Missive from the Congo 025

As I mentioned in the last post, there are relatively few recreational activities in Goma. I also mentioned that I would be undertaking one of them this past weekend; namely climbing the Nyiragongo volcano. The ICCN (Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature) is actually pretty well organised. Your expedition starts by booking a spot on the one day or two day tour at the ICCN office in downtown Goma. You can do this weeks or perhaps months in advance. Then, shortly before the expedition you go down to the Banque Internationale pour l'Afrique du Congo and pay the fee into the appropriate ICCN account. You then take the bank receipt to the ICCN and they give you the vouchers for the tour. You can opt to be transported by the ICCN to the base camp if you choose as well, for an extra fee.



From L to R: Régis, Jean-Luc, Luc, Marie-Eve, Jonathan and myself

 We drove ourselves to the volcano base camp. It’s only about 15 minutes north of town. Once there you register with the actual guides. You are offered the option of hiring local porters to carry your bag for you if you want. The porters cost $12 per day, or in our case $24 for the overnight trip. All but one of us chose to hire porters. I hired a porter because not everything I wanted to bring fit in one backpack I had and I didn’t want to try and carry two bags at once. Besides it helps the local economy.

Our group was composed of the four Canadian military members in Goma and two guys from Kinshasa (a Canadian and a French officer). Also on the climb that weekend was a Canadian civilian working for a Canadian charter airline under contract to the UN and about eight Belgians. The Brit who lives with us couldn’t make it because he had to herd a group of 15 Members of Parliament who were on a fact finding trip to Goma.

The trail cuts through the jungle at the base of the volcano. The trail alternates between hard packed earth and what I can only describe as lava rock of varying sizes. The slope of the part was relatively gentle for the first little while and gets progressively steeper. The last segment of the climb is very steep and completely barren. The ground is composed entirely of lava rock and fairly treacherous.

I brought a GPS along to calculate distance and altitude. We left the base camp at 1056 hrs and arrived at the summit 1535 hrs. So our trek took four hours and forty minutes. We stopped four times on the way up to rest, hydrate and get the group back together. Also in those four hours and forty minutes we traveled 7.6 kilometres and climbed over 1.4 kilometres.

The weather for the climb was just about perfect, from a climbing perspective. We had a mix of sun and clouds and moderate temperatures (about 23-24 celcius). So not too hot, not too cold, and no rain. We were still very hot and sweaty from the exertion but that’s unavoidable. The down side of the weather was that the mountain top was shrouded in clouds.

The top of the volcano, as mentioned above, is a barren and desolate place. It was also very windy and cold. None of that is particularly surprising. The lava pool was about 700 metres below the rim of the crater so obviously we couldn’t feel any heat. It was also somewhat difficult to see because of the clouds, and perhaps smoke, in the crater. We had limited visibility when we arrived and for an hour or two afterwards, but it came and went. Perhaps the most surprising thing about the volcano was the sound. There a sound very much akin to crashing waves on the seashore coming from the lava pool. It was quite interesting.

After some a celebrating, and supper, we hit the sack with the promise from the guides that they would wake us up if the weather cleared. I went to sleep quite hopeful since we could see stars above us and occasionally see the lights of Goma below us. The accommodations are in the forms of small buildings with two single beds. Not the world’s most comfortable hotel but certainly better than the tent I expected to sleep in. I woke at about 1 AM to use the facilities. When I went outside I noticed that the cloud cover was even denser than before and knew then that I wouldn’t be getting the picture of myself with the lava background that I had climbed the volcano to get. Oh well.

The trip down the next morning was relatively faster but certainly no easier, at least not at first. Overall the climb was difficult but quite doable. The last kilometre or two are fairly tough because you’re tired, it gets steeper and the air is getting thinner with the increased altitude. I didn’t have a particularly hard time. Having spent two months one mile above sea level probably helped acclimatise me to the altitude somewhat.

The one disappointment was not getting the picture that I so wanted. I guess I’ll have to continue being jealous of Herman and Christina. Chantal mentioned that I still had plenty of time left in Goma and could do it again but at $200 a pop, and the better part of a weekend, I don’t think I will. Besides, there is no guarantee that the weather will be any better. Nonetheless it was a fabulous experience. Not many people can say that they have looked down into the crater of an active volcano.

Missive from the Congo 024



Lakeside at the Chalet restaurant



This week’s missive is on entertainment in Goma. Life in Goma is pretty good, all things considered, and the UN doesn’t work us too hard but some recreation is a necessary part of life. The opportunities, however, are somewhat limited. There are no movie theatres. No bowling alleys, bike paths or ski hills.

 There is a large and beautiful lake but there are no public beaches. In any event the medical folks back in Canada have pumped us full of tales of nasty things (mostly microscopic) that live in the waters of the lake and would like to live in your body. So I (we) treat the lake like a beautiful women. Look but don’t touch.



Karibu Hotel

 There are a couple of pools in town, at two of the hotels. The Karibu Hotel is less than 500 metres from the house. They have a nice pool, serve a buffet in mid-afternoon, and of course cold beer. They charge eight dollars for the use of the pool but don’t have any lounge chairs and the area around the pool is grass. But it’s also relatively quiet place on a lazy Sunday afternoon. The Ihusi hotel is a much larger complex just outside the downtown core of Goma, only a few hundred metres from the border with Rwanda. Its pool is larger and much reminiscent of a North American hotel. They too serve cold beer and food. They have lounge chairs and other seating. They charge ten dollars but are much busier. They have a kiddie pool and a shallow end to the main pool and so draw many more kids and families.



Ihusi Hotel

 There are a number of restaurants around town that we go to. This can be a form of recreation, after a fashion. However, considering we eat lunch at a restaurant pretty much every weekday, and that the menu from one restaurant to the next is pretty much identical, it doesn’t really do much for me.

There are some nightclubs in town though I personally haven’t been to any. The problem is that most of them are out of bounds. Unfortunately the folks in the UN have a considerable amount of disposable income and there are a significant number of them who are in the “men have needs” camp. Prostitution has been, and continues to be, a significant problem in the Congo, though it is hardly unique to the Congo. The UN has taken a number of steps to curb the involvement of MONUSCO personnel with prostitutes. Nightclubs that allow prostitutes to operate are placed on the prohibited list. There is a 6 PM curfew for contingent troops and 11 PM (2 AM on Friday and Saturday) curfew for other UN personnel including military observers. The military police do their best to enforce the rules and the penalty for SEA (Sexual Exploitation and Abuse) violations is generally repatriation.



Umojo at Eastern Region HQ

 The one “club” we do go to is the Umojo. This is the outdoor cafeteria in the headquarter complex down by the lake. Friday night is happy hour and they have a DJ and a bar. Because it is within the headquarter complex, only specific personnel can access it. So no prostitution. The music is generally ok and the atmosphere is festive. Of course, the attendees are generally your coworkers so if you are tired of talking shop this is not the best place to go. Still, not a bad place on a Friday night.

There are also a number of private parties around town. They are typically hosted by international staff working for UN or non-governmental organisations. We’ve even hosted one or two. As you might expect they are by invitation only. The crowd tends to be more varied than at the Umojo. You can meet some interesting people from around the world. Though once again the recreation is mostly centered on music and alcohol.



TV and DVD collection

 Closer to home we have a very large collection of DVDs and a TV to watch them on that's better than the one at home, all courtesy of the Canadian taxpayer. The Canadian Forces Personnel Support Agency sends us a regular stream of DVD and magazines as part of the Personnel Support Program (PSP). We probably have the single biggest collection of DVDs in Goma. So we have no lack of movies to choose from. We also have a number of TV series on DVD. I’m almost done with season one of NCIS.

The PSP also funds the satellite TV service we get from South Africa. So we literally have hundreds of TV and music channels to choose from. We regularly watch about five. Pretty typical. It was the same four years ago in Kisangani. Nonetheless we do appreciate the channels we choose to watch.

There are two other more unconventional recreational opportunities that exist in Goma. The ICCN (Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature) offers two tours that you can purchase. The first is to scale the Nyirangongo volcano just outside of Goma. The other is to travel to visit the gorillas in Virunga National Park. Unlike many things in the Congo these are well organised and run expeditions that deliver what they promise. The reason for that is that the ICCN gets to collect and keep revenue that is not diverted into people’s pockets. And the tours are not cheap. The overnight trip to the volcano is $200 USD and the gorilla expedition will set you back $400 USD. However, they are unique experiences. You wouldn’t do them every weekend. Canada House is scaling the volcano next weekend.

So what do I do? Well, a little from column A, a little from column B, and a little from column C. During the week I generally watch a little TV or an episode of NCIS in the evening after supper and workout. I go out to happy hour or a party about every other weekend or so. But most of the time I just relax in the back deck with the housemates, catch a few rays if it’s sunny, and read a book or play cards.