Mud Inglorious Mud

Mud Inglorious Mud

(November, 26)
WE CROSSED THE BORDER WITH DRC

- We are heading to Kiyade. To bring hope to the families devastated by malaria crisis and caught in a hopeless situation. Each life is worth the extra mile to save lives and protect the children in extreme remote Kiyade -

 

Eleven hours, and two tins of sardines later, we were still driving.  Long stretches of rutty red literate soil with sheer ditches on either side. Dirt roads are smooth, as long as it does not rain, but the Congo basin is largely rainforest, where it rains often harder. Our road was almost rendered impassable, but it is crucial to reach Kiyade. Only via this road we can reach the forgotten, saving many lives.

SPENDING THE NIGHT: ''I thought it was a police post, but in fact it was a crypt.''

I thought it was a police post, but in fact it was a crypt

(November, 26 - 06.17 hrs)
BORDER DRC
The alternative route PLAN B, we had to take went fine at the end.
At the border with DRC my tent collapse during strong wind and heavy rain. Everything was soaking wet. I couldnt figure out what the building was last night, I thought it was a police office, but in fact it was a crypt with a dead body. A black snake was curled up, outside the crypt !

We had a lot of rain, on the road from Brazzaville to the border. 
Heavily armed military everywhere! Good for us: it was rebel-free.
The piste was extremely sticky, muddy and slippery. We had some dangerous moments. 

Last Satellite Signals

LAST SATELLITE SIGNALS

November 25, 07.03 hrs , Congo Brazzaville
November 26, zero
November 27, zero (last try 14.20 hrs)
  
Fortunately David has been driving across Africa since 1988, and could manoeuvre the 2 Tonne-wheeled beast with skill and calculated aggression. 
People from western countries rarely experience the true ghasliness of Africa's infrastructure, spoiled with smooth roads from door to door. But we actually work in countries with dreadful infrastructure, and have to cope with the consequences every day. These are as profound as they are malign. Bad roads make life harder. And for the African families, it put the lives of their children at risk...Poor infrastructure, poor healthcare. 

 

Brazzaville - Boko - BORDER DRC - Luozi

We go for it

(November, 25)
BRAZZAVILLE - LUOZI (DRC)

Distance: 200 KM (This is just a guess. Officially the borderroad does not exist)

Roadconditions: 
Brazzaville-Kinkala-Nkama (good) 
Nkama-Boko-Kanzi-Mpasa-Tombo-BORDER (muddy, steep, slippery and ... rebels?)
BORDER-Kimbanza-BanzaMbu-Luango-Luozi (better than bad, rebel-free)

Estimate driving time: 1,5 days (and that's optimistic)

Satellite signal : strong  - weak -  absent

There's a voice in my had that says 'this is an impossible trip'. 
It is not easy to make decisions like this. We have 2 important rules: listen to your 'antenna' and never drive at night.
With all the info from HQ (the route, the conditions, safety, advise from the Embassy, emergency numbers, contacts) we go for PLAN B. According to the road conditions, steep and slippery, I re-arranged the roof-rack. All heavy loads of mosquito-nets, inside the Land Rover..... and pray.

To go - or not to go - that's the question !

To go, or not to go, that's the question !


(November, 24)
BRAZZAVILLE
It is close to decision time. We have seen this before, and I don't want to go through that same nightmare again. 
So, what are the options. Leave the Land Rover behind? Go back to Cameroon? Make a D-D-D-tour? Ask for a Military Escort? Fly the car by cargo-plane to DRC or Angola?
Or ask HQ, to do a critical investigation?
A good night sleep and decision time tomorrow.

Over to PLAN B

BIG BLOW: Ferry Crossing to Kinshasa DRC is closed

(November, 24)
BRAZZAVILLE
That's a big blow: the commercial ferry service and crossing between the two countries is no longer operating. Only since a few months.  Considering that Brazzaville is Congo's busiest port, handling 95% of it's in- and exports, serving it's landlocked country, the absence of a transport-ferry is 'a bit of a problem' for the people.
And also for us ! 'You can take a dug-out-canoe' somebody advised us, but I don't think that's a good idea for a 3 tonne Land Rover. 
We have to make a major D-tour. 
The alternative route is via Boko.  To get into Congo DRC meant passing the Boko-route surrounded by armed groups, is known to pillage, steal cargo, take hostages, carry out violent operations, shootings in which foreigners are targeted.
'Avoid all essential travel in that area' people told us. 
Is this another 'horror-story' or a good PLAN B ?? PLAN BOKO?

David Robertson; an unbelievable life-story !

Driving his motorbike, David was hit by a drunk car-driver

United Kingdom: August - 1977.
David Robertson was on his way to his parents on holiday in Great Yarmouth, when his motorcycle was in head-on collision with a car, driven by a drunk driver. He was left on the side of the road. It was a miracle David was still alive.
A spokesman said: ''Mr Robertson's right arm and right leg were amputated.''

The drunk car-driver has never been prosecuted!

Today David's courage and determination have provided the will to not only live, but to live life to the fullest.
David lives with the tribes of the remotest corners of Africa to exchange knowledge and help them fight malaria. He has been held at gunpoint, taken hostage by rebels, contracted malaria over 9 times and has driven over the most challenging and dangerous terrain to help the people help themselves. David's determination is to stop malaria in Africa by giving away free treatment together with long lasting mosquito nets.

Meeting great people on motorbikes / Daniel Rintz and Josephine Flohr

Meeting great people on motorbikes 

(November, 24)

BRAZZAVILLE

 
Meeting great people from Germany. Dedicated, inspiring and determent to help other people.

Daniel Rintz rides around the world on a motorcycle, surviving only on money he makes along the way, until he finds what he wasn’t even looking for.

 

We believe first-hand-experiences in foreign cultures will contribute to our world becoming more tolerant, understanding and peaceful.

Daniel Rintz: ''Our world is in ferment as never before. While whole societies struggle to shrug off the dead weight of corrupt dictators new conflicts are inevitable. Environmental degradation threatens our future, and food insecurity is an immediate danger. Widespread ignorance nurtures the extreme ideologies and prejudices which tear us apart and prevent us from making rational choices for the benefit of humanity and the planet.
All of this is challenging but fertile ground for those of us who seek to understand the beauties, the mysteries and the tragedies of our world, and no traveler, in our experience, ever came home with a message of hate.
We believe that individuals of good will, moving among foreign cultures and making themselves vulnerable to the beliefs and customs of strangers, have great importance in promoting world understanding, and even more so when they can distill the essence of their experiences into a form that can be absorbed by many.''

Daniel and Josephine offered extra help, giving out life-saving-nets. Both wants to make an extraordinary effort to reach families in their time of need. With nets, they bring more than just aid. They bring the people of Africa a breath of hope! For David Robertson it wasn't necessary to think twice. (More to come ...)

Watch the film !      http://www.open-explorers.com/movie.html

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Arrived in Brazzaville : November, 23

Arrived in Brazzaville 

(November, 23)
BRAZZAVILLE, 04.31 Hours

Message from David via Voice Recording: 
''...Have to make arrangements tomorrow to cross the border with Kinshasa. Can't sleep. Televisions are at their highest volume all night. And nobody is watching. 
Roof-rack Land Rover Defender need re-thinking. To much weight on top..''

People thanking us the whole time : Elouna - Congo Brazzaville

The last stretch to Brazzaville - From Kindness to Barbarity

(November, 22)
SOUANKE-BRAZZAVILLE

We drove to Elouna, 100 Km nort east of Brazzaville. A village surrounded by water and in the middle of a high risk malaria zone. The people were promised to receive malaria protection, but help never came. ''You won't have to sleep without a net anymore'' I told the people. The mothers responded with intense gratitude. 

We gave out another 50 nets to protect at least 350 people for the next 4 years to come.
They were very happy, could not believe that we came to help, thanking us the whole time. 

We are thrown from compassion and kindness into tyranny and barbarity. Almost arrived in Brazzaville after a hell of a journey from the Cameroon border. Nothing to eat at all as I drove 14 hours. A tin of sardines today and more tonight. I am completely exhausted after 4 days drive through the green hell.

The tarred road could give us some speed to a soft bed and proper food. Well, the roads are resurfaced from time to time, but the soil is soft and the foundations typically shallow. Small cracks yawn quickly into deep potholes. Villagers fill them with sand and ask for tips, but their 'good-will-repairs' rarely survives the first rainstorm.

Many delays followed after constant checkpoints, searching the whole Land Rover. Passport checks and complaining that my Visa was on the wrong page of the Passport. My Driving license, Vaccination Certificates, the 'Ordre De Mission'. the 'Carnet De Passage', everything was read word by word, even holding the papers up-side-down. The total hours wasted, and all for the hope of a good bribe.....

The Next Plan: Cameroon to Congo Brazzavilla - Giving a helping hand to Elouna village

G

The Next Plan: Cameroon to Congo Brazzaville and giving support to Elouna Village

(November, 21)
ROUTE: BORDER CAMEROON INTO CONGO - DIRECTION BRAZZAVILLE / (Approx. 1.100 Km) 

First we have to drive from the border between Cameroon into Congo Brazzaville, via another 'invisible-map' route, in the direction of a village called Souanke. We guess a stretch of around 55 Km. 
From Souanke the road is on the map again. From there we take the route to Brazzaville in the south-east of the country. A distance of approx. 1.039 Km. 

We are heading to Elouna, a village in high malaria-risk area, north east of Brazzaville, to protect 350 people with our mosquitonets

The plan is to carry our 610 Nets, medication- and medical equipment from the border, across the country. As the crow flies this is around 1.100 (683 Miles) about as far as Amsterdam to Geneva, or New York to Cincinnati, what should take 9 hours. Well this is Africa... we hope to arrive tomorrow. 

We made it to the border with Congo Brazzaville !

We made it to the border with Congo Brazzaville !

(November, 21)

BORDERCROSSING CAMEROON - CONGO BRAZZAVILLE 

We finally made it to the border!  Ate two tins of Sardines a day. Were too tired to pinch up the tent last night. Just slept behind the wheel. Shattered, can you imagine. It was a big surprise how friendly the customs were. We gave them two mosquitonets; their first. They were incredible happy with it. Fantastic.

Roads that can only be seen from above

Only on Google Earth

(November, 20)
DEEP IN THE JUNGLE
  
For us it is crucial perusing Africa's 'unwritten' roads, only visible from the air, using Google Earth. Roads that only revel themselves from a bird-eye-view. The roads (A) are not mentioned on any map. We can discover our track via satellite. Now it is clear there is actually a road we can take! Big relieve. We can also see, this road leads us across the border with Congo Brazzaville. Still don't know if there's a border-post. On this map we do spot a very small speck (B) of a wooden building. That could be it....

Trees were blown down by the storm

Trees were blown down by the storm

(November, 20)
DEEP IN THE JUNGLE
 
We were plunging the Land Rover through. The recent rains created holes and tick mud deeper than ever. The roads are extremely slippery, like ice. We ditched the Land Rover one time. Had to pass many overturned lorries. I wonder if we would reach the border. Honestly, I think we'll never get that far. Trees were blown down by the storm. In some places the track was entirely gone, covered with fallen branches. We just drove from one fallen tree to another. The forest people came with their machetes and turned a hopeless situation, into an open road again.

Heavy weight on the roofrack

Heavy weight on the roof-rack

(November, 20)
DEEP IN THE JUNGLE
   
With incredible heavy weight on the roof-rack, we can't even open the doors. And driving through deep holes, makes the load slide forward. On time, we almost tipped over! Scary stuff ! In one occasion we were so stuck, a truck came, rescued us and pulled us out, far enough so we were on dry ground again.

Bad road started, and this was only the beginning

Bad road started, and this was only the beginning
(November, 20)
DEEP IN THE JUNGLE 

SANGMELIMA - MBALAM   
NOMANS LAND  between  SOUTH CAMEROON – BORDER  TO CONGO  

We know, we cannot escape these roads.  Because there’s only one road across this –otherwise- inaccessible jungle. One road;  One choice!  The piste was so bad, it would take days to get out. The ruts were deep from the logging trucks, and the front diff dug into hard mid, but no damage like in 1988.
Although, it robbed me of sleep last night, because I knew this was only the beginning. The road’s had muddy sinkholes that were deeper than a four-wheel-drive Land Rover Defender. I could not open the doors. The mud came straight  through the windows. Things only worsened: a storm came. Like being in a nightmare that would not end.