Bumpy roads, collapsed bridges, and other ring road tales...

So, I was set to leave for the big city of Douala on the morning of Saturday August 8th. As per usual, I jogged over to the bus station to buy my ticket... but... ugh oh... right away I could tell there was something strange going on. The gates were half closed... people were everywhere... I mean, it’s usually chaotic there, but it was even more chaotic than usual... people were missing luggage... angry and confused faces were storming around... so, I tried to listen in to the people speaking pidgin... and noticed the ticket wickets weren’t even open!

Turns out... a bridge, on the only major road in and out of Bamenda collapsed with all the rains we’ve had, so unless I planned to swim across the river... I wasn’t going anywhere. For a few days, no buses could leave Bamenda. Eventually, they started going, but you had to taxi to the bridge, trek through the woods about 3km, cross the river, and hopefully get on a bus on the other side. It all sounded a little sketchy to me, so I just stayed home. Spent some time with neighbours and watched a lot of movies. I even contemplated going back to work out of boredom (but didn’t!) until finally... a temporary solution was found and my friends from Yaounde were able to drive here for our second week plan. Yeah!!!

Julie, Tom, their baby Mia, and Nina arrived on the Friday, thus, beginning our adventures through the North-West Region. I think I was sooooo excited to have visitors... that entire day, I cleaned my house and cooked sooooo much food!!! You see, life in Bamenda can be a little dull. One must be creative and I think I’ve at least become a better cook with all this time on my hands.

After a day in Bamenda, we hit the road... on our way to Mount Oku, at 3,000 metres, it’s the second highest mountain in the region. However, we reached the road to Oku and found it to be rather bumpy and muddy... and since we did have a baby with us, decided it better to turn back for the day. So, we returned to the beautiful town of Belo and stayed with our fellow VSOer, Amelita. Belo, thanks to the Belo Rural Development Program and its volunteers, is home to the first “public walk” in Cameroon. It's a pleasant trail, touring the village, with various sights, farms, and waterfalls to admire. It even has sign posts to point you in the right direction! So, we enjoyed that, and just relaxing, staring out over the cliffs and mountains, covered in green. The only disruption was the odd gunshot throughout the evening, as there were some celebrations going on close by.

No matter where you are in Africa... there is always someone a few feet away... taking a pee break on the road in the middle of the forest... more tricky than you might think... there’s always someone around the corner, behind the bush, or walking down the road. The people live off the land... they walk far distances to work on their farms... they are everywhere... so you know you are never alone. It’s actually quite amazing; we never fretted... if a vehicle full of white people, such as ourselves, were to suddenly be caught in the mud, there would be fifteen people ready to push us out in seconds! Luckily we didn’t get stuck.

The best parts of travelling are all those random things you don’t plan for, particularly in Africa, one must be open and flexible... and you never know what amazing adventures might cross your path. Thanks to our great connections, we discovered a short-cut road that was incredibly beautiful overlooking the valley and took us up and up and up... all the way to the village of Babungo... and through the beautiful Ndawara tea estate. We visited some friends and were graciously offered some Indian snacks, a tour of the factory, and a visit to the tea farm... ostriches and peacocks included. Seeing all the giant, machinery and how the tea is collected and processed and packaged was rather interesting. So much hard work, one major operation! It is a different life in those hills. There are hundreds of workers... picking tea leaves each day, three leaves and a bud produces the greatest taste! The views over the valley, the fresh, cool air, and the calm lifestyle of the estate’s village provided a refreshing atmosphere.

We settled at another VSO friend’s place in Babungo... where we spent the next couple days relaxing under the sun, taking long walks up the hills, admiring the greenery... and visiting our neighbours. We also visited Mount Oku, covered in mist and deep forest, the town of Oku, and Kumbo, and Ndop. By the time we made it back to Babungo... we didn’t want to be in the vehicle anymore... although it’s interesting and beautiful to explore the countryside... it’s a long time in the car over those bumps and mud. It was however, notably different from city life, being in the village allows you to really enjoy the calm and quiet and friendly neighbours.

And then, after a special holiday, with a final evening at my place in Bamenda and a quick stop at the food market for that fresh, north-west cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, and green peas... my travel companions were on the road again... back to Yaounde... and my little house felt suddenly quite quiet and empty.

RAIN

Welcome to the rainy season in Cameroon! Your laundry will not be dry until October. Such rain! At the start of the rainy season (back in April), there would be the odd, intense monsoon that would sweep through the region in minutes, and dry up so quickly with the sun, you wouldn’t even have realized. People would usually just stop, take shelter wherever they were, and then carry on afterwards. But these days, it can pour buckets all day. It’s adding to the lush, green gardens, beautiful waterfalls, cool and fresh air, and even cleaning up the streets... but seriously, don’t go outside, unless you plan on swimming or slip n’ sliding in the mud! Mud... lots of it!

Love is in the air... weddings 1, 2, ... and 3?

A few weeks ago, my colleague got married... twice... and the third is still to come. First, there was the “Traditional” Wedding, then the Court Wedding... and one day... there will also be a Church Wedding. Getting married in Cameroon is quite the affair!!!

On the day of the Traditional Wedding, I was told to meet my colleagues at 3:30PM, so... I decided to show up at 4:15PM... and I was the first to arrive! I waited until 5:00PM when a few people started showing up and we made our way to the bride’s family home. There, I must say... it was a strange and unique experience. We sat in rows... inside and outside... really not saying much... while the groom and his various representatives met with the bride’s family in closed quarters. I really wish I could have seen what was going on in there. Basically, they were negotiating the bride’s price. Poor him, he was rather stressed, as it appeared as though they were not agreeable for quite some time... he even had to ask to borrow some cash as he felt he was running low! He would come in and out, a bit stressed... and I never really knew exactly what was going on. Top Secret. This went on for hours. Until finally at 9:00PM, we were actually offered drinks. I found the whole ceremony strange because, unlike most African celebrations, there was no music, dancing, drumming, or even speeches... and they really like speeches... no talking... we just waited. At one point, they came out and the groom gave a chicken to the bride’s family. And the bride was poored some palm wine and she had to drink from it and search the room for her groom and offer him a drink... then, he drank from the glass (well, it was actually a cow’s horn) and then I think they were married! The food came at 9:30PM... and after a long day, I scooted out early... at 10:00PM, while others were still arriving (for the food!)... just sitting and looking at the happy, yet rather tired couple, who had been busily preparing for the day.

Onto the Court Wedding... that day... I was more prepared... I even came with reading material. I was told it would begin at 9:00AM... and although my father would say “better to be early than late”... in the Cameroonian context perhaps we can make an exception? I decided to arrive at 10:30AM instead. I got through half my magazine, by the time the ceremonies began at 11:30AM! And, just when you think, they’ll be married... again... they had to wait for fifteen other couples to say their vows before them... after the Mayor gave a good, long speech about the meaning of marriage... in pidgin, of course. They were the last couple to wedd, but the best! Interesting... before saying their vows... they were asked questions like: “will you have separate or joint property?”, “will this marriage be monogamous or polygamous?”, the women were encouraged to bear many children... and then they would repeat their vows, raise their hands, and put on their rings. Afterwards... we went back to their house for food and speeches and celebrations... again. Can’t wait for the church wedding!

Congrats Eric and Gwen!

Just a few recent events... fun, fun, fun...

Meet some of my neighbours: Sarah (Australia), Liliane (Argentina), Suni (Cameroon), Rosio (Chile), and Yvette (Chile). We spend lots of time together in the quiet Bamenda evenings, as they live just across the street. You can usually find us munching on snacks, playing Frisbee, or watching a Spanish soap opera on television. One day we all got dressed up in our fancy, traditional African wear and headed to a musical concert at their church. It was a colourful evening, full of loud and intense music, dancing, and drumming... an indescribable atmosphere of joy and faith, demonstrated by the congregation.

That’s me and Bamenda’s Canadian crew: Eric, Marcy and Karly; on Canada Day. We gathered all the VSO volunteers and friends, to celebrate the day with bean burgers and salads. We even made them all wear red and white and maple leaf tattoos too! Us, Bamenda-residing Canadians.... I even found an African dress with red maple leafs to mark the occasion. They said I was really becoming Cameroonian, especially because I carried over a big pot of potato salad on my head!

These are some of my colleagues from the NWADO crew: Desiree, Lovelyn, Gwen, Julius, and Eric. I had them all over to my place for lunch one Sunday afternoon. Plenty of food and laughs, and even more wine! Cheers!

And this one’s my birthday... I turned 2! We actually had a VSO workshop that day, so at lunch we had a nice big, vegetarian meal. This is a bunch of the VSOers and my Cameroonian sisters that made the cake! It was delicious... who knew you could find a cake like that in Bamenda?!

Random Sightings in Bamenda...

~ A mini yellow taxi with a ski rack on its roof
~ A yellow taxi driving along, dripping blood... because it’s got four skinned cows hang’n out the trunk
~ Two clowns walking down the main street, big red shoes, red nose, curly rainbow hair, and all!!!
~ A fluorescent pink FORD truck
~ Goats strapped to the roof of a bus
~ Procession of funeral cars, with flashing lights and sirens... and a sign that says: ‘the final destination’
~ Street Vendor selling greasy, fried pig skin in bread.... ewwwwww!
~ A police officer stopping traffic at the ‘crazy intersection’ to allow approximately 40 women with large buckets of potatoes on their heads, to cross the road... potato cross walk?
~ No traffic jam
~ White person... with a motorcycle helmet...

The 'shits' on the train... and other Far North adventures...

Let me tell you about travel in Cameroon... absolute insanity! My trip to the Far North was beautiful and interesting at best; hot, smelly, and shitty (literally) at worst. My destination was Maroua, in the extreme north of Cameroon... I’m talk’n the other end of the country, bordering Chad, Nigeria, and the Sahara Desert. So, the journey there, not so bad... bumpy, hot bus rides, with only one pee break in eight hours... to be expected... a very tiring train ride for twelve hours overnight, where it’s impossible to sleep, but at least I had my baguette and the excitement of a foreign land to keep me company. Funny... my colleagues described the train ride like a gentle rocking of a cradle, where one can easily fall asleep soundly. I didn’t see it that way, more like an erratic roller coaster ride, where I was hanging on all night, sleeplessly, so not to bang my head and fall off my bunk as the train chugged along!!

Let me tell you about the return trip first... cause well... that was the most shitty. We left Maroua at 5AM... okay, let me correct that, we left my hotel at 5AM... waited at the bus station until the bus felt like leaving at 7AM. It was a hot and rather uncomfortable bus ride seeing as I had started to feel pretty queezy after eating all that strange northern food all week. But, we arrived in Ngaoundere at 3:30PM I think. Had to wait around in heat and long line-ups to get our already reserved tickets (don’t ask me why we reserve train tickets, seeing as it appears to be more inconvenient, involving more paperwork and long line-ups, but at least you can get one of those beds to pretend to sleep on). The train was delayed (of course), so we didn’t leave Ngaoundere until about 8PM. My colleague and I were quite pleased we were finally moving, but quite dismayed that we had to share our room with two mothers and their two crying children all night... and they didn’t want the window open too much, cause air would be too cold (please keep in mind, it’s 30degrees outside)... it was just a silly thing to want to breath... oh, and the light had to remain on, as they’re afraid of the dark and would prefer to see the cockroaches crawling on them! So, anyway... this makes for an incredibly long journey... and they forgot to bring OUR dinner!!!... and on top of that, I now... literally, have the shits on the train... and have to use an awful toilet on a moving, bumpy train, every half-hour or so... bet you didn’t want to know that? So, this painful, sleepless train ride continues until 5AM, when we reach the train station Nanga Eboko... and the train stops... for a very long time. This is because, as is common (apparently) on the railroad in Cameroon... there was a derailment. So, the train could not go anywhere... and we lie in waiting, in hunger, and heat, and shits... for seven hours, when we decide... this train ain’t leav’n today, lets see if VSO can help us poor soles... please!!! So, we call VSO... and thankfully, after a little debate and a search for buses to Yaounde (that did not exist)... VSO says they will come pick us up. Whew... so we wait outside the train for another five and a half hours. At hour eleven, 4PM... the railway people actually started handing out water, bread, and sardines... and I hear comments like: “What is this, Darfur?”. Yikes! People are dehydrated, exhausted, and getting rather irritated by this point... and I really have no idea if and when that train ever moved again. Hundreds of people were just stuck there, in the middle of nowhere... and oh my, feeling pretty bad... finally out of nowhere... the VSO vehicle... barely recognizable under its coat of mud from bumper to roof... emerges to our rescue. YEAH! We then drive to Yaounde... on the muddiest, twistiest, bumpy road I’ve ever seen (or vomited on) (which also happens to be Cameroon’s N1 Major highway!!!)... for three and a half hours! And, you may think the journey is now over... after 40-some hours of travel and no sleep, we’re finally there... in the capital city of Yaounde... problem is... mix-up... the hotel is full and the second hotel is full... but finally, we find one... that even has food... so finally, I can use a real toilet, take a hot shower, and eat a decent meal... and sleep in a quiet, air-conditioned room... heavenly!!! ...until the next day, when I board the bus to Bamenda for another hot and bumpy journey of eight hours! You can’t imagine how nice it was to get home:)

Okay, so enough about the travel... actually being in the Far North (travel aside) was a very interesting and enlightening experience. From Ngaoundere to Maroua... we drove for miles upon miles, on an actual paved, flat road I might add... and all I could see were small, round homes, built of mud and straw roofs. We drove over bridges and rivers, but saw not a drop of water the entire time... there was nothing but sand. The people must walk for miles to get water from the deep wells... but what will they do if they ever dry up? It is so hot and so dry... there is very little to eat... I felt like the people were just surviving. An incredible place.

It is mostly Muslim in the Far North, creating a calm and pleasant atmosphere. People travel by bicycles, lounge under Neem trees that line the main streets to stay out of the intense heat (apparently it can get as high as 45degrees!), and they even sleep outside to be cooler at night. You can hear the call to Mosque, and see the men praying just about anywhere throughout the day. After our VSO Forum, my colleague and I decided to visit the towns of Mokolo and Rhumsiki, which is right in the Mandara Mountains, on the border with Nigeria. After the bus to Mokolo (for only an hour thank goodness), we road motorcycles all the way to Rhumsiki... up and down the winding dirt road... admiring the dry, hilly landscape, surprisingly green with large rock formations just jutting out of the mountains, and cattle herders and farmers tending their fields with the assistance of donkeys. Very interesting and peaceful on the motorbikes!

In Rhumsiki we took a tour of the valley and hiked all the way to Nigeria and back, meeting interesting villagers and children on the way, admiring the landscape, the ancient houses... even had a look at some of the local art work. We stayed at the ‘Campement de Rhumsiki’ and had our meals on the balcony overlooking the empty swimming pool and the whole valley... sunset n’ all... very nice. We tried to go to a few different restaurants, but always ended up back at the campement for spaghetti or fish because, seems no other restaurants had any actual food to cook... really... no food available! Plenty of juicy mangos though... it was prime mango season! On our motorbike ride back to Maroua... we kept being met by groups of teenage boys holding rather large sticks and covered in oil, blocking the roads. Why, you might ask? They were preparing for their initiation into ‘manhood’. They were asking for $$$ to support them in the celebrations that would take place in their honour in a few days. There was probably about fifty boys (about to become men) that stopped us on the way back... all getting ready for the Village Chief to celebrate and initiate them. {Just so it's clear, this means they were all going to be circumcised (by the Chief) during the event!} So, all in all... an interesting place, completely different lifestyle... it was hard to believe we were still in Cameroon. I’m happy to be back in the North-West though... it is now home... rainy season, cold showers, mud, and all!

National Day...

Celebrations in Bamenda... for Cameroon's National Day... just below is the main street in Bamenda... Commercial Street... just full of people... craziness. And some of the marchers... those children must practice that marching at school everyday... they were amazingly in sync!

So, as you can see, yesterday was National Day here in Cameroon. The whole country was celebrating and marching in parades! Cameroon has no single date of independence, as the territory of ‘French Cameroun' achieved independence from France on January 1, 1960 and the British Southern Cameroons changed status from a trusteeship under British rule to a federated state within Cameroon on October 1, 1961. Unifcation came later. So, the government chose May 20th as Cameroon's National Day. It commemorates the abolishment of the federal system of government and the creation of the unitary state of Cameroon in 1972.

So, I arrived a little late and missed the “good stuff” so they say, which would have been the military marching with all their gear (and guns... so really... I think I've seen enough guns in Cameroon... hehe), so instead... I think I saw the rest of the population of Bamenda marching... all the school children representing every school, and so many groups, organizations... and at the end... when it finally came... cause seriously this parade lasted for hours... hours I tell you... in the hot sun... I don’t know how they were just marching like that... swinging their arms, wearing their uniforms... wow... (I was sweating just standing there, eating ice cream)... so anyway... at the end, came the political parties which I found very interesting... all but the main opposition, protesting the march instead. The very last was the Cameroon Social Democratic Movement, the governing party... and yes, check out that stylish wear... that's the President's face on all their clothing!!! In the evening I could hear the sounds of celebrations, amongst a mix of fireworks and thunder in the sky. Another day in Cameroon....