In Kribi, some of us were curious enough about pygmies to take the pygmy tour. It started with a long walk on the beach to the Chutes de la Lobé, where the waterfalls fall directly into the sea.
I had wanted to visit a pygmy village for a long time and curiosity definitely got the better of me despite the Lonely Planet warning the said village was depressing.
What I didn’t expect though was that the pygmy village seemed to contain more pets than pygmies!
Also, some of the pygmies were almost as tall as me and they were sitting down looking bored beyond belief.
and the trees that they use to treat wounds, to treat malaria and to use as poison on their arrow tips.
Despite being disappointed, I am still glad I visited their village.
Our next encounter with pygmies, however, was infinitely more memorable.
At our first bush camp out of Kribi towards the Gabon border, we were visited by some pygmies from a neighbouring pygmy village, as well as some other villagers.
Our next encounter with pygmies, however, was infinitely more memorable.
At our first bush camp out of Kribi towards the Gabon border, we were visited by some pygmies from a neighbouring pygmy village, as well as some other villagers.
These pygmies were much shorter although they were wielding machetes. One villager was trying to tell us we were on their land (we weren’t) and that the pygmies would have to stay with us all night to protect us, and in return they wanted some alcohol! We told them we had our own protection (I pointed to Garrett who is 6 foot 5). Despite that, they continued persisting for several hours, so I ended up telling them that throughout the rest of West Africa, we’ve been showered with hospitality, even when actually camping on other people’s land. At one bush camp in Nigeria, the village Chief, Innocent, told us we were welcome to stay on his land for a month in complete security.
The villager then decided to try another tack and told us we had to pay 10,000 CFA (about AUD$20) to stay on their land (that was not even theirs) otherwise they would call the Préfecture and get them to kick us off the land. We called their bluff and told them to call them. But they didn’t, and ended up leaving with only a few cigarettes and water (much to their dismay). [Towards the end they were even trying to get just my phone number – evidently height difference is not an issue for them!]
No comments:
Post a Comment