Day 18 or 38: The view from my hotel. Of those 18 days 1.5 were spent on the plane, and 5 have been spent in Congo. Widespread protests delayed the ability to enter the country, and those same protests inspired the government to shut down the internet and some mobile phone services (texting). I understand there was fear of opposition groups organizing more protests. This greatly inhibited my ability to work so I have been spending more time in Bujumbura than anticipated. But at least I can see the mountains of Congo...

The opening line of the movie The Quiet American says, "They say you come to Vietnam and understand a lot in a few minutes. The rest has got to be lived." The photo below, or at least the way I was feeling when I took the photo below is summed up by that line (except of course, replace 'Vietnam' with 'Congo'). 

I have to go backward a few steps to explain. Many months ago, actually a couple of years ago, we initiated a study of Congo to consider if we could set up a project there, and if so, where would be the best place to do that. We pulled together information from a wide variety of sources, looking at poverty rates, deforestation, ease of access, etc. This data crunching led us to a particular watershed that begins on the cusp of the Itombwe Plateau, a well recognized biodiversity hotspot, and feeds Lake Tanganyika, the second largest freshwater lake in the world. It seemed to have all the right conditions that would fit our priorities as an organization. We even had some trusted contacts in the area visit the site and do an early assessment. In spite of all these positive signs, there were still unanswered questions. 

Among those questions: would the watershed we had identified be a logical working unit, easily enough understood to be the geographic boundaries for any activities? Well it only took one look at those mountain ridges, on the hike I mentioned yesterday, to see how clearly the basin is defined as I think you can see in the photo below. 

Understanding in a very few minutes. The living, will be daunting.

We hiked part way up the Kakumba River valley yesterday. We were promised by a local leader that this hike would take us about an hour and a half. Three and a half hours later we were still about 200 metres short of our destination. Two hundred metres of what seemed to me at the time like steep climbing and would have taken me a good half hour. So we (or more accurately I) decided we should turn around and head back down. This decision was made partly out of exhaustion and partly out of concern about getting back to town in time that same night. A good decision I think although hurtful to my pride. I take some consolation in the fact that I wasn't the slowest, and several people were tired besides myself. I consider myself to be in reasonable shape, but see below a couple of the dozens of farmers who passed us on the trail walking with ease even with what I would consider excruciatingly heavy loads borne in highly non-ergonomic 'back-packs'.

This is the Kambekulu river, one of the potential watersheds for a new project. If you study this picture for a while, a few things become apparent:

-people are farming on the very steep hillsides in the background

-there are very steep hillsides in the background

This area has quite intense geography and there are no roads back into those hills where we are thinking about working. This has both a plus and a minus, the plus being that inaccessibility has probably slowed the rate of deforestation (although deforestation is still taking place) and the minus being how difficult it will be for a project to effectively reach people. 

The forest that you see on these hilltops are right next to the main road that runs along side Lake Tanganyika. This forest also has monkeys, and some years ago used to have chimpanzees and gorillas. Gorillas even used to be known to walk right out on the road in the past. Not anymore as the primary forest has been cut and as hunting has reduced the gorilla population. Primates are actually a major problem for farmers since they eat the crops when they are ripe. As a result, part of farming is standing guard by fields as the harvest ripens. This also presents a very interesting challenge for a project that wants to help farmers feed their families while at the same time protecting wildlife.

Day 7 of 38
Well, we were supposed to cross the border today and begin meetings with local leaders. Instead today was a day of protests against corruption in leadership so all offices and places of work were closed. Protests in other towns such as Goma and Kinshasa against perceived irregularities for upcoming elections got violent. So instead we stayed put and spent the day in a peaceful and beautifully manicured hotel garden drinking espresso and planning project objectives. 

I have to confess that I was not thrilled about travelling for 38 days. I mean I've done trips much longer but these days most of my trips are 7-10 days. So 38 just seems like a lot. However it is allowing me to function at a much more relaxed pace. On a shorter trip I am counting every minute and feeling a constant pressure to get stuff done. A longer trip let's me run at a pace more like the local rhythm which is much more pleasant.  Don't get me wrong, there is still a ton of things to get done but it all seems manageable. Maybe you should ask me again on day 32, maybe I won't feel so calm about it... 

Day 6 of 38:
Luggage is still holding up. In fact since my arrival coincided with a weekend, I was able to avoid dipping into my supply of 'office' clothing, which puts me slightly ahead of my laundry schedule.

Bujumbura, still only in Bujumbura. Visa application today (hopefully), some baseline study prep, and if everything goes well. we leave tomorrow morning. In the meantime I've been--only partially guiltily--enjoying very pleasant montane tropic winter temperatures (mid 20's C), and freshly cut fruits at the hotel complimentary breakfast.

Things around here seem really calm and peaceful. Too peaceful? I have really limited ability to interpret how things look to me on the street compared to what may be going on behind the scenes. or what may be about to happen. I went for a walk today to run a few errands and just to start flushing out the jet lag. I didn't feel particularly unsafe. Not anymore than usual anyway. And I bought a local phone card which allows internet connection. I'd say it's as good as my connect back home. 

A nice feature which separates great airports is these small luggage carts. Easy to maneuver in crowds, lineups,  bathrooms etc. Unlike those monster carts I see elsewhere. This is especially useful if you're going to be in the airport for a while rather than having to lug luggage. Also available for free. I'm just saying, big airports....

It has been a long time since I had a major flight delay. By major I mean that my arrival time at my final destination has to get pushed back. In this case, I'll be arriving at 9 in the morning instead of 1:30 in the morning, which although later, is a much more civilized hour.  This particular delay happened to be on KLM, but they handled it pretty well, had my new boarding passes ready on my arrival in Amsterdam, and gave me a meal voucher (10 euros). All in all not a terrible experience. The worst part I guess was having to sit in the airplane for an extra 4 hours. Like I always say, it's a continuous miracle to me that a huge chunk of metal like that can get in the air at all and then come back down to earth again.

The time before when I had a major delay was probably 3 or so years ago. That one was Air Canada. The time before that was Emirates. These are all good airlines as far as I can tell. I see no discernible pattern as far as delays are concerned. And I would say that 95% of the time or more, my travel is trouble free.

Anyhow, now I've got a few hours to kill in Schiphol.

I may be trying to do something inadvisable; trying to fit a 38 day trip into carry on luggage. There is probably not even a really great reason for me to do that except my fanaticism about no checked luggage. This is further complicated by the fact that at my destination, it may not be easy to get laundry done. Also if at any point, a luggage inspection is required this will be problematic as there will be clothes everywhere. Every piece of clothing is packed tight and ready to spring once an opening is provided. I may have in this case, tried to fly too close to the sun.