Journey to Bamenda
Saw the countryside today and it was beautiful. Of course, after 6 hours jolting over less than impeccable roads, I was nearly paralyzed by the end of the journey, but Bamenda was a welcoming sight for more than one reason. Kudos to Mike for navigating quite the intense road journey.
The hills are beautiful! (Granted, it doesn't take much to impress this prairie girl.) Covered in thick foliage most of the way, sometimes row on row of papaya trees or banana trees, the foliage thinned out somewhat closer to Bamenda showing some rocky outcroppings, steep banks, and the occasional four-sided peaked-roof house.
Bamenda itself impressed me much more than Douala which seemed to be made mostly of shanties -- no doubt an unfair assessement as I likely saw only a tiny fraction of the city. Bamenda lies in a bowl however, which you can survey from the top of the hill/mountain as you approach. Friendly, colourful roofs--including two identifiable churches--smile up at you as you approach, and though spread quite widely across the valley, I nevertheless took a liking for what seemed a lovely town as we approached.
I'll remain here at the Baptist resthouse for nearly two weeks for FES (Field Education Seminar -- the homeschool conference) where I'll actually be under the wing of the very sociable Elsie, teacher and homeschool coordinator extraordinaire.
Jet lag has not been a problem...not to say I haven't slept in late a few mornings and had copious naps but as far as adjusting to the new time schedule...was I even on a time schedule before I left? (I suspect not.)
I'm trying to take full advange of actual internet access while we're in the bigger cities here (in the village we don't have internet access, only email sending and receiving abilities) which is why I'm posting so often. That, and I'm trying to record impressions while they're fresh and still making impressions!
So I'll leave you with one last impression. As we returned from supper, I looked up to see beautiful streaks of pink hiding behind the clouds. I wasn't expecting to see many colourful sunsets after leaving Manitoba so I was pleasantly surprised and exclaimed to the girls "Oh look at the sky, isn't it beautiful?" They weren't terribly impressed but I knew it was special because by the time we'd reached the top of the hill (and we started half-way up) the pink was already gone.
Experienced mixed sunshine and cloud today but no more than a few moments of rain while driving--not enough to get the entire windshield wet. In Bamenda, it is cool enough to throw on a sweater in the evening but not necessary. (Forgive me, I'm a Manitoban and can't help but comment on the weather.)
The hills are beautiful! (Granted, it doesn't take much to impress this prairie girl.) Covered in thick foliage most of the way, sometimes row on row of papaya trees or banana trees, the foliage thinned out somewhat closer to Bamenda showing some rocky outcroppings, steep banks, and the occasional four-sided peaked-roof house.
Bamenda itself impressed me much more than Douala which seemed to be made mostly of shanties -- no doubt an unfair assessement as I likely saw only a tiny fraction of the city. Bamenda lies in a bowl however, which you can survey from the top of the hill/mountain as you approach. Friendly, colourful roofs--including two identifiable churches--smile up at you as you approach, and though spread quite widely across the valley, I nevertheless took a liking for what seemed a lovely town as we approached.
I'll remain here at the Baptist resthouse for nearly two weeks for FES (Field Education Seminar -- the homeschool conference) where I'll actually be under the wing of the very sociable Elsie, teacher and homeschool coordinator extraordinaire.
Jet lag has not been a problem...not to say I haven't slept in late a few mornings and had copious naps but as far as adjusting to the new time schedule...was I even on a time schedule before I left? (I suspect not.)
I'm trying to take full advange of actual internet access while we're in the bigger cities here (in the village we don't have internet access, only email sending and receiving abilities) which is why I'm posting so often. That, and I'm trying to record impressions while they're fresh and still making impressions!
So I'll leave you with one last impression. As we returned from supper, I looked up to see beautiful streaks of pink hiding behind the clouds. I wasn't expecting to see many colourful sunsets after leaving Manitoba so I was pleasantly surprised and exclaimed to the girls "Oh look at the sky, isn't it beautiful?" They weren't terribly impressed but I knew it was special because by the time we'd reached the top of the hill (and we started half-way up) the pink was already gone.
Experienced mixed sunshine and cloud today but no more than a few moments of rain while driving--not enough to get the entire windshield wet. In Bamenda, it is cool enough to throw on a sweater in the evening but not necessary. (Forgive me, I'm a Manitoban and can't help but comment on the weather.)
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