Of course, the video above is the worst possible shot of the Oubangui river, but it does capture a certain feel that’s here: there is a lot of beautiful nature here — it’s really quite a green city. Greener, certainly, than New York. But then there’s also this undercurrent of detritus . . . a worn out, this-place’s-time-has-passed, the-best-isn’t-yet-to-come kind of look.
Bangui looks out, across the river, onto the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It’s interesting to see because, over on their side of the river, there are no trees really. Pretty much every single one has been cut down for fuel and all that’s left is underbrush.
Conversely, in Bangui, they’ve worked to limit the use of trees for fuel (at least within the city limits), which has left much of the trees intact. Since 87% of residents in CAR still get most of their energy from wood, this is pretty remarkable (remember that video view from my office? There’s a veritable forest on that there hill).
Anyway, we’ve been trying to find the gym so that Jenna can go exercise when she feels so inclined. Sadly, rumor has it that everything there, in terms of machines, is damn near dangerous to work with. Moreover, to get there, you need to go past the presidential palace where people are known to stopped by the police and harassed: hardly worth it for a trip to the gym.
