Cameroon Trip 2006
Getting there – February 4-7
High winds were being predicted for the Seattle area, but this did not materialize when I took off early Saturday morning. The first leg of my trip was to Dallas/Ft. Worth, and then on a night flight to Zurich, Switzerland. Sunday morning the first light of the sun fell on the Alps during our approach to Zurich. When we dove under the clouds to make our landing I could see snow on the ground, but not completely covering it.I stayed two days in Zurich. The Swiss have a very good train system and I made use of it during my stay. A twenty-minute ride from the airport to downtown Zurich got me to my hotel. After checking in I went out and walked around. All the stories are closed on Sunday. Only restaurants are open. Still, there were quite a few people out walking, some with their dogs and I even saw one person walking their cat.
Douala – February 7-8
Getting off the plane the humidity and heat just took the life out me. We passed through a checkpoint. All they did was scrutinize our passports and stamp them with our date of entry. In the baggage claim area I was approached several times by men who wanted to carry my bags when they arrived. I had to keep telling them I was being met. There was a delay because the truck that carried the bags from the plane to the claim area had broken down. So they had to use carts and push them from the plane to the claims area. George showed up with his sister to help me with my bags and drive me to the hotel. He was the driver for Camtours, a local tour company we had hired to take us around in Cameroon. On the way to the hotel I saw my first dog of Cameroon along the highway. The next morning I had breakfast and shortly after I had finished George arrived to take me to Yaounde to join up with Brenda Jones-Greenberg. We left the hotel and went to the police station to have copies of my passport stamped. This was so I would not have to show my actual passport at checkpoints or if demanded by police. Finally left the Douala after getting my papers stamped. The city gave way to forest broken by small farms. I observed quite a few wrecked cars and trucks abandoned along the road to Yaounde.
Yaounde – February 8-9
We arrived in Yaounde just before the afternoon. Brenda was staying at the Jean XXIII of Mvoylo Center run by the Catholic Church. About fifteen minutes after our arrival we saw Brenda. She told me that she had already picked up four puppies. Except for one, all had come from the south just above the border with Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. The first she had acquired for 12 CFA and pack of cigarettes was a red and white and we would later name her Nsana. The next acquisition was a black and white male who was over three months old. A young boy who took him hunting had owned him. He was given the name Evindi. The third dog added was a Mahogany Tri. His original name was Lion, which we changed to Mahogany. He was acquired near the Gabon border as a birth present and brought to Ambam where Brenda bought him. He was also over three months old. The last one she acquired before I arrived was a red and white and she was purchased near Ebogo along the road that goes between Yaounde and Ebolowa. We gave her the name Afala.
Abong Mbang – February 10
George, Brenda and I left Yaounde in the morning and traveled east to Abong Mbang. Near Ayos we turned off the main road and went on a parallel dirt road. Heavy trucks use the main road and they created huge potholes. The dogs we saw were varied. Some had erect ears while others were floppy. Most had irish spotting. Some had their tails docked. It was apparent that they lived on the edge, a few showed ribs. This was especially true for the bitches that were nursing. We also would hear from people throughout the trip that there had been a litter, but all the puppies had died. We arrived in the mid-afternoon and looked for a place to stay. After rejecting several hotels, we found out that a catholic parish called the Paroisse Saint Michel had rooms available. After negotiating room rates and unpacking we decided to go into town to get a beer and electric fans. We had just sat down in the bar when a man came up and started speaking to George. George became upset and a heated discussion followed. Apparently, the man claimed he was a police commissioner. He was in plain cloth and had showed no identification. He wanted us to go to the provincial office with him. The real reason he wanted us to come was not anything we had done, but to get money out of us. So we went to the provincial office and had a conference with his boss. Then he took us to his office to look at our passports and documents. This went on for about an hour. Brenda got impatient with the situation and started saying she was not feeling well and her sugar level were low. When it became apparent to him that we were not going to offer any money, and Brenda putting on a show of not feeling well, he finally let us go. What a farce! We went back to the bar, had our beer, and then bought some fans to cool our rooms.
Day trip south to Mindourou - February 11
Saturday morning we had breakfast in the parish-dining hall and then we went on a short trip south. Along the way saw Baka pygmies and the only brindle dog of the trip. We had trouble-finding people who might have puppies because they were in the forest. It was just before the rainy season and it was the time to clear and plant and the dogs they owned were also with them. The dogs we did see had either floppy ears or erect ears. Coats also varied from long with fringed tails or very short. Colors ran from red and white to tan and black. Had lunch in Mindourou, rice and antelope. George had a duiker. Returned back to Abong Mbang in the late afternoon. On the way back saw an open faced tri colored dog coming out of the forest. The dog kept looking back and finally some hunters appeared. Hunting is prevalent in southern Cameroon and along the roads we traveled we would see bushmeat hanging on a pole. Except for pet monkeys and birds, this would be the only wildlife we would see. The wildlife was hiding or scarce along the roads.
Abong Mbang to Sangmelima– February 12
Sunday morning we had a simple breakfast of bread and honey. George was late in arriving because he had trouble with the vehicle. The mission brothers were getting ready for mass and parishioners were arriving as we were preparing to leave. We drove the same route back to Yaounde. On the way back we saw both floppy and erect eared dogs. Noticed several Evergreen trees growing in a yard. Most likely brought in by Europeans.In Yaounde we stopped at a restaurant for lunch. Had antelope meat on rice. On the way out of the city noticed two yellow dogs with Basenji like heads. Saw a Basenji like dog rolling around on the grass in front of its house. Arrived in Sangmelima in the evening and checked in at the Trinite hotel.
Day trip south of Sangmelima - February 13
After breakfast we headed south on a day trip. At Medjounou got a puppy for 5000 CFA. She was one of three puppies. We would name her Ebop, the name of a village nearby. At Mbilemvom got male puppy for 3000 CFA and we named him Fom. Saw the only other Mahogany tri other than the two we got. During this time of year people were gone most of the day clearing and burning to get ready to plant their crops. The dogs would also go with them. So some villages had few people or dogs about. Most of the dogs had erect ears. A few dogs had their tails docked. The predominant color we saw was red and white. We went just south of Mang before deciding to turn back. We returned back to the hotel mid-afternoon and had an early dinner of Chicken and fried plantains.
Sangmelima to Ebolowa – February 14
We left after breakfast for Ebolowa. Traveled west on a dirt road. There were fewer villages along the way, so we did not see as many dogs. Saw some with docked tails. Colors were red and white, or black with a lot of white. The dirt road ended at a paved road, we turned south. In Ebolowa we found a Catholic mission to stay in called Centre Catechetique d’Abang. George left at 4PM to pick a dog for us down south near Ambam along the border with Equatorial Guinea.
Ebolowa – February 15
George did not return until next day in the afternoon. He brought back a Mahogany tri female that we would name Chaka. A local dog showed up in the evening to raid the garbage pit near the kitchen. During the night a lightning and thunderstorm came through with heavy rain.
Ebolowa to Buea – February 16
We left Ebolowa at 8:30AM in the morning and traveled to Yaounde, stopping at George’s house. George’s wife came out with their baby. Drove on to Douala and crossed the Wari River Bridge. This is the only crossing point in the city and it was under repair. Passed through west side of the city and entered the countryside. After a while we started climbing up and passed rubber plantations. Arrived in Buea in the late afternoon. We called Manu Occansey to let her know we had arrived. She told us how to get to the house she was renting. After visiting with her we left most of the dogs at her house and took the two smallest puppies with us to the Capital Hotel. Dinner was spaghetti with wine.
Buea and Limbe– February 17
After we had breakfast at the Capital Hotel we went to Manu’s house. But we had a little trouble remembering where Manu’s house. We finally figured out what direction and road we had used to get there. Her house was only two very long blocks away from the hotel. We had to carry the two puppies with us. The dogs were already out in the compound. After letting them play we fed them and put them back into their kennels. George drove us down the mountain to the coastal town of Limbe. We parked and had fish and plantains for lunch at restaurant on the beach. Later in the evening before dinner at the hotel we went up to feed and play with the dogs. We were able to find some dog food but later on we had difficulty with supply and resorted to feeding them cooked eggs and rice we bought at the markets at Bongo Corner. For the rest of our stay in Buea we would feed the dogs and let them play in the morning and evening.
Buea – February 18 – March 15
Manu’s office was short distance from the hotel. She was kind enough to give us access to a computer to send emails and use their phone to call the Swiss Air office in Douala. Before George left us he drove us out to the tea plantations just outside of Buea. We also made arrangement with George to come back and transport the dogs and us to the Douala Airport when we left.We had two consecutive evenings with lightning and thunder on Mt. Cameroon. The dog's crates were facing the mountain, so they had two nights of noise and light to keep them awake. We had to put a tarp up on the gate to keep the big dogs from climbing out the top. We also had to put rocks at the bottom to keep the small dogs from crawling out the bottom. Manu had let the dogs out of their crates in the morning and a few had decided to explore outside the compound. We came up to feed them and found a few outside that we had to corral and put back in the compound.
We needed to have Chaka, Afala, and Nsana given a rabies shot before the flight home. A government vet office was within walking distance and we went there and made arrangements for rabies shot. Fom was having some kind of skin problem and we took him to be looked at. The vet washed him and gave him a pill. Only later would we learn that the pill she gave him was for worms. Fom was not yet old enough to be given a full dose for deworming and it killed him.
