February 27, 2014

Tuesday March 4 Field Trip: Come ‘Carnaval’ in Caxito

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Cruising the streets of Caxito, the quiet and calm capital of Bengo province.

Cruising the streets of Caxito, the quiet and calm capital of Bengo province.

UPDATE: This trip is now at full capacity. Come ‘Carnaval’ in Caxito, Tuesday March 4th. The Angola Field Group will escape Luanda and travel to Caxito, the capital of Bengo Province, 60 km northeast of Luanda, to take in some small town Carnaval festivities.

The old sugar factory.

The sugar factory as it is today.

Besides the afternoon Carnaval parade,we will visit a few cultural sights:
* Enroute we will stop at Panguila Bridge where the decisive battle for Luanda was fought in November, 1975.
*Caxito used to be the biggest sugar producer in Angola thanks to the Fazenda Tentativa. We will see the remains of the sugar factory, supposedly dismantled by the Cubans during the war, and visit the new Tentativa Museum.
* In the town center we will visit the Sanctuary of Santana, a Catholic Church, with Sister Jovita
*Just outside of Caxito we will stop briefly at the Sassa waterfalls on the Dande River before going to the NGO, ADPP’s Escola Professoras do Futuro (a Teachers Training School) to get a first hand look at their recent solar installation, reputedly the biggest in Angola.

Some colonial homes still remain in the area of the sugar factory

Some colonial homes still remain in the area of the sugar factory.

This field trip is open to members of the Angola Field Group; must have valid passport with visa in hand.
We will depart from a downtown meeting point at 7:30 am. Pack a picnic lunch and all snacks and drinks. We plan to leave Caxito around 5:00 pm. Please do not sign up for this trip if you are on a tight schedule. It is impossible to guarantee exact times and when we will be back.

The new Igreja Santana, downtown Caxito.

The new Igreja Santana, downtown Caxito. Photos courtesy Henriette Koning.

Sugar factory, Fazenda Tentativa 1974, courtesy Luís Marques.

Sugar factory, Fazenda Tentativa 1974. Photo courtesy Luís Marques.

The meeting point details will be provided after you have been confirmed for this trip. All Angola Field Group trips are at your own risk.

How to sign up: Send an email to angolafieldgroup@gmail.com with: 1. the names of all the passengers in your vehicle and cell phone numbers. 2. Please state if you have room for any car-less individuals that want to join this field trip.

148 solar panels provide energy for ADDP Teacher's Training complex. Photo courtesy ADDP Caxito.

148 solar panels provide energy for ADDP Teacher’s Training complex. Photo courtesy ADDP Caxito.

 

January 18, 2013

Sunday, January 27: Geological field trip to Bengo province

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Outcrops along Barra da Dande.

Outcrops along Barra da Dande.

UPDATE: Please note this trip is now full. On Sunday, January 27, join the Angola Field Group for a geological field trip to Bengo province led by geologist Tako Koning, departing Luanda at 7:00 AM and returning around 5:00 PM. Scroll down for a map with locations.

We will drive north from Luanda to Barra do Dande  to see outcrops consisting of Cretaceous-age fossiliferous, marine sedimentary rocks. These strata are interesting from a paleo-environmental standpoint of view and they are also of economic significance since they are  the cap rocks to the  reservoirs which produce oil in the shallow water areas offshore Soyo and Cabinda.

We will continue for 10 km northeast on the road to the Lifune River where we will examine some historically well known naturally-occurring oil seeps in Libongos, today an asphalt quarry. Records indicate that as early as 1820, the Portuguese shipped out barrels of asphalt probably from the Libongos seeps to Lisbon and Rio de Janeiro to use as calking to prevent leakage of ships. If time allows, we will visit a second asphalt quarry as we loop south to Caxito. The entire area we will be traversing is known as the Kwanza Sedimentary Basin.

Close up photo taken at the Libongos oil seeps.

Close up photo taken at the Libongos oil seeps.


We will then travel south to Caxito to the nearby water falls at Sassa to view ancient (2 billion-year-old) Precambrian granite outcrops and where we will have a late lunch (you pack your own lunch). If time permits, we will visit the nearby Mabubas Hydroelectric Dam, recently rehabilitated.

Angola Field Group members walking along the Mabubas Dam in Caxito before it was rehabilitated. Angola Field Group members walking along the Mabubas Dam in Caxito before it was rehabilitated.

Angola Field Group members walking along the Mabubas Dam in Caxito before it was rehabilitated.

This field trip will also stop at Pangila Bridge to review some of the historical events which occurred here including the famous Quifangondo battle of November 10, 1975 which secured MPLA as the reigning party in Luanda, just prior to Angola achieving independence on November 11, 1975.

Our meeting point and further details will be provided once you have signed up and are confirmed for the trip. Sign up by emailing:angolafieldgroup@gmail.com and state: 1)your cell phone number  2)names of participants  3)do you require transport? or do you have room for passenger/s and if so how many?  4) are you travelling from Luanda Sul or downtown Luanda. Foreigners must have passport with valid visa.

All field trips with the Angola Field Group are at your own risk. Sign up as soon as possible since there is a limit to the number of participants we can take.

Click on map to enlarge.

Click on map to enlarge. Map by Tako Koning.