| Date: | 09/02/2002 |
| Title: | ready |
| Location: | yaounde, cameroon |
| Text: | km 70'986 it was not a good start of the day: i left the 'presbiterian hill' with my bike and drove to the congolese embassy to retrieve my passport. the police stoped me after only two kilometers, claiming that i had comitted some incredible violation of the traffic rules and wanted to see my passport. i didn't have a passport and i explained them that it was at the congolese embassy. i pulled out my wallet and showed them the receipt from the embassy which confirmed this. then the officer asked for my driving license and pointed to the plastic banking card from switzerland. i gave it to him, confirming that it was indeed a driving license. i could see that he was clearly impressed by the hologram and the design. he then issued a fine and told me to pick up my 'driving license' when paying for my the traffic violation at the police headquarters. luckily, that banking card is of no use to anyone and i'd be very surprised if it worked anywhere in africa (it did so in pakistan...). in any case, i can live without it and i just wrote an email to my bank declaring it 'lost'. i got my visa from the embassy, bought some tools at a hardware shop and went around town, looking for a new oil filter for my bike. tomorow i will leave yaounde, finally. the bike should be allright now and i am really looking forewards to the next part of this trip. last week i met a german couple, ollie and corina who are going the same way through the congo. they left this morning but i expect to meet them tomorrow evening in yokaduma, halfways to the border to congo. |