TOUR TO CAMEROON, AFRICA December 12, 2005 - January 1, 2006 Tour members: Don and Nancy Miller, Joe and Denny Nkemontoh, and their three children, Dan, Ruth and Paul Brief History: The country got its name in 1472 when the Portuguese sailors first began making sustained visits to the coastal region. They sailed into the area of what is now known as the Wouri River and named it Rio dos Cameroes (i.e. river of prawns). From that time on, the country has had a variety of names, depending on its political and linguistic history, namely Cameroon (British), Kamerun (German) and Cameroun [View Full Entry]

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How can three plus week long trip be condensed down into a few blog entries? It can't. There is so much I have left out. So many experiences, smells, images, interactions... I know that things will pop into my head as time goes on so I may occasionally add to this blog. I would also invite anyone to ask questions or make comments to make this a more active blog. Also, I am creating a photo gallery. You can visit this by clicking on Denny N and then photo gallery. Musings: 1. It was difficult at times to write this blog [View Full Entry]

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We spent our last few days in Cameroon in Bamenda. I had lived there for one summer way back when. Bamenda was comfortable for us. Hot but not muggy. We stayed at the Baptist guest house. If you're going to B'da and need a place to stay, this is ideal. The rooms vary in size from two beds to seven beds. Very clean. Big windows that let in lots of light. Shared bathrooms with hot water. A great breakfast and very reasonable price. Plus Nkwen is a great location. Easy to get everywhere. We ate at Uncle Sam's the first night. [View Full Entry]

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We stocked up on food buying a big bag of rice, several stalks of plantains, oil, and more and then headed to the village. Once again, the roads were a challenge and it was dark by the time we headed out. This time, the road was very narrowing, only allowing one car in most portions. I was struck once again by Cameroonian expression of time and distance. When we ask, "How far?" or "How long?", we tend to give relatively precise answers. Like, "A couple of miles" or "Between an hour and two hours." Cameroonians might instead say "Not far" or [View Full Entry]

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Note: I thought it would be interesting to hear about the trip from another perspective -- that of a first time visitor to Cameroon, my mother. Cameroon Trip Report December 12, 2005 to January 1, 2006 Nancy Miller Arriving in Douala, Cameroon after a 20 hour journey was quite a shock. The heat was oppressive with high humidity and a crush of humanity. Much confusion regarding the entry process and a mobbing effect trying to obtain luggage reigned. Yet the Cameroons seemed boisterous and happy with only occasional angry outbursts. What a relief to see George Tangye’s familiar face waiting for [View Full Entry]

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George warned us that the road to Mamfe was in disrepair and it would take a long time to get there. We were determined to spend Christmas with Joe's brother Phillip and his family in Mamfe and several people told me that the roads weren't really all that bad so we forged ahead. It should've been adequate warning that we had a hard time hiring a van that was willing to go to Mambe... Live and learn. First we stopped in Kumba. Joe was brought up by his aunt and uncle in Kumba. He went there when he was seven years [View Full Entry]

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We're back home now and I never had another chance to make it to a cyber cafe so I'll do a couple of entries to cover the rest of the trip... When I left off, we were just leaving Limbe to go to the beach resort of Kribi. The roads were fine and we stopped often to purchase coconuts on the way. George insists they taste best eaten with bread but I liked them just as they were. We also picked up a couple of pineapples to eat once there. At intervals along the way, various food items are for sale [View Full Entry]

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Bought ten ore minutes of time while the family runs over to the boulangerie or bakery. I'll just hit on a few things: Ruth got hassled for taking a picture near a gendarme or police. They are never to be photographed in uniform with their rifles. She had to erase the picture in front of him even though he was NOT in the picture. It is all about power and intimidation... We visited the zoo. Lots of primates. The botanical gardens were incredible. We learned about the medicinal properties of many of the trees and plants -- saw the one that [View Full Entry]

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I've tried to add three pictures. It's time consuming and they're probably too big. Only two minutes left on this computer. I'll send a synopsis later. [View Full Entry]

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Hello! We're finally here! We left on Monday and arrived here Tuesday evening. We had safe travels all the way although Paul, our youngest son, set off the panic alarm in the Portland airport (just mildly, I don't mean to exaggerate) by leaving his scissors in the homework binder I was carrying for him... It took three hours to collect our luggage once we reached the Douala airport. It was very hot and muggy and we had porters vying to help us with our 21 pieces of luggage. George, Joe's brother in law, had come to meet us with two vehicles [View Full Entry]

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