Dakar, Senegal  Feb. 11 – 26, ‘01   Again it was a bad road, so I flew from Nouakchott, Mauritania to Dakar, Senegal, a little over a one-hour flight for $150, high by US standards, but normal in this region because the airlines were not deregulated and also this flight was international. Since leaving Travis [...]

Nouakchott, Mauritania – Feb. 10 – 11, ‘01   In my 1,000 + pages book on Africa, The Lonely Planet, four pages were reserved for Mauritania, the country, and three- quarters of one page for the capital, Nouakchott. What is mentioned as the highlight of the country is the Italian Park Nation Du Bank D’argun [...]

Nouadhibou, Mauritania: Feb. 10 — 11, ‘01 Dumping my bag at my new-found residence, I along with my two driver companions, and the one-arm guardian angel, departed our abode to look for a place for refreshments, which we found about ten minutes away. It was a Chinese restaurant that did not serve Chinese food, but [...]

Dahkla, Morocco to Nouadhibou, Mauritania: Our immediate group consisted of the two Frenchmen driving their own cars: Lamont, in a 1990 Fiesta Ford, and Patrice, in a 1977 light-blue Mercedes. Because both of them were carrying so much in their vehicles, there was only enough room for two additional people, one in each car. I [...]

Dahkla: Feb. 5 – 9, ‘01   Having thanked Atika and her friends for the help they gave me, I proceeded to register at the hotel. The room, though rather small, seemed adequate, and even though there was not a private bathroom with shower I found the accommodations acceptable to register for at least the [...]

Feb. 5, 6, ‘01   The bus ticket I purchased cost $40, which I felt was quite a bargain in that the price covered my sleeping arrangements for the night, my transportation, much long-term viewing of the desert, continual interaction with the locals along the way, and considerable entertainment, at least for me. In addition, [...]

Bamenda: Odds and Ends   Keeping in mind that Cameroon had been described to me as Little Africa (it showed more about Africa than any other country on the continent), I would like to discuss some areas of general interest that I observed, interactions between certain clients and me, and other items that I believe [...]

It was a dry moon night. The moon had reached its full cycle and was bright in the sky. Its rays pierced in through the various leaves and roof openings. The voices of children were a common thing to hear, it was a time they enjoyed most. They call names and nicknames of their fellow [...]

Bamenda: Late January to mid-April, ‘03 Upon arriving at the St. Louis Clinic, my first observation was that my accommodations had been changed from the spacious apartment I had used previously, to a one-room Gandhi-type abode, which measured 14 feet by 18 feet, with raised bed (it took two steps to get in) a small [...]

St. Louis Clinic For various reasons, I had spent much time in Douala, the commercial capital of Cameroon; however, my time spent in the city itself will be covered later. Here, I am limiting the following section to a six-month period I spent working at a clinic. On my fourth trip to Cameroon, Douala was [...]