Arriving in Douala, Cameroon

Every county has its own system regarding how they receive travelers from outside nations.  When serving with Mercy Ships there are a number of multiple page documents which describe the protocols developed with the government.  We carry these documents with us and present them to the immigration and customs officials instead of obtaining a visa for the country.

In Cameroon we presented these documents along with a color copy of our passport, the passport itself, and were photographed and fingerprinted.  These were taken away from us as we went to retrieve our baggage.  Then we went to the police station and waited to get an official visa for Cameroon stamped into our passports which were returned to us.  We were told the process would take between 10 minutes and 2 hours.  We were in the 30-40 minute range.

About 15 minutes later, we were welcomed aboard the Africa Mercy.

This year our cabin in on deck seven and overlooks the river.  On a clear day we might be able to see Mount Cameroon, an impressive volcanic Mountain over 4000 meters high.

A crew member told me she saw Mt Cameroon last
November at the end of the rainy season.  But after the rain came the dust season from the Sahara desert.  Right now it's hard to believe there really is a mountain there, but some people have taken the three day hike to reach the top and returned to tell about it.

Mount Cameroon as see from my cabin.  Impressive!!!

Chuck