The Plane, The Plane!

Gbadolite

I didn't get there, but in thinking about African dictators, I was reminded of former President Mobutu's "Versailles in the Jungle", Gbadolite. In the tradition of dictators everywhere, Mobutu lavished attention and money on his hometown, building palaces, an international airport, a hydroelectric dam, and even, reportedly, a nuclear bunker (which didn't, in the end, help him). On Mobutu's ouster from power by Laurent Kabila in 1997, Gbadolite was raided and the palaces (and hospital, etc.) sacked ...

High Life ...

Times have changed in the Democratic Republic of Congo since Mobutu flew a Concorde-load of Champagne in from Paris ... just back (to Goma) from Nyanzale, where there was no Internet connection (!), no phone service, and ... no electricity, thanks to a failed generator alternator. Tres romantique. Photograph of deluxe accommodation attached.

The really bad news: the red wine ran out last night (luckily, I had poured my final glass). The silver lining? I left this morning for a place where the supply is ample. Sante!