wfgodot
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Two excellent articles, with pictures; the first is Phil Harwood's first-person account in the Guardian about becoming the first to canoe the Congo from its source to the sea:
Canoeing the entire Congo river… and living to tell the tale
And, from the Mail on Sunday:
Snakes, crocs and machete-wielding tribes: How Briton canoed solo down 3,000-mile Congo river... and lived to tell the tale
Canoeing the entire Congo river… and living to tell the tale
And, from the Mail on Sunday:
Snakes, crocs and machete-wielding tribes: How Briton canoed solo down 3,000-mile Congo river... and lived to tell the tale
The snakes, crocs, and hippos were secondary to his danger from man:A British man has become the first person to canoe the entire Congo River from source to sea.
Starting from its source in Zambia and flowing through a country which has often been described as 'hell on earth' - the Democratic Republic of Congo - Phil Harwood braved machete wielding tribes, hippos and crocodiles to make it to the Atlantic.
'I only had to get my machete out twice to prevent myself from being robbed,' he said.
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Nevertheless - his experience was a very positive one:In another hair raising moment he decided it would be best to hire four brothers who owned a shotgun to protect him.
For five days and nights, Valatay, Leonardo, Maurice and John were there to protect him along a strip of the river known as The Abattoir - due to its history of cannibalism and reputation for criminal activity.
Mr Harwood said locals they came across would regularly question the brothers and ask why they had not yet killed him.
Others offered to come and murder him in the middle of the night so they could 'share his money'.
Much more at links above; the Guardian's is preferable as it is, as I noted, Harwood's own account - but the Mail's does have great pictures also, and summarizes Harwood's experience.But despite the constant threat of death he said he was inspired by many of the people he met.
'I found the people of the Congo to be an absolute inspiration,' he told the Guardian, 'I believe we could all learn a great deal from their courage and resilience in the face of adversity.'
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