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Well this will be my last blog entry for my trip in Africa (for 2007 anyway!!).Today is my last day here which is really sad, part of me is looking forward to going back to a developed country but part of me just loves it here and really wants to stay!I haven't really done too much since my last entry, its been a pretty lazy week which has been a nice wind down to a pretty crazy trip!The evening after I wrote my last blog entry I went to a nice restaurant right on the beach and had a beautiful meal of fresh prawns, the best thing was the chocolate ice cream I had for dessert though!!It was really expensive and cost over half my daily budget but I couldn't resist!On my last day in Kribi I went for a walk to the beach in the morning but got diverted by an artisan stall, they had lots of amazing artwork and I thought maybe ill buy something, about an hour later I left with some ebony elephants, a wooden statue of a pygmy chief and 4 passport masks which are small masks about the size of your hand that used to be used as passports betweens villages, there are different designs for different regions, I have seen them quite often along the coast here, they basically had the same function as modern passports we use today.I think I got a pretty good price for them and was so excited with my purchases, it felt like Christmas!In the afternoon I finally made it to the beach, the beaches around Kribi are really nice with palm trees and white sand and the water is safe for swimming.I walked along the beach and sat under a tree for awhile - surprisingly didn't get hassled too much which was nice, there were only a couple of times.It was Saturday so there were lots of kids and young people splashing around in the water or playing football on the beach and couples going for walks, most of the adults were sitting along outdoor beach bars drinking beer with friends, it was a really relaxed atmosphere, I really liked Kribi.Also that day the lady who does the cooking at my hotel, Prisca, decided to befriend me, in the morning she chatted away to me before I went out then in the evening I told her I was going to have dinner at the hotel (she made really nice food - and it was cheap) so she was happy about that, then that evening I was in my room packing up my bag as I was leaving the following morning and there was a knock at my door and it was Prisca, she invited herself in and made herself comfortable on my bed and told me she had come to visit me before going to bed.She was really sweet and told me all about her children and asked me about my "husband" and wanted to know all about him, so I showed her a photo of Greg which she liked and she said maybe when I have a daughter I could name it after her… nice thought, but I don't think so.I told her I would check with my "husband".I had told her I was married because it has become habit now to just say I am if anyone - male or female - asks me, but also I wouldn't want her to mention it to any of the men at the hotel in case they ask her so it is just easier to say to everyone (apart from other travellers) that im married.Also if you say you have a boyfriend/girlfriend they don't really consider it a proper relationship, for example if I told a man here I had a boyfriend and we weren't married then he would consider me single and available and assume I had come to Africa looking for a man - that is what they think when they find out you are travelling alone - and it is by far the most frustrating thing here!People are often surprised that my "husband" has let me come here alone, especially with all the handsome African men here that I could be tempted by, Prisca, for example, said exactly that to me so I usually just say that my husband was here but he had to go back early for work or is in the nearest city.When I was in Benin I told a man that my husband was in Cotonou (I was in Ouidah) and he couldn't believe I had left my husband alone in Cotonou, he said that my husband would probably be tempted by the beautiful African women there while I was gone, I said no that wont happen and he cracked up laughing and patted me on the back and said "you never know what is around the corner".I was a little annoyed at the implication especially as he didn't know my "husband" ( even though my story was a lie) but just laughed it off, fidelity in relationships obviously doesn't mean much to men here!But anyway back to Prisca, so we had a nice chat in my room then she said goodnight and left but told me to come and say goodbye to her in the morning before I left for the bus station. That night I had another massive cockroach in my room, I got the insect spray from reception and sprayed the hell out of it, these cockroaches don't die easily, you could spray half a can directly on them and they still run like crazy!Eventually the cockroach ran under the bed, I gave it a good spray under there and by that point my room stunk pretty bad of insect spray so I left it, didn't see him again so he must have died under there. In the morning Prisca called me into her room (she was living on the premises) and I had to wait for her to get out of the shower and do her hair, the bus was supposed to be leaving at 9:30am so I really wanted to hurry up as I had to go to the drycleaners and the market on the way.I had given some clothes to the drycleaners the day before as there was no other option to do my washing, and when I picked it up I realised later on that my belt buckle from my trousers was missing.My trousers are quite loose and I need the buckle to keep them up so I really wanted to go back and find it in the morning before going to the bus.So I waited for ages for Prisca, she wanted to escort me to the bus station, then she got her brother to take a photo of her and me and me and her brother, I also got a photo of her and me and I gave her my email address, she was really sweet.Then we went to the drycleaners but it was Sunday so the main part was closed and the man I had dealt with wasn't there, there was another guy out the back but he didn't know what he was looking for so in the end I just said forget it, otherwise I was going to miss my bus.Prisca came with me to the market and I brought some bananas for my breakfast then since I was running out of time I said goodbye to Prisca and jumped on a moto to take me to the station.I rushed to the ticket window and was told the bus wasn't leaving until 10:30am, typical, I should have known that it wouldn't run to schedule but as it was a reliable agency bus I guess I thought it would!So I left my bag there and went back to the market and brought a small backpack, like a school bag, to put my souvineers in as they were a real pain to carry around, I also brought a big bag of groundnuts, or Arachide, which I have become so addicted to!!!The bus back to Douala was pretty hot and cramped, in Douala I took a moto to the bank and got out some more cash, then took another moto to a major roundabout where there were bush taxis heading to Limbe, I got in one and it departed pretty much straight away.The police on the Douala - Limbe road were pretty strict with checking papers, we got held up for awhile and they wanted to see my passport and visa along with other people in the car.In Limbe I took a moto to my hotel which was the usual - cheap and relatively clean with cold shower and no toilet seat, there were no cockroaches which was good, but lots of ants and the fan produced hurricane force winds and you couldn't change the settings!I went for a walk that evening to find somewhere for dinner, the scenery around Limbe is really beautiful, its really lush and green and mountainous, it sits under the highest mountain in West Africa - Mt Cameroon - which is an active volcano, unfortunately I didn't see it the whole time I was there as it was covered in mist and low clouds.The beaches are all black volcanic sands and there is a major port there where you can take ferries to Nigeria.That evening I went to four different places to have dinner and in each place they gave me the menu then everything I tried to order they didn't have, I ended up getting an awful sandwich from a bakery and drank heaps of pamplemousse at a nearby bar which filled me up, I was wondering where all the restaurants were though!In the morning I went to the Limbe Wildlife Sanctury, I usually don't go to zoos because I can't stand seeing animals in enclosures and outside their natural habitat (no matter how nice they look) just for the enjoyment and pleasure of humans.But this place only held animals that had been rescued from poachers or people trying to sell them as pets, so usually they were very traumatised and orphaned, most came to the sanctuary very young and were very sick when they arrived.They had lots of different types of monkeys and chimpanzees including the endangered Drill monkey, and they had quite a few lowland gorillas.The enclosure was quite nice and spacious but I still hated seeing them locked inside what is a small space compared to the African jungle!They had nothing to do except walk back and forth along planks, most primates are nomadic so staying in one enclosure like that is not normal for them.The enclosures all had drinking fountains so when the animals were thirsty they just went up to the fountain, pressed the button and water came out, it was really funny to watch and quite human like!The most amusing thing there, and this sounds really cruel, was a small room with a huge python in it curled up in the corner not moving and a lone chicken running back and forth along the window trying to figure out how to get out, obviously knowing the danger that lurked in the corner!!I felt sooo sorry for the poor chicken but it did look quite funny, I have a good photo of it.The African python was massive, they grow up to 6 or 7 meters long, they are not poisonous so they kill their prey by constriction then they swallow it whole.They usually eat small animals like chickens, pigs, small goats and they have even been known to eat children!!Once they've eaten they don't need to eat for a long time afterwards and have been known to go up to 2 years before having another meal!!So I don't know what the python was doing there, I doubt that was rescued by poachers, but apart from that it was mainly primates at the Sanctury and it sounded like the minders take good care of the animals and have good relationships with them, I wish I had asked if they can integrate them back into the wild but I guess they would have no family group to join and would be too vunerable so the answer is probably no.After the Wildlife Sanctury I went to the Limbe Botanical Gardens which was just across the road and I finally found all the good places to eat in Limbe!!There were four restaurants there overlooking the water and they actually had food and were reasonably priced!I had a yummy lunch at a place sitting on a low hill overlooking the ocean with a beautiful sea breeze - the coast here (including Douala) is extremely hot, sticky and humid!!The gardens were really beautiful and had some really amazing exotic trees, i spent a couple of hours there.That evening had a nice dinner by the ocean again, though there wasn't much choice on the menu.The next day, Tuesday, I went back to the Botanical gardens to buy a beautiful picture that I had seen there the day before, it was made out of plaintains which are large green bananas that you have to fry before eating as they don't taste any good otherwise, so the picture was made out of the leaves from that.I ended up buying two, they were so beautiful!!Then I went to another artisan shop and brought some more ebony wood carvings, that was it though, no more souvineers now!I have been telling myself this whole trip that I could stock up on carvings in my last few days in Cameroon because then I wont have to carry them far or try and post them home which is very time consuming, expensive and confusing!So I have definitely stocked up over the last week!!This morning I took a moto to the gare routiere to get a bush taxi back to Douala, one thing i have noticed in the South-West region of Cameroon is that the motos here are far more powerful than any others ive been on in West Africa! Usually they are small motorbikes or scooters, but when i got to Bamenda they were big beefy proper motorbikes! You really have to hold on especially when they go fast up a hill and especially when you have your pack on! I think, especially in Bamenda and the Ring Road region, they need more powerful bikes to be able to get up the hills.We had some big trouble with the police at the checkpoint on the way to Douala, they checked passports again and one guy didn't have his yellow fever vaccination card (in Cameroon it is a legal requirement to always carry your passport with you and your vaccination certificate).So everyone in the bush taxi got out and surrounded the officer who was sitting lazily in his chair like he could sit and discuss the problem all day.He wanted a bribe but I don't think the guy had the money.The other passengers were quite angry and there was heated debate over the issue, eventually we had to leave the man and his wife at the checkpoint and carry on to Douala without them, the whole way to Douala everyone in the vehicle was debating the issue, luckily they did it in English so I could understand some of it, I think the guy was from Nigeria.It was hard to understand their English especially when everyone is trying to talk on top of everyone else.I felt bad for the guy, he looked really stressed, but the bush taxi was a lot more comfortable with 2 less people!!Arrived in Douala and took a series of motos to get from the gare routiere to my hotel, im staying at the same nice place with the hot shower that I stayed at last time I was in Douala.When I went into reception the lady remembered me and was so friendly, she said she had a proper room for me and I didn't have to stay in the pastors residence.So that's basically it for now,I just had some lunch and brought another magazine to read for my long journey tomorrow and tonight im going to have the same yummy sausages I had last time I was there!!Tomorrow I go to the airport in the morning and take my flight with Royal Air Maroc to Paris via Casablanca (in Morocco).I get to Paris at about 9:30pm and spend the night there, then on Friday morning I get the Eurostar to London where Greg will meet me, yay im so excited!!When I get to London I should finally be able to put the rest of my photos on here, it might not happen until after Xmas though?!I'll keep you posted…..Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!! xx
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