Mandara Mountains, Cameroon

Today I finished watching "Chocolat" 1988 by Claire Denis, a movie about the life of a family in northernn Cameroon during the last years of French colonial rule. The film is no doubt complex, well-done, captivating, controversial and very very beautiful.

What I cannot get out of my mind are the landscapes, the scenery surrounding the characters. This film has pherhaps the most beautiful shots of mountains that I have ever seen. It is my kind of place: dry, flat yellow fields and then, mountains. Pieces of rock one could marvel at for a life-time, to try to figure out the secret the monolith seems to keep. To try to understand how did such greatness come into existence. The landscape of peaceful comtemplation, of tension and of beauty. The film could not have a better location.



After some reseach I discovered the mountains are the Mandara Mountains, a volcanic range between Northern Cameroon and Nigeria. They are off the tourist track (which does not include Cameroon for a start) and are well known for their rich cultural and environmental value.

It takes less than 600 euros to fly from Lisbon to Cameroon and back, by Marroc Air. I think one could probably get around with a working knowledge of French (at least in the bigger centers).

Some day, some day soon, I am going to the Mandara Mountains. I will go to Cameroon.