After nearly two weeks of absence I have returned to my home in Douala. My travels were long, exhausting, stressful, amazing, and entertaining all at once, but I’m glad to be back in home base! My journey to the North of Cameroon has easily been one of the coolest experiences I have ever had, so, of course, I better share them with you. Feel free to put on Lady GaGas “Alejandro,” the song that was stuck in my head for nearly the whole trip (my ipod battery died while playing that song during a ‘ hours bus ride in the North). Enjoy!
The military flight that wasn’t meant to be-getting to the North of Cameroon is not easy, we wanted to set up camp in three major cities in the region, Ngoundere, Garoua, and Maroua (feel free to google map those) although to look at a map, it doesnt appear that far, to get to Maroua, our first and furthest destination took nearly 30 hours by a combination of buses and trains. Now, while planning this excursion an interesting opportunity came up- the chance to piggy-back on a military cargo flight to the North, which would have cut our travel time down to about 2 hurs. Of course, this option seemed VERY appealing (and a bit epic, I mean, how often do you have connections with the military and Cameroon to travel with them? Quite adventure worthy I thought, although here this isn’t an entirely unusual mode of transport for friends and family of people in the military). So, we were told the compromise is that we would have a dirt cheap flight, but it would leave during the week, but it would be short notice (we would know maybe 24 hours in advance) BUT, like many things in Cameroonian, you can’t put all your faith into one option, things change and challenges ALWAYS arise- this time in the form of delay after delay after delay, untill finally, we sadly had to give up on our military flight because we risked not making it to the north at all due to time constraints. I mean…30 hours of travel is that bad…is it?
The train- Being the budget traveller I am, when I saw the option of sleeper class, first class, and second class for a 17 hours train ride, my instincts easily drew me to the cheapest option- 2nd class. Now that was an experience! Dirty, crowded, uncomfortable, Ive never experienced train travel like it before. Seats were tiny and uncomfortable, people were nearly sitting on eachoether and many had no options but to stand ooooh yes, welcome to CAMRAIL in Africa! Also dont forgot the constant need to keep an eye on your belongings, you never know when someone might swipe something when you close your eyes to nap!
Fortunately, the train ride passed without any major issues, we chatted with the other passengers, shared our cookies, ate bitter kola nuts, bought snacks from the chhildren who swarm the train at every stop trying to sell you their various products (including massive bottles of honey? Who wouldnt need honey during a 17 train ride?). I was the only one of my group who thought “to hell with me sleeping and sanitation standards, Im sleeping on the floor!” So for much of the journey, I could be found on the floor, sandwhiched between a little old Cameroonian lady, a giant bag of peanuts, and half crammed under a seat in order to allow traffic to continue down the aisle. I definetly got some laughs when I first went to the floor, I dont think any Cameroonians expected that. All in all, it wasnt the WORST sleep Ive ever had…
The cities, towns, and people of the North- the North was VERY different than Douala, they were almost uncomparable. Douala is a big, dirty, exciting, cosmopolitan, and not necessarily “warm” city. The north was far poorer, more isolated, calmer, and the people seemed much friendlier (instead of the typical and slightly rude “le blanc” of douala people actually said “bonjour” and smiled as you walked by-a nice change for once! We saw mosques, visited open markets, and experienced a very different culture, highly influenced by Islam and North African cultures. t was really someting! In each city, we found lodging with friends and family members of people we know from Douala.
The sites- Although Ngoundere, Garoua, and Maroua were our primary camps, we hired a car and a driver to take us to some of the more isolated sites. Rhumsiki is a part of the Mandara mountains, which form the border between Nigera and Cameroon, it was one of the most surreal landscapes Ive ever seen, high rolling mountains, with amazing jagged rock out croppings peppered across the surface. It was almost like being on a different planet. I hope my pictures can do it justice! We also visited Lake Lagdo, a lake that was formed after the contrustionn of a hydro electic damn- the lake was beautiful and surrounded by mountains. We discovered an empty resort that was guarded by one sole employee who we caught sleeping on the job. We swam there and and took some time to relax.
One minor dissapoiuntment was the fact we could ot get to Waza park, one of the best wildlife parks in Africa, also one of the best places to find the big five animals of Africa (lions and what not) but unfrotunately the rainy season made it impossible to access, so instead we went to a smaller park and had the chance to see hippos, antelopes, monkeys, and baboons in the wild, it was still really cool!
Well, my time is running short, and I have numerous stories to share from this trip but Ill summarize by saying- Like everything in Cameroon, travel requires HUGE amounts of patience and flexibility, and it is deffiently not for somebody who needs to stick to a schedule or a plan, those just DO NOT work here. Even the simplest things that would take 5 minutes to discuss agree and organize at home, take hours here because of the environment and Cameroonians love to talk and talk and talk…ooooh Cameroon, c’est la vie!
