Broken bridges and drowsing drivers: welcome back to Cameroon
on Mischa in Cameroon (Cameroon), 08/Sep/2010 13:08, 34 days ago
Our journey as far as the city of Ngoundere in central Cameroon was fairly smooth, with only minor blips of faulty cargo unloading machines at the airport, arguments in the train ticket queue whenever someone bribed their way to the front, and the five minutes when we thought we’d lost my sister’s ticket (I had it…). From Ngoundere we had to get a bus to Maroua in the Extreme North.12.30pm:We have fought through the scrum to get our tickets and onto the bus and we set off from Ngoundere, in good time to make it to Maroua by the early evening. We have good seats on the big bus.1.30pm:We stop to pray. It’s Ramadan and we have a Muslim driver, so prayer stops are taken very seriously. Bus travel is always faster with Christians.2.30pm:We reach problem bridge number one. The bridge is broken and no large vehicles can cross. There is a queue of about thirty lorries on either side of the bridge. Their drivers have been camped out there for days and days, sleeping under their lorries. We take all of our luggage out of the big bus, pile it onto a small bus, and cross the bridge on foot. We all cram onto the small bus, five people to every four seats. Every time someone thin climbs onto the bus people try to claim them for their row.3.15pm:We set off again. Our neighbour on the bus thinks it is funny to say that we are black people and he is a white person. He repeats this several times. It does not become funnier.3.30pm:We stop to pray.6pm:We stop at a garage.6.15pm:We stop to pray.7.15pm:Night has fallen so the driver can break his fast. The bus stops so he can eat his corn on the cob.9.15pm:Our driver is feeling sleepy, probably because of fasting all day. Instead of falling asleep at the wheel he decides to have a nap for half an hour by the side of the road. The passengers tell each other off for playing music too loudly to make sure the driver can have a good nap. We all climb out of the bus and wait for him to finish sleeping.11pm: We come to problem bridge number two. This bridge is weak so it has a height limit, so that big vehicles can’t get over (they drive through the river instead). Our bus could fit under the arch to get onto the bridge, but not with the huge pile of luggage piled on top. We all get out of the bus, all the luggage is taken off the top of the bus and put into the bus, we cross the bridge on foot, all the luggage is taken out of the bus and put back onto the roof, we all get on again.11.30pm:We set off again.12.30pm:We arrive in Maroua. My friend Lizzy has been waiting for us very patiently and brings us cake.Hopefully we’ll set off for Maga tomorrow. I’ve asked four different people from Maga about the state of the road post-rainy season. One said it would be better for us to stay in Maroua rather than attempt the trip, one said there isn’t a problem, one said the road was fine but the village is muddy, and one said that you have to take a boat to get there. I’m still asking around!