Blogs from Central African Republic, Africa
July 16th 2009
My sister had arranged for us to go camping with her BaAka (pygmies) workers in the jungle for a couple of nights. She couldn’t stay the whole time so she was going to head back after the first evening. In all it was going to be the 9 guys who worked for her, 4 of their wives, and 8 kids. We packed our stuff and walked about 5km to Mossapola one of the BaAka villages to meet up with some of her workers. Some people were going to meet up with us later so a few of us headed out it was about another 4 km walk through the rainforest to get the river we were going to camp by. We got to the area where the BaAka decided we should camp. It was literally just ... read more
July 15th 2009
This was a some what of a spur of the moment trip. My friend the lonely planet writer wanted to head down to the Congo to continue the rest of his trip through central Africa via the Sangha River which runs along the borders of the Central African Republic, Cameroon, and Congo. He asked if I wanted to go with him down to the Congo. The plan was that that we would hire a pirogue and head to Bomassa in the Congo, which is about 80 km away. (A pirogue is nothing more than a hollowed out tree that has been fashioned into a canoe. It is the dominate form of transportation on the river, and it has probably been that way for a very long time). We would go together to the Congo and then ... read more
Elphants, Gorillas, and Sweat Bees .. Oh my
Published: July 14th 2009Africa » Central African Republic
July 13th 2009
Elephants One of the few tourist attractions in the Central African Republic is located down near Bayanga. Where there is a national park that has elephants and habituated gorillas (habituated means that after years of work researchers have been able to get one family of gorillas used to people enough so that you can get close to them). There is a big watering hole called Dzanga Bai where all the elephants come to drink because the area is rich in mineral salts. The place is more of a giant mud pit than anything else, surrounded by a dense jungle. To get there we had to rent a truck and go off-roading through the jungle for about 40 minutes. Then it was about a half hour hike through the jungle. Our guide made a serious sounding comment ... read more
July 6th 2009
Bayanga Bayanga is a small town sitting on the banks of the Sangha River in the southern most part of the Central African Republic near the border of Cameroon and the Congo. There are several thousand people living here. Most came for to work for a logging company, which has closed leaving a lot of people with out jobs. Most of the buildings are made from wood with bamboo leafs for roofs, but here are a few concrete buildings. Outside of town is where a lot of the BaAka (pygmies) live. Their homes are often constructed from sticks and bamboo leaves making an igloo like structure. There is a small center of town where there is a few small shops selling goods. The biggest is run by a Lebanese guy who seems some what out of ... read more
July 1st 2009
Traveling from Bangui to Bayanga The drive from Bangui to Bayanga felt like you were in a movie, which had nothing to do with the fact that I got to ride down with the movie producer in his land cruiser. I guess this was because I was still not used to how different everything is here that it did not really sink in that this was real life. The distance we had to travel was about 250 miles and that took us about 12 hours. Only about 40 miles was on paved road. I did find it rather amusing that where ever there were pot holes (and there were many big ones) instead of fixing them they were just marked with paint so you could see them better. The rest of roads were dirt logging roads, ... read more
June 25th 2009
I have been on lots of planes before where you get off on the tarmac and walk to the airport, but it feels a bit strange when you are on something equivalent to a 747 and doing this. The next thing was customs. Fortunately I had some advance advice on this from previous travelers and the guy next to me on the plane. There are only a couple of unmarked desks where you are supposed to do some stuff. The problem is there are about 200 people trying to do the same thing at the same time. After about and hour and a half of nervously waiting for my bags (I have no idea what I would of done if they were lost) I was able to leave the airport and attempt to find the other ... read more
June 24th 2009
Travel Blog 6-15-09 to 6-24-09 Munzu in Africa You know you are in a remote place when the Lonely Planet Travel Guide writer comes looking for you to see about transportation to the village where you are heading. Here is excerpt from the whole 8 pages the Africa Lonely Planet book has on the Central African Republic (CAR): If it’s the ‘real’ Africa you’re looking for, Central African Republic (CAR) may be it. A country of staggering rare natural beauty, with some of the world’s most amazing wildlife, it nonetheless remains underdeveloped, fragmented and poverty-stricken……… Travelling here is a backpacking bungee jump. At the time of writing most of the country was not considered stable or safe enough to travel through. May be a better phrase is stereotypical Africa. It is an extremely poor place. I ... read more
Seven Companions on the Road to CAR
Published: April 4th 2008Africa » Central African Republic » West » Bouar
April 4th 2008
From February 15-26, 2008; I embarked in the challenging enterprise of facilitating a leadership travel for three companion synods. Six faithful but season travelers from Texas Louisiana Golf Cost, Western North Dakota and Eastern-North Dakota synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America responded to the “CAR 2,000 Challenge”. The challenge consisted in crossing 2,000 kms (1,000 each way) on dirt road from Douala (Cameroon) to Bouar (West of CAR); defying all odds, security risk and possible harassment at border crossing point to arrive on time at the dedication of both the women center and the newly renovated church in Bouar. To make the challenge more attractive, we also need to fit at least 8 people with their luggage and carry-on(s) in a Toyota Prado; stay healthy while responding to hospitality; visiting most of the Evangelical ... read more
March 21st 2008
I frequently visit the Central African Republic (CAR) to foster the companion relationship between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the CAR (ELC-CAR). Despite the political turmoil, civil conflict and political instability, I cannot find a good excuse for not visiting my companions, friends, brothers, and sisters in the faith. CAR is rich in natural resources and a beautiful country but ravaged by repeated military coups and successive violent civil conflicts. During my travel and encounters with the Central African peoples, I discovered another story which would probably not make the headline news. They are stories of those village girls and boys, who defy all logic to stay alive, educate themselves, protect themselves against HIV infection, and also find creative ways to spread their joy, love and hope where ... read more
October 5th 2006
I don't think anyone travels to the Congo without being well informed about it, but I don't think anyone who goes to the Congo fails to compare it to the Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, since it was the setting for this book. Yeah, it's fairly heart of darknessish, but so is all of Central Africa. This is where the guidebook ends, so I gave my guidebook away to a kid at the local restaurant. He wants to use it to help him learn English. Everyone wants to learn English here. This is an intense place to be, it is really a place of extremes... the friendliness of people is overwhelming, the energy is great, I am eatting better than I have since I've been in Africa and for cheaper, and of course, I ... read more
