Douala

I know I'm behind, but I'm going to cheat and change the date of my post. So, while I'm writing this on Saturday, the 5th of June (My 11th anniversary!), my post is dated the 3rd of June.


So, I'll share the first day of our trip to Douala. We ended up leaving later than we'd planned, which I knew would happen, b/c try as I did to get all the cleaning and everything done before we left, I still ended up leaving a mess for Rosemary. She came down to watch the kids and when she arrived the kids kept saying, "Mom, when are you leaving?!" They love Rosemary!



Our trip was really uneventful. Thankfully the roads are fairly smooth all the way to Douala now and the temp. was cool. The skies were a vibrant blue and the sun shining. Just a great day for a 6 hour drive! Our meal on the way was some burnt corn that we bought at one of the toll booths. Here is Ben enjoying his: We got to Douala in record time. We went straight to the Baptist Guest House to settle the rooms we needed for our guests, and then we went shopping! We parked our van at the guest house and decided to walk. We had so much fun browsing. We went into a store called Orca...it was amazing. I learned that you can get ANYTHING you need or want in Cameroon...except...a bean bag. I have really been wanting a bean bag, and so for haha's we thought we'd look around. But, alas, no beanbag in Cameroon. Or in Douala at least. And of course, as I said you can get whatever you want, but you do have to pay for it. We found this adorable love seat...it was a double reclining chair basically. Oh I was coveting that thing! well...we checked out the price tag...2 million francs. Let's just say that our car wouldn't sell for that much money!

I did end up buying a few kitchen things and then some food treats. We got the kids some Honey Smacks cereal! We finally ran out of time, and headed back to the guest house. we put all of our stuff in one of the rooms and headed for the airport. Oh, I forgot to mention the hotel...:) When we reserved rooms at the guest house, they only had 2. So, we knew that we'd be needing more rooms. We had also reserved some rooms at a Catholic guest house just down the street. These guest houses are really great b/c they are like $14 a night. Well, the Catholic one was pretty dumpy, and it had a communal bathroom! We'd have to get up in the night, go out of our room to a bathroom that everyone shared. Ewww. I mean, I could have dealt with it if necessary, but I certainly didn't prefer it. Besides, it was our anniversary trip!! Ben suggested a hotel and I gladly complied. :D


We found a hotel within literal spitting distance of the Baptist Guest house where our guests were staying. We walked there and I was hesitant when we were outside, but was pleasantly surprised when we went inside. It was clean and smelled like your average hotel in the states. The air conditioners were humming and the check-in desk was like you'd see at a Holiday Inn or the like. We asked the guy at the desk to see a room. He picked up his little telephone and called down and told us someone would meet us on the first floor and show us around. The rooms were small, but neat and clean. They had an air conditioner on the wall, a flat screen tv, and a piece of wall art. I told Ben that we should book a room. So, we did! I know it isn't Hilton, but it was such a treat for our anniversary. Here are a couple pics of the bedroom and bathroom:



From there we headed to the airport. That is a long story in and of itself. I wont' go into great detail, but we wanted to be in the baggage area where our Pastor would arrive. We explained to the police that our Pastor's wife, Julie, had just had surgery on her hand and they'd need help. Well, everyone was on a power trip and refused. We went to the police commissioner, and from there sent to another office, and then back again. Then off to find the head of the airport, and then back to the commissioner. After over an hour of begging, pleading, haggling with these people we finally just gave up. We were waiting outside the baggage area, and finally one police officer asks Ben what he is doing and why he isn't inside. We explained what happened. He told us to wait a moment. We watched as he walked over to the very first man that we'd talked to...they huddled for a bit...and then that original police officer waved us into the room. Unbelievable. We made it inside just in time. God sent us a porter who knew the ropes and he got us through customs without our luggage even being touched and he even got the luggage to our car without us being hassled too terribly much. God worked out every detail. From there we went to our Cameroon version of Dairy Queen. A couple of us got pizzas, and Mrs. Boley got a hamburger, and Hanna got a chicken burger. It was very good. That restaurant is always a treat. Then we went back to our rooms and crashed for the night as everyone, especially the weary travellers from America, needed sleep! So, thank God for a full and profitable day...for safety and just a really great time. We are so looking forward to having Pastor and Julie with us. And I'll update more tomorrow!