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Diary This is Jan's diary. If you want to receive this diary by mail, write your mail on the contact form.
‹ Previous (12/06/2007) MONTH Next (2007-08-11)› ‹ Previous (2007-06-27 - Congo) COUNTRY Next (2007-07-16 - Angola)› RD Congo Matadi (see on map) 12/07/2007:
The blue tablets do not have any effect for now. Even though Brazzaville and Kinshassa are the two closest capitals in the world, separated only by a river, to cross it and to pass to the other country is not so simple, and Alexandra has lost again the nerves. I had informed myself beforehand about all the costs, but at the time of the truth everything was more and I did not have sufficient CFA (the Centre-African coin). I have been more of half an hour discussing with the guards of the port because i did not want to pay the 15 € that they said that i had to pay to pass, but I was in the end convinced that i should end up paying and I have had to change 10€. We have passed the formalities of immigration and customs with calmness, but at the time of embarking have found that the thicket was also more expensive (70 €) from what they had previously told me, and without discussing too much I changed 20 € more. But next they did not let us enter the boat because they said that we had paid the thicket too late, although discussing a little more we could cross the gate. Then all our papers were checked by a policeman and he told me that a stamp is missing in the document of the car. It was useless to discuss more, I went up to the barracks of the police where they sealed the document and finally could go up to the boat, but Alexandra on foot, because those were the norms for the passengers. Alexandra was completely out of her mind, saying that everything was my fault and of the lack of civilisation of the blacks (it is also true that previously Alex had addressed them the same bad words, obstructing some of the formalities). During the thirty minutes of journey Alexandra didn’t calm down continuing with the insults, but as we reached Kinshassa, an officer of the police asked her to accompany him to carry out the papers of immigration and customs while I took the car out. Alexandra followed him very annoyed, being lost among the crowd of blacks, some of which moved big packets up and down, sweating and the slaves panting as they formerly did it. But it was a good treatment for Alex, because when I found her again, she was conversing happy with a policewoman. Afterwards she explained to me that they had treated her very well. Alexandra had forbidden me to stop in Kinshassa. From Brazzaville they had explained to us that the police of Kinshassa can rob you by night, without hiding their faces with total impunity. They had also explained to us that it was dangerous to walk through the city, although there were crowds that did it. In any case, something of all this must be true, because most of the official buildings and rich houses had watchtowers and they were surrounded by thorny metallic threads and high walls. But although we managed our way out, we have lasted a good while passing through rich and poor neighbourhoods of this city of more than 5 million inhabitants. RDC is one of the African countries with less kilometres of tarred road per inhabitant, but for us it has been the country with better roads, because one of the few roads that is tarred is the one that goes towards Matadi, a city port with Portuguese colonial architecture. During the road, different police officers (all nice) and other people have been informing us that the deviation of the track that goes to Angola was found before reaching Matadi, a different track to the one that Ben and Maria took. In the consulate of Angola in Matadi they have also informed us that the recommended track should be passable with our auto caravan. We have calmed down quite a lot in this sense and we have discarded the option of taking a boat from Matadi to Luanda. In the consulate they also informed us about the cost of the visa that we will get tomorrow: 80 dollars each, for a visa of only 5 days that we will have to extend in Luanda (probably paying much more). It is the most expensive visa that we have found up to the moment. Seeing all the difficulties that we have had until now to obtain the Angolan visa (in the embassy of Brazzaville they did not have adhesives for the visa), it does not seem that we are very well welcomed in Angola. Tomorrow we will discover it. Angola Luanda (see on map) 16/07/2007:
We still lack a hundred kilometres to arrive to Luanda, but it is as if we had already arrived and we have today sung once again "We are the champions". These three days have been an odyssey and i do not find it strange anymore that Ben and Maria said that it would be impossible to arrive to Luanda with our auto caravan, but in spite of the adversities we have obtained it. On Friday we waited till three and a half for the consul of Angola to arrive, to be able to collect our visa. Before however, we had to answer a quite absurd interview with questions of the type: "say the name of a brother of your father", "you have ever been in prison"?. The visa of Angola consisted of an adhesive where they had written by hand, " 5 days transit". So, it was evident that the instructions of the Angolan government were of not giving tourist visa for no one, and so the tourists went as quickly as possible through their country. In the same situation had been Ben and Maria and also Tim, a boy who traveled in motorcycle and that we met in the consulate. We would have been fortunate if we had crossed the border the same Friday at night, because the day after, the border was crowded with trucks and people that wanted to cross because on every Saturday there was market between the two borders. it took us more than 5 hours to be attended to, meanwhile observing as the policemen disciplined the people with fists and sticks. Finally we could cross the border of Congo and also the one of Angola (troublefree) and then it started the real odyssey. Summary: Saturday: 65 km in 5 hours, the first four hours with an average of 10 km/hr. Damages: a part of the exhaust pipe fell off and the stairs of the auto caravan cannot be used anymore. Sunday: 190 km in 10 hours. Damages: the starting system went crazy, but we parked the car just in case in position that eases the possibility to start the engine in a different way. Today: 170 km in 10 hours, the first three hours to an average of 9 km/hr. Saturday was the worst day of the three days. When finishing the day we met Tim with his motorcycle in a small village where we camped. When seeing us he sighed happy and exclaimed: "What joy that you are here, thought that you would not manage to pass with the auto caravan through that hell". And really it was a hell: endless succession of vertiginous craters of dust and rocks delimited by deep uneven and cracked ruts. We had to have a lot of cold blood - to throw ourselves ahead thinking perhaps that we would not go out -, a lot of mental engineering - expression of Alexandra - to recognize the best stretch and a lot of skill on the steering wheel to follow it. Anyway we touched many times the ground, blocked twice (went out when Alex pushed the car) and we suffer some damages of minor importance. Sunday and today can not be compared with the previous day, but they have also been infernal. We have passed through a road for where Ben and Maria had also passed and they also described it as impossible with the following words: "the road turns asphaltic with big and deep holes". In fact the road was terrible. Alex said "we do not have a minute of calmness". The holes seemed impossible to pass. Anyway, softly went turning the frights off and advanced. And today I have already started to think with optimism that soon we will go out central of Africa and will be to relax again and meet people, see places of interest, eat better... 17/07/2007: Today it is my anniversary. I am 35 years old. Alexandra says that I have lived half of my life and I answer her that I only lived a third part. In any case, Luanda is one of the worst places of the world to celebrate an anniversary. The guide that we have says that it is the fourth most expensive city in the world (the hotels cost from 80€ And although we can not compare it with the other cities of the ranking, really the products of the supermarkets are very expensive, almost all imported. They also import plants and meat, for most of the country is sown of mines leaving the fields unused. On the other hand, Luanda is a monstrous city, the centre with modern buildings surrounded with thorny threads and the surroundings with "favelas" or neighbourhoods of huts of mud along the hills and rubbish everywhere. Another bad thing of Luanda is the traffic, terrible. From our entry in the city, we have done about two hours and a half to arrive to the embassy of Romania. There they were already warned about the arrival of Alexandra that had no more blank pages in the passport. But the ambassador recommended us to go out of Angola as soon as possible and to solve the problem of the passport in the embassy of Romania in South Africa. To be able to enter in Namibia and South Africa with the passport without blank pages tey made a travel document that it seems that will open the doors for her. On the other hand, they have told us that we do not have any possibility to extend the visa of Angola and added that it was dangerous to travel with the visa expired (a Romanian was four months ago in prison for one month because he was found in Angola with the expired visa). It expires tomorrow for us, but we maybe still have a week of journey before being able to go out of Angola. In any case, today in the afternoon, after carrying out all the papers with the embassy and buying something good to celebrate my anniversary, we have gone out running of Luanda towards the south. Namibia Frontera amb Angola (see on map) 21/07/2007:
in the embassy of Romania they had recommended us to arrive as soon as possible to Namibia not to have problems with the expired visa and in the same way that on the previous days we have been waking up at 5:30 in the morning in order to be able to drive about eleven hours till 6 or 6:30 pm. However, if on the previous days we had fear not to arrive to Luanda, we now had fear not to arrive to Namibia. Although we had not said it openly, Alex and I shared the fear of destroying the car before arriving to the border. The ambassador had explained to us that in Nigeria the car of a diplomat broke down while he travelled with his wife and daughter. When returning from searching help the women and the child were decapitated. Afterwards, the ambassador added: "Angola is not too different from Nigeria in this regard". The first day we drove 615 kilometres through a good asphalted road. The second day we drove 190 km for a track comparable to those of the north and started to worry about the days that it would still take us to arrive to the border. Ben and Maria had written to us that the roads of the south of Angola were also in very bad state and I had already calculated to drive the last 400 or 500 kilometres in 4 days. But on the third day the track improved and we advance 290 kilometres. If the road followed in good state we could arrive to Namibia the day after at noon and if not then in two days. It was a little frustrating, because the people did not know how to give any convincing answer on the state of the tracks often told us that the tracks were good and ended up being terrible or that they were bad and were tolerable. The second day in the afternoon, while Alexandra warned me continuously "soft, that you are entering in a hole", a motorcycle arrived on our side. It was Tim. At night we dined together and drank a beer conversing on our journeys and about how to gain money in route, writing and making photos in my case or making films in his. Even though we circulated at different speeds, we met once again on the third day and also today in the border. Today we have woken up early again with the intention of driving all the day towards south, as fast as possible but with the speed limited by Alexandra worried for not having any problem with the engine. The track has kept improving in the face of our incredulity. We did not understand because Ben and Maria had described us the track as terrible. There were many completely fixed sections and others in works; this was the only explanation that occurred to us. Anyway we kept thinking that in front of us the track would crack again. When we were only 120 kilometres away from the border I thought: "we can arrive in 2 hours or in 24 hours, who knows"?. And in the end, we have arrived to the same midday in the border and have expressed again our joy singing "we are the champions". We have crossed the border of Angola without receiving any fine for the expired visa. But on the contrary to what we expected we have found the problems in the border of Namibia. Windhoek (see on map) 23/07/2007: We showed our passports among tens of hands that also wanted to seal their documents with the entry stamp and finally an officer caught them. He sealed my passport, but when opening Alexandra’s passport he commented: - The citizens of Romania need entry visa and it can not be obtained here in the border. - And what can we do? - I asked. - Return to Luanda and carry it out from there. - But we can not enter again in Angola, our visa is expired. There are not any other options? - Not, there isn’t any other option. You have to return to Luanda. I insisted that there had to be some other solution because we could not nor we wanted to enter Angola again. But the officer became annoyed with me because i doubted his word and because according to him I appeared proud. In the end I had to go outside not to worsen the things and Alexandra had to stand the shouts of the officer who screamed that because of me we will stay between the two borders with threats of prison. Alexandra went out hysterical but hopeful that in spite of everything the things would straighten up. In the end, the officer was softened and he explained to Alexandra that in fact there was a solution. The visa could be carried out from the border, but we should wait between the two borders until Monday in the morning, that a superior officer would come. I could cross the border to buy food and after a while a Polish girl that wanted to go to Angola and did not have visa came because practically she was in a similar situation to ours. Mónica, was a little - not to say a lot - crazy, talked a lot and had the project of travelling up to Europe doing hitchhiking and with only 400€ in her pockets. We advise against central Africa, where only the visas would eat all her budget and in the end it seemed that she changed plans by going through eastern Africa or perhaps by plane. Today on Monday Alexandra presented herself in front of the officer that had to solve her problem, who with not too much interest said that they could make a transit visa of only 3 days. It has been the hardest moment of the journey: we had all the hopes and expectations in relaxing and visiting for about four or five weeks some nature reserves and the marvellous landscapes of Namibia. We have had to go to some town 60 km away from the border so that they printed the visa for her on the travelling document that Alex had from her embassy, and then had to return to the border so that they put the entry stamp and we left towards Windhoek through the same road as in the morning. We were again in a road race against the clock to arrive as soon as possible to the capital to carry out the visa of South-Africa and to try to extend the 3 day transit visa. We have been driving up to ten in the night, bad-tempered and pessimistic on our situation in the south of the continent. The only consolation has been the excellent road and the spotting of different wild animals illuminated by the lights of the car. 25/07/2007: Yesterday we went at first hour to the embassy of Africa South and when seeing the passport - without blank pages - they informed us clearly that they could not carry out the visa (The only country where Alexandra can obtain a new passport to continue the journey). We went to the embassy of Spain to look for support and they were very nice and let Alexandra call the embassy of Romania in Angola - were they were surprised that we couldn’t pass with the travel doc. - and to the embassy in Africa South - where there was nobody that could attend her. The ambassador of Romania in Angola told us that he would do some calls to fix the situation and we returned to the Embassy of South Africa where they were amazed that we came again. They denied again any possibility to enter South Africa, although, when Alexandra started to cry of despair, the girl that attended us suggested going to the department of immigration of Namibia where we could carry out a similar document to the travel document. Meanwhile, two days ago the battery of the car started to fail and in the end proved to be completely used up, we could only start the car by pushing it or by charging it from some other car. In the face of the difficulty to move with freedom through the city, the following thing that we did was to change the battery. Afterwards we went to immigration but they asked us to come the day after in the morning. Today we went there and after quite a lot of paperwork and bureaucracy they have delivered the required document. They have also informed us about not being able to extend the validity of the visa that expires tomorrow for Alex. Next we have gone to the embassy of South Africa where surprisingly have refused the new document. The supervisor did not even want to receive us and have returned to the Spanish embassy to make new calls. The Romanian ambassador in Africa South has expressed that he could not do anything to help us. The ambassador in Angola has surprised again and worried (in fact, we were in this situation because the ambassador gave us this travel document thinking wrongly that it would open all the doors). The ambassador has told us that he would call the embassy of South Africa, but we have received a call of the supervisor mid-afternoon announcing us that in spite of everything, he could not do anything to solve our problem and that likewise he would communicate it to the ambassador of Romania. But miraculously after five minutes, the supervisor called us again asking us to come to the embassy with all the documents. The supervisor has received us very nicely and apologised with a good excuse that had not received us in the morning. We have been commenting on the problem and he has finally suggested sticking the South African visa on a page of the passport reserved to the Romanian government, always and when he received a fax of the ambassador of Romania allowing this operation and also if Pretoria allowed him the procedure. We have left with hopes that the things would be solved soon, although I felt discouraged and sad for all the last problems and in the face of the inability to visit Namibia. When we obtain the visa we will have to leave towards South Africa due to the probable impossibility of stretching the period of validity of the visa. 26/07/2007:
We have received the fax of the ambassador of Romania and the embassy of South Africa has also received the consent of Pretoria and the assistant has commented to the supervisor, we will tomorrow have the visa in the passport of Alexandra. At last, the main problem was solved. Now we had to solve many other secondary problems, as for example to change the oil and filters of the car that was done very nicely by a service in spite of the fact that they were working on schedule. And in the afternoon we have relaxed. We have done tourism again since last time was long ago. Alexandra went to walk for shops and department stores and i visited churches and museums. Windhoek does not seem an African city. When we entered some days ago we identified it with Copenhagen. The city is clean, tidy; with big well asphalted avenues flanked by modern buildings and green parks; with some streets for pedestrians, centres of tourist information, women selling imported African art, and many whites walking, some of which have commented that the country is much worse now than years ago (in Namibia there had also been apartheid), a thought similar to the South Africans. South Africa frontera (see on map) 28/07/2007:
Alexandra already had the 3 days visa expired, but after collecting the South African visa, the office of immigration in Windhoek allowed us to arrive to the border the day after, Saturday, in the morning. But we took a couple of touristy visits ourselves through the country and we have arrived today, on Sunday, at night. These visits have obliged me to drive many more kilometres for roads and tracks, which despite being excellent, start to weigh on my aching back of so many African races. For luck, in South Africa, we will be able to relax ourselves at last (I cross fingers). On Saturday we visited the dunes of Sossusvlei introducing us in a territory where ostriches, antelopes and órixs grazed surrounded by big mountains of sand. When we could not advance more, we did a hike among the dunes to arrive to a valley that sometimes is flooded, with the ground cracked as a puzzle and the few trees lye in the powerful heat of the sun. We also discovered the small and interesting canyon of Sesriem, but not as spectacular as the Fish River canyon that we have visited today Sunday, an impressive and deep canyon winding through the middle of an arid plain, but, there was no river and no fish. Bitterfontein (see on map) 01/08/2007:
Yes, we have at last started to relax. The races finished and we have started to drive with pleasure, few kilometres every day, enjoying the landscape and discovering pretty places. Before however, we did a small technical stop in Springbok, to buy groceries, clothes on sales, gas for the auto caravan (here it is winter - spring and starts to be cold) and to operate Alexandra. When arriving to Springbok Alex discovered a black and painless granite with a hole to the centre that seemed like a parasite under the small finger of the foot. And indeed, we went to the doctor and with a needle he took out a larva of fly, or of some older bug, because the animal in the form of white worm measuring almost one centimetre. In Springbok it started to surprise us the physiognomy of the South Africans, with Asian features (I have read afterwards that in the seventeenth century slaves of the east of Asia were brought to Cape Town). Also there are whites, which as in Namibia direct the businesses usually. We have observed some men driving 4x4, listening to country music and exhibiting cow-boy hats, a copied image of the Texan legends of the United States. Perhaps one may not find it strange if we think that the history of both countries has many similarities. The Englishmen colonised a new continent where already there were other natives living. After a time exterminating natives, the settlers wanted the independence from England and a war breaks out. The two new independent countries prosper thanks to the slaves, but a fight consolidates with time in favour of the human rights and finally the dignity imposes itself. Maybe, one of the most important differences in this history is the proportion of black and whites that has remained, where in the case of Africa South little more than 10% are white, although they continue having most of the wealth of the country. The last two days we lost ourselves through small tracks that were going to coastal villages south of Springbok, a region famous for the flowers that bloom in spring. We had arrived two weeks earlier (the two weeks that we could have been visiting Namibia), but there already started to be many flowers, illuminating some meadows with tonality, red, yellow violet, white, orange, blue... The places were excellent. The only blemish in comparison with Namibia was the great quantity of fields fenced and the consequent non-existence of wild animals crossing the road (except for a turtle). Cap town (see on map) 04/08/2007:
We have been three days circulating towards the south, to Cape Town, without haste and driving few hours per day, although not always for the shortest path. The first day, despite being grey and rainy, we went towards the mountains of Cederberg with the expectation to do some hike on the following day. But for the joy of Alexandra, exactly when going out of the auto caravan to do the excursion, it started to rain again. We followed the road towards Ceres, driving through a big valley with impressive sights - through the mountains as well as for the climate. And today we have continued with the sunny day crossing a mountain crossing where there were baboons and in the afternoon we walked through the town called Paarl. It has surprised us, that in the town centre we only saw whites. To the outskirts there were poor neighbourhoods where the blacks seemed to be living, but in the centre there was none, either through the street or in a very busy bar where we have taken a drink. It has surprised us, but the motifs seemed evident when knowing the history of the area. The west half of the province of Cape Town was declared during the apartheid "preferably white", and consequently the construction of new homes for blacks or the recruitment of blacks was forbidden if it was not proved that there were whites ready to do the job. ‹ Previous (12/06/2007) MONTH Next (2007-08-11)› ‹ Previous (2007-06-27 - Congo) COUNTRY Next (2007-07-16 - Angola)› |
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