Blogs from South, Cameroon, Africa

Returning from a business meeting and with a couple hours to spend before the windy road back to the Yaoundé airport we were looking for a unapologetically quick act of tourism. We had been holed-up in the Hilton Hotel and needed something a short distance away. Fortunately, the musee de blackitude is tucked away on a side road only five minutes walk from the hotel. This museum is the kind of thing that makes travelling in Africa such a joy. It is an unexpected gem housed in a rather rudimentary setting. The museum comprises an eclectic collection of costumes, musical instruments, masks, furniture, sculptures, utensils. A reconstruction of a village kitchen and a royal chamber. It is a result of personal passions and is testament to one persons desire to preserve a heritage. This private collection ... read more

Cameroon...entering into this country from Nigeria entailed crossing a long, single lane bridge that passes high above one of the many fish-filled rivers winding their way through the region. The river is banked on either side by high rock walls that give way to thick jungle, and besides the small sturdy bridge and border control posts on either end, the only human influence that can be seen is that of a small dugout canoe that ripples through the water as the villager guiding it searches for a suitable spot to find dinner. As I walked across the bridge I had to stop to take it all in; no photographs because African border police are suspicious people, but it's not like a picture could have done justice to the beauty of that place anyway. That first view, ... read more

We made it safely to Yaounde' Cameroon after almost 3 full days of travel. We had two overnight flights and had some restless (seated) sleep on the planes. Exhausted to the point of brain damage. Tantoh, the man organizing the work we are conducting and community leader from the village we will visit, is an amazing personality. He is very animated, lively, and is excited that we are here. He has mentioned that the TBI program he participated is finally creating impact by all of us arriving. Bryon VL would be so proud and excited to hear him talk about the impact the program has had (even if it is 1.5 years later that the major impact is felt!). All of our luggage made it safely except for Cathy's personal bag. I feel terrible for her ... read more

Have to cross a bridge to get to Cameroon and soon as we entered we were in for a long arduous drive as potholes are everywhere on the dirt track, the only consolation is it is through dense forest, lots of tree and we saw some wildlife as well, monkeys and hornbills among others. A few small villages we passed through kids yelling out White, white, white or white people at the truck and waves at us enthusiastically. We stopped at a small town to buy food for lunch hardly anything, Our group is cooking tonite but we have to do truck lunch meaning whatever we have in the truck, tins and what not we made sheperds pie or a variation of it, Jo was not well so Dave and I did the cooking, apparently turned ... read more

march 14th I am leaving for Ongola (joke) today. Ongola is the former name of the city of Yaounde, the actual capital of Cameroon. It is a very admisnistrative town. the trip from Bafoussam to there fetches between 3 and a half to 4 hours by bus over a relatively good road of 287 kms (I calculated that distance). Yaounde is in the center of the country heading the ''province du centre" (Centre province), which is a landlocked province within the country. The Bus arrived at destination (Tongolo - Etoudi) at around 1pm. Yaounde is a hot place with much humidity in the air. A taxi was stopped to cover the remaining distance to home (I have family in Yaounde also). The rest of the afternoon and evening was allocated to a deep rest. march ... read more