Friday, April 23, 2010

Waterspout On Lake Kivu

The sight this morning at 8:10 AM out over Idjwi Island:

The waterspout is cutting right directly at the Congo border with Rwanda. That's what our Congolese colleagues noticed immediately. It's like the natural phenomenon opposite of the rainbow on Easter that bridged the two countries.

9 comments:

s said...

i saw it too.at 8.30 am or so.nice snap.one of the rare things i was lucky to see.but i am lagging behind u in volcano and guerrilla visit.i too clicked a few snaps but not so good

Rachel said...

I know, it was amazing, right?!

We are so lucky to live here, even for only a little while...

I am totally in love with the lake...

texasinafrica said...

I don't miss seeing these at all. One scared the crap out of me one very stormy night in 2006 - the thing was headed straight for Goma's shoreline.

But, yeah, it's amazing. Awesome pic.

Rachel said...

Ha, Texas, to be honest, even with the waterspout miles away like it was, we were a little scared... is it a common occurrence? This was the first one I've seen, but a friend said another friend had seen one a few months ago...

I think part of the appeal of the lake is how terrifying it is, between snail disease, methane gases, deep deep dark waters, volcanic fissures, not to mention the, um, 50,000 used syringes dumped there by the Israeli army in 1994/5...

s said...

any detailed information on snails disease?I have been avoiding swimming so far.But the water is as close as a meter from where i live.difficult to avoid the temptation.

Rachel said...

I can't avoid temptation.

But snail disease... ergh. Yeah, it is dangerous, I have heard.

But as long as you get tested for it and it is caught early enough, it's totally healable...

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/Schistosomiasis/factsht_schistosomiasis.htm

s said...

has anyone got the water tested for it for lake kivu.This lake is a bit different from other african lakes.also i dont see much of snails around.it will be worth the effort to have the water tested.

Rachel said...

Oooh, no, unfortunately they are microscopic snails. I am pretty sure they are there. But maybe it is not too common... Anyway, I swim!!! It's lovely swimming -- warm water and fun waves...

s said...

its still worth getting a check done on the water.I read that 20%expats from goma had this disease after going back.although the water is cleaner this side vis a vis bukavu/idjwi islands.Although there are big fishes which get spotted once a while.as long as 3 feet or more with whiskers.by the way how does one gets to the volcano,i mean the permission part.