TRIP TO ZONGO FALLS

Unpaved portion of 56 km to Zongo Falls that took 1.5 hrs of the total 4 hour trip to the resort.

A dump truck  had evidently slid off the road and just been pulled out by a huge end-loader and these Chinese workers with the cable.

We saw many of these dwellings along the road. Others were wattle and daub. No pictures of those though.

There were numerous loaded bicycles laboriously pushed along the road.

We crossed the power dam a kilometer above the falls.

The entrance to the Zongo Safari Resort.

The contrast to the village dwellings we saw on the way to the resort, and the torturous road was stark upon entering the resort.

Rental units, such as these individual cabins, and also tents, or hotel rooms provide a variety of accommodations for guests. Most stay over at least one night in order to enjoy the sights.

Brother Moon in the lobby.

Individual rental units.

Indoor dining area.

Rapids above the falls.

View of the entrance to the main facility, and restaurant.

Path to the falls.

Sue descending, and our guide driver, James.

River view.

Fisherman with net and small catch.

Casting his net.

Drawing in the net.

Touring Belgians. The man with the bill hat is a Belgian professor who consults with Congolese Universities throughout the country, advising them on improving their teaching. The white haired man with the mustache is Mac Coleman, our friend, fellow Mormon, retired Air Force officer, who consults with the Congolese Military. He brought his driver and guide to accompany us on our trip.

Us by a tree.

Zongo Falls.

An impressive tree on the brink of the precipice where we observed the falls.

Sue and others at the observation site overlooking the falls.

In the forest on the path to the falls.

All of us waiting for lunch. The food was good but expensive. Most had chicken, steak, or brochette. I decided to eat Congolese and had goat in vegetable sauce, fu fu, and pondu (steamed chopped Cassava leaves) eaten with the fu fu and the sauce. Pondu is bitter; fu fu is made of corn meal and cassava flour and is tasteless. I am happy to have had the experience.  Sue let me eat some of her french fries, and green beans and a taste of her steak. 

On the way in the morning we passed a burning wrecked truck, and a line of trucks backed up a mile behind. The heat was instantly felt through the windows. This photo was taken on our return, hours later, and it was still burning. It was loaded with charcoal and burned all day. Barely visible through the superstructure is the mangled wreck of another vehicle. A sad affair. Most of these large trucks carry passengers on top. Many have no brakes and are in bad repair. The road is littered with their carcasses. When one breaks down, the drivers and passengers dig up clumps of grass and place them in the road in either direction, instead of cones, to warn approaching vehicles that they are about to encounter a stalled truck in the road. 

HEALTH AND HYGIENE INSTRUCTION -- HUMANITARIAN PROJECT

Enroute to a Humanitarian Project. The NGO that builds wells financed by the Church provides a Health and  Hygiene  seminar for people living near the wells. We were on the road to the event and passed the roadside furniture mart. All the furniture is made here, displayed and put away daily. Our beds were made in this area. The marche extends for several blocks on both sides of the road.

The school yard where the classes are held.

A class underway with instructor and attendees inside a classroom.

We always attract a mob of children when we arrive. Many have never or only rarely seen a Mundele (white person) before and they want to touch and shake hands, and gleefully shout Mundele, Mundele. Some ask for money.

Children held at bay at the entrance to the school yard.

An instructor greets Sister Moon. Our translator and guide, also a well inspector,  Felix in the background, right. The instructors are paid $50.00 for their day's work. That is a very generous wage here.

We took a walk, wending our way through the homes in the village to see well  sites under construction.

Pathway through the village.

View of a stream near a spring capture project and the children playing and fetching water.

Village dwelling and yard.

Our guide pointed out a few of these, which he called "African Latrines". They are behind each house.

At a Spring Capture site. Water projects are either dug wells or spring capture, the latter being a concrete enclosure with faucets at the spring source, to protect the water from contamination. This spring location empties into a small stream.

This is a partially completed spring capture. The extreme foreground encloses the water outlet from the spring in a a reservoir, where two pipes feed it into another square box into which are cemented some faucets, and a walkway leads to the faucet area.

Workers are building the capture and reservoirs.

The other water project is a hand dug well. The well casing is hand made at the future well site.

The well casings are placed on the well site. A worker climbs in and begins to dig. As he digs the casing slips down into the hole. Casings are added to the depth of the well, about 60 plus feet, until water is reached. Digging continues until there is six to ten feet of water in the bottom. Which means that the digger has must dive and bring up the sediment under water, which is hauled out by pulley. The digger climbs down and out, forcing the body against the sides and gradually climbing or descending.

Bath time by the stream.

PREPARATION DAY ACTIVITIES

We bought six pillows from a street vendor when we were stalled in traffic. We had been looking for one  for some time. he carried them tied together on his head and another bundle in his hand. Sue recovered them with fabric she bought a few weeks ago and put them on our couches.

Sue at the communal sewing machine.

I was able to design and build a butterfly net from the top of  a  mosquito net, the wire hoop from the  same thing, a coat hanger, some hose clamps, a couple of plastic zip ties, and a collapsible mop handle I found at the grocery store. Sue performed her magic with the sewing machine, and voila. I actually caught some butterflies with it and it works well.  

Bedspread in the guest room sewn from fabric Sue bought at the fabric marche.

Bedspread in our bedroom. We see this fabric every day on men and women, dresses and shirts. Seems we have the same taste as many Congolese.

The finished re-covered pillows.

Butterflies, moth, and beetles I plan to make into a framed wall display. I have a few more from our trip to Zongo Falls.