Hustle And Bustle

Goma in general is a flurry of activity. Especially when compared to some of the more tranquil settings throughout Virunga National Park. After spending the night on the rim of the Nyiragongo Volcano, it was time for a little R&R to end my visit to the Congo.

To that end, I found myself waiting for a boat transfer from the shores of Goma on Lake Kivu to Tchegera Island. Virunga does an amazing job of organizing your visit. I was basically standing on this small pier along with the Virunga Ranger escorting me and my driver.

There's something about all this hard, manual labor work I find fascinating. I know it exists, I see it when I travel, but back home in the US, I'm so far removed from it that it seems almost novel. I'm always reminded of how lucky I am to not have to be toiling away the hours just trying to make ends meat.

Little interesting fact about the DRC - it has a navy! It's a brown-water navy, that is to say, they aren't doing any ocean activities but rather sticking to the rivers and lakes. According to Wikipedia, even though they have a grand total of 8 patrol boats, only one of them is operational. They do however have a number of smaller boats and barges.