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Canoeing the Congo First Source to Sea Descent of the Congo River Phil Harwood 9781780880075 Books

Download As PDF : Canoeing the Congo First Source to Sea Descent of the Congo River Phil Harwood 9781780880075 Books

Canoeing the Congo First Source to Sea Descent of the Congo River Phil Harwood 9781780880075 Books

Like several predecessors (Jeffrey Tayler, Tim Butcher) here is an account of a modern-day adventurer travelling along the Congo River in the DRC. What sets this work apart from the others is the fact that the author canvassed the entire river from it headwaters in Northern Zambia to the Atlantic using only a canoe, and for a better half of the time, by himself. Although not too many surprises (corrupt officials, extreme poverty, beautiful scenery - you know, things Africa as whole is known for) the book is well written and was quite enjoyable to read. He provides adequate contextual history where pertinent without digressing from his narrative. I also liked his writing style - straightforward without bogging things down with transcripts of whole conversations he had with people, etc, a pitfall which unfortunately many travel writers fall into. There is also a video he made of this trip which should be worth a look (if the preview on youtube is anything to go by). recommended


Tags : Canoeing the Congo: First Source to Sea Descent of the Congo River [Phil Harwood] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Canoeing the Congo narrates the journey of Phil Harwood, who undertook an epic five-month solo attempt to canoe the Congo River in war-torn Central Africa. It was a historic 'first descent' from the true source in the highlands of Zambia. Just short of 3,Phil Harwood,Canoeing the Congo: First Source to Sea Descent of the Congo River,Troubador Publishing,1780880073

Canoeing the Congo First Source to Sea Descent of the Congo River Phil Harwood 9781780880075 Books Reviews

An insightful Odyssey into the Heart of Darkness.
Huckleberry Finn with a machete.
A good look at the DRC, its people, and the many problems to be confronted when traveling in this part of the world.
The physical act of canoeing the length of this river almost pales in comparison to dealing with the effects of the political and economic situation of that region.
This story takes the reader on an epic journey that makes you wonder how anyone could put themselves through such life threatening events. And he enjoyed and relished the trip.
I felt like a passenger in the canoe. Vivid descriptions, exhilarating adventure, interesting meetings with locals. Congratulations to the author on the completion of this journey! Thanks for sharing it.
This book is a wonderful combination of adventure on the water, as well as a vision of the African culture, and the way a Westerner deals with the vicissitudes of the people he meets and confronts. The author's approach to troublesome characters is straight forward -- a handshake and resolute behavior works well most of the time, if not, then flee as best you can. If ever, we in the provincial US, can overcome our ignorance and bad behavior toward other cultures, we need to take advantage of pioneers like the author.
all too often, books on adventurous journeys are a wee bit full of themselves, but not canoeing the congo. harwood gets right to the meat of the action, telling it like it is. in his writing, the people along the river come alive. this isn't some esoteric study in how to find yourself, rather this is the real deal. he shares meals with fishermen and gives his meager possessions to them. other times, he paddles for his life when crazed 'authorities' demand payment for passage. the river does its best to stop him at the countless cataracts or in the many swamps loaded with 'rioting vegetation' (note read conrad's heart of darkness along with hardwood's canoeing the congo).

sometimes the adventures we read are more of a production than a one man journey. in some cases, there's an entire support crew standing just out of view. this doesn't detract from the achievements but does place hardwood's accomplishment in an even more generous light. seriously, who in their right mind decides to canoe the congo - ALONE! with no support system other than his wits. he keeps his sanity throughout, though he does get on edge. toward the end, he even wanders the back streets of kinshasa in an effort to better know the real lives of the congolese.

get this book, read it, and gain a renewed perspective on life.
This guy is so full of himself it's hard to take him seriously sometimes. Ex-military, ex-Iraq veteran (as if that's something to be particularly proud of) Phil Harwood has set him mind to the ultimate macho challenge, paddling the Congo river in a small canoe from the hills of Zambia to the Atlantic Ocean. It's one hell of an adventure and a challenge few people would be able to accomplish, so hats off for the brave traveller. Strictly speaking he didn't paddle the whole river, as he took the bus from Kinshasa to another point way downstream, so maybe he shouldn't use those particular words, but hey - it's still a pretty admirable feat.

As travel literature it falls flat, as our man paddles a lot better than he can write. Most of it comes out as a rather boring blog - "then I did this and then I did that", but that's not the worst. Cause no matter what challenges and terrors Our Guy has to face, rest assured that he's invincible. Hippos, snakes and poisonous spiders? Takes them in his stride. Greedy officials with guns? No problem, just look them in the eyes, shake their hands and they all go away. Bandits, muggers, sinister savages and just about anything that might lie in wait around the next bend? Just paddle hard to get rid of them, and if that doesn't work Stand up in your canoe, scream and shout and send a barrage of the worst words the English language has to offer their way, and they will scamper.

Our Man isn't afraid of anything. And if he is, he doesn't really mind, as he's out there on the waters to TEST HIMSELF. It's HIM against the bad guys, the animals and the entire failed state of Congo. Then you get heaps of sentences like these "I paused, staring at him, trying to keep my cool. He wore an obscenelyl loud Hawaiian shirt, and his look smacked of utter contempt. This alone made me want to punch him in the face"

Or here "They started with the good cop, bad cop routine, then they all sat around, cramped into a small office and listened to me talk about my journey with growing respect and nodding heads".

Not (absolutely) all the Congolese are crooked, loud, drunk or very greedy, and there are some fine passages in-between, where Our Man bonds with locals, takes them along as guides or trades with them. Here and there the readers feels as if he's sharing an adventure. But way to often we're just placed in the back seat of Superman, who looks hard at everyone he meets, shakes hands, gives the poor buggers a bag of rice and refuses to budge when they come crawling out for money.

Don't get me wrong. I believe the DR Congo is an almost impossible country to travel in. But this guy doesn't show anything like his innermost feelings and thoughts, instead we're just led to believe that he has the attitude, the guts and the cool to get out of any situation imaginable. And who knows, maybe he can? After all Rambo defeated the entire Red Army single-handedly.
Like several predecessors (Jeffrey Tayler, Tim Butcher) here is an account of a modern-day adventurer travelling along the Congo River in the DRC. What sets this work apart from the others is the fact that the author canvassed the entire river from it headwaters in Northern Zambia to the Atlantic using only a canoe, and for a better half of the time, by himself. Although not too many surprises (corrupt officials, extreme poverty, beautiful scenery - you know, things Africa as whole is known for) the book is well written and was quite enjoyable to read. He provides adequate contextual history where pertinent without digressing from his narrative. I also liked his writing style - straightforward without bogging things down with transcripts of whole conversations he had with people, etc, a pitfall which unfortunately many travel writers fall into. There is also a video he made of this trip which should be worth a look (if the preview on youtube is anything to go by). recommended