Lobe Waterfalls

Waterfall time! After the week of training, a couple dozen of us decided to stay an extra day to explore the Chutes de la Lobe (Lobe Waterfalls). Located outside of Kribi at Grand Batanga, the waterfalls are one of the only few in the world to flow directly into the ocean. Beautiful!

Harley, Andrea, and I found three motos to take us there for 600CFA each. However, apparently two of the motos thought the price was too low, so they only took us halfway. Thus, the other two PCVs had no choice but to jump on my moto. Though four people on a moto would be unheard of in most areas, it’s normal here in Cameroon.

While waiting for the others, I bought a shell belt and a bracelet that resembled ones that I have seen in Northern Cameroon. “Ce sont les bijoux du Nord, n’est-ce pas?” I asked as I wanted to know if the jewelry came from up North. Of course they were and I started to speak the little Fulfulde I know (Fulfulde is the local language of the Fulbe people). Needless to say, by speaking his local language, the price for the products dropped significantly.

Canoe rides, waterfall photoshoots, walks on the beach, smiles for the camera for free necklaces, and good times with good people consisted of the activites for the day. Awesome!

Kribi Sights and Life Sounds

Being a Peace Corps Volunteer allows one to experience adventures unimagined and see beautiful sights one never knew existed. See some moments below at Kribi's Japanese fish market (yes, I ate that fish!) and sunsets on the beach.

Trip to Paradise...Except for the Jellyfish

After the first few months at post, each Peace Corps Volunteer attends In-Service Training (IST) for additional technical training. Luckily for my group, our IST is where?  The beaches of Kribi!
 

The beautiful beaches of Kribi

Janelle, Crystal, and Andrea and I arrived yesterday afternoon to take a well-awaited swim off the African coast. After some relaxing beach time and a nice dinner at La Figueroa in town, we spent today at the isolated beach of Llondji, about 15km from Kribi. After fording a river by canoe and chasing after crabs, we finally settled on a tranquil space of thin sand in front of our own little jungle paradise.

The isolated beaches of Llondji a.k.a. paradise!

Unfortunately, my happiness was cut short by a jellyfish sting! The waves in Llondji are rough and as we were swimming to a calmer spot, I screamed as a knife-like object sliced my left knee before my right foot touched upon something jelly. The girls came to save me as I couldn’t swim and we plopped against the sand. Sheer pain continuted until my leg started to swell and bloat up. Thinking I may be allergic, I called the Peace Corps Medical Officer who said, “Oh, that’s fine. That’s just the jellyfish’s poison getting underneath the skin.”         Fantastic.

The waves were a bit rough. Watch out for jellyfish!

Luckily, within half an hour or so, I was able to limp my way back to the main road. And that night at dinner, we finally were able to eat shrimp (Cameroon translater to "River of Shrimp" in Portuguese) while being reunited with the other PCVs and my now scarred leg made for a great story!