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Canoeing the Congo

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I just finished an entertaining and interesting book by Phil Harwood called "Canoeing the Congo: The first source to sea descent of the Congo River." Phil Harwood is a former Royal Marine and Outward Bound instructor of the "stiff-upper lip" British mode in that the dangers he faces are largely down-played. Still it was a trip of about 4,000 miles through the middle of Africa during which time he was frequently a solo paddler, although as he descended some unknown to him and unmapped areas he did hire local guides. His trip was funded by a grant from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.

He talks a bit about his search for the perfect boat for his trip and I was tickled that he ended up choosing a Mad River 15-foot Royalex canoe. My favorite part spans the upper reaches of his journey on tributaries of the Congo. He paddled largely solo, there were fewer villages and the waters relatively narrow. His encounters with local people good and bad are documented. He makes a big deal about never giving in to the "officials" trying to fleece him and is largely successful. Historical, cultural and political information is sprinkled within as is the practice with this sort of book.

The book is available on Amazon (of course) and the kindle version is quite reasonable. It is also free if you subscribe to Scribd. He made a documentary of his travels, which can be purchased. There is a five-minute You Tube video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJqTYZRQ3rg

Erica
 
Thank you. I am assembling books for a month of reading in Iceland. So kindle is coming. Actual books no
 
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