We arrived to the airport in Yaoundé in the evening as the sun was setting. The weather was balmy and dark clouds filled the sky and menaced rain. As we were collecting our baggage from the carousel, the power went out and the entire airport filled with over 200 people was plunged into total darkness. Welcome to Africa!! We all stood still and waited to ‘see’ what happens next. The power came back on to the howls and cheers of the entire crowd. We collected our bags and the Peace Corps staff ushered us thru Customs and outside to waiting buses. We were cautioned to stay tightly together and keep a firm grip on our backpacks as well as a keen eye out for pickpockets and hustlers.
We stepped out into the heat, humidity, and bustle that await all airport passengers. We were swarmed by hustlers and taxi men wanting to take our bags to their waiting vehicles. Some of them can be quite aggressive – grabbing your bags and high-tailing it to their vehicles. The reasoning is that passengers will follow their bags and the taxi men will gain a client. The sight of 39 fresh faced Americans and their Peace Corps entourage was a tasty sight. We looked like a hapless school of delicious fish waiting to be easily scooped up by this flock of hungry waiting seagulls. The Cameroon Peace Corps staff is highly competent; well trained and efficient – they had us thru the crowd and onto the bus in short order – where we traveled to the safety of a hotel in Yaoundé. There was always plenty of bottled water and a Peace Corps volunteer or staff member close by to assist or answer any questions.
Tangui
For the first two months 1.5 liter Tangui was a ubiquitous part of a Peace Corps trainee’s daily equipment. Tangui is the brand name of the most commonly found bottled water in Cameroon. We always had our books; backpacks and 1.5 liter bottles of Tangui with us – everywhere we went.
We stepped out into the heat, humidity, and bustle that await all airport passengers. We were swarmed by hustlers and taxi men wanting to take our bags to their waiting vehicles. Some of them can be quite aggressive – grabbing your bags and high-tailing it to their vehicles. The reasoning is that passengers will follow their bags and the taxi men will gain a client. The sight of 39 fresh faced Americans and their Peace Corps entourage was a tasty sight. We looked like a hapless school of delicious fish waiting to be easily scooped up by this flock of hungry waiting seagulls. The Cameroon Peace Corps staff is highly competent; well trained and efficient – they had us thru the crowd and onto the bus in short order – where we traveled to the safety of a hotel in Yaoundé. There was always plenty of bottled water and a Peace Corps volunteer or staff member close by to assist or answer any questions.
Tangui
For the first two months 1.5 liter Tangui was a ubiquitous part of a Peace Corps trainee’s daily equipment. Tangui is the brand name of the most commonly found bottled water in Cameroon. We always had our books; backpacks and 1.5 liter bottles of Tangui with us – everywhere we went.
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