Preparation and flexibility seem like opposites, but it is good to have some of each when you are traveling in Cameroon. Be prepared - with change for the tolls you will need to pay as you pass from one region/province to the next, with hand sanitizer for eating in the car, with either meds (Dramamine) or a spit-up bucket for car-sick kids, with lots of filtered water in bottles, and with toilet paper for those bathrooms that don't have any. And be flexible - willing to "hold it" until a gas station with a decent bathroom can be reached (a very nice change from 5 years ago is the increased availability of these; the first one we stopped at did not have running water but did have a bucket of water you could dip from to wash hands, and the second one had running water but no toilet paper).
Choices to be made - one can of Pringles (at a gas station) for 2000 cfa (equivalent to about $4), or a whole stalk of bananas (from a roadside vendor near a toll gate) for 1000 cfa ($2). Hmmm. :)
This was our fast-food lunch stop. Behind the displays of raw foods there are people cooking food over open grills. Mike bought plums (African plums - look them up :) ), plantains, and soya (strips of meat on a skewer).
And just for your interest, on the other side of the street, there were other stores. Many of them sell cards of cell phone credit; the main two companies are MTN and Orange.
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