Cameroon - 13 January, 2001

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Travel Distance

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Today we head off to Yaounde.  After packing up and checking out of the mission, we make a call back to Mark in Limbe to find out the status on the truck.  We are told that there will be some delays as there were some problems getting the out of customs.  We grab breakfast and then look for a taxi to take us to the bus station.  We get to the bus station around noon and look for a bus company to take us.

That is when we get into a bit of strife.  There are all these touts there trying to get you to go on their bus.  While we were at one bus company, we were told that the next bus left at 1:30 PM, so we decided to look elsewhere.  We followed one guy, but when we got near, we did not like the look of their buses, so we tried to turn away.  When he saw this, he grabbed Jacqui's arm and tried to drag her in, while other the other touts were trying to drag us away.  Paolo and Lars raced in there and started to beat the guys away and break Jacqui loose.  We then race across the street, stopping traffic as we go.  We had made quite a scene.

It was quite a mess until we escaped into another bus company that seemed to be quite good.  We tried to buy some tickets, only to find out the 12:30 PM was full and that we would have to wait until 1:30 PM.  We decided to hang out there - it was too messy outside.  At the last moment, they offered us seats on the 12:30, but it was so packed and we would have horrible seats, we decided to wait until 1:30 PM.

The bus ride was uneventful until we reached the outskirts of Yaounde.  The bus came to a stop and it looked bad.  We went to talk to some white locals and they told us that the road has been closed since 2:30 PM for some rehearsals for the Africa-France summit that will be held in a few days.  We waited a while and then decided to walk.  As we walked, 100 meters in front of us was the 12:30 PM bus that we had not taken.  We wandered on, went through a round about and went up the street on the other side - the traffic here was blocked in the other direction.  After walking for about half an hour, we find a taxi going in our direction and grab it.

We make it to our hotel at 6 PM.  It turns out to be a great hotel at a very good price, but they have no water.  They say it will come on at 11 PM, so we decide to stay.  As we are a bit tired, we decide to eat in the hotel - very good and reasonable price.  We then hang out in our room and take it easy for the rest of the night.