Still in Kinshasa

It became a running joke amongst my team while we were in the Congo for Tresor to remind us, okay just me, that we (I) was *still* in Kinshasa. Kinshasa is the capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo. We visited several municipalities, Kinkole, Kisenso, and Duale, to name a few. Most took 30-60 minutes to get to from our hotel. Duale, where the farm is located, is up a mountain. It took us 2 hours to get to the farm and 4 hours to get back. That's the day the joke started, because I thought surely we were no longer in Kinshasa. I was wrong. I finally learned Kinshasa, the capital city of the DRC, is approximately the size of Connecticut. We truly were never leaving Kinshasa until the plane flew us out.

We had only been in the DRC for a few days when Tresor asked our team if anyone wanted to join him in the morning for a run. I never thought those words would be music to my ears. There were only two of us who volunteered as tribute. I knew from past conversations with Tresor that the place he considered the most beautiful in the Congo was also where he ran. I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to run, and I certainly wasn't going to miss the view.

The run itself was nothing significant. I tracked a whole 1.5 miles, far from the 5 I ran before leaving the U.S. The setting, on the other hand, is one I don't believe will ever be beat. Tresor took us to the loop where all of the Ambassadors live and at the end of the loop is where the DRC President lives. So not only is it beautiful, it's also probably the safest place in the entire country. Guards and police were everywhere. We saw several fellow runners while we were out, and I do believe every single one of them could have lapped me. Actually, I think I probably could have taken on the Chinese Ambassador, he was pretty slow.

Luckily, we asked Tresor before snapping this picture.
We were about to take it in front of the President's house,
which is illegal.

Don't worry, the ambassadors' residents was not what Tresor considers the beautiful part. Although their houses are the fanciest in all of Congo. The Ambassadors live along the Congo River, formerly the Zaire River, and the 2nd longest river in Africa. Across the river is Brazaville, the capital city of Republic of the Congo. Aside from the Vatican City and Rome, Brazaville and Kinshasa are the closest capital cities in the World. Nowhere else can you look across a river and see another country's capital. It was surreal. It gave me goosebumps. I saw why Tresor considered it the most beautiful spot in Kinshasa. While I may have never made it out of Kinshasa, on our run I did finally SEE outside of Kinshasa.