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Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
40km |
Meals
Sea bass with rice and calamari sauce |
Weather |
|
Lac Bleu, Congo |
16 April 2004 |
Bush Camp |
3°33.422’S
12°20.863’E |
Odometer: 17798km |
Hot, Humid 100(F) degrees
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|
Alan, who runs Foralac along with his brother
Frederick, took us into the forest this morning to learn about their
logging operation. They have a concession of 300,000 hectares (about 50
square km) from the Congolese government. They take an average of one tree
per hectare, both hard and soft woods. The company has 200 employees and
harvests about 40 trees per day, generating 2500 cubic meters of wood per
month. First we followed a crew of four guys for about 30 minutes into the
forest on foot to a tree which had been identified for cutting by pygmies
employed by the company for this purpose. The tree was a beautiful Iroco
(a type of hardwood) about 30m tall and 1m in diameter. It took them about
an hour to fell the tree using machetes and a chain saw. The sight and
sound of this enormous tree crashing through the forest, splintering
smaller trees like matchsticks as it went was truly impressive. We next
visited another location where we watched fallen logs being extracted from
the forest. The process is one of pure brute force. Part of our group rode
on a Caterpillar bulldozer as it forced a path through the forest, driving
through smaller trees and bushes, cutting a track to the tree. Once there,
workers attached a one inch thick steel cable and the machine dragged the
20-ton log back to a central location for collection by truck. The whole
process was impressive; there is no finesse involved here. We all gained a
new appreciation for the destructiveness of the western appetite for wood,
and for the skill and hard labor required of those whose job it is to
harvest it. It was 3pm when we headed back to the logging camp, and we
were all tired and hungry from a day of tramping around in the forest
without lunch. We were looking forward to some food and a cold drink. On
the way back we were stopped by the gendarmerie who did not look happy.
Apparently we had neglected to stop to register with them as soon as we
entered Makabana. They had got word of our presence and had been waiting
in the sun all day for us. Alan helped to smooth things over for us, and
we went back to the company’s headquarters with the police truck in tow.
We hadn’t had lunch, and somehow Alan had Luc, his chef, put on a wonderful
meal of sea bass and rice with calamari sauce almost as soon as we
arrived. Alan explained to the police that we would go and speak with them
as soon as we had had something to eat. We arrived at their office at
about 530 and spent 45 minutes talking with the town prefecture who was
pretty full of himself. Again Alan helped us immensely Eventually they let
us go and told us we had to go see the police (different from the
gendarmerie.) It was getting dark by this time so Alan led us instead to
Lac Bleu, a local camping spot used by him and his family. We are very
grateful to Alan and Frederick for their hospitality, the insightful look
into their operation, and for their help with the local officials. |
People were deep in thought as the crew prepared to cut The fallen tree leaves a hole in the canopy and light spills through From the bulldozer as it crashes through virgin forest on the way to retrieve a log
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Updated Information
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Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
78km |
Meals
Pasta Bolognaise |
Weather |
|
Somewhere in the Bush,
Congo |
17 April 2004 |
Bush Camp |
3°59.329’S
12°13.233’E |
Odometer: 17876km |
Hot, Sunny, 101(F) degrees
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|
We spent a very relaxing morning hanging out
by the lake. Slade, Vicky, and Krissy have snorkeling masks and fins, and
we enjoyed snorkeling in the crystal clear waters of the lake. It was like
swimming over the top of a jungle, with bright green grasses and many
multi-colored fish in the water. We departed at about 2 after bees showed
up to share our lunch with us and drove for a few hours along a road used
mostly by logging trucks. The pinzi developed a leak in a tire at about
5pm and conveniently there was a beautiful campsite near where we stopped
which overlooked the forest and the Niari River. Elza cooked some
wonderful pasta and we sat around the campfire until it started to rain. |
|
Lac
Blue |
Elza and Urs'
dog, Bio, going for a swim |
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Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
161km |
Meals
Chinese food |
Weather |
|
Point Noir, Congo |
18 April 2004 |
Bush camp on the beach |
4°47.365’S
11°50.871’E |
Odometer: 17758km |
Hot, Sunny, 102(F) degrees
|
|
We drove the remaining 150 km
into Point Noir, stopping for a few police checks which are getting
quicker and easier as we go. We phoned a contact that Elza made while in
Libreville, and were directed to a yachting club in town where we were
allowed to camp on the beach. It’s not the most beautiful beach setting
you can imagine, but it does have showers, and it’s free! We have one visa
for Angola which we obtained in Libreville, but it is single entry only.
We need to get another Angola visa so that we can go through the Angolan
enclave containing Cabinda, then enter DRC for a short stretch, then back
into Angola at Matadi. We will visit the Angolan embassy tomorrow to try
to sort out that visa. |
The road to Lac Bleu took us through some very tall grass
The road to Lac Bleu took us through some very tall grass
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Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
0km |
Meals
Chinese food (restaurant chez wou |
Weather |
|
Point Noir, Congo |
19 April 2004 |
Bush camp in the boathouse |
4°47.365’S
11°50.871’E |
Odometer: 18026km |
Hot, Sunny, 104(F) degrees
|
|
The security folks at the yacht club made us
move from the beach to the gated area where they store people’s boats this
morning because they are concerned about our security. This may be a good
thing, as Graham and Connie were awoken at 6am by someone climbing up the
side of Thoki. Connie yelled at him and he seemed surprised that people
were sleeping in the tent. He left in a hurry. We checked with the Angola
embassy and learned that it would take a week to issue another visa.
Checking further, we learned that it is possible to use our current visas
to transit through Cabinda, then get another visa at the border in Matadi.
We spent the rest of the day writing web updates and doing laundry. Connie
and Krissy went to the Score supermarket to stock up on supplies. We got a
cab to the “Pyramids” restaurant for dinner but it was closed. We asked
the driver to take us somewhere good and not too expensive. We ended up
back at Chez Wou, where we ate last night. |
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Angola & Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) |
