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Buea‑Limbe (36km, 22 mi) Limbe is a coastal city that date back to the
time of German colonial rule.
Points of interest: tropical ornamental plants, oil palm, Bight of Benin (Atlantic Ocean), oil
refinery.
Cycling conditions: paved, 16km downhill, then relatively flat broken by a couple of climbs over
hills |
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It is a frightening, but cars are washed by driving them in to the stream.
As they are washed the oils, toxins and detergents flow into the water and are
carried to the next village down the mountain. Hopefully the water is not
being used to make baby formula or for any other human or aquatic life
consumptions. But wait, it is flowing into the ocean so it has to be
affecting the lives there.
 On
a brighter and more colorful note, the roadside and front yard for a stretch of
road are lined with plant nurseries. One lesson here is what are
considered house plants in the temperate zones are yard plants in the tropics.
Near the base of the mountain is a furniture factory with a unique and cheerful
sculpture in front. Not being in the market for a sofa at the moment we
didn't stop in, but it probably would have been more interesting than one would
expect on first glance.
  Back
in the lowlands we were back in the land of mono-culture, in this case oil palm
to the horizon in all directions. The characterized the land use most of
the way from Limbe to Douala. To go along
with this there is an old soap factory in Tiko.
 It is now closed, but
 clearly
it was not for a lack of inputs. A lot of the trees were young so someone
is optimistic about the future of the product. Either the area has been
recently replanted or production is being expanded. Oil palm
is considered a good material for manufacturing into bio-diesel. It
is grown on huge mono-culture plantation, and if mixed
 forest are being
 cleared
to plan oil palm they might be creating more harm than good.
  Limbe
is beautifully set on the Atlantic Ocean. Its volcanic black sand beaches
are not considered the best in the country but the attract some
local tourism, especially on weekends from Douala. Our Cameroonian
cohorts, who hadn't seen the ocean before
 were
 particularly
excited about being here.
 Besides walking on the beach there is a road out
of the center of town which runs above the ocean for a kilometers and provides
some beautiful views. Eventually you will get to the
 Botanical
Garden. To enter there is an entrance fee, a guide fee and a photography
fee. We passed on the last two. The garden is not particularly
photogenic, but would be a nice back drop for something like wedding photos.
(The photo here is of a non-manicured section as seen from outside the fence.)
The garden is not very well labeled so a guide might have been interesting,
depending upon his or her presentation and your level of interest in botany.
 On
a ride around town we passed this field (left) full of kids playing sports.
We can't say whether it was a regular event or a special event. The photo
to the right is of the intersection where the student cheered on the Ibike group
twenty years earlier (see sidebar).
Signing off with a sunset from Limbe, Cameroon.
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Addendum:
Limbe is a sister city of Seattle, the
home of Ibike. On one visit to Limbe we invoked that relationship and
were welcomed like royalty. We were met at the edge of town by an
official delegation and then escorted into town by an entourage which
include a sound truck playing
music (Michael Jackson, among other artists).
I don't believe that these students we waiting for us but the sound truck
announced out presence and
they didn't hesitate after that. Their
exuberant cheers and enthusiasm added to the festivities. Part of the
welcome was a reception with the Deputy Mayor and other
officials. We felt under dress (which we
were) and want to go to the hotel and change, but the said not to worry and
welcomed us we warm and graciousness just the same. Later, after
dropping our packs, we went for a ride with
some local cyclist. The chase car carried the
media. |
It is a frightening, but cars are washed by driving them in to the stream.
As they are washed the oils, toxins and detergents flow into the water and are
carried to the next village down the mountain. Hopefully the water is not
being used to make baby formula or for any other human or aquatic life
consumptions. But wait, it is flowing into the ocean so it has to be
affecting the lives there.
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