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Montage Monday: A Photo Essay of Nyiragongo Volcano
Trekking the Nyiragongo Volcano was one of the most challenging accomplishments to date in my adventure-ridden journey. I’m glad that I did it, and even though I’m bummed that I didn’t get to see much of the lava lake, maybe I’ll give it another go when I forget how painful it was! Enjoy the trek!
View of Mt. Nyiragongo from Gisenyi
Park sign & name during coloial rule. It's seen better days. But I love it!
Porters at the start of the trek
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Armed guard taking a rest
View of valley just 90 minutes in to trek
Soldiers maxin' & relaxin' as I huffed and puffed
Looking straight up the mountain about 2 hours in.
View of valley from further up
View of Lake Kivu
Reaching the summit with my guide Peechin of Hakuna Matata Tours
A look down at the other smaller crater and the lake
Guard looking into the foggy crater
Setting up our tent- on the edge
These porters are tough! It was soooo cold!
I froze. As soon as I could, I was bundled up in the tent.
The cross memorial for a tourist who fell into the crater.Conditions were worse the next morning- my face is red from the wind.Packing up gear
Starting the descent
All I saw of the lava- just a red haze
****On our way back to Gisenyi, we took a detour through the town of Goma. Here are a couple of pictures taken from the car.****
Using volcanic rock from the 2002 eruption to build
Catholic Church- a neat piece of architecture ruined by the eruption
A summary of Goma
****Thanks to my new friend Mary who was coming down Nyiragongo Volcano the day I began my trek, here are photos that she took from her time at the summit (i.e. what I should have seen!).****
2 thoughts on “Montage Monday: A Photo Essay of Nyiragongo Volcano”
Incredible Laura! Love the photos! Are you using a DSLR on your trip? I thought some of the signs I had seen before were bullet-ridden, but I think that one may take the cake.
I am. I bought a DSLR the first time I went to Africa, and I would never travel without it now! It was well worth it. And yes, the national park sign threw me for a loop. I wanted to cart it home with me as a cool travel souvenir but I thought stealing a bullet-ridden sign that dates back to when DRC was under colonial rule (I know this b/c the park changed names once DRC gained its independence) would be a bad idea. Not to mention that I’d be stealing from a country like Congo- where I may never get out of jail for it!
Incredible Laura! Love the photos! Are you using a DSLR on your trip? I thought some of the signs I had seen before were bullet-ridden, but I think that one may take the cake.
I am. I bought a DSLR the first time I went to Africa, and I would never travel without it now! It was well worth it. And yes, the national park sign threw me for a loop. I wanted to cart it home with me as a cool travel souvenir but I thought stealing a bullet-ridden sign that dates back to when DRC was under colonial rule (I know this b/c the park changed names once DRC gained its independence) would be a bad idea. Not to mention that I’d be stealing from a country like Congo- where I may never get out of jail for it!