We roused ourselves, ate breakfast, and headed for Limbe with car and driver. We got to see Buea, an early German capital, and then Limbe. On the way we crossed the river that marks the boundary between the former French and English sections of the country.
Limbe is a beautiful sea-side town, actually at the base of a pretty bay. Though tourism is not well-developed here it is clear that this town realizes that it is a good tourist destination. Ruth showed us the port from which slaves were shipped. She related the story of a friend who stood here and cried, “Oh, the hundreds of our people that this sea swallowed.” It was a sad and moving place to stand.
There was a monument that Ruth wanted to show us about a pioneer missionary of the Evangelical church. We hopped out of the car and I went straight to the monument. A man who had been sitting there spoke to me in French, so at first I couldn't get his meaning. Then I realized that he was saying I should have asked his permission to approach this monument! So I asked permission. He granted it. When I got out my camera he again became angry. He wanted money for the photo. We left. Ruth said the man does not own the monument or have any authority to do that. He was just looking for a buck.
We met up with the Linfield students at the hotel just in time for lunch. It was an excellent buffet. Then we got on our swimsuits and the bus took us to a wonderful beach. The water was amazingly warm. I practiced drawing for awhile and then we “older” women, five of us, all went into the surf together. We had great fun bobbing on the swells and splashing in the surf. Dinner was again delicious.
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