Boma (Dem. Rep. of Congo) : home and dry

S 05°51.236' E 013°03.403'
In the morning again half the village gathered to watch us take the tent down and pack the bike. We had made Jean-Piere, his two soldiers and the village chief coffee and shared some biscuits. We were allocated on of the soldiers (complete with AK47) and another young man on bicycles to accompany us for about fifteen kilometres. Progress was swifter today, but we were happy about our guides as there were some difficult sections and the route was not always clear. Then we were on our own again until we rejoined the main ‘road’ to Boma. The latter was still a mess of potholes, sand and ruts, but we knew that we would make Boma that day. At the mission we met Dr. Bernhard (a resident German doctor) who invited us for dinner at his house. An Africa traveler himnself we had a great evening together with his family exchanging knowledge about the route, the travelers on it and of course the Dem. Rep. of Congo. It was a nice celebration after three tough days during which we covered only about 120 kilometres.