writing travel

Impressions of Kinshasa

Cedric_Kalonji_in_Kinshasa_CHILD_LABOR, originally uploaded by bukavuonline.

Guest post by Sandra Basgall, Catholic Relief Services Central Africa

Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is a bustling city of 8 to 10 million on the Congo River. Across the river lies the capital of the Republic of Congo, Brazzaville. This is the only place in the world where two capitals lie side by side.

From certain locations, you can see Brazzaville, just as large and busy as Kinshasa. There are no bridges connecting the two cities. Many people cross by speed boat and others on the overcrowded ferries. You need a visa to visit there.

Many of the boulevards in Kinshasa are very wide, but traffic is heavy, and during rush hour, the buses and taxis race each other to get the next passenger. These yellow and blue vehicles defy description. Some of them look like vans or old delivery trucks with windows cut out of the sides. People hold the doors closed by just hanging on to them. They are full, full, full of people and remind me of the old ‘70s game of seeing how many people can fit into a Volkswagen!

Many look like they can barely move, but my colleagues tell me that just a month ago, the worst of them were taken off the road. I can barely imagine what they looked like as this bunch is so rag-a-tagged. We have been told not to use buses or taxis as they are not safe mechanically and you might get robbed. I have no desire to ride in one.

Green bus in Kinshasa.Originally uploaded on Flickr by FredR/Creative Commons

Sandra Basgall: Settling into Kinshasa

Kinshasa street scene, originally uploaded by Irene2005.

Guest post by Sandra Basgall, Catholic Relief Services for Central Africa

I have been here a week now. I went from 16 hours plane sitting to 3 days of regional meeting sitting and so was really glad when the weekend came. One of the last tips I received before I left the States was to see if anywhere they served a fish called capitaine. This was someone who had eaten it 40 years ago as a Peace Corps volunteer in Togo and still remembered it with fondness. Imagine my surprise at the Thursday evening dinner during the regional meetings that the restaurant served capitaine. I, of course, ordered it. It was cooked in a banana leaf pouch with a lovely sauce and it was truly wonderful. I will have it again, many times.

At CRS CARO (Central African Regional Office), most of the major management positions are held by women. I think it sets a very interesting flavor and there seems to be a lot of collaboration and support. The regional director is an African-American woman who was three years in the Peace Corps in the Gabon and is married to a Senegalese. She has been RD for the last five years. Although we service seven other countries, the DRC is the largest in terms of program dollars, and they have the largest country program, also directed by a woman, an American. There is a real hodgepodge of other nationalities here, and it is interesting to learn where long-term Congolese CRS people have served.

Guest blogger: writer & photographer Sandra Basgall reports from Central Africa

Through the miracle of social networking, I've reconnected with Sandra Basgall, a valued friend of more than 30 years' duration. Once upon a time, as single parents in a university town, Sandra and I and another friend, Anne Kaplan, shared an after-school caregiver for our children, beginning when the kids were in kindergarten. We lost track of each other a good while ago as we pursued our separate adventures. Then, last June, we found each other on Facebook and renewed our friendship.

Sandra has just launched yet another huge adventure. Since December, she has been in Kinshasa in a new position with Catholic Relief Services, where she is based as the Regional Director of Monitoring and Evaluation for Central Africa. With responsibility for nine countries, Sandra will be traveling extensively, expecting to be on the move 30 percent of the time during her assignment.

Not one to miss an opportunity, Sandra asked me for advice on publishing a blog documenting her stay in Africa. Although she's begun posting on a WordPress.com blog, her new duties are taking up much of her time. So I leapt at the opportunity to feature Sandra's weekly posts from Central Africa here on Writing Travel to help her build an audience.

Most popular posts of 2009: a map for travel blogging in 2010

Yes, this blog has been stagnant over the last few weeks. Like its author, it never really decided what it wanted to become when it grew up.

I'm letting my readers help decide where I should take this blog in 2010. How? By reviewing the posts that garnered most attention during the last year.

Here are last year's top ten posts:

1. Navigo like the natives through the Paris Métro: Navigo Découverte pass a must for bargain-seeking travelers
2. To Schmap or not to Schmap, a strategic question for travel photographers
3. Eight places where you can eat for free in Paris
4. Wednesday Window ~ Hotel Baker 1928 stained glass peacock fanlight, St. Charles, IL
5. Wednesday Window ~ View of Union Station from Frist Center, Nashville
   
6. Corpse Bride and Victor Van Dort figures in the window of Album, Boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris
   
7. Rare sight in Paris: snow!
8. "Grits is good" and other useful facts about Alabama
9. New Year's Day on the town in Paris and onward: jazz, gravity, and an exposé
10. Photo Friday ~ Find your marbles at Moon Marble Company, Bonner Springs, Kansas

You may notice a good half of these are content driven rather than simply photographs. Perhaps that should serve as a clue for the blog's fresh direction and a hint for ramping up activity on my photography sites, Lanora Mueller Photography and Photographing Travel.