Life's a Beech & then you change the world: Spring Break '12

Hey y’all. This blog is waaay overdue, so I’m going to cut right to the chase. Let me take you back to March 18-30: In-service training and my first trip to the beach (which also marked my first 3 months at post—granted I’m currently in month 10...crazyyy!).

In-service training was a weeklong workshop held after the first three months of our service. This year, it was held in Bamenda, the regional capital of the Northwest region. Bamenda has a similar climate as Ngaoundéré (except during the dry season), and it is also located in a beautiful valley; the whole city is surrounded by a wall of mountains and trees. In the rainy season, they say you can see waterfalls. The Northwest region is also one of the two Anglophone regions in Cameroon, so everyone speaks English/Pidgin (local dialect)/”special English (best way to describe this: speak normally, but with no contractions or conjugated verbs).

So anyways, the week was filled with sessions on how integration at post was going, how to develop projects, how to work effectively with your counterpart, how to fund projects…that sort of business. I’m not going to bore you with details, but that was the basic premise. The highlight of that week was enjoying spending time with friends who I hadn’t seen since training. It was great hearing about everyone’s post and how well they were integrating into their communities—helped remind me that I’m not the only one experiencing culture shock and having to find the courage to leave the house every day and face this new world. Today, that timidity has slowly gone away, but there are still moments where I dread having to walk down the street when I’m the only woman/white person within a miles radius (and all eyes are on me).

The real point of this post is to tell you about the mini-vacation I took after in-service. A group of us decided to head to one of the popular beaches in Cameroon, Limbe. Limbe is located in the Southwest region of Cameroon, where Mt. Cameroon is located (the largest active volcano in Cameroon). The beaches sit at the base of the volcano, so naturally you will find that the beaches are black! My friends and I decided to stay at a popular Peace Corps hotel called Madison Park, located about 20 minutes outside of the center of town. Instead of sleeping in an air conditioned hotel room, we opted to pitch tents on the beach and rough it for the three days we were there (I mean, how often does the opportunity arise where you can camp on a blank-sand beach?).

I can’t even begin to describe how beautiful this place was. The backdrop of the hotel was lush, green, jungle, and a beautiful mountain that I thought was Mt. Cameroon, but was just a mountain the locals called “mini Mt. Cameroon”. The beach was away from the hustle and bustle of the city and tourists, so we were pretty much the only people there except for the fisherman that would go out in the mornings, or the mama’s walking around, selling their catch of the day in the local markets.

The first night in Limbe, we went to the popular fish market in town to grab some dinner. We headed to Downbeach, where we were faced with the task of choosing the best fish mama to give us the best price on all the fresh grilled fish, shrimp, crab, and calamari you could get your hands on. The first night, I went with some grilled carpe and grilled shrimp (which I accompanied with some grilled coconut I had bought from a little kid who was walking around, selling packets of grilled coconut flakes—coconut shrimp…yum!). The second night we ate there, I decided to go a little crazy and get the works: grilled fish, grilled shrimp, crab, and grilled calamari--in one sitting.. Heaven. That’s what it felt like. Heaven—in my mouth. And get this--it only cost me about $10…with beer. If you know me, you know I love me some good food, and this was probably the best food-high I’ve had in a long time.

Previously that day (before stuffing my face with seafood), we spent some time at the Limbe Wildlife Center (check it out: www.limbewildlifecenter.org). It is a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center for primates and various other animal species found in Cameroon. We ate lunch at a restaurant inside the center, called Arne’s (“Arnies”), where we drank the most amazing smoothies and mojitos in country, accompanied by the best cheeseburger I think I’ve ever tasted in my life (better than many burgers I’ve had in the States). Not to mention, we are enjoying this amazing spread next to a gorilla enclosure! Literally, 10 feet away from us, gorillas (including silverback gorillas) were chillen under the trees, snacking on some mangoes. It was seriously one of the most unique experiences I’ve ever had. After eating, for 3,000 FCFA ($6—all proceeds going towards the center’s rehabilitation efforts) we toured the center to see all the different species of monkeys they had in captivity (many of which are endangered due to poaching for “bush meat”), as well as various other animals (python, crocodile, and birds). Fun fact: one of the sponsors of the center is Florida’s very own Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay! It was such a pleasant surprise to see something from home all the way over here :)

The rest of our time in Limbe was spent soaking up the sun on beach chairs, eating all the mangoes and bananas to our hearts content, showing kids our awesome pyramid-making skills, swimming, and catching up on life. It was a perfect getaway, one that I will be sure to make again before my end of service.

Here are some pictures of the trip! Enjoy :)