Travel Destination: Limbe

You know that thing when Nigerian artisans tell you “yes I can do it” to any question you ask them?

Me: can you make this my Datsun look and drive like a Porsche?
Nigerian artisan: of course na, na small thing; just pay first.

I was in Douala and decided to go back to Limbe and get a closer look after having visited earlier but left without seeing anything of note up close.

It’s 4pm and the locals I ask say yes, I can get a cab to Limbe before it’s dark to take a look at at least one (I was told there are 6 or more beaches) of the black sand beaches. So I ask the cab man in front of the hotel if he could get me to Seme beach before sunset and back to my hotel. I’m sure you can already guess what his answer was.

Thirty thousand francs later, I found out that:

Seme Hotel Beach is a private beach.
The beach gets closed off by 6:30pm (got there by 6:40).
The beach isn’t exactly close to the main town or city centre.
They wouldn’t even let me have a look from a distance because a wedding was being held at the shoreline or something like that.

I want to say this was a total disaster but I can’t help but find it funny. I also can’t say I wish I’d never made the trip. I still got great views of Mount Cameroon even though I don’t have photos to share.

Funny thing is, this is the second time this is happening to me. At least the first time around, I was able to go back to the waterfall at Agbokim in the morning. So sadly this is Enefaa 0, Darkness 2. I need to stop racking up all these meaningless money sinking escapades.

Plot twist: so my driver saw my pitiful face and decided that my thirty thousand francs would not go down the drain for nothing, instead it would go for something small. We went off course on our way back, to an open beach called Down beach. This beach is in Limbe and has a road running along it with seats made out of concrete for visitors. There’s also an area where roasted fish, beer and arts and craft items are sold.

On another note, I’m thinking of crossing over to Cameroon in December if I make it to Calabar. I’ll either take a boat across to Limbe or Douala, or just take a car all the way to Bamenda through Ikom.

Fun fact: I heard motorcycles being called okada by Cameroonians.