17th February 1986 : On The Loose

Had hoped to shop for bulk stores and cooking in Kisangani but very expensive so got what we could afford.

A man hanging around the campsite led Ann and me to a "cheaper" bulk veggie market, only to discover that his spuds were 30 Zaire more than we'd already found, so we headed back to the original seller. Having failed to find a phantom patisserie, I traipsed around the alimentation (grocery) shops checking prices before finding a small supermarket where we overspent so had to take some stuff out of the cart. Carrying everything back to camp was exhausting.

Pandemonium back at camp because Buta, the chimpanzee, was loose, swinging through the trees while the Greek hotel owner and African staff chased her around. Bob and I retired to the bar and were writing when Buta decided that the tree above us was the perfect adventure playground. The branches bending under her weight showered us with leaves, ants, and other debris. Three staff then climbed the tree to try and capture her - who's the silly one here? In the end they scared Buta so much she scrambled out of her tree and into the arms of a trusted carer - probably welcoming the chain after so much torment. Later on, the boss had a go at her, charging the chimp with a black mannequin, Buta rolling her lips back in the typical frightened expression. He didn’t let up and the terrified animal shat on him as she fled up the pole. We laughed and applauded. Obviously furious about his public humiliation, he demanded that one of his staff wipe him down before he went to change. Buta is so sweet but being hassled and stirred will only turn her aggressive, requiring more discipline. 

Spent hours cleaning out the truck, the job exhausting. Uproar from the bar suggested fun going on in there. It was fuelled by pot and beer and, much to the owner's disquiet, our group's rowdy table was more suited to a bawdy brothel than these surrounds of crisp clear tablecloths laid with crockery and glassware.

Nikki cooked us a scrumptious dinner of layered potatoes, spinach and mushrooms with cheese and garlic sauce. Most of the others then headed to a city disco but I wasn't in the mood.