CAR CRASHES, ROCKET FIRE & LION HUNTING

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So A few things new and some that I hadn't mentioned yet.

This morning I was woken by a helicopter taking off. I went out and

walked around and a bunch of soldiers wanted to take pictures with me.

They didn't speak very good English and I'm not sure who they thought

I was.

Learned some more about what's going on here. How the missions work.

Mostly rescue or aid missions, though unlike Rwanda in 1994, they have

a Chapter 7 Charter which means they can fire when necessary. In

Rwanda it was Chapter 6 which meant only if you were being shot at

could you shoot back.

Around noon the clouds were forming high over the volcano, promising

rain (that never came) and thunder was booming. I was then informed

that that wasn't thunder but ROCKET ATTACKS from about 10 miles away.

They pointed out the difference. Not quite as low and more continuous

sounding. Crazy.

I then talked with a guy who is from Kenya and as a test of manhood in

the Masai Tribe they actually go hunt Lions. And he told of how he

and others went after a lion and he was the second one to strike it

with his spear which meant that he was not the new ruler of the tribe.

You had to be first. This still happens once every few years.

And that brings up the car crash...

Car crash you say. Craig, were you in a car crash in Africa?

No, I was not, so don't fear.

However some of you reading this were.

After our fantastic Gorilla trek and the great time with the singing

children, we loaded up in the cars to go. 3 of our crew and the guide

in training got in a Toyota Rav 4 and headed off. I was in a land

cruiser a minute or so behind and when we came around the first corner

there was debris all over the ground. And a moment later saw the Rav

4 Upside down and sideways blocking the 1 lane dirt road. We jumped

out and ran to check on everyone. 3 people were sitting on the

roadside, and Nigel (another trekker) and I came around the car and

there was red liquid all over the ground. "oh shit". We looked

inside and the car was empty. It was some sort of car fluid (thank

god). There was momentary chaos as people were helped. Fortunately

the injuries seemed not to serious. Cut fingers. Bruises. Bumps.

Dizziness. A scraped cheek. Scary, but lucky. As it turns out the

brakes failed just as they started down the hill. The driver didn't

know what to do. They pulled the E-brake and then turned the car into

the cliff wall to stop it (smart, since the other side was a 300 foot

drop). The car caught and flipped, rolling over 3 1/2 times before

coming to a rest on its roof. The folks inside all thought "well,

this is it. I die now, here in Uganda". When the car stopped, it sank

down crushing in the hood. One of them yelled "get out now" and they

all were out in moments.

I have video of people pushing the car back on it's wheels. The thing

is totaled, but the people are okay, and that's what matters most.

Scary as hell.

Well, I think I’ve caught you all up on most everything. The

adventure continues tomorrow with a UN truck trip to Kigali, Rwanda

and a visit to the Genocide memorial. Then it's off to Kenya for some

wildlife and a very different part of Africa.

Thanks for reading

stay safe

and drive safe.

And watch out for lions.

Craigo

YOU AREN'T GOING TO BELIEVE THIS

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So I'm hanging out at the UN base in the Democratic Republic of the

Congo, located in the city of Goma. I'm taking pictures of an active

volcano in the distance and this DRC Soldier marches up to me and asks

very seriously to see my photos. I show him and he looks through and

wants to make sure there are no pictures of him. He's got an AK-47

over his shoulder. I think: don't take the camera, it's got all my gorilla pics on it!

He doesn't. He walks away. And we continue to take pics of the

sunset over the cooled lava field that buried Goma 6 years ago like a

modern Pompeii.

an hour later, after being offered tea and cakes about 5 times in 2

hours, we hear machine gun fire from about a mile away. At that point

I decided NOT to climb the active volcano tomorrow and camp on it's

rim. :)

So you say... is this all BS Craig? I mean, really... the CONGO?

It is not BS my friends. I went to Rwanda, and was sitting in the

rain at a restaurant eating when these 3 Indian fellows asked where I

was going. I said Gisinyi (the resort town where Dan Mirvish made his

infamous phone call from a war zone in 1991 (I got pics of the place

Dan!!!)). I told them this and they said, we'll take you there. So I

sat down, we chat and off we go. Only one vegetable tossed at us on

the way (Rwandan's don't like the UN, go figure).

It's been fascinating. I'm staying at the base and making new friends

(and not leaving the compound, I can assure you. :)

Welcome to Africa!

Craigo