A wedding, a vacation, and the rainy season

Although I have been absent from my blog for longer then anticipated, the time I have spent away was very eventful! The last entry I left you with I wrote just a few hours before we departed for our vacation, and now, that is exactly where I will commence this entry!

First, a few new things I learned about traveling in and out of Douala. 1. You cannot check in for your flight online... very inconvenient. 2. If you do happen to make changes to your flight itinerary, it will take the gate agent 2.5 hours to get you checked in, so that you can at least make it to Paris, and hopefully the agents there can assist you further. 3rd and lastly, there is an EXIT FEE!!!! Yup, that is right, you have to pay the government the equivalent of 20 USD to leave Cameroon... WOW! Can't you tell we had an amazing start to our journey! I would also like to add one final note, 36 hours of flying is way too much for any human being to endure, next time we will break up our journeys better with rest days built in!

There was even a rainbow for the wedding!

Anyways, I will move on. After the longest and most miserable journey to date, we finally arrived in Hawaii! We were ready to have an amazingly relaxing time and enjoy Anna and Sig's wedding! It felt amazing being back in the states, and it felt even better being able to drive myself around! I really miss having that freedom! We had a really good time hanging out with friends and lounging by the pool, but Mikkel and I decided that Hawaii was not for us. ( This probably has something to do with living in a Tropical climate, so it was nothing new or special!)

Anna and her Dad walking down the aisle

The reason of the visit to Hawaii was to be Maid of Honor in my besties wedding! I was so honored to be included in the special day for Anna and Sig, and it turned out to be the most beautiful wedding ever! The wedding site at the Maui Sheraton was beautiful! We were standing on a cliff, over looking the crystal clear waters of the Pacific, so peaceful and so completely perfect! The ceremony was short, sweet, and to the point, with just enough quirkiness to make it unique! My favorite moment was when Anna was walking down the aisle with her father (Pictured Left), the song playing was the Beattles' "Here Comes the Sun" and it starts to mist, leaving us with a view of the most beautiful rainbow! (Pictured above!)

Mikkel and I 

After the ceremony, while the Happy Newly Weds took all of their photos, I took an opportunity to snag one of Mikkel and myself! And thankfully he was a really good sport about it! (Probably because we were headed to the bar next!)




           

The helicopter we rode in!

 Our time in Hawaii was short, but we did manage to get in a helicopter ride over the Island! It was probably the craziest and scariest ride of my life! The weather was rough and stormy, the clouds were low and so was the visibility, and the ride was so bumpy! I was trying to take photos of all the beauty in between hanging on for dear life, and the heavy cloud cover. I think I was a little successful :)

Waterfall as viewed from the Helicopter

Our time in Hawaii had drawn to a close. We had to leave the resort, check out of the hotel, return our rented convertible, and head back to the dreaded Airport. We were headed back to Seattle, where we would spend the night at an airport hotel, grab breakfast with my parents in morning, and then take Mikkel back to the airport. He had to continue on back to Douala without me due to a visa issue I had. (Problem being my visa had expired.) I spent the next 3 weeks in Seattle waiting on the return of my passport with a new visa in it. Although I was missing Mikkel and my puppy, I was also enjoying the time I got to spend with my friends and family! ( Not to mention all of the shopping that i got to do!) but after a difficult and much delayed visa process I had my passport in hand and I was heading back home! I am amazed at how quickly Douala has become my home, and I really missed it and could not wait to get back to my life here!


When I left Douala a month earlier we were just about to enter into the rainy season.When I returned we were most definitely in the rainy season! Being from Seattle, the city of perpetual rain, I thought it would be no big deal, but once I experienced my first week of non-stop heavy warm rain, I was truly amazed! It was torrential raining on a large scale, and it was still 80F outside! check out this little (and shaky sorry) video I shot! Listen to how much noise the rain is making!

I am told that closer to August the rain will be even heavier yet and last for days on ends... I am quite looking forward to seeing it, and seeing if I survive with my sanity intact!


With that being said, it is time for my say bid you fair well! I am going to get ready to have some friends over for baking and gossip! Take care everyone, and until next time, happy wanderings and wonderings!