I had a truly immersive experience here!

First of all, the country we visited is the Republic of the Congo, not the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They are right next to each other, and their capital cities are right across the Congo River from each other. But they are distinctly different.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo started off after the first colonization as the Congo Free State. Then it became the Belgium Congo, then Zaire and finally the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It has been involved in many wars up to today and is considered very unsafe to visit. It has been classified as one of the least developed countries in the world.

We visited the Republic of the Congo. After colonization it was called French Equatorial Africa. It gained its independence in 1960.

We were again greeted by singers and dancers. But as I got off the ship, my camera lens fogged up from going to the air-conditioned ship to the hot, steamy outside. So wasn’t able to get any photos. ☹

There were basically three different shore excursions here. First were various levels of hiking in a rainforest and into a gorge – too much down and up on slippery trails for me. Second was a city and market tour. I opted for the third option with an easy hike with a more difficult option at the end that I knew long ago I would skip. There was a fourth option to a chimpanzee preserve funded by Lady Jane Goodall. But by the time I decided the nearly $400 price would be worth it, it was sold out.

So, I opted to see the Makola Salt Glacier. The ride out of town was again led by a police escort, not that it did a whole lot of good. The roads are full of huge potholes and the traffic was pretty much gridlocked most of the way. It did give us a chance to see the life of the town out the windows – ladies getting their hair braided, kids smiling and waving, and people going everywhere.

We got to the start of the trail. Down some concrete steps to flat valley bottom.

But there was quicksand at the bottom of the hill, so they had a “bridge” of a couple of small, thin logs to cross. But plenty of helping hands.

It was about a half mile walk along braided, shallow streams to the base of the salt glacier. Of course, I was soon left behind as I walk very slowly. Actually I walk as fast but since my stride is so short, I only cover half the distance. I did have my two hiking poles which helped propel me. But apparently, I got off the trail because suddenly my poles sunk in as well as my feet – I had stumbled into some quicksand. I fell gently into the mud. The crew member who was bringing up the rear and one of the local guides tried to help me up but I couldn’t get any footing in the soft mud. So, I rolled over and over until I could get to solid ground and they could help me up. But I was covered in mud practically from shoulder to feet. I did manage to save the camera except for a few places that dug into the mud. My only regret is I didn’t get a photo of me.

I got to the foot of the salt glacier took some photos

 and headed back – making sure I stayed on the trail!! I opted to not climb up on the salt glacier, it looked like just a little too challenging for me. I saw others photos and the patterns in the salt were amazing.

The salt glacier: the theory is that there was a salt dome under the area (salt domes are what created Arches National Park in Utah). They were mining potash from above the salt dome. As the rock that was holding the salt dome underground was removed, the pressure holding it down was lessened to a point that the salt “erupted” to the surface and started to flow down the valley. At least that is the gist of what I understood what happened.

People were digging up and bagging the salt at the face of the “glacier”.

It was hot and humid hiking in the full sun, so I was glad to get back to the air-conditioned bus. The ride back was slow and bumpy.

When I got back to the ship, they let me go down to the mud room where we would get cleaned up after visiting penguin colonies. There were hoses and brushes so I could clean my boots, clothes and hiking poles. I used my blower to clean most of the sand off my camera, but the sand was so extremely fine that it was in many of the crevices. The ship’s photographer had good brushes and cloths and got the camera all cleaned up, so no harm done.

After a quick lunch, I had signed up for an afternoon market walking tour. I love markets with fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, people, etc. But where they took us to was just a very small collection of curios stalls and one small shop.

The shop did have some neat masks. Somewhere in the boxes that never got unpacked from at least two moves ago, I have a wonderful collection of masks. Was tempted to add to my collection but where to put any of them….

We learned later that the city tour group had gone to the Grand Marche but all the locals there were very unfriendly, did not want any photos taken and generally made the group leave. So, I guess that is why they didn’t take us back there in the afternoon. The Congo gets very few tourists, so they are not accustomed to having foreigners around.

The shuttle bus also made a stop at a beach resort that I was told was on a beautiful beach. But I really needed a shower so that is what I opted to do.

After dinner a Congo Dance Group came on board but I fell asleep and missed it.

Here’s some history from Wikipedia:

The region was dominated by Bantu-speaking tribes at least 3,000 years ago, who built trade links leading into the Congo River basin. The Portuguese explorer, Diogo Cão reached the mouth of the Congo in 1484. Commercial relationships grew between the inland Bantu kingdoms and European merchants who traded in commodities, manufactured goods, and people captured and enslaved in the hinterlands. After centuries as a central hub for transatlantic trade, direct European colonization of the Congo River delta began in the 19th century, subsequently eroding the power of the Bantu societies in the region.

The area north of the Congo River came under French sovereignty in 1880 as a result of Pierre de Brazza's treaty with King Makoko of the Bateke. After the death of Makoko, his widow Queen Ngalifourou upheld the terms of the treaty and became an ally to the colonizers. This Congo Colony became known first as French Congo, then as Middle Congo in 1903.

In 1908, France organized French Equatorial Africa (AEF), comprising the Middle Congo, Gabon, Chad, and Oubangui-Chari (which later became the Central African Republic). The French designated Brazzaville as the federal capital. Economic development during the first 50 years of colonial rule in Congo centered on natural resource extraction. Construction of the Congo–Ocean Railway following World War I has been estimated to have cost at least 14,000 lives.

Old Train Station

The Republic of the Congo was established on 28 November 1958 and gained independence from France in 1960.

Pointe-Noire is the second largest city in the Republic of the Congo, following the capital of Brazzaville. Pointe-Noire is the main commercial center of the country and has a population of 1,420,612 inhabitants in 2023.

The name Pointe-Noire ("Black Point") originated with Portuguese navigators who saw a block of black rocks on the headland in 1484. From then on, Pointe-Noire, called in Portuguese Ponta Negra, became a maritime point of reference, and then a small fishing village starting in 1883, after the French signed a treaty with local people, the Loangos.