Joe's World Backpacking Trip Stories and pics from my travels.

I didn't know what to expect when I got to Goma.  It's in North-Kivu province which has seen the most heavy fighting in the DRC during the civil war.  And the civil war has only been "over" since Feb.  My main thing in Goma I wanted to do was climb Mt. Nyiragongo which is an active volcano.  I wanted to see the lava lake and possibly even poke it with a stick.  It was pretty tempting, seeing that volcano on the horizon with smoke billowing from the crater.  Unfortunately, the volcano apparently still has rebels living on it.  Getting killed and possibly eaten isn't on my Africa agenda so unfortunately I had to skip the volcano.  Mt. Nyiragongo erupted in 2002, and sent rivers of lava throughout Goma town, and surrounding villages.  I took a Boda-Boda (motorcycle taxi) ride to the base of the volcano through some of the villages.  There were lava fields from the eruption snaking all the way down to the shores of Lake Kivu.  The locals just built new huts on top of the lava when they returned to their villages after the destruction.  Also, according to locals some Japanese Volcanologists (not sure if that even exists) just visited Goma and said the volcano was set to blow sometime in the next few months.  Someone should send a memo to the rebels.  Another interesting thing about Goma is all the UN trucks and soldiers.  It's bittersweet to me, to walk down a street in a foreign city while UN soldiers drive by in combat gear on patrol.  A small part of me wanted to chuck a few rocks and ask for candy and cigarettes.  It was even better when I made friends with a local bar owner who brought me to the going away party for some General on the UN compound.  Nothing like free booze from the UN.  Thanks, International Aid Organizations!