Cameroon

Cameroon backpacking tour in april 2012.

I chose this trip because I wanted to climb a relatively easy mountain. Also Likes to explore the "African wilderness". The primitive society, little technological infrastructure, pristine nature, ... Cameroon is called Africa in miniature, because you can find almost all vegetation types in Africa here. During the meeting I was immediately told I would get to see the REAL Africa during these 2 weeks (unlike Egypt). Very curious I left for Cameroon with six companions and a tour leader.

Bangem

After a night in Douala we took the bus to Melong early. Along the way we got to see lovely landscapes and untouched nature. I immediately noticed  that the plants here had a different color green. Much richer and brighter.
You could immediately feel the African culture. On the way to Melong we halted several times. Here people were ready to sell  their products to the passengers on the bus. They sold through the opening of the bus window.

The ride took a lot longer than I expected. Once in Melong, we took a short lunch break. Our lunch was practically the whole 2 weeks. We bought some bread , canned sardines, a jar of mayonnaise and a piece of fruit (mostly guava) at the local market. Everyone of us had a pocket-knife which we used to cut the fruit and bread.
Melong is a large village with a relatively large market. From here there are different roads to various cities. Nevertheless did our presence go unnoticed. Not only because we were carrying backpacks, but also because of our skin color.

Our contact person for the first few days was Alfred. With his car we left the asphalt road and we took a small dirt road to Bangem. This small commune was located deep in the green hills of southern Cameroon, away from hospitals, markets, banks, etc. .. "In the middle of nowhere". I liked this place very well. Loving the atmosphere and simplicity in this beautiful location. 

We stayed in a guest house and got delicious food presented. Sleeping under a mosquito net every night. Cameroon is located in the area with a high malaria risk. Every morning I took Malarone just to be safe.
When walking around in Bangem, all children watched us with big eyes and an open mouth. And so, I  was soon called  "White Man!". I carried this name around for the whole 2 weeks.

The next day we went on tour with the motorcycles on the hills, to Lake Man and Woman Lake. Unlike Nepal and Egypt most transportation happened with motorcycles. When we arrived the view was incredible! A large valley with two lakes. One turquoise, the other dark blue. We tested the legs with a long walk around the lakes.

At noon we halted on the bank to eat. After a few minutes I noticed a large cloud rapidly approaching over the hills on the other side of the lake. Soon it raged in our direction. The golden rule in Africa is "take your time", but when I saw the Cameroonians running for shelter I knew we did not have much time. We quickly bagged our stuff and sought shelter. During the tropical downpour that caught us for an hour, I saw the rain falling horizontally! We were soaking wet, my shoes were ruined! I had to wear my trekking shoes for the rest of the journey. This would save my trip in a few days.
On the way back to Bangem the rain had left its mark! The dirt road was muddy and slippery. Despite the cautious driver, we still slipped two times, but without any injury.

The next day we got to know Bangem a little better. Visiting the presbytery, enjoying drinks on a terrace and playing football with the kids.
In the morning we left Bangem onto Bamenda. The long drive took us to one of the largest cities of the country. On a terrace we enjoyed a beautiful panorama and a delicious meal. After lunch we headed to our next stay; Belo!



Bélo


Once in Belo we prepared for the home stay. Suzanne and I were assigned to the family of Emmanuel. The others were also split into groups of 2 per family  in a surrounding village around the city. The home stay comprised largely 2 evenings and 2 nights. Here we learned the African way of life from a closer view.
My host family consisted of 6 people. Emmanuel and his wife, their three children and a niece who was staying with them because she studied in the neighborhood. We were given a brief tour of the "house". They had an homemade toilet outside that consisted of a large pit showing some shelves with a hole. Afterwards, Emmanuel showed us around in the village.In the evening when the sun had set, the dinner was prepared in the kitchen (this was a small hut, apart from the house). Since they had no electricity and gas, they chopped some wood to light the fire for cooking. Al of the smoke remaind under the wet stra roof which made it hard to stay around!
We had dinner in the living room. They tried to illuminate the room with a few candles, but because there was so little light I saw little and enjoyed my food purely on the taste. Plantain was a common ingredient of the local food. It can be prepared in various ways and is very similar to a banana. I loved it!
Every night we noticed that our family wanted to go to sleep, but did not leave us out of courtesy. The Cameroonians go to sleep a few hours after sunset and get up again at sunrise. This was something had had to get used to.
There were regular annoying silences. This is why home stays aren't my thing. Every morning we got a bucket of water pushed into our hands to wash our selfs. The "bathroom" were three corrugated iron plates behind the house, which had to provide some privacy.

After breakfast we went for a horse ride at the nearby town of Fundong. For several hours we enjoyed a horse riding trip on green grass hills. It was a beautiful view and something different than walking all of the time. Unfortunately, this day didn't go as planed. My horse had no saddle and it was not in the mood to make great efforts. During a short break, the tour supervisor took the horse out for a run to make them more active. Back on the horse I went trotting to join two of my companions who decided to keep a little race between them selfs. The two horses were galloping and gave everything they had. My horse also started to canter. I tried to get the animal to stop, but it was racing along with the other two horses. After about 10 seconds I fell off the horse, but my left foot was still in the bracket. It dragged me a few meters over the ground and finally kicked my foot out of the bracket. The kick was right on top of my foot. I couldn't bend my foot because of the inflamed tendons. If my regular shoes hadn't been ruined by the rain in Bangem, I wouldn't have worn my trekking shoes during the excursion. And so, this would probably have resulted in having a broken or cracked foot. Luckily, I didn't get any injuries from the fall.

In Belo we searched for anti-inflammatory drugs, but without success. The tour leader had small pieces of ice collected, but without medication it had little effect.
The next day was Easter. My host family asked Suzanne and myself if we would want to go to the celebration in the church. This proposition we obviously didn't turn down. After the celebration we said goodbye to our host family and left for Bamessing.

Before we arrived in Bamessing, we made a brief stop in Oku. This village, which lies on the border with Nigeria, is recently known for its wood carvings. Along the way we got the chance to visit the beautiful crater lake: Lake Oku.



Bamessing



After a very bumpy ride, we were received during the evening by Emma in Bamessing. After her husband died of malaria, she had a large guest house set. We would stay here a few days. This was the most comfortable stay of the trip. In the evenings, oil lamps were lit everywhere. This gave the guest house a very special feeling.

MDOP is 10 minutes (by motorbike) from Bamessing and is known for its large market. Here one can find a large assortment of fruit, clothing, fish, work tools, .... I immediately went to a "grocery store" (read local pharmacist) to buy the major component of anti-inflammatories. After taking some pictures and buying a souvenir, we returned to our guest house. Here we mainly relaxed and rested cause next week, there will be some though days. There was also a French couple staying in the guest house. They had already climbed the mountain and tolled us that it would not be an easy climb. These thoughts haunted me for hours ...

 

The next day the group went on a day trip to test their legs. Suzanne (who suffered from a knee injury) and I spent our day in a different way. Emma knew someone who wanted to accompany us to two waterfalls. It was more climbing and walking than I expected. Along the way I found a horn of a dead animal in the high grass.

We climbed along the river that brought us to the waterfall. This was not so easy, because there was no path to the top. We steeply climbed between shrubs and trees. Because of the many water that came down, the surface was slippery. This gave the little trip a bigger challenge than we had originally expected. When we reached the waterfall, we enjoyed a beautiful view of the area!
The second waterfall was a bit further. This one wasn't on a hillside, but in a valley between hills. On a large rock in the water, we ate our lunch. After a short swim, we returned to the guest house. The guide patched up the horn that I found, so that I could take it home with me.

Our driver was a few hours late to pick us up. Because of this, we arrived in Buéa late in the evening. We were certainly not happy with this, because we needed to climb the mountain the next day. In the afternoon, we stopped over in Melong to admire more of Cameroon's natural beauty. To get to the falls, we had to cross a large fallen log! This experience, along with the panorama, I will never forget!

In Buéa we (all 8 of us) jumped in a taxi to quickly go eat something. We met a Belgian who was doing a grand trip throughout West Africa. He had climbed the mountain alone, without carriers or guide. I thought to myself; if he could succeed without porters and a guide, than I can certainly succeed with them. Still, I was a bit nervous because the incubation period of Malaria was over. From the next day on, the symptoms could start which I certainly could not use during the climb of mount Fako ...



Mount Fako

With a lot of uncertainty, I began the ascent of Mount Fako, also known as Mount Cameroon. With its 4095 m high summit, it's the highest mountain in Western Africa. The mountain is known to the different landscapes that are encountered during the climb. We took the Elephant Trail to the top.

The first day we climbed from Buéa; which lays at 1000m; to Hut 2. This is at 1800 m climb. The first half was very heavy. On the not so steep slope, I had to bend my foot which was still injured. The higher we climbed, the closer the area was forested. The whitewashed stones were a guide for our route. The damp climate made us sweat even quicker. In the jungle, we felt the silkworms crawl on our skin.

The second half of the day, I noticed that the climb went much easer. I didn't have to bend my foot anymore because of the steeper hills where I could just place my foot and climb with the power of my legs. Here the jungle was replaced by grassland. There was a dense fog that slowly but surely moved over the flanks of the mountain. Together with Barbara and Lennert, whose physical conditions were similar to mine, I was soon walking much further than the rest of the group. We kept a high pace and encouraged each other. The competitive atmosphere motivated us to keep short breaks.

After some stretching exercises we set up our sleeping gear. We enjoyed the view and the sunset. At a campfire we ate pasta with a spicy tomato sauce. This wasn't a really good idea, looking back to it. In a hut made of corrugated iron plates, we slept on a large wooden plate one meter above the ground. Under the plate, the floor was packed with straw. At night we discovered that we weren't the only ones spending the night here. We heard mice walking around the straw, nibbling at plastic bags with the food supply. We were awakened in the middle of the night by a scream. It was a traveling companion that felt a mouse walking past her cheek! After a night without much sleep, we prepared for the next day. The mice had bitten holes in some backpacks because they smelled food. Many of us were tormented by the spicy tomato sauce from the night before. Still, we got to see an incredible view over Cameroon! We could see across the countryside and over the clouds for miles.

The guide said we were a few hours from the summit. The first break would be Hut three. Because of my messed up intestines, the climb was more difficult but at this point, there was no turning back. Barbara was way ahead of us. How she managed to keep climbing witch such endurance and speed, I still don't know! At Hut 3 we had a view of the top for the first time. We ate something quickly to power up for the last part of the climb.

Lennert, Barbara and I left immediately. This last part to the top was easier than we had thought. Nonetheless, the summit seemed terribly far away. The higher we climbed, the less grass there was to see.

At the top the view was indescribable! The guide told us that not many climbers get such a clear view with so few clouds. There was a very strong wind, which made us struggled to stand straight. The performance, the view, the teamwork, ... I was proud of myself for accomplishing this with an inflamed foot.

Via another route we began the descend. Mt. Fako is still an active volcano with seven eruptions in the last century. There is a large paved lava route, that flows towards the coast. This trekking route would lead us to Limbe. I never expected that the descent was going to be heavier than the climb! The loose pebbles made sure the pace was cautious in steep areas. It was very tough on the knees!

The contrast between the black lava and the untouched scenery was beautiful to see. The lower we got, the wider the lava flow was getting. At the end of the day there were two large craters in the black lava field. A beautiful view! After a long day we arrived at the tent camp. This was just below the tree line. At the campfire we took care of the blisters on our feet. This is what you get on suck rough terrain!


Today would eventually be the toughest day of the trip. Once we had packed, it began to rain. Soon we were soaking wet! During the small periods that it didn't rain, we still felt many drops falling of the leaves. It seemed like it rained constantly. Our backpacks were transported by the porters in potato sacks, so these were also very wet. Along with the tour leader, the guide decided to not only do the route of today, but also the one of the next day. A very high pace was maintained. The ground was muddy and there were a lot of wet stones on the route. This made the trek a bit dangerous. On some parts of the route, we had to talk silently, because it would scare the wild elephants and make them aggressive. Unfortunately we have not seen a single elephant, just footsteps and cracked trees. Once we arrived on the coast, everyone congratulated each other and we took a dip in the sea. Here began the last part of the trip.

Limbé

The volcano eruptions gave Limbé a black beach. Here we enjoyed tropical views and a well-deserved rest, after the efforts of the past few days. From the coast we saw many small islands emerge from the sea. If the weather was good, you can see one of the islands of Equatorial Guinea. Everything was "polé polé". We visited the Wildlife Center and took a walk in the botanical garden. In the old market, we bought some last souvenirs to take home. We enjoyed a cocktail at went to the fish market, were we chose a freshly caught fish that we ate on the beach. The good life!