Black sand beaches and bioluminescence

Oh hey there, world!  It's been a while.  Sorry, I kept meaning to post something, but you know... I was just way too busy having an awesome time at the beach.

 
A month ago today, I began the journey down south to Bamenda for IST (In-Service Training).  The 53 volunteers from my stage reunited for ten days of training at a luxurious hotel (real mattresses and hot showers!).  We spent the days in sessions, learning information about crucial topics from project planning to finding funding, and spent the nights mingling, watching TV and movies, and happily consuming countless boxes of wine (and bottles when we eventually wiped the supermarkets clean of boxed wine).

Once training was finished, I was beyond ready for a break, so seven of us loaded our bags and boarded a bus for Limbe!  After nine hours of sitting five to a four person row and random men hopping on the bus to deliver live infomercials (ginger pills that remove all bad things from your stomach and nail polish remover that cures your headaches and poor eyesight if you sniff it for just a few minutes), we were ready for swim.  We dumped all of our bags in our hotel bungalow and ran right into the waves! 

Because it was nighttime and I hadn't seen this beach before, I was a wee bit nervous about mysterious creatures that could be lurking in the shallows.  However, the water could not have been more perfect.  It was nearly the same temperature as the air, and so crystal clear so that we could see the our feet reflecting the moonlight -- a nice contrast against the smooth black sand.  The waves were perfect too:  big enough to body-surf or to feel like you were jumping on the moon, but gentle enough for us to feel safe recover quickly after each break.

Then there was the best part of all: bioluminescence.  Magic sparkly thingies that light up like underwater fireflies, but only in response to your body's movement against the waves. 

It could not have been a more perfect introduction to our beach vacation!

After that first night, we spent each morning swimming and lounging on the beach.  Then we'd head into town to see all the neat things that Limbe has to offer, which turns out to be a lot! 

The first day, we went to Down Beach, which is known for it's fish market.  I ate a nice big plate of white rice while my friends each ate fish and baton de manioc.  (I've learned well enough by now that if you travel to a beachy place, people are going to want seafood, and I'm just going to have to suck it up and hope that there is ice cream around the corner.)

An oil rig off the shore of Down Beach.

The second day, we went to the botanical gardens.  Unfortunately, all of the signs were too old and worn out out to read, but we saw some pretty darn impressive trees!  This day also happened to be Women's Day, so we went to a bar to celebrate ourselves (kudos to Matt for celebrating us ladies with us!).  We missed the parade (guess that's what happens when you lounge on the beach all morning), but we were still able to see many women wearing matching Women's Day pagne. 

 

Sarah, Matt, and I, standing in front of a gigantic tree.

Our last day, we went to the wildlife center to hang out with some monkeys!  

 

My mother, looking pensive.

We ended each night with some night-swimming, and woke up at 6AM on our last day just to get one final dip before the bus back to Yaounde.  It was a vacation that I hadn't realized I needed, but boy oh boy, did I need it!

I wrapped up my journey with a few days in Yaounde and a St. Patty's Day party with other PCVs in Ngaoundéré.  Then yesterday, I finally arrived back home in Sanguéré-Paul, greeted by many bear-hugs and "bon arrivée"s!

*Note: Bamenda is in the Northwest region of Cameroon.  Limbe, the Southwest.  Yaounde, the Center.  Ngaoundéré, the Adamawa. Sanguéré-Paul, the North (if you didn't know that one -- get outta here!).  In the past month, I've traveled to five of the ten regions of Cameroon!*