SLC-S25/W3 | Community World Tour: Landscapes & Sacred Sites

The Beauty of nature, a great gift from God to us on Earth ranging from mountains, forestries, Rivers and valleys. Never have any of these creatures Stop to amaze us as they are well crafted bring to us a sense of wonder.

Dwelling in this week's challenge, on our focus is on the landscapes and sacred sites. With a lot of details buried in our cultural heritage, unless we explore, we cannot know the untold story behind certain geographical locations in our community and the world at large.

Not so long ago, I visited one of these sites with great cultural heritage and a lot of sacred meaning behind these wonderful place. Pay attention as we detailed everything you need to know about this place.

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River Wouri empties into coastal City of Cameroon, a country located in West Central Africa, with GMT +1. It is bordered by countries like Nigeria from the West . Douala located in the Littoral region of Cameroon is where the river empties in the wouri estuary. The river is estimated to be about 159 km of the coast of Douala getting its source from the Nkam and makombé division.

This River is not only an ordinary river but a symbolic one to the country. It should be worth noted that it is from this River that the name of the country Cameroon was derived from centuries ago.

Historical background.

In the early years of navigation, explorers quest for new lands and sites to discover places of nature the beauty in which it holds. Dated back to 1472 a Portuguese explorer by name "FERNANDO PÓ" Who was on his exploration mission happens to come across the coast of the wouri estuary.

Within the time frame he spent there, he discovered something unusual than the other parts of the sea. Looking through the water, he discovered that the river was full with lot of mud lobsters. Thinking of what this could be, he named the river, in his native language.
"RIO DOS CAMARÕES". Translated to English, meaning "RIVER OF PRAWNS". The name of this place later became CAMARONES when the Spanish arrived this location.

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When the scramble for Africa begun, Cameroon was and first annexed by the Germans In 1884. In the times of German ruling, the name CAMARONES was changed to "KAMERUN". After World War I has broke out. The French and the British finally took over the country from the Germans in 1919, and the country was divided between the British and the French following the "Treaty of varsailles."

The country was subdivided into 10 regions, with the French having the majority of eight regions and the British holding on to the two regions bordering Nigeria.

This River being an estuary, it separates the central town of the city of Douala into two. That is downtown and Bonaberi. Dated back in history, transportation across the river was possible with the use of canoes. With the French in control of the Republic to Cameroon,
They facilitated in the construction of the first bridge in 1950 which is a 1 km stretch connecting to the two part of town.

With just one bridge, and based on the population, there was of problem traffic on this bridge. All of this led to the construction of a second bridge alongside the old bridge In 2013. It was later Inaugurated on November 14th, 2013 and this has served as a great touristic site to both locals and tourist at large.

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Cultural belief

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Africa in general, as it way. Custom and tradition is something which is much respected. With the coming of the industrial revolution, and civilization culture is gradually dying. However, some regimes still preserve the African culture as it is the case with the wouri River.

This River is culturally thought of by the SAWA people of Douala to inhabits the spirits of the ancestor for fathers. Commonly called MIENGU. These people believe that the water Spirit lives the river in the form of a Mermaid, And possessed supernatural powers that brings them Good luck. Hence the need for an annual festival of which rituals are performed here.

The Ngondo festival.

Every end of year, specifically December which is the last month, the SAWA people, would visually perform rituals in the river. This activity is characterized by bloodshed of animals, chicken most often, And the people involved enter inside the water To visit the underwater spirit as they believe.

Equally activities such as canoe race. Performed with a canoe boarding a fisherman. The paddle from one edge of the river, the other and back. The winner is awarded and Nobel prize, from the notables of the SAWA people.

Benefit of river Wouri to the community.

The river Wouri empties into the Atlantic Ocean at the Southeastern side of the city and it holds the country's largest seaport, The Douala seaport. The seaPort is widely used by landlocked countries Like a central African Republic, Chad for their logistics.

A lot of fishing activities is being carried on on daily basis in this River. Based on the notion that it is a river of brown, there is a lot variety of fishes, swimming, offshore with the most dominant being the tilapia fish. It is common in this city and majority of it is gotten from this River.

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Equally, the largest amount of sun used in the city is drain out of this water by fisherman and divers. Sand washed off from the nearby mountains And mechanical weathering on sandstones washed is deposited at the belt of this River from which divers removed it and deposit at the banks for sale. This is a great source of income as one trip of 20 tones is worth 60,000frs and in steem Around 800 steem Per current steem price.

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My time at the wouri River.

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Unlike normal beaches, the wouri estuary is more muddy soil Not like the usual sand you would find on a beach. However, these areas are constructed and modernize to give an area view of the water suburbs. Here you can sit and watch the water while having a drink or equally eating some roasted fish which has been caught from the water.

My time at the beach, was at one of my cousins birthday party. Just like I mentioned earlier, these areas have been modernized to host event like marriages, but this and any other form of celebration. On this day, I happen to be present in town. I went there to assist in the organizing of the place and equally attain this event.

For my time being there, it was quite amazing and it felt so different. From the calm breeze that blows over the waters and the shore. To the sparkling view of mangroves far away and the clouds above. It was really an encounter. I couldn't hold back but take pictures of this place. I mean a lot of them including videos which I will be sharing with you.

My first time visiting the river shore pixel 6 pro capture

As you can see the area is well modernized and equipped with lot of luxury and resting post which people can have a free time. You still looking for a way to spend your summer, this is one of the place you can visit. It's quite interesting and trust me you won't regret it. Mudongo down beach

In process, I equally had a moment to record the river as the wind blows series of waves offshore and equally floating aquatic plants toast from side to side by the waves. Is quite a big encounter and I would like you to have a closer look at the video below.