Djino and Limbe!

Djino is a local soda brand, which promised to be 'Full of Fruit, Full of Flavor' (its really just pink sugar water). It also happens to be the sponsor of an annual kid's art competition. On Saturday, my first full day in Buea, the other interns and I went to the awards presentation for the competition because one of the kids who goes to the UAC school and hangs around our houses, Sam, had won a prize. The ceremony, in typical fashion, lasted four hours, comprised mostly of speeches by various local dignataries, poems about how wonderful Djino is read by students but clearly written by Djino marketing agents, and endless award-giving: to students, to the teachers, to the principals of participating schools. And of course, everyone got two Djino t-shirts and a 6 pack of 1.5 liter bottles of Djino. There was also a band which played the Djino theme-song about 70 or 80 times, a ditty which sounded like the theme to a 1970s police sitcom. Also performed were 'Hotel California', 'I Will Always Love You', and 'Killing Me Softly', although I cant see how any of them related to a children's art show. Although fairly mind- and butt- numbing (due to the child-size plastic chairs), the ceremony was entertaining and we did come away with pink Djino paper visors.

More enjoyably, on Sunday, Valerie, Berit, Sophie, Victor (a Nigerian former UAC-volunteer) and I went to Limbe, a beach about 30 mins away from Buea. What makes Limbe unique is that the sand is black because of the lava flows from Mt. Cameroon. To get there we took a cab down to Mile 17, the major transit area. We got in a van bound for Limbe, along with 11 others, although it was only a 9 seater. No public cab, bus or van will leave until jam-packed, which can be rather inconvenient. The ride was fairly painless, and we didnt get stopped at the two police checkpoints along the way, quite the achievement. In Limbe we caught another cab to a beach, which was full of white ex-pats taking a weekend getaway from Douala. Because the sand is so black, the water also appears black, and the tides can be quite strong (apparently 6 foreigners drowned at a different beach in Limbe a few months ago), giving the ocean a menacing appearance. But the water really warm, the sun and sand perfect and the Fanta refreshingly cold, so the afternoon was extremely relaxing.

The main reason for going to Limbe is to enjoy the fresh, grilled fish which can be bought at Down Beach, just down the road from us. Unfortunately, because it was Sunday, there was no fresh fish to be found right off the boat (usually you just pick one from the fisherman and carry it to a woman to grill it, and she brings it to your restaurant, where you should be found enjoying a $1.25 giant beer). So we went back to Buea, ate some fresh donuts to sustain us until a favorite local joint started serving its whole, grilled fish, about the lenght of a forearm. Served with grilled plantains and pepe (spicy pepper in Pidgin), it was delicious, and incredibly satisfying, especially with some Djino.