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sisted of me pushing the bike through thick sand. When it tapered off, I hopped on the bike
and proceeded through the rainforest on an undulating road. Again, sand became an issue
at times forcing me to dismount and walk. However, during the final 20 kilometres, the
roadsurface wassmoothwithlongstretches clear ofanysand.Because ofthethickfoliage
on each side of the road, most of the day's journey was void of any panoramic views. As I
neared Domiongo, the vegetation abruptly stopped and opened up to a wide clearing. Only
on a few occasions did I take advantage of the views for I had to focus on the road to avoid
the potholes.
I arrived in Domiongo by 12 noon and in the Catholic mission by 12:15. I had to
wait for the rector for he was out visiting his out-stations in the nearby villages…by bi-
cycle! I met the rest of the religious community and joined them for prayers in the chapel.
I then joined them for lunch and was given a room. Crispin Ntembwe, one of the brothers,
gave me a tour of the schools and their garden. When I walked into the empty classroom,
the next day's lesson was on the board. They were going to study North America. I guess
they knew I was coming.
I woke up the next morning still on Kinshasa time. It was quite dark out when I
went to attend mass. The church was stunning. There were three wings each having beau-
tifully curved roofs, massive carved doors and a manicured lawn. By 7:00 a.m., the mass
was finished and I was given breakfast and spoke with Father Beya Roger. He asked me if
it was possible to send medication to their dispensary when I returned to Canada. I made
no promises but that I would see what I could do.
I was on the road by 8:30 a.m. I started off very lethargically but once my legs
warmedupthenmypacequickened.Forachange,onlyonceIhadtopushmybikethrough
sand. The scenery was very limited consisting of waist-high to head-high tall grass and
very tall palm trees. I passed by several beautiful villages and stopped in one about seven
kilometres from Mweka to eat a pineapple under an avocado tree. I was alone and the only
sounds were from the wind rustling through the trees and the birds.
Soon after I left this village, I arrived in Mweka and quickly found the Catholic
Mission. I met the Bishop's secretary, Edmond Mukendi, who introduced me to one of the
priestsincharge.Within10minutes,Ireceivedaroomandwasinvitedtobreakfast.Ichat-
ted with the cook for a while and then took a shower. I went for a walk with Edmond who
showed me the national road that I was to take the next day. It is hard to imagine that since
I left Kinshasa, I had been on the national route this whole journey!
Our conversation focused onZaïre. He felt, as did I,that Zaïre urgently needed bet-
ter roads to connect the urban centres for goods and services to move freely. He also felt
that new roads were needed for much of the country was inaccessible. I felt that the imme-
diate priority was to have the existing roads improved and then create new ones. He also
discussed the nation's hydroelectric power and how it was highly under-utilized. He men-
tionedthatthegeneratorwhichpoweredKinshasaonlyused20%ofitscapacity.Generally
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