Thursday July 16, 2009
We woke up early this morning to begin our trip back to Kumba. We took the Greyhound of Cameroon, Mondial Express. We took a full size bus direct from Yaoundé to Kumba. These buses seat 5 people in each row and can hold over 70 people when they are completely full. Stops were few and far between. We left Yaoundé at 9:00 AM and pulled into Kumba around 3:00 PM.
The bus ride gave me plenty of time to reflect on my time in Yaoundé and this summer in general. I’ve certainly become used to the culture and people of Cameroon. I’ve had the opportunity to see and do more things than I thought possible. This trip has also changed me in many ways, some of which I probably won’t know until I return back to the US. I now have a much different perspective on poverty, development, government, and family. I’ve also learned how complex relationships between Africa and the rest of the world have become. I’ll write more about overall impressions of my summer experience after I get back to the US.
Friday July 17, 2009
We spent much of the morning and early afternoon running errands around Kumba. Our most important stop of the day was at Mr. Benjamin’s office. We are starting to search for projects for next year’s ETHOS Cameroon group. (Hopefully, I’ll be one of the participants ;)) We met with him briefly and received information on a few promising projects. We would also like to find an NGO in country to assist us in providing logistical and financial support. The difficulty with NGOs is finding honest organizations that are not out for a quick profit. Another topic that was brought up was transitioning into other aspects of appropriate technology besides water projects. The key for any project is having great contacts in country. We have certainly found those for water projects near Kumba. We’ll have to search for those contacts for any other types of projects. Perhaps next year, students could even move to another division or region in the country.
We also started our trip to Limbe this afternoon. Limbe is a coastal city located in the Southwest region. It is a tourist destination for people inside and outside of Cameroon. We went to the van park at 3:00 seeking a ride to Limbe. When we pulled in, the two rival van service factions began yelling and fighting for our business. After the dust settled, we ended up choosing an unmarked blue van. Thus began our van ride from hell. Only 100 m down the road, we picked up a random passenger. Apparently, it is less expensive to hop onto the bus outside of the park. The driver also saves money because he doesn’t have to pay for that person when he leaves the park. Within a few minutes the bus was completely full.
The next issue occurred at a wildlife checkpoint outside of Kumba. They questioned the driver as to the discrepancies between his ticket from the park and the number of passengers in the van. They ripped up the ticket and entered into a 30 minute argument with the driver. After paying a bribe, the driver got us back on the road. We continually stopped to pick up and drop off various passengers the rest of the way to Limbe. At one stop some passengers were fighting with the driver concerning their fares. When we were actually driving, I feared for my life on a number of occasions. Cameroonians are not used to such nice roads and take curves far too quickly. The 1.5 hour ride ended up lasting closer to 3 hours.
A taxi drove us from the Limbe park to our place for the night; the lovely, charming, and CHEAP Samaritan Hotel. Julius and his friend Ramos negotiated us a price of 3500 CFA (~$8) per room, per night. The rooms weren’t elegant by any means, but they served their purpose. The closest thing I can compare them to is a dorm room at college. The rooms were probably 10’ x 12’ and held only a bed and nightstand. The bathroom was pretty beat up as well, but the toilet worked. It was just what we needed, CHEAP!
After settling into our rooms, we strolled to the waterfront. Limbe is definitely a tourist area. The waterfront even has a boardwalk of sorts for a short distance. The only eyesore was the large oil rig under construction in the bay. It’s another sign of “progress” here I guess. I couldn’t believe it was so close to the shore. We had a delectable dinner of goat meat pepe soup with roasted plantains and roasted fish with cassava. Nothing beats a traditional Cameroonian meal. The six of us ate dinner for less than $10.
For the nightcap we headed out to the bars. The first bar recommended to us was nice, but it was too white for our tastes. In addition, the beers cost twice the normal price. We found a nice place called Las Vegas that had much more style and local flavor. Next, we took ocada to the nightclub called Mooove. It was a very modern club. Like all Cameroonian clubs, the walls were covered in mirrors. We had a great time dancing the night away. It was another late night in Cameroon.
We woke up early this morning to begin our trip back to Kumba. We took the Greyhound of Cameroon, Mondial Express. We took a full size bus direct from Yaoundé to Kumba. These buses seat 5 people in each row and can hold over 70 people when they are completely full. Stops were few and far between. We left Yaoundé at 9:00 AM and pulled into Kumba around 3:00 PM.
The bus ride gave me plenty of time to reflect on my time in Yaoundé and this summer in general. I’ve certainly become used to the culture and people of Cameroon. I’ve had the opportunity to see and do more things than I thought possible. This trip has also changed me in many ways, some of which I probably won’t know until I return back to the US. I now have a much different perspective on poverty, development, government, and family. I’ve also learned how complex relationships between Africa and the rest of the world have become. I’ll write more about overall impressions of my summer experience after I get back to the US.
Friday July 17, 2009
We spent much of the morning and early afternoon running errands around Kumba. Our most important stop of the day was at Mr. Benjamin’s office. We are starting to search for projects for next year’s ETHOS Cameroon group. (Hopefully, I’ll be one of the participants ;)) We met with him briefly and received information on a few promising projects. We would also like to find an NGO in country to assist us in providing logistical and financial support. The difficulty with NGOs is finding honest organizations that are not out for a quick profit. Another topic that was brought up was transitioning into other aspects of appropriate technology besides water projects. The key for any project is having great contacts in country. We have certainly found those for water projects near Kumba. We’ll have to search for those contacts for any other types of projects. Perhaps next year, students could even move to another division or region in the country.
We also started our trip to Limbe this afternoon. Limbe is a coastal city located in the Southwest region. It is a tourist destination for people inside and outside of Cameroon. We went to the van park at 3:00 seeking a ride to Limbe. When we pulled in, the two rival van service factions began yelling and fighting for our business. After the dust settled, we ended up choosing an unmarked blue van. Thus began our van ride from hell. Only 100 m down the road, we picked up a random passenger. Apparently, it is less expensive to hop onto the bus outside of the park. The driver also saves money because he doesn’t have to pay for that person when he leaves the park. Within a few minutes the bus was completely full.
The next issue occurred at a wildlife checkpoint outside of Kumba. They questioned the driver as to the discrepancies between his ticket from the park and the number of passengers in the van. They ripped up the ticket and entered into a 30 minute argument with the driver. After paying a bribe, the driver got us back on the road. We continually stopped to pick up and drop off various passengers the rest of the way to Limbe. At one stop some passengers were fighting with the driver concerning their fares. When we were actually driving, I feared for my life on a number of occasions. Cameroonians are not used to such nice roads and take curves far too quickly. The 1.5 hour ride ended up lasting closer to 3 hours.
A taxi drove us from the Limbe park to our place for the night; the lovely, charming, and CHEAP Samaritan Hotel. Julius and his friend Ramos negotiated us a price of 3500 CFA (~$8) per room, per night. The rooms weren’t elegant by any means, but they served their purpose. The closest thing I can compare them to is a dorm room at college. The rooms were probably 10’ x 12’ and held only a bed and nightstand. The bathroom was pretty beat up as well, but the toilet worked. It was just what we needed, CHEAP!
After settling into our rooms, we strolled to the waterfront. Limbe is definitely a tourist area. The waterfront even has a boardwalk of sorts for a short distance. The only eyesore was the large oil rig under construction in the bay. It’s another sign of “progress” here I guess. I couldn’t believe it was so close to the shore. We had a delectable dinner of goat meat pepe soup with roasted plantains and roasted fish with cassava. Nothing beats a traditional Cameroonian meal. The six of us ate dinner for less than $10.For the nightcap we headed out to the bars. The first bar recommended to us was nice, but it was too white for our tastes. In addition, the beers cost twice the normal price. We found a nice place called Las Vegas that had much more style and local flavor. Next, we took ocada to the nightclub called Mooove. It was a very modern club. Like all Cameroonian clubs, the walls were covered in mirrors. We had a great time dancing the night away. It was another late night in Cameroon.
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