Pointe Noire, Republic of the Congo
The ship’s fathometer revealed an unseen precipitous drop-off beneath us as we sailed across an enormous submarine canyon 40 nautical miles at sea off the mouth of the mighty Congo River. By volume of water flow, the Congo is the second largest river on Earth. As we continued over shallower shelf areas north of the river mouth, the National Geographic Explorer threaded our course among innumerable offshore oilrigs. The gray horizon was dotted with orange flares of fires from gas being burnt off during the oil drilling process.
Typical of many tropical marine regions, there were relatively few seabirds or other marine creatures to be seen this morning. Tom Ritchie gave us an overview of the geography of the enormous and intriguing continent of Africa. Later, Wade Davis spoke to us about the varied human cultures, economies, and religious practices of the many peoples of this vast continent. Out on deck, the humid air felt thick and warm, the sky sat full of densely saturated clouds drifting inland to soak the expansive rain forests of the Congo basin to our west. And then it poured rain, a drenching tropical downpour.
By midday we reached the port city of Pointe Noire in the Republic of the Congo. The sky opened and we went ashore with mostly clear skies (and thankfully a sweet bit of breeze) to explore this region. This bustling port displayed the usual signs of modern industry with great stacks of shipping containers rimming the docks. At the base of the port area was an area filled with piles of large cut hardwood trees being stacked and sorted for export. We toured briefly through the city passing the classic, French colonial style, train station built in 1935. The city’s streets were humming with activity as blue and white painted taxis and pedestrians filled the streets.
We continued on to visit the “Village des Voilers” artisan market. We wandered among the stalls filled with carvings, textiles, beaded baskets, and masks from the Congo region. We watched as carvers created the classic wooden chairs we’d seen along the way, and smiled and greeted each person we met eager to shake our hands. Soon we headed north towards the Diosso Gorge. From the rim of the gorge, we looked out across a phenomenal landscape, with tongues of red eroded cliffs dropping off into rich forested land accentuated with bright red berries dotting the trees.
Our adventure today included one bus losing its transmission, and the remaining buses taking on “refugees” from that bus to continue the tour. We all shared laughs at the curious challenges of traveling in this seldom visited region. We arrived back to the ship eager for dinner before heading out again for an evening on the town, Congo style, enjoying a private concert by Lelu Lelu, a musical group playing “Tradimoderne” music, a contemporary version of traditional Congolese themes.
