Zoo visit

At the entrance gate of the zoo.

Welcome! We appreciated the spot gardens here and there.  Bamboo is plentiful and is used for everything.

There are few organized parks, so this was a real treat for us.

Bird and beast sharing space, and probably grazing their own particular delights.

  So why are you out and I'm always in?  There are plenty of monkeys in this zoo.

Bill bent down to take a picture and this little robber snatched his pen out of his shirt pocket.  Tasty!  His arm seemed to be as long as his tail.

Ho, hum, and what else is new out there?

A pretty spot to take advantage of.

This flower is reaching out to us and saying, "Take a picture."  Bill loves flower shots.

This is one of the strangest looking birds in the world.  It is a Shoe Billed stork.  Sorry you can't see him well.  His looks make him kind of shy!  (Google "shoe billed stork" for a National Geographic video.)

This one is far from shy.  Ears and eyelashes on the ostrich!

Someone tried to sell us one of these grey parrots with a bright red tail at our gate in Mbuji Mayi, cage and all, for $45.  He even spoke French.

The water lily makes a good show anywhere.

Okay, and so here is the famous crocodile.  Can you see him?

This zoo had the most active tigers we have ever seen.  Tigers are not native to Africa.  They gave us a good show racing through their compound.

The tigers are amazingly good swimmers.  We had no idea.  This one got us wet when he tried to jump up through the bars at us.

Here is a lioness watching us from her nice private place in the shadows.    The animals seem to be happy here.

  

We liked the landscaping.  We had hoped to see an elephant and a giraffe or even to see the bulky frame of a hippo rise out of these waters, but we have to be content with what we got.  It was nice.

On our way out.  We have to protect ourselves from the sun with our umbrellas.   The doxycyclene pills  we have to take in mosquito/malaria country makes us prone to bad sunburn.  Also it was pretty hot.

Couldn't resist taking a picture of this cute little girl with her mom.  

Gorgeous skies, always.  This is the famous picture of slag mountain, a kind of landmark in Lubumbashi.  we are on our way home.

We have taken a corner.  This is one of the few houses with more than one story.    Across the street are some of the protected government grounds, with the home of the President.

A ride across town to the craft market in Lubumbashi.

On our way!   Just want to mention that our electrical wire has been stolen twice here in Mbuji Mayi,  but our pole did not have such a conveniently built in ladder as this one.

In this case, ladders are a bother if you can walk on through.

A little meat market.  We like the colorful advertising.

 An unbroken chain of mini markets.  There are many beauty salons such as this; the ladies say Congolese hair is very difficult to deal with.  The men mainly shave theirs off.

All done without a shopping cart.  This is probably charcoal; it is the popular cooking fuel.

A busy corner.  The sky in Lubumbashi is fabulous.

A little shade and a "How are you?"

The photo is a little fuzzy but it pretty well shows it all.  The yellow containers were once oil drums but a good washing makes them perfect for hauling water.

Play Station 2.  This might once have been a popular spot.  Now it looks a little sad. 

Tires for sale?

You try to go around it, not through it!

Another level of merchandizing.

One will do anything to beat the heat when shopping.

We loved this little store front embellishment.

Sometimes life is just a lot of hard pushing or pulling.

Come on in.  A cute little restaurant with outdoor seating.

A little art shop.  We admire the creative entrepreneur. 

Another creative enterprise.  This fence is made up of old discarded car fenders.

Busy people with a destination.  Lubumbashi is great.

An Early Morning Walk in Lubumbashi

5:30 AM in Lubumbashi.  The Wilsons are taking the lead.  Double click to see these pictures enlarged.

The Bunkers pointing out the changes and points of interest that have come to L'bashi.

Private gated compounds are the Congo's interpretation of our "gated communities".

It is fun to notice the individual styles.  The Golf area is considered quite prosperous.

Small private store fronts along the road.  It is still too early for business.

Don't try to sit in this chair!

As a lover of houses, I have had to make walls do.  Someone lives here!

This little strip mall is a little more modern and prosperous than the previous one.

We planned on a future sandwich here but never quite made it.

Wouldn't  you like a look behind this wall?

Notice the paved road.  These roads were all dirt when we were here last.    Unfortunately the edges are already starting to crumble here and there.  Note the drainage moat.  Very important in this wet climate.

Elder Moore might think that he is the flower expert but I took this  one.   Pretty nice!

We wandered a dirt road.  This is a brick making kiln.

Behind this impressive gate is an impressive auto repair shop.  Can you find it?

  This is the gate of the mission home neighbors.  Two guards keep watch here day and night.  A little of the old dirt road is still visible.  Memories of many bumps!

We are back again from our walk; six o'clock and people are stirring and on their way.  A quick glance back got me this picture.  Looks like she was equally as curious. 

This is the mission office.  We used to have the upstairs apartment when we were first here.  The mission home is also located here but on the other side of the compound.

Aha!  I planted a promising avocado pit, started its growth and the gardener has kept it alive.