Days 93 to 98 – Week 15 (6th February 2007 to 11th February 2007)
This week has seen the big yellow Oasis truck cross from Nigeria to Cameroon, passing through the Nigerian city of Calabar and heading up to the Afi Mountain Drill monkey sanctuary in the western jungles of Nigeria.
On Sunday the fourth of February, we all had a taste of Nigerian hospitality on the outskirts of a village where we were bush camping. What seemed like the entire population of the area came to watch the truck as we went through our nightly routine, engaging us in some friendly conversation and looking on inquisitively as the cook group prepared another delicious meal. Africans always find it mesmerizing to watch us go about our daily rigour – especially seeing men cooking, cleaning etc. This is not a usual practice in a lot of African cultures – and one of interest.
The next day we arrived in the city of Calabar, one of Nigeria's cleanest and most modern cities. We set up camp at the Paradise City Hotel, a charasmatic building that looked like it was straight out of the 80's, complete with hot pink trimming and a giant sign reading "Welcome to Paradise City."
We definetly found paradise in the next few days as we sampled the wide and wonderful variety of Nigerian eats that could be found throughout the city. Some opted for the more traditional firey hot pepper soup served with roasted porcupine – "guaranteed to make your eyes water and your nose run" – while others decided to indulge in some of the finer facets of local cuisine in the form of Crunchies Chicken fast food restaurant, an instant hit among all junk-food lovers.
Animal lovers got a taste of things to come as they paid a visit to the Drill Monkey sanctuary in the city limits, sister center to the Afi Mountain sanctuary which the truck would visit in the following days.
Heading to Afi Mountain saw us pass into more green and forested areas of Nigeria, a nice change after spending a while in the more populus areas. Upon arrival, we left the truck and walked a kilometer down the road where we set up our tents in the Drill Ranch itself, surrounded by the forest where the Drill and Chimpanzee enclosures were situated.
Mother nature caught us all by surprise that night when a torrential downpour saturated all of our mozzie nets that were confidently erected just hours before. The rain was hard and relentless but did nothing close to dampening our spirits as we thoroughly enjoyed our first downpour since that fateful night on our first bush camp in Morocco. We eventually found shelter with the friendly staff of the ranch who graciously invited us in our dripping wet clothes to sit with them under their roof and warm ourselves by the fire. Pity was felt for the poor souls whose humble mozzie nets and all of their contents were saturated. Many tents were inhabited with three or more overlanders that night as room was graciously made for the refugees.
The next day, the men were seperated from the boys as nine of the guys decided to hire a guide to trek up the dense jungled slopes of Afi Mountain. Endurance and willpower was tested as the hikers faced the most challenging trekking yet, and seven hours later they returned with sore feet and tired legs, ready to spend some time relaxing in the confines of the camp. While they were gone, the rest of the group had a more leisurely time enjoying the canopy walk and the swimming hole, as well as checking out the drill and chimp enclousures.
The group said goodbye to Nigeria the following day, and hello to the thick rainforests of Cameroon. For the first time in the trip, we encountered potholes that were full of enough water that one could have a leisurely swim, if one were so inclined. Much the first stretch of Cameroonian road saw our driver skillfully maneuvering through these obstacles, while the overlanders bounced around happily in the back of the truck.
Next, we head to the oceanfront town of Limbe, where we have the choice to either lounge around by the sea or tackle the much-anticipated behemoth that is Mount Cameroon.
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