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 ☺