Sunday, July 6, 2008

and the almost arrests in Yaounde

well, here are the photos i promised, and hopefully as many as i can post, i am spending this next 45 minutes doing so,



but before that, a quick review of the trip to Yaounde - first a crazy bus ride there to make it at 12:45, a crazy cab to the hotel, a bargaining show down at the hotel, showers and then to the party 2 hours late, arriving to paradise in Cameroon (a swimming pool, hamburgers, brownies, beer, music and other Americans, one of whom worked at Camp War Eagle in the Ozarks - but no photos because it was not allowed)...then getting pizza near the hotel and later in the morning finding the best bakery which we frequented over the next day for eclairs, icecream, hamburgers and hot dogs, walking around town trying to find postage and postcards but postcard were $1 to $2 a piece and i ended up only buying some basil to throw on some of the bland meals but after a morning and afternoon doing that on the 4th we went to find the Vietnamese restaurant but ended up taking two cabs and consulting with many people to only find a Chinese restaurant (which didn't look so good, but my meal was good) and then going back to the hotel and resting until one of the coolest nights i have had so far began at a Jazz Club named L'awale where the Embassy guy who runs Cultural programs told us to go and so we went and it was amazing, starting off with just jazz and some singing by the crazy entertainer who was also playing at the independence day celebration and then some beautiful voices from both men and women and Lanissa - a young woman who works at the embassy - and we sat there and enjoyed for hours and then to bed to wake up to more of the bakery, changing money at the Hilton in a nook illegally and then almost getting arrested for taking a picture but working our way out of it with Courtney's French skills and telling them that we needed to call the embassy and see if sending us to a military office and buying them a whiskey each was really how things worked and then more unsuccessful shopping and then to the bus station while almost being arrested - probably not so much us as the cab driver - because the driver saw the cops and knew that we had illegally fit 6 into his cab and so he drove through the middle of traffic to allude them and after clipping another car's side mirror and almost hitting a bike the cops stopped us and we jumped out, grabbed the bags, tossed the money and got to the bus company and finally, an hour late, hopped on the bus and made it to Buea after passing a bad wreck on the bridge over the bay from Douala where one person must have fallen from the bridge because of all of the people peering over and into the water but we mos def saw an old man with a bloody broken leg and motorcycle on the ground and a younger man with a bloody arm and body after having apparently smashed into the windshield of the car stopped near by, but home and drinking with Jason, the Scottish volunteer whose last day is tomorrow, and trying to leave in the morning but Tako couldn't find a bus but Loan left instead and fit on to one of the 3 spaces left and so we are here where i am now about to post photos, i actually earlier bought some Heinz ketchup and then having the dinner celebration for Jason's last night at the Orock's and tomorrow to Mamfe and continued life on the project and in the Heritage Inn with the others and our game of settlers



photos, now, (and for more, see Berit's photos on facebook),



well, it doesn't seem to be working, so maybe haynes will have time to download some i will try to send him over e-mail and then post them for y'all

until next time, and as always, whenever that may be, enjoy your summer while i enjoy Cameroon

c'est L'Afrique (this is africa)

2 comments:

carly. said...

Now that's more like it. I'm jealous of your ketchup - enjoy it.

xo.
c.

amanda said...

hunter.. did your "." key fall off or something?