Cameroon > Cameroon Experience

Advantages: People. Scenery. Warm welcome.
Disadvantages: Roads. Jabs and malaria tablets.

Five go mad in Muakwe. Five of us (plus Sylvester, our driver) are crammed into a 4x4. We'd set off from Douala at 10 o' clock that morning (10 o' clock "African time" meaning that it was actually about half past before we were on the road). Driving through Douala is one of those occasions when you want to look where you're going, but have to do it through your hands in front of your eyes due to the driving habits of the local population. Cars, ...
...of the road is potholed (as is invariably the case) then it's a game of chicken between cars travelling in opposite directions. There are no traffic lights - everyone just barges through junctions beeping their horns madly. Before we can leave Douala itself we have to make a diversion for refuelling as well as an extended stop while our driver buys a "new" (new to his vehicle, at least) tyre. The negotiations surrounding this purchase take just under ... Read review

Advantages: You'll have some great stories to tell your grandkids.
Disadvantages: If you get back.

"Staaaaan-ley! This is another fine mess you've got me into." - Oliver Hardy. Back in the days when I worked offshore this quote pretty much summed up the unofficial offshore staff response to being told they were required to visit West Africa. Most field staff would rather work aboard a nice, clean, modern boat in the North Sea than an aging boat with dilapidated equipment that meant it was forever popping in and out of the steaming, malodorous, ...
...It wasn't all bad though, and more by luck than judgement I had some entertaining moments in the area, especially in Douala, Cameroon, where our boat was based. *Weather* Cameroon is unfeasibly hot, in the same damp, energy sapping way that a sauna is hot. It is also wet, with seasons where it rains at the same time every day in the middle of the afternoon, and other seasons where it just seems to rain the entire time. And the word "rain" doesn't ... Read review