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Updated Information
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Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
0km |
Meals
Pizza |
Weather |
|
Matadi, DRC |
24 April 2004 |
Sisters of Charity Nunnery |
5°49.891’S
13°27.655’E |
Odometer: 18612km |
Rain overnight, Hot, sunny,
humid, 102 (F) degrees |
|
With nothing to do all weekend we pretty much
lazed around the convent all day and thought about what to eat for lunch,
dinner, etc. Jen, Witt, and Vicky went shopping in the morning. The only
meat they could find (that looked any good and was reasonably priced) was
10kg of frozen chicken legs imported from the USA. It seems we can’t
escape hormone-fed meat even in Africa. Lacking anything better to do and
having several members of our group who are obsessed with food, we spend a
lot of time thinking about food, planning meals, and cooking. This evening
we made pizzas with tomato sauce, curried chicken, banana, and La Vache
Qui Rit (what we sometimes call “Laughing cow”) (a processed cheese spread
that has been our constant companion from Morocco onwards) the making of
which was quite an operation for nine people. Along with the pizza we had
a tomato and avocado salad. Each pizza was baked over charcoal on a
portable grill. They came out very nicely and we gave the nuns a taste.
Not only had they never had pizza before, they didn’t know what it was!
After dinner Elza brought out her laptop and we watched the French film,
Delicatessen, under the stars. |
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Updated Information
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Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
0km |
Meals
Chicken tikka masala |
Weather |
|
Matadi, DRC |
25 April 2004 |
Sisters of Charity Nunnery |
5°49.891’S
13°27.655’E |
Odometer: 18612km |
Rain overnight, hot, sunny,
Humid 104(F) degrees |
|
Another day lounging around the convent, but
at least on the weekend there aren’t a million screaming kids running
around. Jen went to the church service in the morning with the mother
superior and two other sisters. The 3-hour Catholic Mass was held in
French, Latin, and the local Congolese tribal language. As it turned out,
Jen was the guest of honor and was asked to stand as the priest made a
speech that she didn’t understand. Afterwards, everyone in the
congregation clapped, so we can only assume that the priest said something
to welcome her to their community. Or perhaps he was commenting about how
unusual it is for a white person to come to their church. Either way, Jen
was just a bit embarrassed about being singled out. Fortunately, everyone
was very nice about it and she was suddenly on a first-name basis with a
bunch of people who were eager to talk with her and shake her hand.
Meanwhile, our obsession with food continues, as does our quest to eat the
chicken that won’t fit in the freezer. Connie made her now-famous chicken
tikka masala and we had a nice flan for desert. |
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Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
0km |
Meals
|
Weather |
|
Matadi, DRC |
26 April 2004 |
Sisters of Charity Nunnery |
5°49.891’S
13°27.655’E |
Odometer: 18612km |
Cloudy, heavy rain in the
afternoon, Humid, 97(F) degrees
|
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Hoping to finally be able to
leave Matadi we arrived at the Angolan embassy at 930 with our paperwork
in hand. Again we were told that the vice counsel was out at that we’d
have to come back tomorrow. They told us that if we paid now things would
go faster tomorrow. Reluctantly we handed over $720 for nine visas and
insisted on receipts. They told us that we could come back at 10am
tomorrow to collect our visas. When we returned to the convent, a crew
from the Congolese television station was on hand to interview us
(apparently they had heard we were here.) Elza, being the only fluent
French speaker among us, gave the interview with Rafiki in the background.
We’re looking forward to the 1830 news broadcast this evening, when (if
the electricity is on) the interview is supposed to be broadcast. Graham
thinks he may have malaria and took a dose of Fansidar to try to kill it
this morning. Unfortunately Fansidar pretty much knocks you out for a day,
and he spent the afternoon sleeping in the tent. Clouds moved in at about
2pm and it rained heavily for about 20 minutes, just enough time for us to
run around getting soaked while erecting awnings and moving our stuff
under them. As promised the Congolese TV station ran the interview on the
news. We all gathered with a few of the sisters and watched Elza on TV. |
Elza giving an interview for Congolese TV Urs helps to finish off the bread pudding
Elza giving an interview for Congolese TV
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Updated Information
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Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
6km |
Meals
Chicken with rice |
Weather |
|
Noqui, Angola |
27 April 2004 |
Bush Camp |
5°51.781’S
13°26.100’E |
Odometer: 18618km |
Rainy, 85(F) degrees |
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We left for the embassy this morning at 10 am
hoping to retrieve our passports. It was raining hard and we all got
soaked while putting fuel in the vehicles. At the embassy we were told
that we had to wait until the consul arrived. We finally got our passports
back (with visas!) at 1pm. We drove the 6km to the Angolan border and
checked out of DRC. The customs officer on the Angola side wasn’t there so
Witt and a police official took Rafiki into town to retrieve him from his
house. He was friendly and efficient and after he had stamped our carnets
Witt drove him back home. The immigration officer proved to be more of a
problem. He seemed to have difficulties with his arithmetic as he asked us
for a $50,000 (US) bribe. We all thought this was very funny. His office
was very small, and lacking anywhere else to sit Graham sat on his desk.
This didn’t amuse him much, and even after Graham had apologized it took
another hour until his boss arrived to settle him down enough to stamp our
passports and return them to us. Meanwhile Vicki had made friends with
Fifi, the wife of the local police chief. Since it was nearly 5pm we
accepted her offer to camp outside her house. We set up and made dinner
and afterward watched Tomorrow Never Dies with Fifi, the police chief, and
their newborn son. The spot where we are camped, in Fifi’s front yard,
overlooks a beautiful spot on the Congo river. We watched some fishermen
paddle pirogues across the river as the sun set. We have a report from
another traveler who says the next stretch of road is very bad (105 km in
11 hours) and we are concerned that the rain could make conditions even
more difficult. Graham spoke with his doctor this afternoon. The doctor
doesn’t think he has malaria, but he’s not sure what he does have. |
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The Congo
River |
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Angola, Page 3 |
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