De Luanda ao Congo

As terras por onde andámos, estão como aqui se relata, no ano de 2008

Par quem conheceu o Ambrizete, Tomboco e Lufico e Luanda

Apr. 04, 2008. We left Luanda early in the morning, yet again after a huge downpour during the night. It took us almost two (2) hours to get out of the city, passing through some very bad and poor areas of town. The roads were total mud with waterholes the size of the motorcycle. Tin shacks cover the area on each side of the road. Living conditions are very sad. Each gas station we pass was either out of gasoline or there was a two (2) hour line up of vehicles. Approx. 30km outside of Caxito, we finally find a gasoline station that is only a 10 minute wait. We had heard that there was no gasoline available from Caxito to Matadi, 478km. In addition to our four (4) litre canister we filled (4) 1.5 litre water bottles with gasoline and strapped them to the motorcycles. Here we also met a truck of Brits and Norwegians on there way to Ambriz. They confirmed the gasoline shortage and road conditions. It started to rain heavy before Caxito and the road turned to slippery mud. At least we were moving ahead, through only at 20km/hr. It took us all day to N'zeto, approx. 300km. After the Ambriz turn-off there was a gated check-stop to confirm that we had a Democratic Republic of Congo Visa, otherwise we would not have been able to proceed. We also took the opportunity to purchase another eight (8) litres of gasoline from the black market at 100KZ/litre ($1.30CDN/litre), normally 40KZ/litre ($0.53CDN/litre). The town of N'zeto is a ghost town. Dilapidated Portuguese buildings line the main road. One can tell that it used to be a pretty town on the coast at one time. We actually find an English speaking person who tells us to set up camp at the police station, which we did. No toilets or running water. We make ourselves some supper and get some rest.
Apr. 05, 2008. The 80km to Tomboco only took us 2 1/2 hours, at this rate we should make it to the border by the end of the day. We stopped at the local "market" in Tomboco and I picked up some cookies, banana's and bread. Just outside of Tomboco the road splits and that is were the fun started. We spend seven (7) hours to cover 60km. The road turned into a mere trail leading through thick jungle with the occasional settlement of a few mud/brick houses. Besides muddy roads, every couple of hundred meters was a huge water hole. Each ascent and descent had massive washed out ruts. The battery on Mike's motorcycle was giving us trouble and we had to boost it every time it stalled. Then one waterhole was actually deeper than the air intake on the motorcycle and we sucked in water. At 99.9% humidity and 30+Deg Celsius in the blazing sun we took out the spark plugs and air filter to dry out. It took an hour to get the motorcycle going again. At this point we had stripped down to only riding pants, boots, helmets and gloves. We walked every water crossing to ensure the motorcycles would make it. In addition we did not shut off Mike's motorcycle in case it would not start again. At 5pm it started to rain heavy, we decided to continue riding but it was impossible. Instead we pitched the tent in a small settlement in the rain. Everything was soaked, but we required rest.
Apr. 06, 2008. The road did not improve, we passed through Lufico. Mike's motorcycle gave us trouble again and we boosted it. The previous day we had met a total of three (3) vehicles on this road. Luckily we had booster cables on us. Stopping yet again at a muddy waterhole the motorcycle stalls and will not start again, even with the booster cables. We switch batteries to ensure that it is a battery problem and not something else. It confirms that the battery is done. From the GPS location we are approx. 20km from Lufico and 28km form Mpala. As we had past through Lufico, we knew that there were no services that could assist us. Our only hope was Mpala. Mike takes my motorcycle to see if he can find another settlement close by, while I stay with the motorcycle in the jungle. The bush and trees were so thick on the side of the road that though I heard voices I could not see anyone. We did not want to leave the motorcycle behind without anyone watching it as we had seen what happened to other abandoned vehicles on the side of the road. Within a few hours there is only a frame left and everything else has been salvaged. Mike returns after an hour and tells me that there is a small settlement only 2km away, the road is bad and he had gotten stuck twice. We decided to ride one motorcycle with gear to the settlement, remove the battery, walk back the 2km and then ride the other motorcycle. At least we were with some type of civilization. While Mike walks back with my battery to his motorcycle I hang out with the local women. Sitting among them, I helped remove peanuts from their shells. It was very interesting, as they treated me as one of them. They started looking for lice and ticks in each others hair. I remember getting itchy watching them. Then they used an empty beer bottle and ground the Peanuts into Peanut butter. A few Peanuts were roasted for me and Mike. There was no power or other services available at this settlement. We were able to communicate our problem and someone led us to a generator. Mike negotiated to pay $20.00US to charge the battery for a couple of hours via the generator. The cost of gasoline on the black market this remote is 1500KZ/litre ($20.00CDN/litre). After a couple of hours they noticed that the charger on the generator was not working. But there is another guy with a smaller generator who also wants $20.00US. Another two (2) hours pass. We realize that we will have to spend the night and pitch our tent in the mud. The settlement is called Bemfica, of course not on any map. The battery was not holding the charge, our worst nightmare had came true. We had covered 23km, to add to our worries we were using a lot more gasoline then anticipated. Riding all day in first gear increased the fuel consumption. Our water supply was down to 1 1/2 litre. The water from the rivers was a murky brown color and we really did not want to start drinking that. There were no toilets or showers. A local woman took me into the bush to show me were everyone went to the bathroom. I was mainly concerned about the landmines and kept to the well cleared foot path. Three (3) full days had past since we left Luanda. We both were exhausted and tired, realizing that it was a dangerous situation to be in. We only had met one other vehicle all day going the other way.
Apr. 07, 2008. We decided to ride two up on my motorcycle to Mpala 26km from Bemfica to arrange for a truck. It took us over two (2) hours to reach the settlement. Every couple of hundred meters I would jump off the motorcycle, walk through the water crossing or check-out the best route to go through washed out road sections. From the distance we could see the settlement of Mpala and we both became worried that there were again no services. Mpala is made up of no more then 20 houses with no power. But we were in luck, two (2) large construction trucks were parked at the entrance to the settlement beside the police check point. Prior to leaving in the morning we had sketched up on a notepad what we required. A broken down motorcycle, a truck, the towns name where the motorcycle was and where we needed transportation to. We stop at the check-point and are instantly surrounded by people. We show them our sketch and it works. To our amazement the mechanic of the construction trucks speaks English. He had studied English at University in Luanda. We both thought "And what are you doing in this place?". It all made sense later. I negotiated with the boss of the construction outfit $500.00US to pick up the motorcycle in Bemfica (26km) and take it to Nogui (85km) at the Angolan/DRC border, as there was no other settlement large enough to have any type of services (ie. Battery). At first the boss said he was busy, but after talking money it was arranged. The construction company is actually from Luanda and hired on by the Government to build a school and other various buildings in Mpala. As there is no water close by, they truck it in and the truck which was supposed to move the bike was loaded with large water containers. It took another couple of hours to unload the truck and then six (6) guys jumped on the back, equipped with shovels in case we would get stuck. It took us 1 1/2 hours to drive the 26km to Bemfica. Arriving in the settlement we were happy to see everything in one piece. We took the tent down and loaded the motorcycle. The straps I had been carrying since Germany, finally came in handy, but it still took six (6) guys to hold it upright on the way back to Mpala. We had decided to load both motorcycles on a bigger truck for the road from Mpala to Noqui. It was late afternoon as we made it back to Mpala and there was no point to continue until the next day. Instead we set up camp in the police check point yard. The construction company provided us with fresh oven baked bread and juice. Day 4 had passed and we were starting to run out of water and we had not had a real meal since Day 1. All we could think about was to get the hell out of here. The original plan to load the motorcycles on the bigger truck was scratched as the only way to get them into the truck was via a crane (not available). Instead it was decided to use the smaller truck.