As the river has narrowed, so the current has strengthened and yesterday we were averaging about 14kph, compared with about 13kph on the rest of the trip - with the exception of Lac Tumba, where (being non river assisted) it was more like 9kph.

We pulled in at 1730 to a Mobutu era resort called Nkana, where the Kinshasa elite used to bring their girlfriends at weekends (according to Michel). Even in its heyday it wouldn't have won any design prizes and now it's completely derelict - chickens living in the (mirror-ceilinged) bar, Guinness sign on the wall gently fading and concrete spalling off the statue in the forecourt.

Very windy this morning and lots of sail powered pirogues beating their way upstream next to the bank, where the current is weakest. It's the first time we have seen sails being used on the river and they are pretty basic - made from sacks sewn together into a single sail and configured like a spinnaker, but they seem to work well.