The first leg of the trip

Right now I'm sitting in my hotel room at the European Baptist Guesthouse in Douala, Cameroon. I flew into Douala today, Monday, Jan. 11th via a series of connecting flights. Douala is the economic capital and largest city in Cameroon. I was surprised to find internet at the hotel although I think I'm just stealing someone's unsecured wifi from a home/apartment nearby.

My trip started out at the Philly airport where I flew in the smallest plane I've ever been in. 2x2 with probably no more than 50 passengers. It was also the shortest flight since I only flew to Newark. It seems pointless to fly from Philly to Newark since my house is pretty much in between both but it was cheaper this way. Go figure... Continental Airlines...

Then I had a three and a half hour layover in Newark but it wasn't so bad. I ate (after not eating in almost 15 hours, my stomach was not feeling well from a lack of sleep), talked to a few friends on the phone, bought a nice travel pillow for my neck, sunglasses and a magazine.

I then flew from Newark to Brussels, Belgium (7 hour flight). I slept through most of the flight although I did wake up every hour or two which was really annoying. I'm used to sleeping on flights from takeoff to landing. I then had a 2 and a half hour layover in Brussels in which I had to go through security again which I found odd. When I got off the plane it was apparent that we were at a terminal that was only for arrivals, not departures. It also wasn't a secure terminal which is why I had to go through security again. It seems odd to me that they would have terminals where a plane would fly into but not out of, since now the plane has to move in order to pick up new passengers thus making the terminal half as effective. Also, had they made the whole terminal secure, I wouldn't have had to go through security again. I, along with anyone else on connecting flights, who already went through security at the previous airport, was on a secure plane, and then got off into an unsecure terminal, now had to go through security again. I thought to myself, this is all very inefficient. And then I noticed an ad on the wall that said something like "Welcome to Europe. Innovative. Intriguing. Efficient." I laughed. According to the Brussels airport website, they pride themselves on being one of the most efficient and conveinent airports. I fail to see it. I got through security and had about 45 minutes to get to my next terminal, and then find internet as well as an electrical outlet. I found one outlet and the wifi cost me 10 euros but I did want to email everyone and let them know I had made it this far safely.

Then I flew on a 6 and a half hour flight to Douala which was probably the most uncomfortable flight I've been on. At this point, I had been traveling for close to a full 24 hours, I was tired, and I was cramped with all sorts of aches and pains, and my stomach did not want to eat. It could've been worse though. I did see some interesting mountainous parts of the Sahara as we flew over Africa. It was interesting to see little tiny settlements here and there with giant circular water reservoirs.

I got off the plane and walked down the terminal, which felt like Houston during the summer. I got through the passport checkpoint okay, got into the baggage claim area and immediately people were trying to help me find my bags. There was one guy in particular who looked like he worked for the airport although at this point I'm not sure he did. My two bags came through on the carousel and he helped me make our way to the next customs check point, right before the doors leading outside where hopefully there would be someone waiting for me with a sign. Before we went through that customs checkpoint though, he started demanding money. He reasoned that since he was native, he could go through customs with less hassle. If I paid him to go through security with my bags, it would be easier than for me to do it myself. Plus, the people at customs would most likely charge me more than what he would charge to do it for me. Well this is not what Bob Lokker told me to do. So I said no thank you, I'd be okay. I gave him a dollar for his advice and help so far and told him there would be more money waiting outside. He reluctantly agreed and I did not want to leave my bags with him as he could just run off with them.

Going through the customs was no problem. They only opened one suitcase, took a real quick look, closed it back up and sent us on our way. We got outside and there was no one there for me. Luckily I had a few numbers to call in order to get a hold of Bob and the man who had been "helping" me so far let me use his cell phone. After a few phone calls and about fifteen minutes of waiting someone new was in his way, named Vincent. In the meantime, the man started demanding more money for the use of his phone, etc. Also a friend of his was lingering around also hoping to score a few bucks. I paid the one guy a few dollars for his phone and then a little while later a series of cars showed up at the area outside baggage claim where we had been standing. The friend lingering around asked me the name of the guy I was looking for and I said Vincent. The guy then took off to search for Vicent. Then out of the blue this guy shows up and says his name is Vincent. He said his van is downstairs parked underneath the airport baggage claim in a parking garage and we have to go there. My first thought was, "this guy is not Vincent." I began to get worried I wouldn't make it out alive. So I asked him if he had talked to "Cal" (a person at the Cameroonian Baptist Convention) and he said yes. I asked him what Cal's last name was as I was looking down at a print out of an email Bob sent me with Cal's name. He gave me Cal's full name and then I knew he was legit. Whew!

The two men lingering around, plus Vincent, helped me get down to the parking garage. I then paid the two guys off with some money (according to Vincent, way more than I should have) and then Vincent and I were on our way. We left the airport, got to this hotel and I was so grateful to be able to take a shower and spend a night laying down in a bed. I slept for about 5 hours and couldn't sleep anymore. It's 5:30 am right now and in about an hour Vincent will come find me. We, plus a few other people here at the hotel will leave to find some food, and make our way to Bamenda (a 6 or so hour drive I think). There, I will meet Bob Lokker. I'll spend a night in Bamenda and then Bob and I will travel to Banyo on Wednesday.

Already an exciting trip indeed! I just hope it continues to go smoothly.