As we tied up at Irebu (confluence of the outlet of Lac Ntumba and the Congo ) to go through the usual DGM rigmarole, the local soldiers were parading and raising the flag, so we went ashore to watch - pity that no photos are allowed because they also did some singing, which would have been worth recording. I was concentrating on the parade until I felt something bite my leg and looked down to find my right foot covered in large ants. A bit of undignified leaping around slapping at them followed, before I was forced to sprint back to the boat and haul my trousers off.

Back on board we hear that we are loosing our captain, Vince, today. He has been slouching around morosely with a stiff neck and a bandaged wrist for days and despite a trip to hospital, cortisone injections and visits to several local "healers" he is no better. He is now convinced that the problem is sorcery and "needs to go back to Mbandaka in order to have the protection of his family from the sorcery."