The Republic of Congo surprises us.

On the one hand, with a magical landscape. For example, we spend a day driving through the jungle amidst myriads of butterflies. And we drive for a few days through wonderful hilly landscapes with great views.

On the other hand, by the poverty, which is even more obvious than anywhere else. There is literally nothing in the villages to the left and right of the jungle road. No infrastructure, no schools, nothing.

The contrasts are incredible. Poor villages and really lousy accommodation and the city of Oyo with a magnificent hotel for NGOs and the wealth of huge cattle ranches. SUV convoys driving through villages with 80 kilometers per hour with hazard lights and headlights flashing not caring about the people carrying loads on their backs.

The tourist infrastructure is difficult. A short-term booking in the Odzola National Park, for example, is not feasible. But what works well is a visit to the Abio site. We take a beautiful boat trip and can observe three gorillas up close who live in the protected area of river islands. We scramble along a hippopotamus path, walk across a wonderful meadow and climb a small hill with a fantastic view of the green hilly landscape, which looks like a painting.

On the way to Pointe Noire we take a short detour to a gold mining village. People actually still look for gold there with shovels and metal detectors. A former colonial villa and a village in which – apart from the skin color of the protagonists – you could immediately film a western. Wooden huts with goods, wood fires and barbecue areas, people with shovels and hoes, “flying” traders, ladies from the amusement business, everything is there.

We've been told, that Brazzaville is definitely worth a visit (unlike Kinshasa). Everybody who has followed our reports up to this point knows that we weren't really happy with the big cities. And so we ignore “Brazza”.

In Pointe Noire we can stay at Pascal and his “Brasserie de la mer”. We don't pay anything for the parking, but we enjoy ourselves in the restaurant – a good arrangement. Here is our last stop of nine days in the Republic of Congo on both sides of the equator.