Douala to Bamenda:                                                                                                                                  Probably the most dreaded part of the trip was Douala to Bamenda.    We were quite surprised.           The first challenge was how to get the three of us (Oussematou  had taken a bus from Bamenda to Douala to meet us) into the car CESO uses for transport with driver John.   It was decided that three of our bags would have to go by bus.  All ID had to be removed, especially anything that would indicate Canada or CESO or our names.  So, the bags were stripped of all foreign evidence of ID of any kind, we put locks on the suitcases and kissed them goodbye.   The driver headed to the bus station.  We met with CESO officials and got set up to have our ID stamped by the police.  It wasn’t long before we were heading to the bus station where Oussematou would put a single piece of paper on each of the bags, ready to go on the overnight bus to Bamenda.  It was noon by the time we left for our 6-8 hour journey (330 km).  The aim was to get to Bamenda before dark.  Not possible!

Ebob  CESO, Allan, Lydia, Ossumatou IDB                           It just won’t fit!

When I saw the bus station, I said ‘Oh no....or something worse!  Here is Oussematou  ‘negotiating hard’ for the unmarked luggage to make the journey on top of a bus to Bamenda!  Oh, if those suitcases could talk!  Despite all fears, the suitcases arrived before dawn the next morning and were delivered to the apartment before we were fully awake!

After  the pot holes in Douala that covered much of the road often, we were surprised by the quality of road almost consistently to Douala.  I didn’t take pictures of the police checks or the road tax points. 

 

Due to the amount of room pictures take, I am going to do a separate attachment of pictures related to agriculture only.