Let us Go to the Bas Congo, the western and costal province of the democratic republic of the Congo. And all starts here, at the 7th Street in the Limete town, a suburb of Kinshasa, the capital of the Congo. The trip starts early at 7:oo AM prompt as planned. The Congo is this vast giant country second to Algeria in surface, and the size of all the western Europ all countries included, a quarter of the USA surface. It is really big with 70 millions people leaving in this greatly tropical country where the equator line passes in the right middle. And I have never stopped of dreaming of visiting each single province of it. Congo is subdised in 11 functional provinces, and I have been dreaming of visiting the Bas Congo since my geography and history teachers told it is a province where the modern Congo started. Precolonial, and colonial history and drama was first based in the Bas-Congo, and at some scale slave trade went on quietly here. Yes, I dreamed at setting my foot where Diego Cao and Morton Stanley , those courageous European explorers had been once in Early modern Congolese era. Diego Cao came from the discovery of the sea outfall of the river Congo down in the Atlantic, and decided to navigate upward stream. Stanley walked from East Africa all through this thick rain forest rowing his boat with 300 slaves down the river Congo. River Congo, yes, Congo will hardly function without this vital river, the second largest in the speed of discharging water in the Ocean. A river that give birth to the falls that generate electricity to many countries in Africa. Yes, I dreamed to be in the Bas-Congo. On this bus to the bas-congo, it will not last before I make 2 friends who shared the same interest of visiting the Bas-Congo with the eye of a learner who craves for historical knowledge. Yes, Kitoko was busy writing names of towns as the bus went on, and Nkumbu, was listening to our conversation from his front seat, and jumbed in to share his knowledge of the Congo. He turned next to be our tourist guide because he has travelled all over the Bas-Congo. He is a true believer of community development by the grassroot. Here I am now in the Bas Congo after my geography class in the province of Nord Kivu, east of the Congo, in the early 80s. From Kinshasa the capital of the Congo, we went on thru villages and towns of Sona bata, Kisantu, Kimpese, kwilu-ngongo, mbanza ngungu, Kinza mvuete, Matadi, and Boma. Many of these spots are tourist destinations as our coming up video will testify. Kisantu has a fantatistic botanical garden, Mbanza Ngungu has pretty caves in a dream landscape. Matadi and specifically Boma have colonial and historical sites, all educational and recreational along the river Congo. One important note, Bas-Congo is so close to Angola that it is hard to tell who comes from where, Congolese and Angolan mingles together, as their countries are both in hand reach. One can not talk about the modern Congo without mentioning the name ofMorton Stanley, the journalist and the explorer of the Congo. He came in as an envoy of King LeopoldII who wanted to conquer new land for growing his personal wealth. Stanley made 999 days from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. With a special canoe, he made it through the rapids of the Congo river along with him were 356 slaves. But, in Boma and Moanda, only 114 slaves survived the expedition. Sir Stanley started mapping out a sketch of Congo development by starting building road, and railways. He ended in the British parliament, and died in England with his Congolese nickname Bula Matari to means stone breaker. And to say the least, matadi the capital of Bas Congo means Rock. On this day we have travelled through a town built on Rocks. Isn't amazing. This trip took us 10 h from Kinshasa to Boma where we rested for the night.

• published: 02 Nov 2014
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