In his house in Moscow he thought of it and this little seed of thought germinated into fulfilling a dream.

To proof himself to himself or to the world?

To discover himself?

To  …..  himself and you just fill the dotted line.

He decided to go to Congo and go down the river in a canoe. He would go to the legendary city of Kisangani and go into this enormous river and go downstream to wherever the stream would take him.

To prepare himself for this grand journey he reads and reads about Congo, the country and the river. Het gets to Brazazaville, at the other bank of the river, and crosses the river to get to Kinshasa. There he gets valuable help from a military man, high up in the hierachy. This man owns a riverboot (with an engine) and he is about to go Kisangani. Jeffrey is allowed to board his vessel and het jots down what he sees and feels and hears. All the different people, the animals that are being offered for sale, all the canoes. The riverboat is a world in itself. 

Finally they reach Kisangani. In the meantime Jeffrey has hired one of the passengers as a guide. In town they buy supplies, they buy a dugout canoe. The journey gets underway. 

I will not tell how far they got or how they got there. Just take this book and have a very good read. 

Jeffrey Tayler – Facing the Congo – Minnesota 2000