sweating through mbandaka: a river town that doesn’t care if you exist
here’s the thing about mbandaka: it’s the kind of place where the equator isn’t even trying to impress you. like, cool, you’re a line on a globe? i’ve got humidity melting my spine and a river the color of overcooked tea.
i just checked and it's 29.5°C there right now, humidity clinging like a wet shirt, hope you like that kind of thing.
someone told me that Eala Botanical Garden is basically a jungle now, which feels ironic since it's already in a jungle. like bringing sand to the beach, but sadder.
if you get bored, Kinshasa or Kisangani are just a short drive away-if by drive you mean a week-long boat ride up the Congo River. also the streets have names but absolutely no one uses them. directions are like "turn left at the pile of cassava" or "follow the smell of diesel." roads here aren’t roads, they’re suggestions. taxis? buses? trains? LOL. ambulances? double LOL.
oh and fun fact: baby dictator Mobutu went to school here, which explains nothing and everything. also Habitat for Humanity built their first houses here in the 70s, which is neat. but honestly the real attraction is watching fishermen flip canoes like it’s an Olympic sport while you sweat through your third shirt of the day. would i come back? maybe. if someone invents air-conditioned mud huts.
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