"Not that democratic, barely a republic, but it is The Congo"

Anyone who knows me well should know that my proximity to the border and the allure of putting another star on the map meant that I was venturing into the Congo. The guys I met the night before offered to escort me across and show me around. The wonderful, and sometimes annoying thing about traveling alone in Africa is that you're rarely alone. Usually when you ask for directions or mention your plans for the day people insist on taking you themselves regardless if you want their company or not. In this case it turned out to be very beneficial.

I made it out of Rwanda fine but for some reason on the other side of the border I was ushered into the back room to speak with the man in charge. He asked me a series of questions in English but since I learned that they speak a form of Swahili in the Eastern Congo I did my best to answer in his language. Apparently this went over well and he granted me 1 hour to look around. Only one hour?! Luckily he found my insistence on 3 amusing and it was granted. I also had to smuggle my camera into Goma so I apologize for the quality of the picture because I was snapping them from a moving car. Of course, the internet is too slow so I'm not sure when I'll be able to post them.

Goma is actually located just over the northern edge of the western border of Rwanda (opposite Gisenyi) but the website wouldn't allow me to choose that location. Apparently this is not a very popular destination, not that that surprises me. In fact I don't really recommend going unless you have someone to show you around. The city of Goma is home to about 1 1/2 million people and on top of the political strife wreaking havoc on the country the city was further destroyed in 2002 after the eruption of Nyiragongo. Unfortunately I couldn't get a good picture of the volcano because it's now the rainy season and the landscape was covered in haze. I am however working on obtaining one so hopefully bu the time I can upload photos I will add in one of the volcano.