Day 110-114
20th - 24th March 2007, Cameroon	previous entry next entry

Day 110 20/3. Lac Ejagham, Nr Ekang, Cameroon

5°45.17'N 8°59.01'E. Miles today 121, Total Miles 10449

Just a short drive through the gate and over the rickety bridge and so we enter the dense jungle of Cameroon, our 9th African country. Finding ourselves having to step over the sheets of her semolina drying in the afternoon sun, we were greeted at customs by an efficient woman who took responsibility in stamping our carnets. A short walk through another gate and we were at immigration. Eventually, satisfied that we had our stamps, we got up to leave but Tatjana suddenly noticed that he had stamped us with an exit stamp instead of an entry one. This didn't go down well with his superior and he got a right bollocking. He apologised profusely and simply crossed it out and put in the entry stamp right below it. Hmmm…we thought, the police control are gonna have fun with that one. And so we approached the roads we had been warned about. Expecting the worst, they really weren't all that bad but we had fun. I would hate to see them in the rainy season. No sooner had we stopped to turn off at the Lake Egham to bushcamp for the night, the car was infested with small biting black flying things. A lot of frantic swatting and swearing and by the way, the Michelen map will never be the same again but makes an excellent swatter. T and M simply encouraged the few they had inside the car to go outside, wound up the electric windows and smacked on the air-con Rob and I on the other hand, head nets on, sweating like piggies but still laughing. Humpf! At the lake, we scrambled out the car to be greeted by more scary insects but jumped into the very warm lake for a much needed swim joined by few locals washing their mobylettes. Back at the car, the insect colony had diminished a little and so I whipped up spaghetti and tomato with bacon lovingly donated by the Swiss. Seeking refuge from insects, early to bed in tent..

Day 111 21/3. Park Hotel Miramar, Limbe, Cameroon

4°00.68'N 9°12.00'E. Miles today 194, Total Miles 10643

We say good bye to T and M for a few days while they do the Ring Road and we head off to explore the coast. We continued on the now pretty good road to Mamfe and made good time. The Express Exchange on the main street would only change Euro (or Dollar) cash. Only their branches in Doula or Yaounde will change travellers cheques and even then at a hefty commission. Lesson learnt here: We really should have bought more cash with us. This rule of 1/3 cash, 1/3 trav cheques and 1/3 credit card is a load of nonsense. Cash is king in Africa! We still had a bunch of Naira left from Nigeria, even after the wagon of biscuits and were advised to look for SA International near the motor park. This turned out to be just a suedonom for a tiny grocery store dealing in some black market money changing. They were very kind, as they don't normally take Naira and so did us a favour. Felt we should nurse a quick warm coke at a bar where we met Juluis, a rather large Cameroonian man who was delighted to have us in his country. After introducing us to his entire lunch party, we were anxious to leave. Only because there was the underlying fear that we may be invited to join them, which usually would have been an honour, only it was the gourmet delight of boiled fish head with boiled plantains. Yum scrum! Waved goodbye to T and M as they sped off on their good road while we negotiated our way well into the dark on our horrendously pot-holed track to Limbe. Thankfully the last stretch was not too bad, as it was now dark. Found our way to Hotel Miramar, which is actually inside the Botanical Gardens and where after some negotiation, we could camp. They did have a nice bar/restaurant and pool and we tucked into the local speciality of Ndole with beef, which is actually spinach with a lot of smoked fish and a sprinkling of beef. All very fishy and with a good side dollop of boiled plantains. Quite grim actually but it was good to get some greens.

Day 112 22/3. Park Hotel Miramar, Limbe, Cameroon

4°00.68'N 9°12.00'E. Miles today 194, Total Miles 10643

Lazy day just doing washing, internet and lotsa swimming. Have found delicious cheap Cameroonian ice cream in the shop across the street under the super fast internet café. Too scared to look at temp gauge. It must be well over 40C. Cupboards are bare and so have resorted to instant noodles for dinner

Day 113 23/3. Auberge Tara Plage, Kribi, Cameroon

2°54.34'N 9°54.10'W. Miles today 158, Total Miles 10801

Carried on further down the coast to Kribi via another inshallah navigation through the sprawling town of Doualla. The bush meat industry is rife here in Cameroon, with every animal available on the side of the road. There's the famous grasscutter which resembles a mutant hamster, monkeys, huge pythons split and coiled up like a cumberland sausage and speared with a skewer. Huge meaty lizards strung up by their necks and tortoises…alive or dead, you choose. The road to Kribi is great, smooth tarmac and Rob's bored! Kribi (although a tad touristy) turned out to be such a cool, languid town right on the beach. We made our way to Auberge Tara Plage for good camping under the palm trees on the beach. If you are on a budget as tight as ours, don't even think about venturing into the bar/restaurant. Way overpriced and full of expats not batting an eyelid at the silly prices. It is good to swim in the sea again. Again, very warm sea. Here we met Marc and Charlotte, a young French couple travelling to Cameroon in an ex-funeral van. What a laugh!

Day 114 24/3. Auberge Tara Plage, Kribi, Cameroon

2°54.34'N 9°54.10'W. Miles today 158, Total Miles 10801

Enjoyed another day here in Kribi. Explored the waterfalls nearby, one of the few that fall into the sea. Actually they were very small and life still goes on at this tourist hotspot with women doing washing and chores in the rapids. Back in the town, we wandered around the fish market filled with squid, snapper, capitaine, prawns and crabs. Wonderful! You can buy fish here and take it to one of the BBQ stalls outside and sink a beer while they grill your fish. Not being huge fish eaters, we tried to buy some squid but she wanted 10 Euros for it. So much for cheap African food. And so we resorted to the Old faithful of "beef" brochettes barbecued on the side of the road for us. Delicious.

Day 110-114

20th - 24th March 2007, Cameroon