River Journey up the Zaire July 23, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Accommodation, Aquarium, Art Gallery, Canada, Coliseum, Dolphinarium, Hotels, Motel, Museum, Oceanarium, Planetarium, Restaurant, Trip , 4comments“Into the eighth day and I really feel I’ve had enough. I’d like to be transported to a bathroom in the Ritz and then to a dry Martini in the bar.”
Eighth day, Zaire River. We often lost each other on the seven barges being pushed a thousand miles up the Zaire River, once Conrad’s Congo.
I found my son Joseph, aged seven, in one of the five bars with Sammy, a young soldier. to-dot puzzle. Sammy was concentrating on Joseph’s dot-to-dot puzzle.
“He’s very good at them,” said Joseph. “He never misses a dot.” “Where’s Daddy?”
“Gone for a pee at the back.”
It was all right for men, they could go over the side. Women had to cope with the dark, smelly “cabinets” and first invite the rats to leave through the crumbling rusty holes. These were the boats left at the Belgian Congo’s independence. (more…)
