and the other reason I haven't been posting... I found out that my internet access is WAY more expensive than I have been thinking. The reason? The logon java applet is a bandwidth hog. Almost 300k of data to log on...and 30K per minute to check your status. Nice that I pay by the amount of data used.. and nice that the company gave me any indication of this... other than including its use in the instruction manual... so.. now that I have identified this bugger, and I'm almost over the anurism... I should be getting back to regular posting.
So, part of my quietude lately is that I am going to spend a few weeks in Europe to visit my parents, and my niece. I have a bunch of stuff on my new computer, like video and photography. With unlimited internet access and some free time, I will be able to fill you all in on some of the exciting changes in Lomie...
see you next week, or this weekend, if I feel ambitious.
I went to test my Sat Modem for Geovic on Saturday. This is my first trip to the Geovic site, which is about 40 kilometers away. I was also supposed to go back to Echambord, and get some more footage of the balsa wood car constructions process, and if possible, pick up a truck or two.. then.. walk home… some 20 miles. I was supposed to leave at 8am sharp, as Charly had a board meeting in the afternoon. At 8:30 I was ready… or so I thought. On my equipment check, I found that my video camera batteries were totally drained. I’m not sure what that is about, because I recharged them a week or so ago, and hadn’t used them. I’m wondering if it is possible that the massive thunder and lightning storm we had may have done something. There were a few bolt of lightning that were accompanied by some phenomenally strong thunder. One pretty much knocked my out of my chair. Anyway, by batteries were dead.. so no filming. Which, to be honest, is a bit of a relief. So bright and early.. at about 10:30, we head out. It’s a 45 minute drive (in Charly’s car). As usual, I really enjoy riding in the car, looking at the jungle. This is a part of the forest around here that I don’t know. Every once in a while, I just get hit with where I live. I mean, 45 minutes of mud huts, with thatched roofs, a forest that is as old as the world, and a thin dirt road that links all human endeavor. So, 45 minutes of jungle reverie ends when I see some 30 people gathered around a metal gate. The Geovic compound. Apparently, they are going “on vacation”, and waiting for their last paycheck. Personally, I think that Geovic had some investors coming in, and beefed up payroll to sweeten the deal. Either way. Aside from the about to get paid Geovic employees, there were several improvised stores… a bar which consisted of a few crates of beer and soda. A few people selling other miscellaneous stuff laid out on the road. The Geovic compound itself is bigger than I expected, and a bit more dilapidated on the outside then I expected. A rickety, but tall, wooden fence, with gaps easily large enough for people to squeeze through. A front entrance that was some aluminum siding… that had seen better days. It sagged, and scraped the ground as they opened and closed the door. There was a surly looking guard at the gate, who didn’t really want to be bothered. Charly did the rounds of the employees, a few of whom I recognized. Charly told me that the last time he came (with a white man), they kept him waiting for an hour. I think that Charly is getting used to the idea that I’ve got some pretty good: getting in to places karma. I tell the guard that I am there to check to see if my sat modem will work there, so that they can set one up. He isn’t buying, but I don’t care. I give him my ID card, and he heads down to consult with those who make the rules. About 5 minutes later, one of the guys that runs the place that I had met with Gary Morris (the president? of Geovic) came up the hill quickly, and someone apologetically, to let us in, after I explained what I was there for. I had no written documents, I had no proof that I was telling the truth.. but we got in just fine. The compound is several large wooden buildings that contain bags and bags of samples from all over their site, a few smaller buildings with other facilities. It looks.. well, better than most structures out here, but still pretty dilapidated. I went out back with two of the Anglophone geologists that I have briefly met before, and set up my gear. Oh yeah. The lead and how to swing it. In a few minutes, we were looking at my Yahoo, and sending a short note to Gary. We chatted a bit, I got some more info on Geovic, its health, and Gary’s schedule. We head out… and on to Ngola, village down the road to drop off one of our passengers. Oh, there is no such thing as a car without other passengers. there are always people stuffed in the car. We get to the village, and I get to see what I am pretty sure is illegal pillaging of their community forest. Ngola has a community forest, but they lost their permit recently for some violations, and infighting. They secured permission to ship out the stuff that had already been cut.. but what I saw was roughly two kilometers of planks stacked up by the side of the road, and people carrying planks out of the bush on their heads. I made some comment, and my concerns were validated. I’m not sure what I can or will do about it, other than send off a few emails to people who monitor this stuff. My guess is that in the grand scheme of fraud and theft and pillaging this is less than nothing. We spent an hour chilling out in the village. I sat in a ‘chief chair’.. which is a chair covered in goat skin. It was comfy, and I had the pleasure of being reminded how extreme the bugs in the villages can be. I got mauled. I was also reminded what it is like in the villages with kids. Pretty much every kid in the area came out to see me. They hid behind the car, and proceeded to dare each other to run out, look at me, and run back. This went on the whole time, until I got up, and they scattered like bugs. We picked up a guy to replace the one we dropped off. This guy then picked up his sick baby, who he was taking to the hospital. The baby had a face full of open wounds, an eye that was swollen shut, and a vaguely yellowish. She was quiet only in so much as she had little ability to really cry. I asked what was wrong.. an illness related to malnutrition.
We drove back, and as I had asked Charly about stopping off at Echambord beforehand, we stopped. He was very interested in the cars, and what I was doing there. He offered to take me down the next time I was going to film stuff. We got there, and the father was sitting outside. The kids were out back finishing up a tractor. We did the hello’s, and I gave my excuses for not being able to spend more time there with my camera. The father is going to be a problem. I just know it. He smells money… and I’m waiting for the strong arm. I am ready for it, and I have also almost gotten more trucks than I think I can sell for a while. We had a short meal, and headed out. I am lucky that Charly was there, as he can just walk off with far less problems than I can. I came back with 4 or 5 new cars, trucks, and a motorcycle.
After a hard week, this was a good, if tiring, day. I really need a few days off.
Sunday, I set up my flood light (I was really suffering from lack of lighting equipment, so I bought a halogen floodlight last time in Yaounde), and build a sort of lazy Susan… set up my camera, and took some product shots. Its looks pretty good. Mostly, I have turn-arounds. I have some ideas of what I can do with this to help show-off the trucks. I’ll be up in Yaoundé in a week or so, to pick up my…. FIXED computer. Actually, they didn’t fix it. They replaced it with a newer and faster machine. I knew there was a reason I put up with Apple. With that, and a broadband connection, I can finally put up a few months worth of photos.. and some video I still have lying around.
Sunday is also the day that Ange (my Alex replacement) moved in. She is Jen’s friend, and we struck a deal that she can stay here until Jen leaves… in the hopes of earning enough money for school. If she handles the pressure well (working for the white people is a real hassle), and Gwinn is comfortable with her staying, she might stay longer. She’s nice, and seems to be pretty excited to be staying here (with her year old baby). We’ll see how it goes.
The weekend ended with a visit from Carey (Peace Corps) and a great rainstorm. All in all, good end to a hard and draining week.