Rallye Club des Palmes 2005

Almost the antithesis of Guitarfest (tm) is the Ralley Club des Palmes, which takes place every April in Edéa. Its one of the most sponsored events in the country in which regular people (read: expats and rich folks with cars) can participate. I described the whole concept last year, which was the first time I participated. This time, I was resolved to do better than our 25th+ finish.

This year, one of the teachers in whose class I teach english was chairing the event (the downside of winning the whole thing the year before), so I asked if he could find a place for me. He mentioned a Cameroonian guy and his girlfriend were looking for others to fill up their car, and requested that I find a female to accompany us. I called up a friend of a friend who was staying in Kribi for a few weeks (and whom I had met on a brief trip down the week before). Jessica didn't really understand the whole concept, as its a bit difficult to describe, but was willing nonetheless. Unfortunately, this group fell through since the car broke down, but we were able to find another team to take us on- a Frenchman in Edéa on business.

We arrived the morning of the rally and figured out who we would be riding with- Pierre Yves. It turns out that two Cameroonian women were also going to join us, for a total of five. Being the other male in the group, I was given the job of navigator (the joke about women and directions seems to be universal). Throughout the day, we drove, and answered inane quizzes and showed a bit of mental and physical prowess. We did particularly well at the sand castle building, obstacle course driving in a 4x4, canoe race and swim-tug race (a kid had to stand on an innertube-based platform while we swam dragging them along). By 6pm (after starting just before 9am), we put the finishing touches on the last quiz (this one was about African country flags, among other things) and retired before dinner. I felt good about our truly international team effort, but was happy to rest for an hour or so before food and the awards ceremony.

The awards started at 30th place and worked up to first. Everyone was a bit on edge, hoping not to be one of the first teams to be called forward. When 10th place was called, and we had still not been called, we all looked at each other with a bit of disbelief. How could a young group just thrown together do so well against teams who have done this year after year for many years??? Finally, our team was called as the fifth place finisher! We were ecstatic!! We all went up as a team to claim our trophy (the top five got trophies) and other prizes! The MC for the evening made a comment that a team with two americans shouldn't have done so well, which I thought was hilarious, as did most everyone else. I personnally returned home with a gift basket of Cameroonian foods (coffee, tea, jams, etc), while Pierre-Yves took the trophy and Jessica (my friend) took a flashlight and some palm oil for the family she was staying with in Kribi. Mostly though, we returned with the knowledge that we had done well. We finished the evening with dancing - together.