Ploughing through the rain forests of Cameroon

Building style in the rain forests

Farewell St Francis - Mamfe

There was about 20km of very good road leaving Mamfe, all marked and well indicated. Then was a section of road under construction (the Chinese and their crew are still actively at work in these parts, despite the rain), the old road, foundation road and more tar before reaching Bamenda. It was not as hectic as getting to Mamfe and the scenery was beautiful. It had rained a lot the previous night and there was still mist on the rain forests of Cameroon that morning.

The mud road ended in the town a Batibo and from there we passed Bali and Wosing and then into Bamenda. It was a relief that there were no hectic tugging and pushing to be done this time. There were a few roadblocks where Michael did some name throwing and we managed to pass without too much hassles.

Michael guided us to the Mill Hill Missionaries (the place is not indicated on the roads), the St Joseph’s Missionary Society where they were welcomed by a Dutch Father called father Arnold who was dressed in full Cameroon style. He was expecting us a bit later but the rooms were ready. The place was spick and span, well organised and nicely set up on a hill with a view of the hills and part of the town. It was a great relief to be in such an environment after all this terrible roads and tedious driving.

The men went to have the car washed and a few things checked out. It is Sunday, so not much work can be done on the cars if parts have to be purchased. The girls set up the rooms and made tea and had biscuits.

The cars came back looking rather bright. She fed Coen on some beef open sandwich and then he had a nap before having dinner that the Mission had invited them to. They both found some books in the Mission’s bookshelves and sat down to read before dinner and after dinner.

Drinks before dinner

Dinner was a convivial affair with some drinks before and then all sat down around round tables to have some pasta which the Mission’s cook prepared for them. Then some more reading before closing for the night. It was quiet and peaceful. By then electricity was back and they could both have warm showers before bed. The bed, however, was just about a foot too narrow, they are meant for priests on retreat, not for the casual travelling couple.

Mission mechanic

The next morning they had breakfast in the refectory prepared and served by the cook and then the men started on the serious jobs on the cars. It was drizzling and cloudy and she did not feel like going out into town so she sat down to update the draft of her blog, to try the father’s internet and read.

Lunch was prepared by the Mission, a baked bonito with plantain bananas, fried potatoes and mixed veg. She was given the head of the fish which was prepared ‘à point’ and excellent. After that Coen had a nap and then they went into town to buy sim cards and have them registered. It was drizzling again.

At the MTN office they wanted photocopies of the passports and dealt with them quite swiftly. Getting back to the Mission was another story, it was peak hour in Bamenda and it was raining. Finally they had to stop a taxi and offered him more to get them there. She was sopping wet by then but they got there all right.

That evening they prepared jaffles for the Father. He was pleased with the change. After that they retired to the rooms to try the Internet again, read and to bed. The plan was to be on the road to Limbe the next day.

Scenic road down

Rubber plantation

Gathering their possessions and packing after breakfast, they said their farewells to Father Arnold and were on the road. A very scenic road up first through the hills of Bamenda, and then down an escarpment and through banana, pawpaw, date, cocoa and rubber plantations towards the coast. Down that road there are many villages built of wooden houses with tin roofs. It is certainly more edifying than Nigeria scenery or its lack thereof.

German style lodge

The roads were good, some potholes here and there and not much traffic. There were police roadblocks, less than in Nigeria but no less hinting for handouts. They stopped briefly at Loum to look into a ‘centre climatique’ built by the Germans in the old days.

Limbe

They managed to make Limbe in daylight, appreciating the dimming light over the sea as the weather changed. They chose a room at hotel Miramare that was chosen for the camping option. This is a crumbling place set in a nice bay overlooking a few outer islands and an oil rig and Malabo in the background.

View of Limbe Bay

Coen was tired; only he drove today because she is on these antihistamines that makes you sleep. At first sight, Limbe looks like a sleepy coastal town going to seed. It seems that it was called Victoria in the time.

Child carrying load

Mariana made dinner that night and they retired early to find out that there was no hot water because they did not put the heater on. After some discussion, hot water was delivered to the room in a bucket.

In general it was quiet, with a bit of va-et-viens from the other patrons of the place. Constant light from the garden neons made it not so nice to get some sound sleep but it worked out in the end. In the morning it was clouded over and started drizzling by the time we sat down for breakfast.

Hans’ contacts at G4S gave us some assistance to do some more work on the car: Stephanus had a flat tyre, Hans had to sort out some electrics and so did Coen.

Fishing port

Shrimps on the port

After the works were done, they went to investigate the fishing port. It is a small place with lots of fish being landed when they got there – a hive of village activity. There were fish of all sorts and sizes but since they were in Cameroon, they opted to find some prawns. They sat at a table overlooking the sea and the girl brought her to her ‘medem’ who was cooking the seafood a bit further away. She proposed shrimp skewers with plantain banana.

As they were sitting there watching the port activities, a guy came by with some CD’s, she purchased some. She wanted some Cameroon music. And then the food was delivered – no cutlery. They tucked in with good appetite. It might have been a bit on the hot side for Coen but it had flavour and the banana tempered the heat down quite a bit.

Camaroes of Cameroon

They then went around town a bit and settled for a nap. That evening Hans had booked a table at the wildlife conservation centre up the road but since Elisme was not feeling well, only the 4 of them went. The food was made from scratch and this time they chose to have gambas. It was well served, rather enormous and chewy.