The Congo is a massive river, but huge rapids downstream of Kinshasa mean that it's not navigable from the sea. The volume of water and the drop are such that a hydro plant would be able to supply most of sub Saharan Africa, but as you may have guessed, it's a work in progress - and one which hasn't really got far off the drawing board. Tomorrow we have another 0500 start - for the flight to Kisangani. The plane we were due to take has been commandeered by some ...

We had an expedition to the central market this morning - 10 white people in the most amazingly huge seething mass of black people selling everything imaginable, and quite a few things unimaginable - smoked monkey and live baby crocodiles were a first for me. We attracted a lot of attention - most of it friendly, but here and there an undercurrent of hostility. One group of young traders got upset at their photographs being taken (or more probably at not being ...

Counting the bricks of Congolese francs which we acquired on the street. The wadge on my knee was $50 equivalent.

How the other "half" lives - a smart Lebanese restaurant with very good food on the Boulevard de 30 Juin where we had lunch - a favourite spot for Belgians working here and the DRC nouveaux riche.

Children near the rapids below Kinshasa literally "breaking rocks" up into small stones to earn a few francs for the family.