Friday, August 22, 2008

Fun Weekend

A couple of weeks ago we took advantage of a long weekend due to a Friday Cameroonian holiday and decided to make a trek toward the north out to a resort we have heard great things about - Petpenoun. We traveled with our friends, Tad and Danya and their son, Kavi.

Our drive on Friday was about 5 hours, made longer by some traffic as we headed out of town. This gave us a great opportunity to take some pictures of things that we pass by everyday but haven't recorded on film. Chances are we won't see this kind of stuff in Ireland, so we wanted to capture some of the essence of the busy Yaounde streets.




These were all shot out of our car window. Here are a few carts and stalls, people hoping to sell something to passers-by. The main carts in the picture are piled with peanuts.


This is a hardware store condensed to a movable cart.





Here is a typical, side-of-the-road lumber yard.


Anyone need a wheelbarrow full of flip-flops?? The ultimate in convenience shopping - just do it from the comfort of your own car!





That is a pile of foam matteresses . . . stacked outside . . . in the dust of traffic and the elements of weather.

And here is the living room set next to the mattresses. They do pull out some plastic sheets to cover these when it rains. They don't get very wet.




Homemade manequins.


Here is the clothing section of the department store, hung on a curb dividing the street.

We finally made our way out of the city and drove through some beautiful scenery and ended up at our destination, nestled in beautiful hills next to a small lake. The buildings of the resort are just visible in this picture:


The resort had lots of activities: wakeboarding, boating, hiking, golfing - and plenty of great food. Here are some photos of the weekend:









Thursday, August 7, 2008

Ivy Is Two!!




We had a very busy time packing out, but we did not want to forget about Ivy's birthday. Our little girl is two years old already! We decided to celebrate a day early so that we could have a swim party at our new house with our friends, the Hendriksens and Tad and Kavi. Ivy, born in water, continues to love splashing around in a pool. She also really liked her cupcakes and blowing out the candles. Happy Birthday, Ivy!!!


Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Pack Out



Even though we still have 6 weeks left in Yaounde, the time has come for us to pack up our stuff. We have a weight limit, so I have spent the last couple of weeks furiously organizing our things and getting rid of anything unnecessary. A small army of movers decended on our house on Thursday, July 31st, and were able to box up all our possesions. The next day they loaded it all into crates. I'm glad to have that done!

Our house is now being spruced up for the next occupants who will arrive in a week. We have moved to a temporary house just down the street. The kids are having fun exploring the new rooms and swimming in the pool. They have taken all the changes pretty well, except for Elijah, who has cried everytime I have dismantled something or given things away. We moved here when he was just over a year old, so this is the only home he remembers. He is happier now that we are in new quarters, and we are selling him on all the great things we will do in Ireland.