First Convert

Hey! I'm please to announce that the travel envelope has its first convert! Morgan, a wonderful girl that I work with, is getting married soon and plans to begin hosting "Culture Nights" at her house. Like me, she'll pick out a country or state at random and have a night of food and fun with family and friends every month.  Hearing this MADE MY DAY!! What a fun thing to do to build relationships and explore the world. Way to go Morgan!

Buea

Prejudice dies hard. Someone on the internet recommended the town of Buea as a good stop in Camaroon. It's the highest village on Mt. Camaroon and will be the first to be wiped out if the volcano blows.  It sounded appealing to me because it is higher--and so cooler than lower towns. Also, it has some German influence.  Still, this is Africa--so when the article posted the picture below which is of a street cafe near Limbe which is on the way to Buea, I was comfortable.  This is what Africa looks like in my mind.

Below is a picture of the University of Buea.

Isn't that gorgeous? Shame on me for assuming that every place in Africa that I haven't heard of (which is most) is run down and dirty looking. I will try to do better. 

Plugs

Gotta love the internet! A popular tourist destination in Camaroon is Rhumsiki--home of the "volcanic plugs". I had no idea such a thing as a volcanic plug existed--but the internet and google images knows all about them.

Here's what Wikipedia has to say:

A volcanic plug, also called a volcanic neck or lava neck, is a volcanic landform created when magma hardens within a vent on an active volcano. When forming, a plug can cause an extreme build-up of pressure if volatile-charged magma is trapped beneath it, and this can sometimes lead to an explosive eruption. If a plug is preserved, erosion may remove the surrounding rock while the erosion-resistant plug remains, producing a distinctive upstanding landform.
Very cool. I like the mental image of a plug for a volcano like a plug in a bathtub, even if that image is completely inaccurate.

Hilton

Perhaps I should have posted this picture first in my travels in Camaroon---this is the Camaroon Hilton in Yaounde. It's the very first thing I found when I did an initial search in Camaroon and it gives me an excuse for a little rant that has been building up for the past 20 years or so. Here we go----WHAT ON EARTH IS THE POINT????!!!! Why would anyone (other than a Camaroonian looking for a luxury time) stay here? Why would a vacationer stay here? Presumably if you want to visit Camaroon, you want to see Camaroon? Why would you travel so far and then stay in a place that's as much like home? I suppose a business person might stay here to impress his client--but what a disservice! If a person is going to do business in a foreign country then it's crucial that they should experience that country. I suppose to be fair, I guess I can think of a very few situations where staying here would be a wise choice--but only a few.

I think I've been bothered ever since I went to Hermasillo, Mexico and saw the Club Med at the beach. Our group--which was staying with local people, was having so much fun! The beach was just as pristine--and we got to prowl around the street vendors and even had a few come to us--Pig Snout on a Stick anyone? I wouldn't trade that for anything. I could see through the gates at the Club Med and saw the --yawn--tennis courts. Wow. Tennis courts, nice rooms and American food just like home. I simply don't get it. Don't get me wrong, I like my luxury too but why go abroad and risk things not being the way I like them? If I want things MY way then I want to go where I know they are MY way--my favorite restaraunts, hotels, mineral pools, shows etc.

In Camaroon? I don't want 600 count linen sheets (unless that is what the country really goes for). I want hippos and rainforest and taxi drivers and different food and different languages and to see the homes, workplaces and shops of those who really live here.

Baka Pygmie

The Baka Pygmie people live in the forests of Camaroon as hunter gatherers. Their average height is 4.9 and the big threat in their lives is deforestation. There are several fascinating websites--groups like these seem to me to be the most exotic and alien to my life. This is the stuff national geographic is made of--mysterious initiation rites and big elephant hunts. The picture above is a house (not a hut). The thing I'm most interested to look up is the singing--some pygmie groups have performed for the BBC--so they seem to be aware of the outside world. According to several sources they have no wish to leave the forest and I can't blame them. From my romanticized point of view it seems like a good life--a tightly knit group where everyone knows who they are, beautiful surroundings, simple--yet meaningful work and a fine expression of the arts in music and basket weaving. It sounds like the kind of place where I could be happy. The downside of course, would be that the food wouldn't be as plentiful as I would like it, disease and superstition.

The picture above is of manioc root. It's a major source of food in developing countries--it provides great carbs, but not so much protein and you better prepare it right to avoid a type of cyanide poisoning. This is where tapioca comes from so I'd probably like it. If I were a Baka woman I'd be spending a lot of my time pounding the manioc root with a morter and pestle.

Safari

If you go to camaroonsafari.com there are several safaris to choose from. This one is the biggest. It sounds fantastic--except that I want a few days to myself before I start the safari to get over the jet lag. I think it would be especially fun to see a hippo. Figures---it's the most dangerous animal of them all.

Grand 3 Safari Tour

Trip: Bénoué National Park, Kalamaloué National Park, Waza National Park, cultural North + Yaounde
Duration: 10 days
Start: Thursday, Sunday (leave US one day before)
Departures: Dec – May
Cost group of 2: Approx. $3,500 per person (excl. intl. airfare)
Cost group of 4: Approx. $2,900 per person (excl. intl. airfare)
Price includes: accommodation, breakfast, lunch, all domestic transports, safaris, welcome dinner

Tour details
Day 1: A warm welcome awaits you in Yaounde as your guide meets you at the airport. In the bustling Cameroonian capital you get adjusted to being in Cameroon during a welcome dinner with your guide. If you feel like it, we check out the night/street life or you stay in the hotel and spend a relaxing evening.

Day 2: The next day, we take a domestic flight with Air Leasing (all planes are maintained by SIM located in France) to Garoua, where a private car awaits us to go to Bénoué National Park, an UNESCO biosphere reserve. There, you enjoy African cooked meals prepared by the park organization and sleep in a lovely and safe park accommodation (small brick-houses with AC).

Day 3: After a very early breakfast, we go on a morning and afternoon safari at Bénoué National Park, which holds hippos, giant eland, giraffes, water buck, antelopes, baboons, gazelles and more. Between the safaris, we will have lunch and a few hours to relax in the shade.

Day 4: In the morning we leave Bénoué to go to Garoua from where we will take a bus to Maroua. The journey goes through the lush North region to the sub-sahelian Extreme-North region of Cameroon. We will travel with locals, see a dramatic change in landscape and pass through interesting villages. We will stay at Maroua overnight.

Day 5: In the morning, we get picked up by a private car to drive to Kousserie where we stay overnight. During the drive you will witness sub-sahelian landscape and interesting little villages in the Extreme-North region of Cameroon. We will stop from time to time to check out local street vendors.

Day 6: After a very early breakfast in Kousséri , we will go on a morning and afternoon safari at the remote Kalamaloué National Park. The park is known for its herds of elephants, antelopes, hippos, giraffes, monkeys, warthogs and more. When we are done with the afternoon safari, we leave Kousséri to drive to the amazing Waza National Park.

Day 7: After a very early breakfast, we will go on safari at the amazing Waza National Park, an UNESCO biosphere reserve, which has some of west and central Africa’s most impressive wild life, such as herds of elephants, giraffes, lions, buffalos, ostriches, antelopes, gazelles, warthogs, a wide variety of big birds and more. At Waza, you will enjoy a morning and afternoon safari. We will sleep in the gorgeous and safe park accommodation (small brick-houses with AC) overlooking the park.

Day 8: After a very early breakfast, we will go on another set of morning and afternoon safaris at Waza. We will sleep again in the gorgeous and safe park accommodation (small brick-houses with AC) overlooking the park.

Day 9: After breakfast, we will take a plane with Air Leasing to Yaounde where we will arrive in the afternoon. If you want, we check out the street life in one of the bustling neighborhoods during the evening. You will stay overnight at Yaounde.

Day 10: We will spend the rest of the trip exploring the capital of Cameroon, where we, dependent on your preferences, go to a large day market and visit various sightseeing spots. Then, finally, we will take you to the airport for your evening flight to return home.

Highlands

We're back in West Africa, which sounds great to me today since we're having an unseasonable April snowstorm--gotta love Utah.  I couldn't resist this picture of the Camaroon highlands which looks to me like what I think Ireland looks like. Judging by google images, Camaroon is quite pretty--the Belgians must think so. Camaroon doesn't really get a whole lot of tourists except from Belgium for some reason.