- Cameroon – the shape of a chicken
We just had a great summer vacation trip to the Northwest Region of Cameroon. Ron and I experienced a bit of culture shock on this road trip. Not that it was so unlike our “home” or “passport” culture; on the contrary, it was so unlike anything we’d ever experienced on a trip in Africa before! This was the longest continuous stretch of paved road we have ever been on in Africa. We went about 380 km in 7 hours (including potty and gas stops). Our friends the Norens had done just 80 km in Congo (none of it paved) in 6 hours. Wow. We can’t believe how far we could go in such a short time. And we arrived at the destination relatively untired and feeling fresh and fairly clean. Unlike our days of travel on dusty dirt roads arriving whipped, and completely orange from the dust.
If you see the map of Cameroon like a big chicken, the tail section is the Northwest Region where we went. Bordering Nigeria, the official language in that area is English. Cameroon is called Africa in miniature because of its varied topography, from beaches, to forests, to mountains, to dry dessert areas. This is a beautiful country. What surprised us, though, was what we saw as we drove the roads.
- Billboard – Marketing Mile Marker
For one thing, there are billboards here. “33” is a certain fermented alcoholic beverage. And 33 kilometers from every major cities they post these marketing tools like big red “mile markers”!
Gas stations are springing up all over the country. We’re not used to seeing gas stations anywhere in any other African country we’ve lived in. But here in Cameroon, the filling stations are like those of the old days – where the smiling uniformed attendant comes to your car to pump your fuel! (which is pronounced “fwell” here). The above is an OiLybia station. There are also Total stations complete with “Boutiques” that have clean rest rooms and road snacks (like Snickers bars, Pringles, cold Cokes etc.) to buy!
Do you see the power line going across the photo? Yup, electricity. ‘Nuf said.
And the motorcycles buzzing along the town’s main street like busy bees are moto-taxis. These will go where no self respecting car can dare to go: the dirt roads of the town. From the looks of it, there is no use for car taxis but great demand for moto-taxis.
The further north we went the higher the hills, rocky mountains. Wait, where were we? Colorado? Nope, still in Cameroon. Beautiful!
When we reached a certain altitude, we started seeing evergreen trees! In Africa! We rolled down the windows and breathed in the smell of “camp” and “Up North.” In the van with us were 2 other missionaries from Michigan. We all appreciated the familiar Northern Michigan smells of pine.
Ah, finally! Something familiar on a trip in Africa. A few different times we came across Fulani herdsmen walking with their cattle.
Cameroon is a beautiful country and we just experienced some new sights. If I were more brave, I’d have snapped photos of the toll “booths” – people in orange vests standing by big barrels in the center lane collecting the flat rate of 500 cfa (about $1.00) – there were 4 on the whole trip. And when you slow down to pay the toll and collect your receipt, vendors come to the car windows to sell bananas, peanuts, plantain chips, and many other local treats.
And there was one major difference on this trip — while we did see barriers manned by officials, not one of them stopped us or hassled us. Thankfully, the current President has informed all officials to be nice to expatriots who are here to help the people of Cameroon. The message got through. They were very nice to us. We will go up there again some time. Anybody want to come with us?
This is so interesting, Janet! Thanks for the “Travelogue” I am glad you had such a nice trip.
Report This Comment