PORT NÉGRIER DE BIMBIA

Formerly known as Victoria, this village is Cameroon's former slave embarkation port. More than just a tourist resort, this site is steeped in history and the ancestral memory of Afro-descendants on other continents. Arriving in the town of Bimbia, an hour's drive from Limbé, a local guide is available at the town hall. The guide is necessary for access to the site, as you'll have to drive about 5 km on a difficult track that you'd better know to practice. A hiking trail through a bamboo forest then leads to the actual remains in which the captive Africans were held before being shipped off. This is a real-life experience. This is where the prisoners were chained before the arrival of the slave traders. The more slaves there were, the more gifts the chiefs received. The slaves were then inspected, and taken to the boats that would take them to nearby islands, before the journey to the American mainland. When there are many visitors, the local office organizes a re-enactment of the events, with local actors who know how to convey this reality. Although difficult to access and almost 2 hours from Limbé, access to this site reflects the painful past it is still steeped in, and getting there is a real journey into the collective memory. Unlike other sites in Senegal or Equatorial Guinea, the site still has all its authenticity, where everything is a reminder of those dark moments in human history.