Congo Hilton

We've been traveling to the Kasenga area of Congo for 25 years and had no idea there was a lovely compound run by Sisters of Charity near the hospital.  It was built in 1936 and has been amazingly maintained!  We couldn't believe it.  Lovely architecture with arches and breezeways and a balcony off our room.  This must have been where the Angelina Jolies of the 40's came.  Never mind that there is only sporadic electricity and an occasional trickle of water running from the tap.  Hey, we had the ambiance of candles and a bucket of refreshing cold water for our showers!  The Sisters were an absolute delight.  They couldn't do enough to make our stay enjoyable.  One modern day problem -- there is a small barge that now crosses the river from Zambia to Congo.  Trucks on the Zambian side bring cargo, unload it onto the barge and other trucks pick it up in Congo.  The dirt road all trucks use on the Congo is right under the window of the Sisters of Charity house.  All night long we heard them rumbling through the village and splashing through the deep mud holes.  Oh, well, I guess you can't have everything.