graveyards and rainstorms

the rainy season hasn't quite taken hold this year, or at least not yet. there have been a few good rainy season rains, but most of short and the sun returns quickly afterwards. the other day we had a good soaking, the sort of storm only africa can produce. the rain came down hard and strong and lasted for about an hour. i was in the land cruiser when it hit - panic stricken people were racing for cover, make shift raincoats were produced out of plastic bags, people huddled in the damp shops, the dirt roads became drainage ditches and the dry stream bed suddenly were swollen with rushing water. this storm lacked the intense electricity and booming thunder that usually accompanied the storms in the congo - lightning that would raise the hair on the back of your neck and thunder that would rock the house.

the road from the office to camp is a dirt one or mud or deep puddles, depending on where you are at. there are a few particularly large and deep 'puddles' that fill up after every rain. i don't wash the vehicle so i plow through them. there is a cemetary along the road, a very large and overflowing cemetary. hold your nose!! i think i may have mentioned this place before, but it is seriously the most disgusting place i have ever seen in my entire life. it smells bad, it looks nasty and if you only knew what was in there, you would gag. last night i was driving back to camp and it was dark and as i turned, the lights illuminated several people squatting a few feet off the road, taking a shit. now, i would never want to be buried in a place where people take a shit on your grave for the rest of eternity. not only are there human excrements, but people dump garbage and (by the smell of it) animal parts. yeah the smell of rotting carcasses...some people say it's because the graves are not dug deep enough...i don't know if i believe that, although it is a good theory, i'm still convinced the smell is from the unused animal parts that are discarded. ohh and there are also dead people buried in there...and with all the motorcycle accidents and deaths, it just getting more and more crowded.

yes, the motorcycle accidents. i am almost averaging one a day since being back. some of these kids are about 10 years old, cruising on cheap chinese motos. many of the motos are a type of taxi service, they'll take you anywhere you need to go - about 5 pounds = $2.50. but with a diet very low in calories, a not so good depth perception and motorized vehicle that can go really really fast - death is just a breath away. and now with more and more paved roads in town, the accidents are just going up and up...not only because of the reasons i just mentioned, but because no one here knows how to driving a bloody vehicle.

i've set up my own in house water purification so no more plastic bottles. it's actually really simple and basic...i'm waiting for a filter..but at this point i'm using a local available water treatment tablet...one tablet in a 20 liter jerry can of water, after 30 minutes i dump the water in a water cool (igloo like thing) and have safe water. this works best of pre treated water, pretty clean water...if it is dirty water then i wouldn't trust the treatment to work 100% - for example, i would never take water directly from the nile, treat it and then drink it...only if i was about to die - actually maybe i would just die. seriously...think about that nasty graveyard and a heavy rain...yes, all water that falls on the ground is either going to infiltrate into the ground or flow over ground into a stream and then into the nile. and what the rain drops pick up along the way is washed into the stream and in the nile...so is it clear enough? the clearest way to explain it is that you are drinking shit - worse yet, someone else's shit!

man i miss rei - i really want the advanced elements kayak or some sort of water craft. there is a huge river that i live next to and have yet to get out on it. there are crocodiles in the nile (so i'm told, i never see them), but i see fisher men in their dug out canoes all the time. if they aren't getting munched, it's gotta be somewhat safe...i'm sure they would have advice on where not to go. i went kayaking in louisianna and the creek had these crazy jumping fish that would jump up out of the water and scare the living daylights out of me because i was alligator spooked.