January 28, 2011

--Friday. After breakfast we drove to Buea, an old city of 60,000 residents who live in the city and many surrounding villages on the slopes of 13,000’ Mt. Cameroon.

Former capital of Cameroon from German occupation

Njoke, Barbara, Remy above Buea

Buea behind a budding tree

Flower gardens fluorish in Buea

--In downtown Buea across from the large old city market building, the Lifafa Travel Agency is operated by Njoke’s tourism mentor and friend, Remy.
--He joined us – 5 in the Toyota pick-up, and we drove on bumpy unpaved roads to see hundreds and hundreds of acres of the Tole Tea Plantation. The workers have deplorable living and working conditions – minimal pay, miserable housing, no company benefits of any sort, grindingly hard manual labor. The women we saw along the way appeared as if their lives are unspeakably hard.

Tole Tea Plantation - Women harvesting tea

 Tea Workers

Tea Workers' Housing

  

--Over palm wine in one of the villages, Remy discovered that tomorrow they would start dancing the Elephant Dance, so we decided to change our plans and stay on to see it.  Remy arranged with Edward, who would be dancing, to hold our camera and photograph the dancers up close. 

Palm wine break - Njoke, Barbara, Joe

Joe, Remy, Edward (tomorrow's photographer)

Woman selling fresh roasted corn on the cob

--On the way back to town we needed a snack.  We bought freshly roasted corn on the cob from a lady who was cooking and selling it at the edge of the street.  No butter or seasonings, but it was nutty and sweet, yum!


Much later we had lunch/supper at a “Spot” where we had Pepper Soup (bushmeat – antelope? with boiled plantain chunks in a peppery broth) and “Export 33.” We enjoyed it, but wouldn’t order it as often as we go to Sonic!

Pepper Soup and Export 33

--We drove then to another “Spot” in town for more “Export 33” and talk in the twilight, then to the hotel for the night.