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You can lose everything, but nobody will take away what you saw and what you experienced...
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Jan 31, 2009 07:00 PM Last day on Congo river...
Sardines from the can and manioc bread for breakfast. Then we sailed through the "lake" with many little flat islands to the village of Lukunga. It is on one of the islands, the houses are built on poles. They have a policeman - he met us with old AK-42 gun on a shore. Once he received little bribe all problems disappeared. I took some photos and we departed to Kinkole - the suburb of Kinshasa. Again I was registered by officials at a dusty wharf (bureaucracy is hard to imagine in Congo - they always do hope that they will get "something" for their hard work) and I went to the hotel. Evening in the internet cafe responding all letters - they charge 100 F for ten minutes of slow connection at a junk computer - old windows and French keyboard - sorry for all my mistakes!
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Jan 30, 2009 07:00 PM Man-gen-gen-ge - can you repeat?
It is the time to say goodbye to the friendly black villagers of Mai Ndombe. They do not know when they will see again other mundele! We packed the tent on the boat and sailed down the Congo River to Mangengenge - little village on the south bank. Armed forces cruising by speedboad stopped us again to check who and where is sailing...
Mangengenge village is much smaller then Mai Ndombe - only 150 souls live here in the mud houses. But the village is beautifully located near the sandy beach at the mouth of little valley! The Chef allowed me to put the tent close to his house! Then he gave me the guide to climb the hill on the bank of the river... We were climbing in the heat if the noon! The view was great. Congo form here like a grand, wide lake with few flat, green islands! No shower! In the afternoon I decided to swim in the Congo river! Local kids had a great theater. -White man is swimming on our beach!
In the evening I escaped quickly to the tent - the village is very friendly and they even have battery radio, but the mosquitoes are terrible here!
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Jan 29, 2009 07:00 PM It is me - your mundele!
Do you remember dear friends how they called me, the white man - yovo in Togo, muzungu in Uganda, ferengi in the Arab countries... Here they call me mundele.
The barefoot kids in the village know me well. So their parents. They smile and greet me when I am passing by!
Today I took an epedition to the rapids on the Mai Ndombe - Black River or Black Water. Lower rapids are not far from the village -10 min by boat or 40 min walk by overgrown path.
They are picturesque, but do not expect organized viewpoints - it is the wilderness! Up from the lower rapids you can rent dugout canoe /21 000 F for the RT/ and two guys will paddle like 2.5 hours through the lovely jungle - upstream to the second rapids. They never been there themselves so once you land you feel like discoverer on the steep slope! They should bring their machettas to cut the way through the bush: but they did not - there is no single path! Yes, I saw second rapids - but the view was obscured by the trunks of the old trees and the bush...
Back in the camp: dirty, sweaty and extremely tired I was greeted by the friendly kids: Mundele!
Yes, it is me - yours mundele! MUNDELE MOKO - the lonely white man in the black Congo...
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Jan 28, 2009 07:00 PM Chef de village has the power
In the village Mai Ndombe, where I camp live about 2000 people! - said the chef when I visited him to ask for the permission to take the pictures in his kingdom. He weared traditional dress for my visit! I think that he lays to show, that he rules a lot of people!
In Mai Ndombe there is no electricity, no road, no supermarket! People live in tatched mud houses: they fish, they plant cassava and maze. They have very little income: they are very poor! But most of them are very friendly. I had opportunity to see their everyday life and to take a lot of great pictures! I also climbed in the heat the hill overlooking the village and the rivers. Great views!
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Jan 27, 2009 07:00 PM By boat on Congo River...
I decided to try the taste of the big river - one of the biggest in the world. The destination was village Mai Ndombe - located at the junction of Congo and Black River!
It is almost 8 hours upstream from Kinshasa by motorized boat! You can divide this sail by two going by car to Maluku and board the boat there - thats what I did. It was raining from the morning and Kinshasa-Maluku segment in the rain was not attractive. In Maluku you must go through the beaurocracy of the immigration and other officials! Paying some bribes will speed them up but only a little bit. Thanks God the rain almost stopped when we started at noon. It is really big river! Thousands of duguot canoes sails along the banks /the current is lower there/
I saw big public barges full of people sailing to Kisangani -4 weeks upstream: 15 days downstream, want you try? Good luck!
Great views: fishermen, green hills on the Brazzaville side!
We reached Mai Ndombe in the late afternoon. Local people pintch the tent for me just 20 m from the river. What a day!
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Jan 26, 2009 07:00 PM Apocalypse in Kinshasa
It is like 125 km from the capital of Congo to the colonial town of Kisantu. Such a excursion could be a nice one)day escape from the tonns of garbage, noise and polluton of Kinshasa!
Rented car with a local driver is the best idea since the regular intercity transport is nonexistent...
In the year of 1900 Jesuits from Europe established in Kisantu large botanical garden - it is still open and worth to see. Entry fee 500 F: but you have to pay extra 2000 for camera and twice for video!
I also saw in Kisantu enormous catolic church - probably the largest in Congo! Made of brick really huge builging remindind me the castle! Who knows today about Kisantu church? Unfortunately it was empty and locked! There was no time to wait - our driver lost the car key and it took him two hour to breake with primitive tools the steering station of the car!
In Kinshasa I stay in Apocalypse hotel ) half way from the aitport to the city! Apocalypse starts in the evening when the mosquitos start their battle - bring your own mosquito net! I did!
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Jan 25, 2009 07:00 PM Kin - la belle?
In the colonial period they called the capital of Belgian Congo Kin-la belle... Not much left! Few shaded streets cose to the grand river - some villas locked around by high fenced walls...
The highlight for me was Sta Anna Catholic Mission ) escape from the noise and ever)present police /keep your camera well hidden in the bag/
Todays Kin is crowded dusty and polluted 8-million metropolis!
To be there once and to see is enough.
Some 25 km from the town I visited rare bonobo monkey sanctuary /entry 5 USD/! I was working hard to get for you best possible pictures! Then alfa-male big bonobo throw on me and a camera a big portion of the sand from the distance of 2 m! They did not warn me about such a danger. Excuses came too late...
Ca you imagine that the 10 km car ride from the central bouleard 30 Juin to the hotel can take in the evening more then 2 hours in a smog ) thats Kin la Belle!
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Jan 24, 2009 07:00 PM Kinshasa: last state- last frontier
Bonjour! I landed in Kinshasa - DR Congo
Hot - crowded and corrupted! It has the opinion to be one of the African last frontiers. I have been already twice very close to Congo: in Brazzaville and in Rwanda - but I did not decided to enter because the fights in this huge and poor republic.
It seems to be the last state in the world that I did not see before! I am always emphasising that traveling is not a sport and that I do not travel for points and awards! But most people rank travellers according to the number of countries they visited - they ask me very often about that. So now the answer will be much simpler.
Tomorrow I plan to go around the city and later to try to sail the Congo River.
Greetings from African outback!
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Jan 23, 2009 07:00 PM Where are your diamonds?
In the distant Freetown airport they do not have any working screening machine... So they have many body and baggage controls before they allow you go to the plane. I was asked twice to open bags and they checked almost every pill in my first aid kit. Yes, they search for diamonds! Tourists are still rare here so they are surprised that you are not smuggling.
I thing that real smugglers use the other way then the airport or they pay huge bribes not to be disturbed...
The flight to Accra was on time. In Accra "transit officer" (you must find her) took me through the immigrations without any control. I found my backpack on the belt. OK. Then we get out of the terminal to enter again departure hall from the street (nothing will surprise me - it is Africa!) I checked in for SA flight to Joburg without transit visa and any stamps in the passport.
Then 6-hours night flight in the cold airbus... Brrrr... I got cold... I am sneezing and coughing. You can survive the jungle but you will get a sick in the modern aircraft!! :))
In JNB airport I got my backpack with partly destroyed cover - I have to repair it now.
I stay a night in Shoestring Airport Lodge - www.shoestringsafrica.com - they provide free airport transfers - the place is worth to recommend... I am resting before tomorrow's flight to Kinshasa.
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Jan 22, 2009 07:00 PM Harmattan is blowing...
It is blowing today, waves are high... Those of you who want to enjoy the blue sky in Sierra Leone should come here in the end of February/March...
Today the sky is grey... I do hope that they will not cancel the departure of an junk hoovercraft conecting Aberdeen with the distant Lungi Airport.
I am departing today - it will be difficult operation - three flights almost one by one: via Accra and Johannesburg to Kinshasa. I do hope that African airlines will not loose my backpack... The itinerary looks non-logic, but believe me - that was for me the last expensive solution to move to Congo.
Keep your fingers crossed, please!
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