Congo - July 2009 - Getting There

When the U.S. State Dept. recommended that groups of Americans avoid traveling through Kinshasa, the capital and primary city of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), getting to the Ubangi, the Northwest region of the Congo where we minister, became much more complicated.

The trip from Chicago to Gemena, one of the main cities of the Ubangi, took 4 full days. First, an overnight trip to Europe. Then a long layover before another 6 hour flight south, across the Mediterranean, the Sahara, and the northern tropical rain forest into Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic (CAR). Then, the next morning an early crossing of the river border between CAR and the DRC in large dugout canoes.

(Click for larger image)

Finally, a rugged 12 hour journey in trucks into the interior of the DRC. Every few miles we ran into a spot that felt like a real road (even if unpaved), but the bulk of the journey was brutal. We only had one flat tire. Fortunately, the spare was sound so changing it only took about a half hour.


Now we're here, safe & sound. Now we're ready to embrace the discoveries and new friendships a trip like this will provide!