1/7/11 1:00 AM (Douala time)
I have been awake for 19 hours! Woot! So apparently even flights flying out of Douala operate on Cameroonian time. We didn't board the plane until after it was meant to take off. We are flying over Benin right now. They are about to serve us some food which is great because I am hungered.
So after our grand send off we hopped into the van and hit the road for Douala. The chairlady of the congregation came with us to see us off at the airport. Along the way she had us stop a few times to buy produce. She bought sone awesome looking carrots that Shelby and I both thought looked very yummy. According to the travel clinic they're a no-no but I had a ton of salad and other no-no things this week and um doing alright. The ride was a bit crazy, the driver did 120 kilometers in areas that were marked 30 kilometers/hour. I'm nit sure what the kilometer to miles conversion is but I know we were going damn fast. We made it from Bamenda to Douala in five hours and thirteen minutes. Pretty good timing. We stood outside of the airport waiting for Gilbert, Caroline's brother, to come. He came into the airport with us and waited until we could check our baggage and proceed past the first security point. The lady as the swissair desk made Cindy check her carry-on, Cindy wasn't too happy.
Once past that level of security we went upstairs to the airport bar. It was very empty and very sketch. Shelby and I each ordered top grenadine and Dave and Cindy each got castel (the beer of Cameroon). Cindy ordered the seasonal fruit and the brought us a quarter of a watermelon with one fork....so Shelby hacked it up. On this trip every time someone offered Shelby and I wine and beer we said no, but tonight we both had some beer to end the trip.
We finished up in the bar and went to our gate. After waiting in the lounge for several hours, they made us all go out into the hallway and go through another security inspection. This time they took everything out of our carry-ons and examined them and gave us a very thorough pat down. They took away Shelby's knitting needles. A man searched Shelby's bag and apparently he had never seen a tampon before because he examines it thoroughly. We were sent into the lounge to do some more waiting. Finally they allowed us to board the plane! After everyone was on they sprayed the overhead compartments with bug spray. Even though we have left Cameroon I feel that our trip isn't over, there is still time for interesting excitements. I still can't believe our time in Cameroon is over. No more top, no more amazing food, no more feeling like a tourist attraction, it will be good to be home but I'm going to miss it.
Showing posts with label Douala. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Douala. Show all posts
Monday, January 10, 2011
Day two
12/28/10
Day two (Limbe to Nkikoh)
Our day started bright and early at 8:30. It doesn't seem that early but with all of the traveling it felt it. At 9:30 we were meant to go to breakfast, but seeing as we are on Cameroon time, it was a little after 10:00. We drove from the hotel to another house in Limbe. This time it was Daniel and Irene. Daniel is Patience's cousin. They have a beautiful baby, Daniela and they with their other family served us an amazing brunch. After eating I realized I ate the salad which was a no-no on the travel clinics list. Oh well, I'm not too worried. We stayed with them for a little while...visiting, playing with Daniela, listening to music, and hanging out with our beloved Precious. We left their house and hit the road to the village that Joseph grew up in. Along the way we passed some crazy things. The wild animals along the road were cool (hogs, cows, horses, chickens, goats). The ride took around five hours. Every time we stopped people swarmed the car trying to sell us things. At one point Joseph did buy some sort of bread. I'm not really sure what it is, it's square and clearly a very important thing. There are amazing fruit trees everywhere. Pineapple, palm, rubber, plantain, coconuts, papayas and banana trees are all over.
The roads were crazy. There are many dirt roads that arent taken care of. When driving you aim for the smaller ditches. Cars have to decide who gets to go first when two cars are headed in opposite directions. I was expecting bad roads but this was a bit extreme. We were told that the roads used to be taken care of, but that was with the last president. The government is now so corrupt that the money for caring for the roads is hidden elsewhere.
When we got to Nkikoh, we were greeted by a swarm of people. It was so amazing...they were applauding as we pulled up. There were so many hugs. Cameroon and America do not share the same personal space no-contact rules which I love! I don't think I've ever been hugged this much in my life! We had dinner: some fufu, spinach, fish, rice, chicken, the usual and Shelbs and I tried a soda they called pomplomoose. It was citrusy and yummy. There was a group of girls that danced for us and sang a song to "uncle Joe and his guests". It was great. The toilet situation is a bit confusing. The pipes stopped working so we have to pour water into the tank to flush. Showering tomorrow should be fun.
I tried palm wine tonight. It's an interesting taste. Apparently the Cameroonian version is not as intense as the kind in Sierra Leone (which Eric has talked about). Joseph isn't letting Shelby or I drink which is interesting. We are offered it by other people but he offers soda. We were sort of expecting beer and wine so it's a different change.
A lot of people don't understand this trip. We aren't building houses or something intense like that so they don't really get it. It's hard to explain it to people though. I really needed this time away from the drama of life and it's giving me a chance to figure out my own life on top of everything else.
Day two (Limbe to Nkikoh)
Our day started bright and early at 8:30. It doesn't seem that early but with all of the traveling it felt it. At 9:30 we were meant to go to breakfast, but seeing as we are on Cameroon time, it was a little after 10:00. We drove from the hotel to another house in Limbe. This time it was Daniel and Irene. Daniel is Patience's cousin. They have a beautiful baby, Daniela and they with their other family served us an amazing brunch. After eating I realized I ate the salad which was a no-no on the travel clinics list. Oh well, I'm not too worried. We stayed with them for a little while...visiting, playing with Daniela, listening to music, and hanging out with our beloved Precious. We left their house and hit the road to the village that Joseph grew up in. Along the way we passed some crazy things. The wild animals along the road were cool (hogs, cows, horses, chickens, goats). The ride took around five hours. Every time we stopped people swarmed the car trying to sell us things. At one point Joseph did buy some sort of bread. I'm not really sure what it is, it's square and clearly a very important thing. There are amazing fruit trees everywhere. Pineapple, palm, rubber, plantain, coconuts, papayas and banana trees are all over.
The roads were crazy. There are many dirt roads that arent taken care of. When driving you aim for the smaller ditches. Cars have to decide who gets to go first when two cars are headed in opposite directions. I was expecting bad roads but this was a bit extreme. We were told that the roads used to be taken care of, but that was with the last president. The government is now so corrupt that the money for caring for the roads is hidden elsewhere.
When we got to Nkikoh, we were greeted by a swarm of people. It was so amazing...they were applauding as we pulled up. There were so many hugs. Cameroon and America do not share the same personal space no-contact rules which I love! I don't think I've ever been hugged this much in my life! We had dinner: some fufu, spinach, fish, rice, chicken, the usual and Shelbs and I tried a soda they called pomplomoose. It was citrusy and yummy. There was a group of girls that danced for us and sang a song to "uncle Joe and his guests". It was great. The toilet situation is a bit confusing. The pipes stopped working so we have to pour water into the tank to flush. Showering tomorrow should be fun.
I tried palm wine tonight. It's an interesting taste. Apparently the Cameroonian version is not as intense as the kind in Sierra Leone (which Eric has talked about). Joseph isn't letting Shelby or I drink which is interesting. We are offered it by other people but he offers soda. We were sort of expecting beer and wine so it's a different change.
A lot of people don't understand this trip. We aren't building houses or something intense like that so they don't really get it. It's hard to explain it to people though. I really needed this time away from the drama of life and it's giving me a chance to figure out my own life on top of everything else.
Cameroon #2
11/28/10 1:32 Am
Oh my Douala!
It is 1:15 and Shelby and I just got settled in our hotel room. Shelbs is currently using our very interesting shower. We arrived in Douala and immediately the heat and humidity hit us. We were expecting heat but we were under the impression it's a dry heat here. As we walked out an airport official greeted us and lead us though customs. He is Joseph's younger brother. Getting our bags was Crazy!!!! Hundreds of people pushing and shoving. It was scary. Once outside we stuck in Patience and Joseph. We were loaded into cars after wading through the masses. David managed to get scammed out of $200. Still not entirely sure how that happened. In our car was myself, Shelbs, Cindy, Patience and a cousin (?) named Jerry, he was our driver. The roads in Douala are psycho. I could never live in Douala. There aren't really lines on the streets and when there are, people ignore them. So people sort of drive at each other...thought we were gonna die! On top of that a lot of roads are dirt and have huge bumps and ruts so it makes it very fun. There are motorbikes everywhere!!!!! People ride in between cars and people and don't pay attention. They also don't wear helmets and ride with like 3 people on the bike.
We went to one or Joseph's siblings home and had dinner. It was fabulous but it feels weird always going first and getting "the cream of the crop" we want to be sharing. We want to experience things that they experience. Well day oneish is over. 9:30 is the start of day two and I need sleep. I got a grand total of like 2 hours of sleep since Monday at 9:00 am. Zzzzz
Oh my Douala!
It is 1:15 and Shelby and I just got settled in our hotel room. Shelbs is currently using our very interesting shower. We arrived in Douala and immediately the heat and humidity hit us. We were expecting heat but we were under the impression it's a dry heat here. As we walked out an airport official greeted us and lead us though customs. He is Joseph's younger brother. Getting our bags was Crazy!!!! Hundreds of people pushing and shoving. It was scary. Once outside we stuck in Patience and Joseph. We were loaded into cars after wading through the masses. David managed to get scammed out of $200. Still not entirely sure how that happened. In our car was myself, Shelbs, Cindy, Patience and a cousin (?) named Jerry, he was our driver. The roads in Douala are psycho. I could never live in Douala. There aren't really lines on the streets and when there are, people ignore them. So people sort of drive at each other...thought we were gonna die! On top of that a lot of roads are dirt and have huge bumps and ruts so it makes it very fun. There are motorbikes everywhere!!!!! People ride in between cars and people and don't pay attention. They also don't wear helmets and ride with like 3 people on the bike.
We went to one or Joseph's siblings home and had dinner. It was fabulous but it feels weird always going first and getting "the cream of the crop" we want to be sharing. We want to experience things that they experience. Well day oneish is over. 9:30 is the start of day two and I need sleep. I got a grand total of like 2 hours of sleep since Monday at 9:00 am. Zzzzz
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)