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13-20/10/05 Mid-Visit Tour |
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On Sunday 13th November we set out on our mid visit tour, which comes distinctly towards the end of our stay. We decided to take our tour towards the end because the roads are impassable in the wet season.
Our tour took us to the towns of Foumban, Bafoussam, Kumbo and Bamenda. All in the North West or West province. The towns of Foumban and Bafoussam are part of the French speaking sector and Kumbo and Bamenda in the English.
We set off at 7am on Sunday morning ready for the long journey ahead. The way in which buses work in Cameroon is a “wait till the bus is full and then we go” method. This can sometimes cause great annoyance but is also part of the African way. After a two and a half hour wait for our bus to leave we set off in our 14 seat (18people) luxury ride to Bafoussam, arriving in roughly four hours time, then immediately changing buses to arrive in Foumban at 6pm.
We stayed the night in “Hotel Zenith” which was not as nice as the tour guide made out but was relatively comfortable. After struggling to put up the mosquito nets on very high ceilings we went to find some food. Monday
On Monday we visited the Sultans palace in Foumban which was a good experience. The museum at the palace was excellent and was the most organized and official tourist attraction we have seen in Cameroon. The guide was also of great help in explaining all the artifacts and stories which surrounded the history of the Sultans.
 Group in Foumban  The current Sultan of Foumban  Sultans palace  Traditional Cameroonian music  Central mosque in Foumban We then moved to the “Artizan” in the afternoon, where there are art and craft shops galore all of which are most insistent that you visit their shop. Anna and I found that the best policy was to speak very little and just keep moving. In the evening we returned to the same restaurant as the night before. If you find something good, why risk something else! Tuesday
On Tuesday we set off to return to Bafoussam and made quite good time. We arrived at lunch time in order to find our hotel. The hotel was nice and even had hot showers!!! Therefore our first hot shower in several months proceeded and then ventured out to some attractions in the local area.
The Fons (not Happy Days… but the Cameroon word for King) palace in a local village was disappointing. Apart from the traditional thatched huts the palace was relatively non existent, apart from the building site that was the new Fons palace. I suppose when your as wealthy as a King, thatched huts aren’t quite what you want. There was supposed to be a museum of sorts but it had apparently been burnt down recently and was to be rebuilt.
 Group at Fons palace  Traditional huts We then traveled to a near by waterfall, which the taxi driver claimed to know exactly where it was but then promptly stopped to ask a friend for directions (again, typical). The waterfall was magnificent and very beautiful, we spent around an hour taking photos and admiring the site. At the top of the waterfall there was a small hut and lots of salt and palmoil on the floor, this was apparently sacrifices to the river god. We then visited the Bafoussam Fons palace which was a pleasant retreat from the hustle and bustle of the Bafoussam streets.
Bafoussam Fon statue Notice the dates!!?
Wednesday
On Wednesday morning we left Matt behind in Bafoussam as he had what later turned out to be dysentery. He has since flown home to the UK after some nights spent in a local hospital and receiving a total of 10 drips. He is on the mend but the decision to fly home early was best. We took a bus to Bamenda (around 1 or 2 hours away) and changed to go to a more remote part of Cameroon to that which we are used to. The village/town of Kumbo has a pleasant cool climate, similar to that of Buea and was around 2000m above sea level. The scenery was amazing. We were kindly put up by a local NGO called the NAFTI Foundation which also hosts International volunteers.
 We had chips and omelets from a street vendor which apparently does very well out of the local volunteers. Thursday
On Thursday the local volunteers showed us to a cave which was quite a rugged trek away, but was well worth the visit. The cave was quite deep and had a nice waterfall pouring into it.
  We then visited the Kumbo Catholic cathedral which was an impressive building for Cameroon, let alone the small town of Kumbo. It was apparently funded by Germans.   Friday
On Friday we left Kumbo to visit Bamenda, we hired a small taxi to take us all the way which proved much more comfortable than the overcrowded buses. On arrival in Bamenda we found our hotel which was really nice. Again, luckily we had hot water and the dry and extremely dusty environment of Kumbo meant that the showers were well needed.  View from hotel in Bamenda Saturday
On Saturday we had a restful day visiting some craft shops and markets in Bamenda in preparation for our long journey home the next day.
Bamenda was a nice town with brilliant views again a relatively nice climate.
We choose to eat in the hotel on the Saturday night. Upon ordering our meal we were advised against the soup (ie they didn’t have any), and so we each took a salad for starter and when ordering main the only dish available from the twenty or so to choose from was the pork cutlets, the chicken was available but would take too long (ie it hadn’t been caught yet). This was most amusing and again typically African. It would have been expected in most restaurants but the hotel had several awards including “best hotel in North West province”. Sunday
On Sunday we traveled home. The journey was horrible. We arrived at the bus station to discover there were five seats left, just enough for all of us. The seats were fold down seats (the worst seats on the bus) and we had to share one between two of us. The bus journey took a total of 8 hours! I will never complain about journeys in the UK again!! The tour was a really great break from the hectic life at UAC and it was great to see such wonderful parts of Cameroon. It is incredible that the environment can change within such a short journey. |
Written by Eileen on 2005-11-22 22:37:28
You look well Thomas trim and bronzed. Some nice pics too.  | Holiday snaps
Written by Mum on 2005-11-23 16:43:57
Bill and I have just enjoyed looking at your "holiday snaps" - it looks great. Glad you had a good time.Sorry to hear about Matt.
Love, Mum | Rainbow
Written by Dan C on 2005-12-04 22:18:42
Anna, I didn't know you could produce rainbows out of your ear - what a party trick!
Seriously, fantastic pics. |
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