Week end à Pointe Noire (atlantic ocean)

That's us during breakfast.. well, beers for breakfast? maybe it was already late afternoon!

Supporting the french rugby team

Admiring the view of the Atlantic ocean

Meeting with congolese kids

Most popular beer in Congo: Primus!

What the hell is a "pipe coraf"?

Miss Elo

Our captain during a fishing day (we didn't catch anything except for huge sunburns)

Party in Pointe Noire = good time, good music, good people. First time in a "club" for months..

Very very good time... even if we were only 4 to dance in the entire club!

Le paradis, ou pas très loin de ce dernier. Peu d'établissements tourstiques cependant. Aucun en fait.

Charles's family and the Moungali market

Back to Charles, this time with his family. Rebeca, his daughter, and Sarah, his wife.

Elle a la classe, un point c'est tout.

She's just not used to!

Officialy, Rebeca is 8 years old. I don't believe it, she seems to be 14 or so. Not exactly dressed like a 8-years old girl. But considering that girls are married very young (around 15), perhaps it's normal. No judgement, just an observation.

Tipical street: dirty

The moungali market: mostly food items

I don't know what the hell are all these beans

Daily life in BZV

French cultural center: the only cultural facility in town. Once a week, you can watch a movie (fully illegally downloaded, but who cares). Sometimes international bands, theater, concert, danse..

Congo has two main resources: oil and wood. You can find many different kind of wood, which are well valued by local artists.

Local market is always a place full of joy, friendship and smiles. Every "maman" sells the same food items (ananas, bananas, mango, etc), so it's hard to make a decision whether to buy to this one or that one. That's why I endeavor to buy one fruit to each (long process, but worth the time)

I really should dedicate an entire post to the chinese influence. They are everywhere, unintegrated with the locals but don't seem to do anything to change that: they live in their own communities. Nowadays, every huge construction site is undertaken by a chinese company. They offer to the government at least 30% discount (compared to other international firms) for roads, airports, hotels, power lines constructions, and sometimes the government doesn't even pay them. In exchange, it gives them oil. That's how you do business here..

Since the war, it's written everywhere: "this land is not to sell". It is due the 90's conflict, when people came and said: I buy this land for 3$.

Karate and storm

Charles works for us since 2008. He's from Kinshasa, but had to leave the courtry (DRC) after the war. Indeed, he was an intructor in the army, but on the wrong side: his leader lost the war and he was banned.
He's a great teacher of self defense and karate. I never met a guy who believe so strongly and deeply in God. Honnestly, that's his only source of hope. He lives (actually survives) in a 6m² with his wife and daughter. He belongs the lowest social class in the country. And yet I respect him more than any congolese (I mean from this side of the river).

On this pic you can't really distinguish the storm. I guess you have to trust me: that was the strongest storm I ever saw. True story!

Week end à Ngabe

Marion speaking with 2 childrens laughing because we are white. Good joke mate!

La farine de manioc, qui donne le foufou, qu'on cuit dans l'eau chaude.. honnetement ca reste du manioc!

Une fois n'est pas coutume, nous avons pu dormir dans un hotel - avec clim, écran plat, et eau courante.
Our hotel room with the sexy Greg waking up.

Le fleuve s'étire parfois tellement qu'on se croirait sur une mer intérieure.

The poorer they are, the more welcoming they are.. Along the river, people live outside what we call "civilization".. fishing and agriculture remain the basis of the daily activity. Yet, they don't seem unhappy and suprisingly, they are not complaining all the time - like in Brazzaville - about their living condition.

Fisher man (friend)

Le manioc séchant au soleil, afin qu'il durcisse et qu'on puisse le moudre en farine

Le manioc trempant dans l'eau.

Cette racine est clairement la base de la nourriture de tout congolais. Mais sa préparation demande rigueur et savoir-faire, sans quoi elle peut être dangereuse pour la santé car toxique.

Tout le monde connait la philosophie africaine: "vous avez la montre, nous avons le temps". Ce à quoi je réponds: "vous avez le manioc, on à la patate". Pourquoi cette réflexion? aucune idée.

Boat people?

Crazy jumper!

Sur la plage abandonnée, une belle brochette de Moundélés!

Marion, Adrien, bébèr, papa et papa (tout le monde s'appelle papa ici, c'est plus simple)

Les mamans au travail - la femme est loin d'être l'égale de l'homme, ces dames faisant à peu près tout, alors que les hommes font à peu près rien...

Being a woman in African must be something exhausting, as they clearly work twice as much as men.

River fish - i personnaly prefer chicken, but it is said to be good

L'orage arrive...

Storm coming soon..

Very useful machine

Me

fresh bred.. just delicious!

Roger, unemployed, veterinarian normally, but there are no longer animals in the village..

C'est balo, roger le vétérinaire n'a plus de boulot car il n'y a plus d'animaux..

Alban en bécane

Congo River