Even just out of Jikijem (the mini-village within the
macro-village that is Oku, I could explain that better, but not now). I had two
visitors this past weekend and on Sunday we took a nice stroll up to Lake Oku.
Beautiful. I am without a camera right now, so no pictures unfortunately, but
if you have ever been to a mountain crater lake before you’ll kind of get the
gist. Couple that with a weirdly beautiful forest surrounding the lake full of trees
and vegetation unlike anywhere else on the planet. That’s a literal statement.
The forest around the lake, called Ijim Forest or Kilum/Ijim Mountain Reserve is home
to a whole slew of unique plant and animal life that are kind of trapped in
this high elevation island surrounded by low-lands they aren’t adapted for and
that cut them off from other high elevation environments.
Insanely, I hadn’t visited the lake before two days ago.
Granted, on the way into Oku you drive past the lake and get a nice/fleeting view
of it, but that doesn’t really count. Apparently it is only a 90-minute hike up
at a good clip. Once you get to the area, you have to work your way down a
slick trail that is a bit tricky, so wear good shoes. At the bottom of that
trail is a small sitting area with a bench (that is one bench) and a great view
of the lake’s surface. I was apparently given bad information about the
restrictions on accessing the lake and thought that we were prohibited from
touching the water, but then two local guys who were collecting some water to
make their medicine, and they told us it was a different day of the week that
the restriction held. At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if I asked 8 people
and got 8 answers on that question (remember, the traditional week is 8 days
long).
That day kind of told me that I have got to do a little more
site seeing while I’m here in Cameroon. That probably means getting to other
parts of the country (nowhere where there are vipers though; seriously, I think
I would have a breakdown if I was faced with a viper hanging down from a tree
on a path I was walking) which takes some degree of commitment/planning/taking
time away from work, none of which I’m particularly good at (not that I’m a
workaholic, just that I’ve never gotten beyond the feeling that when I’m away
from work it is all going to fall apart). Having visitors helps. It kind of
forces you to be a good host, and since that were my third visitors in a year
it isn’t too much of a distraction (though if the word gets out about how
pretty that lake and forest are, I may have a problem).
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