Côte d'Ivoire

This was my fourth trip to West Africa which I like much and is as complement to my ”love” to the desert. Complement – I mean the rain forest verso the desert. 

Only that in CI it was less of rain forest, unfortunately they were diligent to clean it for to make place for palms, rubber tree, coffee and cocoa. So it was more as savanna, only here and there a little of forest, apart from Tai of course which I not succeeded to visit due my lack of French language, i.e., not one word apart from bonjour etc.

 

We have rented the car despite everyone's warnings not to go alone without a guide or driver, as it is dangerous to go there alone, partly because of the way police check points, partly because of road pirates.
It turned out that there was no danger of anything, just a bit of bad roads, and thus it took longer to run. While we got to see more on the road and made several stop. We went no longer than a maximum of 150 km per day. 

The second trouble was only just lack of French so we missed certainly lots of things, on the other side it was instructive nonetheless, but people were helpful and had lots of fun for us to go to a country where we do not understand a single word LOL.

We made a round trip from Abidjan to Grand Bassam, then to Yamoussoukro, Daloa, Soubre, Sand Pedro, Sassandra and back to Abidjan. Originally I wanted  to go to Man too, but gave up just because of bad roads and not much time anyway and did not want to spend the whole time sitting in the car. And since I'm not mountain woman I would still not go up the mountain, though it would be wonderful to see it, but ... hoped to visit Tai, but as I said even that did not happen, even though I tried to get information in Soubre but could not make myself understood.

In Abidjan we not stayed long time, only one day for to pick up the car and next day we were going to Grand Bassam.


It was not so big town, old French capital with a lot of old colonial houses to see, but mostly destroyed, of course. 






Nice walk on the streets looking at the people what they were doing, like this woman, who tried to get fire to her grill.











To sit there near lagoon and enjoy the warmth, piroges, take a cup of coffee, was enjoyable.

On the water it was life also, people was paddling the piroges, fishing, some children played there and splashed water at each other.

We stayed there at hotel over New Year and also did a couple of trips around, towards Assinie, but never arrived there because we were held up by two women who walked there and stayed with us. We tried to talk and it was fun, because we could not French, not their language of course neither, and they could not English. But it was possible to communicate in some way anyway. We liked it, it was more fun than going to Assinia so we skipped going there. I dared not take pictures of them, thought it would be embarrassing to ask them too, so finally I took picture of them when they went on their way.

After a couple of days we continued to Yamoussoukro, present capital of Côte d'Ivoire. From Abidjan to there it was highway, a little boring, around was not so much to look at, only the road. When we arrived to the town I was really surprised over to see cows going on the street, funny to see such picture in capital. It was not so big, very small actually. What a difference from Abidjan which was really big, with so many people and cars of course.

We stayed there only 2 nights, it was not much to do there apart from Notre-Dame de la Paix. It was wonderful to see this, difficult to imagine that it was the largest church in the world, bigger than Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican. But it was because it stay in middle of nothing and proportions as well as disappears in some way or how I express myself. 

In the lake there were sacred crocodiles and it was also interesting to see Grand mosque.

We continued our travel now towards Daloa. The road was quite bad so we drove right slowly. Pity it was not so much to see around, only grass and palm here and there.

We drove along Park Marahoue without to visit it because I thought still we will see Tai.

In Daloa we ran into a police officer who did not find among car papers any patents and we got stuck in an hour before everything was cleared up. Got to call to Europcar for police "threatened" that we have to leave the car there and so on. But he was kind and to end he let us continue anyway. Probably he wanted have a small backsheesh, but we not gave him anything of course.

in Daloa

Next stop was Soubre, one small nice town where it was a wonderful landscape with big river and we were driving there a little on small piste here and there. Stayed at Campment hotel where I tried to have information about Tai, but …due our lack of French was no Tai.

nice carpark

Campment hotel

Along the road we saw many larger or smaller graves, then they have the same habit here as it was in Cameroon where there were graves at the roadside, too.










In San Pedro were there so many streets crisscrossing, chaotic city. It was a little difficult to find right street going to the hotel we would stay over in a couple of days. But one nice guy helped us to find.

Many people of course everywhere, but we enjoyed all there much. We have eaten also on one local restaurant to be served from pots standing on the ground where the woman have cooked and stirred the pot, it was a spectacle almost.
 

I even tried to swim in Atlantic but it was so big irregular waves, difficult to count out when it will be smaller waves, so it was only to jump there without to really swim.

In entrance there it felt a really very bad smell of to burnt garbage, smoke and smell. I think almost it was garbage they have burning here. 

If they do not have burned and made carbon, of course I know not, but wonder if it was not.
 
I was “very proud” over me to make one round trip through the city, find back to the beach and hotel from the city and then even find out on right way toward Sassanda, when we would continue our trip. LOL

Next stop would be in Best of Africa, 35 km after Sassandra.

There, I thought to stay, more days and enjoy, go also to the Parc naturel de l'Ile de Gaoulou etc. After to go on piste a couple of kilometer we came to Best of Africa. Destroyed it was, overgrown, the bungalows were barely visible in the bushes and grass. But, it was wonderful there, the beach, a fairy tale.

Later we were told that most likely was that the nearby village destroyed it all, so they did not get stick around despite the fact that the French couple who owned Best of Africa resort arranged electricity for them well.

  

So we went back to Sassandra, the hotel Poulett,
not so very good but not bad either,wonderful view we had from the balcony. 

Nice city it was also, old colonial house we found too and many many pirogs.

And had luck because there at the hotel was a French couple who could English, jippi (yay?). Got a lot of information and that in Grand Lahou is the hotel La Ravine, bungalows and even there is a park so we decided to leave Sassandra and went there the next day.

Which good choice! Self city was nothing to see,

but bungalows and surrounding was nice. 

 

And nature park was there too, a chimpanzee also so the next day we took the tour to the rain forest and visited the chimpanzee and like good tourists we fed him with bananas. 

Nice lagoon were there too, and so I found on the beach a little further away a dilapidated hut with three rooms so I "bought" it LOL.

Then it was time to go back to Abidjan and home. We made stop some kilometer after Dabou where I got the strongest coffee I've ever drunk, in one little village near lagoon there, not remember the name but it was one little nice village a little in French style.

It was nice trip, interesting and I am satisfied to see this country even if there is not so much of the rain forests. I was impressed and surprised that it was no problem somewhere, good traffic even a little hectic in Abidjan, but they followed the rules anyway and it ran fine. And at airport, it was perfect no chaos, everything was going good, through the pass control etc., so unlike Sao Tome or Cameroon.

Advice from my trip is – don't be worry to travel alone, to rent the car, to be afraid of something. Road police were absolutely without problems, every time they rolled just remove those tagged items (do not know what it is called right in English) and waved at us.

We ate mostly on the local restaurants and the food was only good - I liked attiki which was tastier than in Cameroon.

And the people, happy, helpful, nice.

 

the way to Best of Africa which not exist any more

Cameroon

My trip was different than I imagined it gets. But it have been very interesting and I learned a lot about the country.
Unfortunately, we had bad luck with the car that was often broken and we lost many days while waiting for the reparation.

Therefore I could not make the whole trip that I had planned to do:
Douala - Limbe - Nkongsamba - Bamenda incl. a bit on the Ring road through Ndop - Fouban - Foumbot - Bafia to Ebolowa and take a look at the Dja reserve for to continue then to Kribi.

Instead it became just Douala - Limbe - Kumba - Loum - Bamenda - Bafoussam - Bafia and via Edea to Kribi where we stayed several days and got possibility to explore instead Campo Ma'an reservation and surrounding area.

In Douala we did just nothing, going around to visit market Marche de lagos and Chinese market Marche Chinois. Wanted go a little further from there but I was told there are "bandidos" and I would keep me more in the center. So ... there overall was only chaos, so many people and cars, so many shops so I wonder if or how much they can sell per day and if it is possible to living from what they sell.

Limbe - there we were most sitting and waiting for getting repaired car ha ha. But anyway we were going to Buea to see tea plantation between other.

But my mangrove tour and even to go to Bimbia I could not to do because the lost time due the waiting for the car.
 



We succeeded in any case to go and visit Wildlife in Limbe and even Botanic garden.

After visiting Botanic garden we thought to continue to Kumba and Nkongsamba where we would spend the night, but instead ended we up in Limbe at the hotel Miramare because the car broke down again and we could not continue, just continue to the workshop for to repair the car. And then to Miramare Hotel. 

This hotel I can heartily recommend, it was a bungalow, simple but OK in any case, even if it was a little problem on the bathroom with toilet so we needed to use one bucket instead of flush normally. LOL.

 








Next day, we at least finally started our journey to Bamenda and it went well. We went via Kumba to Loum and it was our first experience of bad roads. 40km took about 2-3 hoursso then it was nice to stop and take a cup of coffee at a hotel that was on the way.
 
After Mbouda was a new road and our driver said it was the Chinese who built it and it was the only good thing they did there.
Yes, unfortunately we needed to have a driver, even if I like most to go by self, but it is not recommended to run itself in Cameroon if you do not know the conditions there. And for our part turned out that it was really good, because we would have trouble getting the car repaired every time something happened with it. The road signs was also missing, I think on the whole distance I have seen only 3-4 signs, so it would be maybe difficult to find right road.
 
Must commend our driver Ernest,

he was excellent good driver and took very good care of both the car and us. For that, he should get a medal, actually :). 

 Just before the Bamenda has it happened again - the car got problems and we therefore also. It was getting late and it took 3-4 hours for Ernest to repair it before the car could continue. 

To Bamneda we arrived late and first at 12:00PM we found a nice small and cheap hotel Moista in Nkwen Bamenda. The room was a bit so-so but still nice with a balcony, and hot water as well, great staff friendly and breakfast very good with a omelet so it was our first really good breakfast after Somatel hotel in Douala. Great view over Bamenda roof.

In Bamenda, Ernest left the car in for repair because he himself is not a mechanics of course so he repaired the car just so that we could reach Bamenda. So, throughout the day we have been waiting for the car, it took much longer than expected. But, afterwards, we never had any more problems with the car. So they are good mechanics there in Bamenda! More over, it says they are the best!
Have to mention that I followed LP advice about Super class restaurant and it was very nice place with good food.

 But we did not know, yet, that the car will continue without any problems, so I had to abandon my plan to make the Ring road and we just went to Bafut to visit Fon palace, which was very interesting both museums, the place and also the history about it. And even to know that the chief have 39 wife and 75 children, LOL. 

The two image above shows the royal palace and the picture on the right shows a sacred temple there had to enter only the king and the two or three noblemen of his closest aldermen.







We continued then to Bafoussam, where we stayed over night, because Bafia was far behind. Next day, somehow, I had suddenly to hurry to Kribi. Do not know why, maybe because I had to abandon my other plan because we not trust the car and decide to not go to Ebolowa), plus it was a bit difficult in Bamenda to breathe because of that they burned garbage the all night and it smelled so I got a giant coughing and had almost hard to breathe, even there in Bafoussam.  At evening we were in Kribi. And my cough began be better. Strange.
 
The road via Bafia and Edea was good so we were going the whole way with some stops only. Unfortunately they "have cleaned" rain forest "quite good", such trucks we met often on the road and even in the self rain forest.

Actually, I wanted go to Ebolowa, but Ernest said it is far away plus a really bad way from there to Kribi and he did not want to take the risk on that road with the car we had.

Kribi – very nice place with ocean 
and in the rain forest, which I like so much. Strange, I like very much the desert and rain forest as contrast to sand dunes :).
 







We stayed at Gite de Kribi, in small bungalow in the rain forest with "music" of the birds at day and frogs at night. And ocean.

We were going and explore Campo Ma’an reserve, should drive to the lake for to hopefully see some animals, but, one big stupid three was laying over the way, so we could not continue by car. And still it was about 10km to the lake, so we got not to see any animals.

 Instead, I went inside the forest, the ranger used machete for to go there and it was great experience for me. It was not so easy to go there, roots and other was in the way, but exciting it was in any case. 

Saw one small monkey jumping from one tree to the other. And many ants who were building anthill there.

 But the whole forest sang so wonderfully. It was of course the birds and the wind that sounded, but it was such a typical rain forest noises can say, and I love to listen to it.







One other day we took one trip in pirogue on the river there which was so peaceful and quiet. Saw one and other pirogue and have visited even the pygmies, who were living there near the river.

But poor they, we "nice tourist" learn them to drink and smoke, so they were alcoholics, which is terrible and I was not much happy for that. Hope only, that other pygmies who are living longer inside the forest have still theirs good ancient and original life in the nature.

 











Near Kribi is located one fisher village, Ebodje,
I think it was the name, where we have been watching how they fish and sort them afterwards,  it was funny to look at how they did.

It was a small bay there also and possible to take a bath, but I didn't in any case.

We sat there only looking at the people and life around us.

 

Theirs way to store things fascinated me, the fish together with cigarettes. Wonder if the cigarette tasted then fish, or how it was.







About 10 km south of Kribi was Lobe waterfalls, one wonderful low but wide waterfall with a lovely bay and beach.

And harbor in Kribi with the fish market which was almost empty was interesting to see and even the people when they bought fishes. There were also a few small shops where you can buy all possible souvenirs. But no hassle or so. The people at all was really nice and friendly, and so happy.

Then it was time to go back to Douala and fly home. Must mention also what happened at the airport was a chapter for itself. In passport control the man slept and for other it was to difficult to stretch a little more the hand etc. But I was just surprised that they were not as bureaucratic as for example in Sao Tome.

We had no problems at police checks along the way. They have just waved at us so we could continue. Only once they stopped us and started asking us what we do and where we're going and so on. Then he said he made service now for 3 days without being able to go home, he's a little hungry and thirsty. I just ate in the car a sandwich and cheese. So I wanted to give him the cheese and bread, but he wanted not have it and said only, that the he couldn’t buy anything. I said nothing, just smiled and said only no, it's true, and pretended that I did not understood what he mean and to the end, we could go. But the other policeman took happily the cheese anyway. 
So I not needed either to say a sentence that I got advice with "I will report to Paul Biya because he has promised not to ask tourists hassled." 

  

At finish, I have to say that the company we rented the car from, they said and wrote: “we want to once more say we are sorry if you didn't carry on your tour well because of our Car, we hope other trips will be better.” And, they gave us back 10% of the price and even if we come next time, they will offer us one free short trip as compensation for the car. So it was really nice and I appreciate it very much! So if some want to rent the car and drive in Cameroon, you can ask me about the name of that company and trust them completely!

Sitting overlooking the river agianst
Equatorial Guinea
wondering if I can go there one day also ☺

Sao Tome e Principe

Part two

 One year later I have been at Sao Tome e Principe again, because the island is so nice so it deserved to be seen again. This time I did also Principe and Ilheu das Rolas, the island on the equator.

 To Principe we flew with this little plan that was one journey that too, it was a little propeller plane, Africa´s connection, for only about 16 people. We were lucky to sit on first line, so I saw to pilot cabin. It was funny to look how the captain enjoyed of how his plane flew well. He literally patted and caressed the control desk so much he loved his little plan.

Principe is a really small paradise island, with a few roads, mostly not paved and difficult to travel on that ways. We were staying in the Saint Antonio, one really really little, very much torn city. 

 

It was nice to be there, to go there and look at the life, a little sleepy life in one part of city, in other part very full of life, with market, shops etc. One funny petrol station was there too, one big barrel and many bottles with petrol. I took the pictures there and he wanted have 50EUR for that, but I not gave him nothing, and he only laughed.

We rented a car with driver because it is not possible to drive there self, and find the ways. It was a good choice even if I not like to have guides, but there it was necessary. On this way we saw the most of the island, old plantations, beaches and small villages. 

                                                                                          

The people was very nice, maybe more nice and friendly than on Sao Tome. We were there 3 days, and then we flew back to Sao Tome.

Then it was time to go back to Sao Tome and take us to Ilheu das Rolas, the island on the equator. 

This island is south of Sao Tome island and we had to go first by bus and then took the boat for to come there.  The journey was a little exciting because it was raining before quite much. 

The roads were full of water, especially over bridges. But the bus driver drove through the "flooding" without problem and we came in time to Ponte Baleia from where the boat is going.

It took about 20min with boat to come to the
Ilheu das Rolas. We went directly to equator so it was funny to be just in the middle of earth. 

Wonderful view was there over the sea and Sao Tome island. Self island was really little and really beautiful, we explored it a little.

I took bath there between other, got a good lunch on the restaurant on Pestana hotel and at evening we went back to Sao Tome.