Twin Cities

If you plan on visiting the Republic of Cameroon and you happened to be in the South West Province,there are a few places that are attractive to visit and the twin cities of Buea and Limbe happened to be in the list of places to see while you are at this part of the country.

Limbe

Limbe, up to the 1980s was simply known as the town of Victoria before the named changed to the city of Limbe.It sits along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and it has quite a few places that you can visit while there like the Botanical Garden,the Down Beach and the beach in a place call Seme or mile 11.The weather is quite cool due to the fact that it is located at the coastline of the Atlantic, so during the periods of December through May when the weather is generally hot in most part of the country,it is still pleasant down in this coastal city.To get to the city once you get into the country is quite easy.You arrive at the Douala international Airport in the economic capital of the country and you can get public transportation that would take you there in less than an hour.The roads are pretty good from the international airport all the way to the city and once you get into the city getting around is not disappointing at all.The roads are pretty good.This is due to the fact that oil was discovered in this region in the mid-eighties and the government used some of the funds to build good road infactructures.
There is a good network of cabs also that would take you around the city for a little less that a dollar a drop which is a pretty good rate.There are also bikes that would get you around for about 150francs CFA a drop,pretty decent rate also.
The bike business exploded when part of the youths decided to create their own form of employment.There are quite a few of them and there would get you to places that are quite close if you do not feel like to take a walk.

My favorite part of the city though is the stretch that takes you along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean to areas such as Seme,Idenau and Debuncha.It would cost you about 700 francs CFA to get from the heart of the city to a place such as Idenau but throughout the ride you get to see the ocean.There is something quite attractive about the sea and each time that I see a huge stretch of water it is always a pleasant sight.

The inhabitants.
Limbe used to be made up mainly of people of the Bakweri tribe of the South West Province.That has changed recently though.Part of the reason is that oil was discovered in this region in the early 1980s and a state owned company called SO.NA.RA created in the area.First labor was brought in from Korea to build the oil refinery,then workers were employed mainly from the littoral province part of the country to work in the area.So the population is very diverse and the town is more of a bilingual city now then in used to be in the past.

Accomodation
There are a lot of hotels just about everywhere in the city,from the downtown area to where the beaches are.I personally prefer the hotels that are located along the ocean.You get a great view and you can also go swimming if you choose to.

Buea.
Buea is the second half of the twin equation and it has its own attractions such as the Prime Ministers lodge,the University Campus in Molyko,the famous Bilingual Grammar School campus and of cause the Mt. Cameroon.

Getting to Buea when you arrive at the Douala international airport is pretty easy.You take public transportation and you can get there within the hour.The road was a problem at one point of time but that was taken care of beginning in the early 2000s.So there is a good road infactucture from the international airport all the way to the city and also within the city itself.Public transportation is inexpensive and there are cabs that would take you around for about 200 francs CFa a drop.

My main attraction to the city of Buea though has to be the weather.Pleasant all year round,it makes the area one of the most beautiful places to live in the country in my opinion.The city is hilly in some places but it is easy to get around both on foot and on the taxi cabs.
When you get pass the weather attraction, the towering Mt. Cameroon of 4090 meters is always a huge touristic attraction.You can not miss it from any part of the city and if you are in the country during the month of February, there is an annual race the takes the toughest athletes in the country to the summit of the mountain and back.It quite a challenge as far as races go and it draws a huge population during this time of the year.

Education
Buea happens to be one of the areas in the country in which you can get an education from the nursery school level all the way to the university level without leaving the area.This is because in the 1990s the government created the university of Buea that provides education to a large part of the English speaking population that prior to the creation of the university center had to go to the University of Yaounde or abroad to get a decent university education.The University provides programs up to the level of PHD.

I attended my secondary school in this area in a place called Molyko.The main school there at the time was the Bilingual Grammar school and the Molyko area was just a small village with about one or two drinking spots.The area was mainly a banana plantation and we used to have various paths that led from school to the village.Today Molyko has exploded and it is one of the main attractions for people that visit the Buea area.It is in Molyko also that the University of Buea is located and there are quite a few businesses that have arrived the area as a result of the University campus.
The banana plantation is long gone and so are the mainly make-shift houses that used to make up the area.Today it is full of mini-cites and quite a few hotels that you could lodge in if you choice to stay in this part of the town.The roads leading from Molyko to the main part of town are pretty good.A far cry from when as a student we made it on foot to Buea town to catch a school soccer game or watch movies in the now closed town movie hall.The hilly nature of the trek was tough but that was a fast way for you to develop pretty good soccer legs.