Yaounde and the South

10 days in the South of Cameroon have passed quickly. As there was mostly no Internet (neither tab water) in the places I visited, I can only write now about my experience between the business of a crazy city, deep rainforest, traditional healers and American style celebrations.

Taking a bus in Cameroon is one adventure. Taking a taxi in Yaounde can be a nightmare for some, an exciting trip to a fun fair for others. But you have to play according to the rules: First, place yourself at a the side oft the street. Not just at any point, try to find out where the crowd is standing. This ist the first restriction to the game: You have to be louder, quicker, better then the others. As soon as a taxi goes by (almost all the cars are taxis, you recognize them by their yellow colour) you say the name oft the place you want to go to, followed by the price you are proposing. Say it quickly! Try to get eye contact with the driver, even if he doesnt look at you! Stand out from the crowd! You can start with the minimum price, which is 200 Francs (30 Cents) for a city ride, if you are not successful fort the next 10 minutes you may raise the stakes by 50 Francs. Keep playing, dont loose patience and you will succeed at some point! When you are finally sitting in a vehicle, you might find yourself on the seat of the driver, or squeezed behind with some other 3 or 4 people, babys not counted yet. This is better than a seat belt, so be happy that you are getting a ride through the street jungle of Yaounde. If you look out of the window, you will see much of what an African city has to offer: Hills and dusty roads, markets full of fruits and fabrics, beds and chairs being build just at the side of the road. Now just hope that no other person will hop in proposing a higher price for the same destination than you did – this means you might be dropped of in the middle of somewhere. But if you're lucky and stay inside the car til your destination: Be patient with the trafic (be sure that you will be stuck in a trafic jam at some point) and enjoy the ride!