What was the darkness? Would it be discovered
on the Route 66 of Africa?
continued from page 9 I wanted to tell Mela everything, but I was
not sure if the time
was right. Everything
had been randomly
organized and our
lives
seemed to be held
together with the
glue
of chaos. I needed
a sure sign that
the time
was right ...and
this was not the
time. We followed the road for two days, only seeing
a few locals. They
waved and smiled. We did
see several armed
militias who would look
at us then pull out
a paper and look at it
and then smile and
wave. It was kinda wierd.
By the time we arrived in Bumba we were just
plain filthy. We had not bathed since we
crossed the unknown river and we smelled
something awful. Bumba is a town and river
port in the northern Democratic Republic
of Congo, lying on the River Congo. It has
a population of
The home of
Patience
about 95,000 people - all of them as friendly
as anyone we had met since we left Wani.
We immediatly headed down to the banks of
the Congo. We found a secluded spot just outside of
town, stripped down
and jumped in. It
felt
wonderful. For many years, the Congo was a repository
for failed explorations.
People sought their
riches in the heart
of Africa, and they
died
trying. There were wild rapids, ferocious animals,
unpredictable weather,
wary natives and
mysterious
diseases. Many expeditions
failed because
people simply couldn't
penetrate the Congo.
Without native river
guides, it was impossible
to travel the river
-- its sandbars were
constantly shifting
and changing the
river's
course. Watercraft
could be destroyed
on
impact if they hit
a sandbar -- or snagged
on a crocodile's
jaw. I heard giggling and turned round and saw
three small boys
pointing at us...and
a home
which I had not seen
before. Oh geeeeesh.
I whistled at Mela
and pointed and we
all
swam over to where
we had left our Angel
Kiss uniforms. or
so I thought. They
were
gone. Along with
our guitars.
The outfits
that we were given while we were
skinny dipping.
In their place were traditional African outfits
for each of us....and
in our sizes too. It
was either stand
there naked or put them
on...we chose putting
them on. Mela was about
to put her skirt
on and turned the hem back
and her eyes got
HUGE and she said..."OMGAWD...THESE
ARE ANDREA SWEETGIRL'S
DESIGNS!" Sure as shitake mushrooms...there was Andrea's
label on each of our outfits. We looked around
and did not see anyone, just the three small
boys who were still fascinated with the cartoons
on the riverbank. It was Craftie who suggested
we visit the small house and ask them if
they knew anything about our guitars and
outfits. We began walking to the hut and
the three small boys came running and hollering
towards us. When the reached us they grabbed our hands
and spoke in a language
none of us understood
- pulling and tugging
us towards the house. We reached the front step and were tugged
up by our new tiny
escorts. The steps
were
a bit rickity so
I was looking down
when
I reached the top.
I saw the feet and
lower
legs first......"no
frigging way".....
They were AVATAR
feet.
The only other
Avatar we saw on our journey
- Patience
Mbeko
I looked up and saw a gorgeous African avatar.
I was speechless. It was Mela who stepped
forward and introduced herself. The Avatar
spoke perfect English (but with a wayyy sexy
African accent) and introduced herself as
"
Patience Mbeko".
She invited us into
her home. We entered the simple but comfortable hut
and eagerly accepted her offer of a mat to
sit on. I was exausted. She explained that
it was her that had replaced our clothes
and she was having them washed for us. Our
guitars were resting against the wall. Patience told us that she was the manufacturer
for the African fashion line recently released
by Moove Avatar, Andrea Sweetgirl. She also
explained she had come to real more than
6 years ago after a failed romance in Moove.
She had never expected to see one of the
world's most famous
Mela and Tory
touring the Andrea Sweet Girl
Manufacturing
COOP
all-girl avatar bands skinny dipping in
the Congo. When she saw us, she knew that
the Prophecy was coming true. "What Prophecy", Twisted asked
our new friend. "The
Prophecy of the
End", Patience
answered in a matter-of-fact
tone like we were
suppose to know. "End
of what", I
asked. "Everything",
Patience replied. She got up and went to the kitchen area.
I could hear her
singing softly as she moved
about. Her movements
were elgant and flowing..like
the river outside
I thought to myself. She called the three boys over and gave them
trays to bring to
us. They were filled
with
manioc leaves (mpondu),
rice (loso), fish
(mbisi), goat (ntaba),
and fresh Iowan corn
(masango), which
is incredibly sweet
and
literally melts in
your mouth. "Did you see her cooking", I whispered
to Mela. "Nope", answered Mela.
I wondered if she was a witch or something
and I asked Craftie (very softly) if she
thought Patience was a witch. Craftie is
The magical
meal Patience prepared for us.
VERY familiar with witchcraft. Craftie just
gave me a kinda sour look like "does
it matter?" I did not bring it up again. We sat and enjoyed our meal while Patience
spoke fondly of Moove
and her days there.
She explained that
she and some of the
real
locals had heard
of Andrea's African
fashion
plans and began to
work with Andrea
to produce
the fashionable attire.
The opportunity had
raised the standard
of living of about
3
dozen of the locals. During our talk, Patience told us that Rebels
had stormed several
towns North and East
of where we were
and it was lucky
we had
missed the towns
from Djema to the
towns
South all the way
to the DRC Border.
Lucky?
I thought to myself
that it was not luck
that made our elephant
friends avoid the
towns, but I did
not say anything.
Tory playing
a song for one of the sons of
Patience.
Patience had our uniforms washed by local
women and they were
returned to us fresh
and smelling of flowers.
We explained that
we LOVED the new
outfits but could not keep
them...that it was
agreed that we would wear
our Angel Kiss outfits
on our journey. Patience
did not question
us on why but simply invited
us to spend the night
before heading down
river in the morning. I laid on the mat listening to the sounds
of the river and
felt a hand of comfort rest
on my head. I fell
asleep to the mystic flow
of the Congo People say that the Congo river is murky
brown, but for centuries
now, historians
have written about
the Congo's bloody waters.
From cannibalism
to colonialism, and from
modern political
strife to the fearsome creatures
that await their
prey along the river, fantastic
tales of death and
near misses have corroborated
the Congo's reputation
as the heart of darkness.
The sprawling Congo is the fifth-longest
river in the world and the second-longest
river in Africa (after the Nile). Its muddy
waters run alternately slow and fast, shallow
and deep. The river is a
The Congo River
can quickly change from slow
flowing to
DANGEROUS
playground -- and mating ground -- for animals
like the hippopotamus and crocodile. And
it's the financial artery that makes trade
possible; there's no way into the heart of
the Congo except by the river. Much of the
Congo is impassible except by pirogues --
dugout canoes. And only the truly adventurous
ever traverse these parts of the river. Large
trading vessels, such as steamboats, can
travel about 9,000 miles (14,500 km) of the
river en route to their ports from Kinshasa,
Congo's capital, to the Atlantic Ocean. The Congo River runs north and west, ending
at the Atlantic.
Its course flows north to
Stanley (or Boyoma)
Falls, a massive waterfall
named after explorer
Henry Stanley, and then
veers west and then
south, where it empties
into the ocean. This
massive river encompasses
10,000 streams and
covers 2,900 miles (4,667
km). It takes six
months for water to cycle
from the river's
source to its end [source:
BBC]. The Congo snakes
across the equator
twice, and its broadest
stretch is nearly
10 miles (16 km)
across.
The pirogue
of Africa can also be found in
Cajun country
of Louisiana
In Bumba, the Congo river broadens out to
its widest part,
some 20 kilometres
across.
The river is covered
with water hyacinths
and practically paved
with innumerable
islands,
through and around
which the fishermen's
pirogues ply. The
water hyacinth is
thought
to have been introduced
into Congo in 1960
by a South-American
Missionary who brought
seedlings of this
flower in his luggage.
It proliferated so
wildly that the missionary
tossed a few excess
plants into the river.
This innocent gesture has produced incalculable
results, since the
river hyacinths have
become
a real hazard to
navigation. The region
of
Bumba is also the
home of the Bafoto
Pygmies I awoke at sunrise and sat on the steps with
Patience sipping
a very strong coffee. "Have
you told Mela about
the hungry boy",
she asked me. I was
taken aback. "How
did you....I mean...I
have not told anyone....how
did you know",
I stammered. A small
boat floated by in
the morning mist. "Do you see that boat"?, Patience
asked me. "That is a pirogue. It is
a simple design - small and flat-bottomed.
This design allows the pirogue to move through
very shallow water and be easily turned over
to drain any water that may get into the
boat. Simplicity.........That is how I know".
I did not answer - mostly because I had no
idea what she talking about. "My neighbor
will take you downstream to Mbandaka",
Patience finally spoke again. "From
there you will have to walk to get to your
destination". "How do you know
where are destination is", I asked.
She smiled at me and said, "Child, your
quest is no secret - not to me and not to
many who live along this river...and beyond.
The Prophecy is very clear" She turned
back as we watched the small boat fade into
the mist down river.
The home of
Patience was comfortable but
simple.
We finished our coffee and I shook the grounds
and teenie remaining liquid from my cup.
"Before you go, I need to give you something",
Patience told me. She took my hand and placed
a round, carved wooden knick knack into it.
It was no bigger than 3 inches in diameter
and opened like a locket. It was empty. It
sparkled and had a small opening so it could
be worn as a necklace, although no chain
was attached. "It is beautiful", I said graciously,
"Thank you". Patience just smiled. The rest of the girls woke up a short time
later and I did not show my gift to them.
Only because
The small sparkly
wooden locket given to
me by Patience.
I was not sure if Patience had given them
a gift and I did not want to act like I was
special or anything. We were all still sitting on the stoop when
a pirogue pulled
up to the bank and a man
with a stern face
walked up to the house.
Patience went to
greet him and then introduced
us to Aristide -
the local who would take
us down river. Aristide spoke no English and did not smile
very much. He was not scary, but just not
the kind of fella who smiles a lot. I helped
him carry our guitars and our few belongings
to the pirogue while Mela, Craftie and Twisted
spent time with Patience. After we were all
loaded up, Aristide turned to me and motioned
that he wanted to show me something. He took
me to a wooded area and found a sparkly rock
- much the same color as the wooden cameo
that Patience had given me. He moved the
rock and dug up a small dirty jar. He opened it and pulled out an old photograph.
It was a copy of the photograph of Asha,
Wani's wife. WTF?
Aristide with
a pic of Asha...WTF?
He then motioned to the picture - then to
me - then to my eyes - then to his eyes.
I did not understand. "TORE-RINSE", I heard Mela call
from the edge of
the jungle. This
startled
Aristide and he quickly
put the picture back
into the jar and
buried it. He held
up his
forefinger to his
lips in a "shhhh,
this is a secret"
gesture. We exited the jungle and met up with the
rest of Angel Kiss,
Patience and her
three
boys at the bank
of the Congo River.
We said
our goodbyes and
Aristide pushed the
small
boat into the mighty
Congo River. I turned
to wave at Patience,
but there was nothing
there. No house,
no small boys and
no Patience.
Just an empty place
on the bank. We floated for five days down stream. The Congo River is a lively -- and menacing
-- menagerie. The
river and rainforest are
home to nearly 400
mammal species, 1,000
types of birds and
more than 10,000 varieties
of flora [source:
WWF]. Forests are breeding
grounds for reptiles
like lizards and snakes.
Crocodiles, birds
and hippopotami prefer
the Congo's many
lakes, and along the riverbanks,
you'll find cats
like leopards and lions,
as well as hyenas,
and rhinoceroses. Dolphins
and whales are sometimes
seen at the river
basin. For prime
animal sightseeing, steer
your pirogue into
a bais, or a sun-dappled
clearing in the densely
forested land that
borders the river.
A bais is an oasis of
light into which
even elusive wild animals
(like the western
lowland gorilla) are drawn.
Animal sounds may
provide a pleasant
soundtrack
as you cruise down
the Congo, but you'll
need to be abreast
of their whereabouts
when
the sun sets -- typically
around 6 p.m. In
the dark, a hefty
hippo can threaten
your
watercraft as much
as a jagged river
rock.
Another nearly invisible
animal joins the
chorus after Nature
calls lights-out:
the
mosquito. All of
these animals are
proprietary
and guard the river.
Some eyeball trespassers
for a tasty morsel,
but none patrol the
Congo
as carefully as the
native Congolese
who
live along the riverbanks.
The Congolese have
grown wary of outsiders
-- they have plenty
of reasons to distrust
Western intruders,
or the mondelé. At
least
one region along
the Congo River --
Ile Sumba
-- has been dubbed
the abattoir, or
slaughterhouse.
Cannibals from the
Engombe tribe live
nearby
and have been known
to abduct and kill
explorers.
In the Congo, the
river isn't just
a geographical
monument that people
visit during summer
break or attempt
to navigate in a
feat of
superhuman strength.
It's a necessary,
everyday
part of life for
trade and travel.
The Congo
is like the Route
66 of Africa, a way
to
get from point A
to point B. And unlike
nations
that struggle over
rights to water sources,
the Congolese use
the Congo River cooperatively,
just as city dwellers
share highways.
The Congo River
has hundrends of tributaries
- all teeming
with life.
We finally arrived in Mbandaka and I was
kinda glad to get on dry ground. Floating
on any water for five whole days will make
you feel like you are STILL floating even
after you get to land. It took a few minutes
to get use to it. We did not stay long in
Mbandaka, but began our trek West towards
the other Congo. The jungle was dark and full of life. Birds,
Gorillas, and billions of bugs followed us
as we made our way through the thick brush.
It was on our second night camping out that
I decided to tell my friends about all I
knew and had experienced. I was hoping it
was not too late.
The jungle
was thick and humid as we crossed
the border
to the OTHER Congo.
