Arrival in Goma

Greetings from Goma! We arrived here two days ago via the ECHO flight operated by the UN. Just as when we arrived, departing the Lubumbashi airport is an experience. The taxi dropped us off at the door, and there was a huge pushing mob out front, and one policeman at the door that was attempting to control the flow of people inside. He was stopping people randomly, and then pushing some out of the way. We finally all made it inside, waiting for 30 minutes of complete confusion at the check in location, then off to wait for the flight. Then there was another issue of some sort, so back through the front door of the airport. This time, the crowd outside was mostly gone, except for the fight that broke out at the front door just as we approached. A quick step back avoided the punch that missed the first guy, and almost nailed me, but all is well. The punch thrower has poor aim, and missed everyone! The police officer took care of that, and we made it in quickly. Suddenly, a whole new scene – all is peaceful, everyone is standing neatly in lines, no one is yelling. We go to the location directed, only to find out that there really isn’t a problem, and we are sent back to wait.

Not sure how flight announcements are made, but all of a sudden, there was the run to the plane, across the tarmac with our bags. Quite amusing…. Security consists of someone checking the tag on your bag, and then asking you to throw it onto the plan. Then as you board, someone waves a wand around your body, and if it beeps, the person asks what it could be from. Apparently, any logical answer suffices, and everyone is allowed on board. The prop plane had 28 seats, and probably could have held three to four more rows, but the back was closed off to store cargo. Once everyone was on board, we started off. We’re asked to read the brochure about the flight, so I take a look at it. It states proudly on the front cover, that the plane has had zero accidents and only 200 emergency evacuations! What a record! I didn’t know whether to be comforted or worried.

The plane has 3 stops along the way before Goma. The first is on a dirt runway in the middle of nowhere. I believe the village is called Moba. The entire village turned out to meet us, and I think they were all trying to help unload the plane. Luckily, a few things were left on, namely our suitcases, and we took off again, this time for Kalemie. This airport was larger and had a concrete runway (what was left of it). The airstrip is at the end of Lake Tanganyika, so as you approach, it looks like you are going to land on the lake. Got me thinking about the 200 emergency evacuations. As we got lower and lower, with only water in view, I wondered if we were going to make it 201.

After discharging a few passengers, and picking up a few more, we took off again. This time, we landed in Bukavu. This is again a fairly large airstrip, with a good runway, at the other end of Lake Tanganyika. The thing you notice about this airstrip is the tanks and gun emplacements alongside the runway. Obviously, things have not always been great here.

Finally, we were off again, and landed 15 minutes later in Goma. We collected bags, and headed into clear customs again. We don’t quite get this, as we never left the country, but apparently, everyone clears every time they come to an airport. As we left the airport, the first thing you notice is the big volcano just outside of town, and all the lava rock piled up next to the streets. Mt. Nyiragongo erupted in 2002, and covered a portion of the city of Goma in lava. In other areas, it blew stone and ash, covering parts of the city. The volcano is still active, but it looks quiet now.

The hotel is very nice. It looks like it was once some type of resort area. It sits right on the shores of Lake Kivu. It is in beautiful surroundings! We’re told before all the conflict, that Goma had many tourist areas. It is surrounded by National Parks, and people once visited them on safari. Unfortunately, 20 years of conflict have looted many of the buildings here, and has destroyed large areas of the parks and much of the wildlife. It’s really sad, as this is truly a beautiful area of the country. You can easily see how it could attract thousands of tourists.

We’ve spent the last two days visiting schools, nutrition clinics, and safe places for children. More about that in a post tomorrow.