republic of the congo travel… normally, travel blogs start off by saying things like “lovely place”, “magical”, “inspiring”, blablabla…
the republic of the congo was none of these.
it was an ok, slightly annoying and overly expensive place to travel in.
that’s not to say i had a bad time there… it’s more to advise that you will get a better bang for your buck elsewhere.
unless you are interested in bush meat. this is the first time seeing pangolin on the menu…
to start off…
here is the obligatory i heart <insertcitynamehere> sign.
i really hope you enjoy this pic since I got questioned by police for taking this photo…
welcome to fucking brazzaville…
Congo-Brazzaville
here are some random pics of brazzaville that i thought were interesting.
the beautiful and relaxing basilica of saint anne, the central train station and the controversial and costly nabema tower.
i travelled here shortly after wave one of covid and police kept trying to fine me for wearing the “wrong type of mask”… whatever the fuck that means. one time an old lady yelled at them for detaining me on the street so they let me go.
this pic made me smile… kids using the side of a highway as a slide…
les sapeurs
covid sadly put a damper on the lovely sub-culture of la sape. i had a wonderful photo essay planned here… instead i encourage you to read more about them online – like this great vogue article.
sapeurism is a fashion movement in the republic of the congo and the democratic republic of the congo based on a dapper and flamboyant aesthetic of old world european dandyism.
unfortunately, according to quite a few sapeurs i met, many were sadly taking a break from dressing up due to the enforced covid curfew. hopefully by the time you read this things have got back to normal.
Lésio-Louna Gorilla Reserve
the lésio-louna lowland gorilla sanctuary is by far the best thing to see near brazzaville.
since 1999 the reserve has been caring for orphaned gorillas and releasing them back into the wild.
this next photo cracks me up as it looks like someone dressed up in a gorilla costume in a old comedy film…
gorilla bum.
National Parks
my guide was hungover so we missed seeing the elephants feed along the river. so here are 2 miscellaneous river pics and an elephant made out of tin cans.
got insanely lucky with the hippos though!
Pointe-Noire
heading to the coast… pointe-noire had a nice chilled vibe to it.
sadly, covid again caused issues and there were many abandoned resorts.
but at least this was my first urbex scarecrow.
the museum was small and cute…
and you could buy some street bitcoin and enjoy some lovely pastry at la citronella…
Hitchhiking along the West Coast
i decided to hitchhike and check out the sights along the coast… most notably the site of the first catholic church in the congo.
i managed to catch some sweet rides along the coast…
… to the area of the diosso gorges and the loango museum.
the museum is literally in the middle of nowhere. even the locals had trouble directing me to it. but it gave an interesting overview of the history of the area.
Rastafari Village
the real highlight of the trip was discovering a rastafarian convent in the middle of the congo.
i noticed the flags along the road and got the driver to let me out.
everyone really welcomed me in and made me feel like family. i ended up returning again later in the trip.
i’ll let the rest of the pics speak for themselves…
wow. congrats. you made it this far…
i am currently on my latest african adventure, sitting in the sweaty lobby of my hotel waiting for a ride that is 12 hours late.
looking back after editing these pics and writing up this blog i slowly realise that maybe i had a great time.
it sounds painfully cheesy to say, but through all the miserable travel, boredom, money spent and annoying times…
it’s always worth it in the end.
check out my other central and west african travel blogs angola and the central african republic.