Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Step Two

The flight went off without a hitch. Upon stepping off the plane I was hit with a wave of heat and started sweating. A few Peace Corps workers awaited us and took us off to a hotel in Douala. Traveling in Douala, or Cameroojn for that matter, is quite intense. There are no traffic lights, taxis stop in the middle of the road to make change with other taxis, and the roads are packed. There is a sort of common respect for each other on the road. People take their turn and it seems to work out.

The hotel was very western style. There was air conditioning, running water, and a pool. However no water in Cameroon is potable from the tap. One must filter or boil their water. The first meal was delicious and contained many favorite local cuisine. Grilled plantains, grilled fish on the bone, pineapple, rice, potatoes, green beans, carrots, and super hot sauce called pimoah(?) that you can put on your food. This is all cooked as one can imagine in America. Boiled, grilled, sauteed, etc. The night was sultry.
Hotel dinner.

See the pool?

Food.

Douala night.

We filled a bus and took off for Yaounde where we would officially begin our orientation in country. The scene was amazing. Lush, thick green flora peppered the entire countryside. The road was paved but full of pot holes. Our bus passed many cars and incited excitement and apprehension when the driver attempted to pass and a turn was approaching. The vegetation was too thick to see anything beyond the turn.

Yaounde is a great city. It sprawls out tons of houses and markets. Taxis abound and you have to be careful where you step. Our next hotel was similar to the one in Douala. Nothing interesting happened except I was able to ride in one of the taxis during our orientation (imagine lots of meetings and paper work, except in Africa).
View from the room.

Some locals.

The lush countryside.


The central region is only a two hour bus ride north of Yaounda. Here I will be here for ten weeks. 

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