get down to one. Some Guinness lorry driver obviously thought he was bigger than us and instead of waiting for our car to pass would try and go through us. So I am sat in the back with a front of a lorry slowing coming towards me. He then stops once he hits our rear wing. Not much damage is done. The small back window is smashed so I moved to the middle of the seat to avoid bits of glass falling on me. We complain to the lorry driver who does not care. So we carry on our journey home having taken his plate number. Then we stop in the Guinness depot in Buea to complain. They say we have to report it to the police. So Didymus and Sylvester drop us of and trundle up to the police station.
The driver should be stopped by the police at a road block today. Then Guinness' insurance will pay to fix the car. A bad ending to a lovely day.

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside

On Saturday we went for a day trip. Genesis, Marceline and Naomi came too. We went to Limbe which is our nearest coastal town, 17 miles away. It was very windy but lovely to be by the sea. Limbe is a working fishing town. The sand is black as it is volcanic. The beach was pretty dirty, lots of debris lying around. That is to be expected though when its a working beach. The guide book says there are some nice beaches further along the coast which were used in the film chocolat. After a wonder along the beach watching the fishermen bring in their days catch we got some lunch. We went to an area with various stalls grilling fresh fish and prawns. It was gorgeous we have got quite used to picking a fish apart with our fingers.

We then went to the botanical gardens which were beautiful. Unfortunately we had to pay for a camera so there are no photos inside. I took a few sneaky pictures outside. There were loads of different plants, some great old trees and a fantastic amphitheatre.

Bright lights of Douala

Last week we went to Douala for a couple of days. Douala is Cameroon's biggest city although it is not the capital, which is Yaounde. Its about 70km from Buea. We went for a bit of a break and to explore. We went by bus, which was interesting. There is no timetable the buses, they just leave when they are full. It cost 1300 CFA which is about £1.50. Which is cheaper than a bus from Kidlington to Oxford city!! The rules of the bus are quite simple!!

A bus is full we discovered, when there are 4 people sitting on each row of 3 seats. The forth person on our row ended up being a rather traditionally built lady. So the ride was not too comfortable. It took about 1 1/2 hours as we stopped every so often for some random reasons. When we arrived in Douala we had to get a taxi to a roundabout where we had to get another taxi to our hotel. Douala is in French speaking Cameroon.The taxi drivers did not understand what we were saying. In the end some motorbike taxi drivers said they knew our hotel. So we ended up on the back of two motorbikes. Fun but scary!! Once we had got change and managed to pay them we went in to the hotel. It is a haven in a hectic city. Gorgeous pool set in a beautiful garden. Lovely restaurant and bar and hot showers.
We do not have many photos of Douala. This is for two reason. Firstly there is not much to photograph and secondly I was too scared to get my camera out! When we first arrived there were pickpockets everywhere. A guy had his hand in Joe's pocket as he was getting on to the motorbike (did not get anything) and my bag had been opened (nothing taken).

Douala is expensive, as every big city does, it eats money. Beer cost more than a pound for a small bottle. We are used to getting big bottles for half the price. Food is expensive a meal cost us about £10. That's alot of money in Cameroon . Taxis cost more, everything costs more. We were getting quite used to only spending about £10-15 a week!! It will be hard adjusting back to Oxford prices.

While we were in Douala and spending money fast we went to the cash machine to get more money. Armed with our money belt we braved the hectic streets. Took a while to find a cash machine that was working and took out card but we found one a got the cash. Then on the walk home it started pouring with rain. We had taken out brolly to Douala but did not bother taking it out as we were only popping to the bank!! We got absolutely soaked. I was wearing a cream skirt which when wet meant my money belt was on full view!! Fortunately all the street traders were hiding from the rain so we had a hassle free walk back to the hotel. Blessing in a wet disguise. Must remember to go and get cash in the rain more often. Not wearing white or cream though! As we were soaking wet we decided to go for a swim which was great. I love swimming in the rain, it reminds me if school.


We went to the Museum of Douala. Had loads of artifacts from Cameroon's past. Including original agreements with Queen Victoria to end the slave trade. We looked at the cathedral (pictured above) and went to the craft market, bought some masks. We ate some nice food, including pizza did not realise how much I missed cheese!! Went for a swim (in the rain) and had hot showers. Wondered round the shops, stalls and supermarket. Great few days away but glad to get back to the friendly sleepy Buea.