Tuesday 23rd March - Congo, Equator
Still too hot to eat mid-day. I decided to go for 5 mile run instead. Every time I passed the locals on the road I asked in French how far was it to Brazzaville for a laugh, but I missed the group photo on the equator. Found a good place to camp, nice flat sand and plenty of room.
Wednesday 24th March - Congo
Travelled a total of 11 hours. Scenery has changed from jungle to scrub land, made more progress than yesterday. Put the tent in a stupid position on a steep slope. A rain storm continued all night, got no sleep.
Thursday 25th March - Brazzaville, Congo
Pissing down with rain, had to pack the tents away soaking wet and could not make breakfast. The road had turned into mud, the worst I have ever seen. Freezing cold and wet until we stopped after it had stopped raining so that we could change our clothes. Arrived in Brazzaville at lunch time. Went to the post office and collected three letters from home. Had a meal of chicken & chips in an expensive restaurant. Then on to a supermarché ´o get some more photographs for visas and photocopied my passport. Parked the truck in a mission compound in the city where we can sleep in some rooms in a big building. Had a binge on ice-cream, cakes and chocolate before cooking the evening meal of omelette and sauté °otatoes. Found a bar with Lars, Charlie, Mike, Claire and Julia. Slept on the truck.
Friday 26th March - Brazzaville, Congo
Made eggs for breakfast, Lars and Charlie went into town but I decided to stay behind and do the rest of my washing. Had a bath in a real bath then sorted my locker out. Later I went to the shops to buy some jam for the truck stores and a few things for myself to see me through Zaire. Had a good evening meal, Charlie and Lars booked themselves into a local hotel but I chose the cheaper option of sleeping in the corridor with Julia.
Saturday 27th March - Brazzaville, Congo
Went to the shops again spending my very last CFA on a big tin of biscuits, spread cheese and a bottle of Gin. Found out that in addition to the Zaire visa, we have to pay ?60 for a permit to travel through the gem mining district. Julia lent me 200FF after I had spent all my CFA. Had a beer with Charlie before everyone went off to see the congo river rapids. I decided to have another bath then a sleep on a double bed in one of the rooms. Everyone crammed into the main room at night.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment