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Into the bush

Posted on September 25th, 2008 in Africa,Congo by robjkentjr
Finally, we will be starting our overland drive through Africa in a Land Rover Defender.  I have wanted to do this ever since I met Peta and David in 2001 while in Uganda.

We got a little lost while leaving Brazzaville but it gave us a chance to see the sights of the city.  Here you see the workers moving the muck clogging the sewers from one spot to another.

We also saw the scenic and fragrant flood channels that run black from pollution.

There is no shortage of car parts though.  Take your pick from this smart-looking street kiosk of used items.

Something we noticed very quickly is that everyone looks so serious but if you just wave to them, their faces light up, and they wildly wave back in response.

For lunch, we stopped for some fresh bread, tomatoes, brie, and smoked muscles.  Remember, this area use to be a colony and that influence thrives in the cuisine until this day.

This was our first night camping.  We just drove to about 4 pm, found a track off the main road, and went in until we found some flat ground to pitch our tent.  Peta and David have a pop-up tent on the top of their car.  There was even a shower with a curtain (behind the open door)!

We also had these mushroom-looking termite mounds all over the place.  They are rock hard and we ended up using one as a stool for dinner.
With one-day left before our visa expires, we have to cover 300km to the border tomorrow.  We just hope the good roads continue.
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Congo-Brazzaville

Posted on September 18th, 2008 in Africa,Congo by robjkentjr
Landing in Congo-Brazzaville, the airport immigration officials gave us a proper welcome to Central Africa.  Other than that harsh introduction, Congo was not at all what we expected.

Supposedly, our paperwork was not in order when we arrived, so immigration held 7-hours and fined us $120 to settle the problem.  We even gave those pirates a precious granola bar.

To top it all off, the immigration officer canceled our 1-month visa and gave us a 3-day transit visa instead.  This was not good for us to make it out of the country before it expired.

Since not many people travel to Congo, Lonely Planet did not even bother to put a city map in its book.  For all those who are looking for one, here it is.  We stayed at Siringo1 by Poto-Poto but the Hippo Camp IS the place to stay in Brazzaville.

Using our newfound map, we made our way to the market for some supplies.  Once there, it was not exactly where we had hopped to buy vegetables so we passed.

We ended up running into Rob and Wendy, another overland couple, while walking around the city.  As it turned out, they were staying at the same hotel where we had to meet our ride.  Once there, some US Embassy staff eating there had a bottle of vodka to help us celebrate our escape from the airport.

The night just went on from there.  The staff of the Hippo Camp hotel insisted we went to the RamDam Disco for a nightcap.  If you are interested, a 33cl bottle of beer costs $11.

Crawling out of bed at 5:30 am the next morning, we left to meet Dave, Peta, and our Landy.  This is Priscilla, our for the next six months.
Once loading in, we set out to leave Congo before our 72-hour visa expired.  While trying to leave Brazzaville, getting lost in the shantytown did not help.
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