Subject: A
sign of life from Africa
Date: Fri, 9 Apr 1999 19:17:14 +0200
Hello everybody,
Despite rumours we are still alive and well. For the past five weeks we
have been waiting here in Ndjamena the captial of Chad for a visa to go
to Sudan. So far no luck.
After Lome in Ghana, we put foot down and managed to go through Nigeria
without paying too many bribes. Cameroon was a real high-light: jungle,
wild roads, nice people, steep roads and steep mountains (we climbed Mt
Cameroon).
An anectote from the rainforest of Cameroon:
WINE DELIVERIES In the dense rainforest of western Cameroon
the locals make a good living by producing palm wine and sell it to nearby
villages. They cut the stem of the palm, collect the liquid that comes
off it and let it ferment. Shortly after fermenting it turns into a strong
smelling and tasting drink.
To get the wine from their villages out of the rainforest and into the
cities they use small motorbikes. On day we were driving along a windy
and muddy road when we passed some of those guys on their motorbikes.
The bikes were packed with four or five 25 liter drums and about 15 to
20 small bottles strapped to the side, hanging from the handlebar or tugged
between the legs. It was amazing to watch how they handled their bikes,
stopped and pulled off again. At one of the shops we stopped and and talked
to the driver while he was piping off some palm wine. He told us that
he carries on average about 250 liter of wine on his bike (a 250cc Honda
in a sorry state) - unbelivable.
A while later we overtook one of them and after a sharp bend we arrived
in a village and the road steepend. 'He never gets up this hill' we thought.
So we stopped on top and with the camera ready we waited for him to come
around the corner. Long before he arrived we heard him. He appeared around
the corner and with the throttle fully open charged for the hill. A few
meters into the steep bit and the bike sounded as if it is going to die.
He then turned right into a side street, stopped and exchanged a few words
with a bystander. He then turned around, used the side street to pick
up some speed and turn back onto the steep road. The bystander ran after
him and pushed him and the bike up to the next side street. This game
went on until they had made it to the top. It was very amusing to see
this well performed team effort!
in the rainforest of Cameroon
From the heights of Cameroon we descended into the
blazing heat of Chad. Here we had to adapt to temperatures well above
40 degrees. For the last four weeks we have been waiting for a Sudan visa.
Now it looks promising.
To pass time we entangled ourselfs in some epics like getting bust without
a road permission in a desert town:
THE
DAY MOHAMMED LEARNED TO FLY On the way to the Ennedi, a remote part of northern
Chad we were held under house arrest for two days. We entered the area without
the right permits and were caught by the officials. Only with a guide we
were allowed to leave Fada the village in which we were held. In the beginning
they wanted 150 dollars a day for one of 'their guides'. We had to do some
diplomatic moves (a threat to involve the Swiss embassy) before they let
us go and find our own guide. Mohammed - a young and very religious man
offered to guide us through the desert for a minimal fee of five dollars.
The next morning we left early to avoid the heat. Because our car has only
two seats (the rest is used up by boxes and spares) I sat on the roof and
Mohamed could enjoy the comfort of a seat. As we got further into the desert
the driving got rougher. So I moved back inside the car and Mohamed took
place in the
a local got stuck with his car - we pulled him out
back. An hour later the sun was high up in the
sky turning the Land Rover in an oven. Soon it was too hot for Mohamed
and he wanted to sit on the roof. I showed him a good place to sit and
stressed the point that he should hold on tight. We had a bumpy ride ahead
of us.
We drove
on towards the next town. Herbert and myself were chatting away when we
hit a big hole hidden by a bush. The car came to a sudden halt. We looked
outside the car to see if Mohammed had fallen off the roof. We saw him lying
motionless in front of the car. He flew from the back of the car over the
roof and bonnet! When I got to him he mumbled something in arabic. I didn't
sound nice. He spat some blood and at closer inspection I saw that he had
bitten his lip. Otherwise he wasn't seriously hurt. For the rest of the
drive, another four hours, he did not speak to us as he blamed Herberts
driving skills for his involuntary flying lessons. Before we arrived in
Abeche he demanded extra money for the pain and suffering that he had to
endure. We refused to pay and without us knowing he directed us to the police
station. Straight away he called an officer and told him about his unfair
treatment. In the meantime we unloaded his luggage and drove off
on the way to the Ennedi - a few days before we got
arrested
The next epic was driving back to Ndjamena. After
crossing 250 kilometers of desert our shock absorbers broke (a small,
life threatening experience). I'll tell you more about that story in the
next email.
Details will follow.......
Keep well
Axel and Herbert