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Into the World - 2Up Romanian adventure through Africa and beyond
We are a Romanian couple of architects: Ionut, riding the bike and Ana, bickering in the back. Fuelled by Sir David Attenborough's documentaries, an Achilles tendon rupture and past travels to Sri Lanka, Hong Kong and South-East Asia, here we are, daring ourselves to make a dream come true. We've been thinking about this trip for two years and preparing for it for one and, after another freak motor accident that postponed our departure by over 9 months, we finally loaded our Yamaha Tenere motorbike in a van and left Bucharest on the 11th of June. A car broken down and a two-day "cruise" by ferry from Livorno to Tanger later, we begin our trans-Africa biking adventure with a warm up month in Morocco.
http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1765.jpg With over 6 years of riding under my belt, mostly on street bikes, this time I have chosen the Tenere for our 2-up RTW trip, knowing that there is no perfect bike, only the will do do something like this. The soul of my first totaled Tenere is alive in the current motorbike, after I did an engine swap to a newer, but with higher mileage 2010 machine. http://intotheworld.eu/xt660dotcom/giurgiu-1.jpg The first Tenere had just arrived. http://intotheworld.eu/xt660dotcom/gps-3.jpg GPS mount and weather proof case. http://intotheworld.eu/xt660dotcom/KMod.jpg Kev Mod - from xt660.com http://intotheworld.eu/xt660dotcom/leocans-2.jpg First Tenere outside our garage. Custom Leo Cans just mounted. http://intotheworld.eu/xt660dotcom/leocans-4.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/xt660dotcom/sprox&oiler-1.jpg Supersporx. Scottoiler injector. In the meantime the new bike has a touring Scottoiler and a custom dual-injector. http://intotheworld.eu/xt660dotcom/sidecaserack-1.jpg Custom sidecase rack. http://intotheworld.eu/xt660dotcom/suspension-3.jpg Upgrading the suspension to Hyperpro Combo kit. Thanks to HYPERPRO http://intotheworld.eu/xt660dotcom/suspension-5.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/xt660dotcom/suspension-6.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/xt660dotcom/tart-1.jpg Alu short brake and clutch lever. http://intotheworld.eu/xt660dotcom/unifilter-1.jpg Unifilter foam filter. http://intotheworld.eu/xt660dotcom/crash-1.jpg The CRASH. http://intotheworld.eu/xt660dotcom/crash-4.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/newten/newten-1.jpg The second Tenere just arrived. The soul of the crashed Tenere in the back, days from being transplanted to the new one. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/newten/newten-3.jpg The bike has the following mods/ upgrades: - front + rear steel braided brake hose - high Givi windshield - GPS mount + direct battery charger with backup system - custom-made radiator protection - G-IT aluminum engine shield + crashbar combo (from AdventureSpec) - MK3 pivot pegs - Unifilter foam air filter - Kev mod (from xt660.com) - Renthal Dakar fatbar with KTM plastic handguards, alu short brake and clutch lever and rallyride foam grips - Hein Greike tankbag - custom made dual Leo Vince SBK exhausts (with custom dB killer) - 14 tooth JT front sprocket - touring Scottoiler - custom rack for aluTech 41l cases - Hepko & Becker Gobi topcase - 150W inverter for gizmo charging - Hyperpro suspension upgrade (front progressive springs with 15W oil and rear progressive spring) Also we carry loads of tools and parts, along with a change of knobbies for later. Fitness preparation aside, we are geared up with these essentials and geeky things: - The North Face Roadrunner 3 seasons lightweight tent - The North Face Twin Peaks -7 degrees resistant 2 person sleeping bag + MSR silk liner + Mammoth self-inflating mats - MSR stove for cooking, stainless steel pot, knife, 2x petzl + extra torchlight, binoculars, machete, compass, MSR pactowels, compression + dry sacks, water filter + purifying tablets - foto: 5DMKII + 20D bodies, 24 f/1.4, 70-200 f/2.8, Sigma 10-20 F/4-5.6; Polaroid Pogo printer; 13" Macbook; GPS - first aid kit (sterile bandage, scissors, sterile needles + anesthetic, bethadine, Baneocin, Clartec antihistaminic, Malarone, diarrhea pills, calcium, rehydratable powder, antibacterial gel, Siddhaleppa ayurvedic balm for pains/flu/insect bites, thermometer, 50% DDET mosquito repellant, 50+ sunscreen, eye drops, antibiotics, aspirin, Ibuprofen, talc, medical tape); moto wear: Arai Tour X3 + Shoei XR1100 helmets, Rev'It Offtrack jacket + Sand pants and Turbine ladies combo with Gaerne boots; other stuff: 3 tshirts each, swimming suit, moto socks + gloves, cotton Thai pants, slippers, 1 pair shorts each, 3 pairs knickers each, scarf, 1 bed sheet (very useful for picnics and as sun/wind shield), sunglasses, spare of clear visor for rider, lots of GPS maps, PDF books and guides. In Mauritania we started carrying a 5l jerrycan with gas and a 5l raffia-insulated plastic can with water (hint from locals). Usually we bushcamp, or stay in campings when in cities, from time to time stopping for a refreshing night or two in a auberge. We eat where the locals do, in markets and street food stalls and restaurants, but we love to cook when fresh produce is available. 7000km into the trip, we had little maintenance and servicing to do: a change of oil, change of chain (freak thing, a fairly new one, it got stiffer and stiffer with o-rings falling off), replacing the chain safetypin (fish-pin fell possibly due to offroading). http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_0643.jpg Bushcamping in Rabat. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_0749.jpg We miss our kitchen. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_0983.jpg Changing the oil. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1047.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1066.jpg Our mule heavily loaded. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1160.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1243.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1265.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1762.jpg |
Morocco - A Warm Up
After loading our Tenere in a van that broke down 300 km from Livorno (where we were to catch the ferry to Morocco), we began our trans-Africa riding adventure with a bang. It's crazy how the 2008 VW Transporter timing belt gave up at merely 50K!
http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/itw-1.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/itw-2.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_0538.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_0544.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_0577.jpg EU citizens are allowed a 90 days stay in Morocco without a visa. We entered via the newly launched Tanger Med port, where the border formalities are a breeze; its a one-stop-shop, you get your passport stamped, then checked by the gendarmerie, then the duane officer issues for free a Declaration d'admission temporaire de moyens de transport (temporary import permit). http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_0617.jpg For the customs you can apply online, using this form. The International Motor Insurance Card (green card) from your country of origin may also cover Morocco, you want to check this with your insurer (that is the case for Romania). Otherwise you can purchase insurance at the border. The Moroccan infrastructure is quite developed, with over 1145km of autoroute and good tarred roads even in countryside. Morocco is an offroad paradise, with adrenaline-pumping pistes zig-zagging the ever changing landscape. The gas (essence) is about 1 Euro/liter and widely available at gas stations or at hole-in-the-walls in small villages. There are ATM machines everywhere, but obviously the food stalls are cash only. Morocco boasts a diverse landscape, ranging from wild Atlantic coasts to 4K High Atlas peaks, from sterile desert to lush oases, from Sahara dunes to mudbrick villages. We rode through the north (Tanger, Larache) which is feeling the crunch of the real estate bubble, with ghost towns and suburbs that nobody can afford built in the middle of nowhere. We stayed in and around Rabat for a week, waiting for the Mali and Mauritania visas, camping on beaches and getting to know the local way of life. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_0629.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_0635.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_0651.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_0686.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_0728.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_0764.jpg While Rabat has an european feel, the shanty towns that line the coast and the lively fresh food markets are intensely moroccan, so is charming Mahommedia. East from Rabat we used Meknes as our base camp for a few days, visiting the Imperial cities (Fez, Meknes), the sacred town of Moulay Idriss and the ancient ruins of Volubilis. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_0796.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_0809.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_0810.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_0829.jpg The Medina, (the medieval centre of Fez) has not changed for centuries: a maze of narrow alleys housing hundreds of merchants and craftsmen, stalls with spices, dried fruits and nuts, fish, handmade copper items, carpets and musical instruments. A seat of Arab learning, a Holy City and a place of pilgrimage (when the route to Mecca was obstructed), Fez was a place of considerable importance until recently, being the depot for the caravan trade from the south and east of the African continent. A must see in Fez is the Leather Souq with the oldest leather tannery in the world, Chouwara. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_0834.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_0841.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_0849.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_0863.jpg Even if Fez has a more intricate architecture in the beautifully preserved UNESCO World Heritage Medina, we found that Meknes has a more authentic feel, with few to no tourists and touts and a Medina where people seem to actually live and work (not just for show). Moulay Idriss is a little gem, a fairytale town on top of a mountain among olive tree hills, where life has a slower pace. |
Morocco - A Warm Up
Later we rode through Casablanca, heading inland toward the High Atlas. After sleeping in a millet field and after a villager gave us fresh cow milk in the morning, we climbed to the 100m high Ouzoud falls (in full swing at this time of year). You can pass the touts and faux-guides and ride your bike close to the pools where you can take a cold plunge or enjoy the free spectacle of nature; just take the right gravel road before the bridge for 5-600m.
http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1019.jpg In the afternoon we stopped again in Azilal for a tagine, then continued on a breathtaking route among peaks ranging from 2K to 4K. The landscape kept changing every hour, from lifeless valleys, to cactus infested walls, from reddish soil and rocky forests to fragrant cedars and green canyons punctuated by magenta wild flowers. When the road appeared to end, we suddenly found ourselves at 2750m altitude, from where 50km of tarmac interrupted by gravel brought in by spring floods led us to Imilchil. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1076.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1081.jpg We slept a charmed night at the Gite d'etape run by a Berber family. Aziz has built the beautiful house himself and is a licensed guide. He also has a shop in the village, selling carpets hadmade by his wife, Fatma. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1147.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1084.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1117.jpg After eating some freshly baked bread in the morning, we left behind the Bhutan-like atmosphere of beautifully camouflaged Imilchil behind, heading to Gorges Dades via Agoudal. Enter the most thrilling piste so far: after Agoudal the tarmac turns to gravel, then just traces in the dust. For 5 km we rode through a riverbed that had erased the piste during the recent floods. Offroading with a heavily loaded bike proved difficult and we took a few tumbles, managing to cover only 100km in more than 4 hours. Apart from the riverbed crossings, the piste is a fun ride, climbing to 2700m then going down in hairpins and thrilling turns, with alternating gravel, rocky patches, sand and dirt. The piste ends with a 30cm deep river crossing, from where the road is all tarmac, interrupted by landslides that are easy to manage. As if the whole day ride wasn't enough, we crossed the canyon of Dades back to another famous set of spaghetti-like road. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1165.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1187.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1194.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1210.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1248.jpg The public demonstrations cheering the king's peace oriented decision to promulgate a new constitution (giving more executive power to the elected government) arrived from Meknes where we last seen them in Boulmaine de Dades. We bushcamped outside the town, then left at sunrise to see the place where Sahara starts. You can see the mighty sand dunes in two places in Morocco: the golden ones of M'Hamid or the psychedelic pink Erg Chebbi in Merzouga, which is where we arrived in a blazing hot weather. A weird afternoon rain in the Sahara and a pool plunge later, we woke up to see the sun rising behind the glistening foot-trace swallowing mirage that is Erg Chebbi, a dune 160m high, bordered by the village of Hassi Labied. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1350.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_5324.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_5363.jpg The beauty of the desert is magical, and we left the second day still reveling in it. As a technical problem that has been aggravating for a while become urgent, we rushed the 400km through desertificated Draa Valley from Merzouga to Ouarzazate, where after a few days and with the help of Peter at BikersHome, we managed to change our defective chain. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1379.jpg Marrakech was like a punch in the face: crazy, hot, bursting with energy. It's instant love or hate, and we left our bike in the parking behind the Koutoubia mosque, then dove into the UNESCO World Heritage show that is Djemma el-Fna, with its storytellers, musicians, artisans and food stalls selling Michelin star worthy plates of tangia, sheep brain and seafood. The next day visit to Ali Ben Youssef medersa was followed by a protein load in Mechoui Alley, then a cool walk in the Jardin Majorelle. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1526.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1499.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1506.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1514.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1556.jpg At 5pm when we exit town, the roadside thermometer read 53 degrees Celsius, but 200 km further, in Essaouira, the wind capital of Africa, we felt chilly at 22. We didn't stay long to enjoy the white and blue spanish influenced colonial architecture of the medina, as our GPS got stollen in the fish market, only to be retrieved later against a 30 Euro ransom. That's why we ate quickly our delicious sardines, fresh fish and squid grilled at the public grillades de poisson with possibly the best bread in Morocco, then camped some 200km later, near Agadir. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_0611.jpg |
Morocco - A Warm Up
South of this package tourism oriented town, we rode a 3 day marathon through Western Sahara, ending up in Dakhla. Along the almost featureless landscape we bushcamped on a nice beach near Sidi Ifni and on a golden dune near Tarfaya.
http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1696.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1721.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1789.jpg We couldn't get to close to the soul of this country rich in natural resources (phosphate, fish abundant waters and oil) but with a difficult history, where the traditionally nomadic Saharawi herders are bribed with tout-compris homes to leave their identity behind (or are forced to live in refugee camps called ironically villages de peche), and where towns resemble M.A.S.H. movie sets, with their population of military personnel and UN workers. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1823.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1870.jpg After a month in Morocco where we rode over 6000km, the motorbike is in great shape and we experienced no technical issues, except for the chain problem. We took a few low-speed falls due to deep sandy patches and rocky pistes, the battery was drained two times while charging our laptop with the engine off and we had to send home a few spares and personal stuff in order to lose some 6,5 kg off the bike (which do make a sizable difference). So our first advice (not that is a huge novelty) is pack light, cause every gram counts. People in Morocco are friendly, sometimes aggressively trying to sell you something or guide you, are not easy to trust, which is a shame, because up in the mountains you will meet genuinely sweet villagers and generous men. Moroccans nurture close family ties and friendships, and we witnessed how they warmly greet each other for minutes. The caffe culture is a big deal here, with solo men filling up terraces from morning to dawn, at a chat over coffee with friends. Women are harder to meet, but they are highly educated and almost all speak fluent French. Some Arab and Berber will come a long way here; in Merzouga area English is largely spoken and understood. We bought a Meditel modem for Internet, but discovered that IAM has a better 3G coverage, so we suggest you get that one instead. Food is a reason to be here in itself. Produce is mostly organic and very regional: in Fez you have the famous fassi cousine with treats like b'sara (a soup made of fava beans served with a fragrant garlic olive oil), pigeon pastilla (a pastry spiced with cinnamon) and very spicy and hot sausage made of mutton and offal; in Meknes you can eat the freshest figs and delicious flat bread with thin crust and cumin spiced crumble; pure eucalyptus, almond or cactus honey is produced high in the Atlas; in Erfoud you will eat the best dates with the extraordinary sweet and creamy Medjool reigning supreme; Marrakech is home to sheep meat and offal delicacies like tangia (mutton or beef cooked slowly with cumin, ras-el-hanout, preserved lemons and olives in a dough-sealed clay pot), sheep brains and tongue and mechoui (whole sheep baked with spices in a vertical clay oven); the freshest fish is in Essaouira and other coastal cities - here you can follow our example, and buy your fish from the fihermen, then have it cooked for 5Dh/plate at the public grill, next to the market; in the Banana Village just before Agadir you can taste the local varieties of banana and suculent cactus fruits. All over the country you can find tasty veggies, mutton and beef kafta, gorgeous watermelons and melons, dried fruits and nuts, along with top quality spices like saffron, paprika, cumin and ras-el-hanout. The breakfast is usually bread with the best local olive oil or served with honey sweetened leben (local yoghurt), or couscous with cold sourmilk from streetside vendors. Bread is sold freshly baked along moroccan pancakes, which in Fez have a sweet spongy texture. At lunch people usually eat a tagine (a typical stew of meat or fish, slowly cooked on charcoal in a signature clay pot). Dinner is protein based: kafta or harira (bean soup with aromatic herbs, which in Agadir is served with a local twist - with dates, a boiled egg and a piece of hard caramel). Other signature Morocco treats available countrywide are freshly squeezed orange juice and green/black tea perfumed with fresh mint (called whisky marocain). Tap water is safe to drink and wild camping is possible in most unmarked places, even if locals may try to discourage you from doing so. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1858.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1838.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1641.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1629.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1521.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/morocco/IMG_1270.jpg Also, it will be difficult to leave the country without buying some good quality shit. |
Great photos and narrative.
Keep going! |
Bamako - Street Food Bonanza
Sometimes borders are just lines on maps, but Mauritania - Mali frontier divides two very distinct worlds. The malian Sahel is vivid green and teeming with wildlife and cattle at watering ponds and instead of the bobo-wrapped touaregs and moors we meet ebony skinned people in Made in China footballers' thirst. Border control is smooth and fast, but we have to deal with the customs in the first malian town, Nioro de Sahel, where, because it's weekend (bad timing in Africa) the price for Laissez passes is double (10000 CFA)
http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2027.jpg Later we save some money camping in the police station compound and of course using their backyard as toilet. Too bad our Morocco stash is already history. Overnight a very windy rainstorm shakes us dearly, filling our tent with dust. It merely cools the sticky hot air a bit, and in the morning we do our best to content our muddy misery and hit the road to Bamako. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/riding_mali.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2036.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2037.jpg We are rewarded with e wonderful ride throough a fertile hilly landscape, dotted with scenic villages and lush gardens. A group of Fulani people passes us by: the women are topless and have intricate hair braids and jewelry and huge moonshined packs of tree branches are tied to the donkeys. We are happy we have arrived here in wet season! Bamako is a sprawling metropolis, with scooters and cars entangled together in big traffic jams, with bridges thrown over the mighty Niger river which divides the capital in two. The shanty towns are on one side, immersed in a sleepy rural life, while on the other side of the water there are concrete and glass administrative buildings and offices and some expensive hotels (with good wifi connection). Here it rains almost daily and only some of the streets are tarred. Bamako is a welcomed pitstop: we rest, wash our pathetic scruffy riding gear, we go for a visa and ATM run and Skype our families. The Burkina visa breaks our bank: 80 euro/pers!, recently doubled cause of french propaganda. Bamako's heart beats in its colorful markets: near Place de la Liberte & Cinema Vox, in Grande Marche, in the fetish market we find innumerable stalls selling anything from fruit and vegs to clothing and plasticware made in Nigeria. Men are generally sporting generic Chinese designs, but the elegant women of Bamako wear traditionally inspired dresses and elaborate hairpieces and metes. People are warm and friendly, except for the usual guides, touts and beggars, with tricks that we are too familiar with from Romania. The sad thing is that they believe that "les blanc donnent des cadeaux", so who's to blame for that? http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2084.jpg A Malian lunchlady in a typical Bamako street restaurant: a wooden bench + many pots Bamako is famous for live music; as we are nearing Ramadan, women are celebrating and dancing in the streets. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2068.jpg A Malian hipster: different continent, different vogue Great street food is a no brainer in Bamako: rice with sauce, chicken in lemon and ginger sauce, fried fish, grilled goat or mutton (brochetes), yam stews, cow heart and liver sauteed in a spicy onion sauce, frufru (mini rice or millet pancakes), mango, local melon (meh, but excellent as a salad with lime, fresh chili and olive oil), corn on a cob. Many favorite snacks are black eyed peas based: doughnuts served simple or in a millet congee fro breakfast. Boulageries with fresh baguettes are widely available, so are breakfast stalls with eggs and instant coffee with milk or tea. In the evening the streets are filled with stalls with bubbling pots: fish or meat stews, rice, chickpeas, fried potato/yam/plantain or even couscous. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2082.jpg Rice with peanut & baobab sauce (rise arachide) http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2083.jpg Rice with fish sauce and African eggplant http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2088.jpg Favorite soft drinks: lime lemonade, hibiscus juice (red) & spicy ginger lemonade http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2063.jpg Our usual breakfast: bread with soft cheese and savannah flowers wild honey (with a smoky, sunny flavor) and tea-tree tea http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2069.jpg Africa is crazy about mobile phones http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2072.jpg The intricate Malian hello takes minutes http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2072.jpg Flowers in the inner yard of Mission Catolique where we bunked for a few nights Soon we had to leave the buzzing Bamako behind to head south-east to Sikasso, the vegetable garden of Mali. |
Sikasso - Rural Mali
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My mom is venerated in this malian village :) http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2103.jpg We stopped over for an African lunch http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2100.jpg Beef with onion and fried beans with chili http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2107.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2111.jpg A typical pirogue driven by less typical paddles http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2115.jpg Dragrace - 2 donkeypower vs. lots of diesel horses The first night in Sikasso we camp in the backyard of a local family. We quickly become the village attraction, every detail of our tent pitching and logistics being scrutinized, analyzed and discussed with load enthusiasm. Later at night we are invited to join the family (husband, wife, 3 boys and a toddler + uncle) for dinner: boiled yam with a dash of oil, eaten by hand from a big pot. We offer some almonds from Morocco and then enjoy the ritualic 3 glasses of African tea artfully brewed by the woman. Only Bambara is spoken so we cannot communicate easily, and under the star-covered sky the silence in this village where there is no electricity nor running water is broken by some music coming from an old radio. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2119.jpg In the morning we eat a typical breakfast: millet congee with bean doughnuts http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2121.jpg We are the village freaks: we have fun with the kids eager to mount the bike and we teach them some Romanian childhood games http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2157.jpg Sikasso is the center of the 3rd Malian region; here are grown for local consumption and export: mango, bananas, nuts, millet, rice, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, pineapple, avocado. The market is bountiful so we enjoy a fabulous fruit and tea picnic later, near the Burkina border. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2165.jpg The rear tyre is almost done and we have a nail in, so I m contemplating switching to the knubbies. Also rumors are that the roads to the north are not tarred so…We bushcamp in a cute little spot and rain falls the better part of the night and all morning, when I am happy that I haven't rushed into changing the tires, as the tarmac is excellent up to Koutiala and then to Djenne. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2172.jpg Breakfast served in bed, under the cover of rain: avocado and tomatoes salad http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2183.jpg This baobab was home to a large bird colony http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2184.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2202.jpg Morning dew in the field of our next day bush camping spot http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2200.jpg And on our tent http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2198.jpg Another memorable breakfast http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2207.jpg Critters http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2223.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2215.jpg |
great story and fabulous photos. good luck with the rest of your journey!
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Djenne - Mall of Africa
After the fertile landscape of the last 3 days palm trees start to show up again, the weather gets hotter and the mud-brick villages have only weekly markets where fresh produce is increasingly hard to find. Small patches of water are the only mark of the wet season.
At the last left turn to Djenne, we pay the tourist tax (1000 CFA/pers) at the checkpoint, where the police are happy to chat about the bike. So far in Africa people are wildly enthusiastic about it, but the general idea is that our motorbike is more expensive than a 4x4, so that gets a bit in the way of making friends. We quickly learnt that we cannot explain what a personal and financial effort is this trip to us to people to whom the idea of traveling equals luxury (cause their priority is to survive). http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2232.jpg Cattle lazily crossing the plain http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2234.jpg Djenne is an island on Bani river, and also an island of medieval civilization in the north-west of Mali. Legend has it that a virgin was sacrificed to the water genie by the Bozo fishermen, and that the victim's blood was mixed with mud to make the bricks for the first houses in Djenne. UNESCO pomps serious money into the conservation of this gem of a town with narrow unpaved streets radiating from the famous biggest mud building the world - the mosque. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2241.jpg All buildings in Djenne are exclusively made from bank (mud). The iconic 1907 mosque is a replica of the XIII century original. At the end of each wet season a massive operation of retouching takes place. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2238.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2247.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/pano_djenne-1.jpg The Monday market in Djenne is legendary: this is the most important and biggest market in West Africa. Vendors and buyers travel from all regions to fill up the square in front of the mosque and to sell and shop everything from local art, bogolan - typical cloth decorated with mud mixed with medicinal plants, amber jewelry, food, spices, baskets, plasticware and livestock. As this is an authentic local market, the people are not fazed by tourists so we are taking a breather from the touts and faux-guides harassment to enjoy the unique atmosphere. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2332.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2342.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2345.jpg The mosque is just the decor for the real show that is taking over Djenne http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2348.jpg Sideboob http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2349.jpg Handmade baby sling http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2352.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2361.jpg Mama Africa http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2365.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2360.jpg Djenne teenagers Unfortunately Djenne is a way too touristy place to allow personal interactions and with inflated prices for the whites, so after 24 hrs we move on. |
Dogon Country - Back In Time
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http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/pano_dogon-6.jpg In northern Mali the sahel stretches a sandy plain up to Burkina Faso. Here some 250 kilometers of falaise are home to the Dogon people, an ethnic group that lives generally undisturbed by civilization like they have been for a millennia, since they have settled here trying to escape Islam. Risking to be forced to shorten our trip later on, we decided to invest an initially unplanned and quite significant amount of cash in a 3 day tour through Dogon Country. We teemed up with 2 swiss overloading by 4x4 and hired a guide to one of the best preserved ethnographic regions in Africa. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/057.jpg First we had to survive the road to Mopti, through the most dramatic sand storm so far. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/067.jpg The particularly strong lateral wind was blowing in sequences, we rode at less than 50 km/h. The wind preceded the rain, which was lucky, cause keeping a steady balance on a very wet road would have been difficult. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/068.jpg In Mopti we stock on food and water for the next 2 days and we negotiate the guide's fee. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2387.jpg Mopti is a semi-industrial fishing town and a tourist stopover, with shady touts and an unpleasant vibe to it. Give it a miss, except for the scenic port http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/pano_dogon-1.jpg Our itinerary was: Bandiagara, Djiguibombo, Kani-Kombole, Teli, Ennde, Indelou, Begnimato, Yabacalou, with 2 days of trekking and 1 day on our own vehicles. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/pano_dogon-8.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2401.jpg All Dogon buildings are made of mud in the plain villages and of stone up on the cliff. The room on the right is the kitchen, the pots are actual chimneys. Spices are dried on the terrace. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2404.jpg Typical Dogon ladder Tree trunks are used for draining rain water. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2493.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2504.jpg The Dogon are a distinct ethnographic group, originated from the Siby area (Pays Mandingue) and settled here in the IX-XI cent., after the demise of the native pygmy population (the Tellem). The Dogon culture was first contactated by a french ethnologist in 1931. There is no Dogon alphabet or written documents, they record their history through elaborated mask ceremonies (the most important is organized every 60 years, the equivalent of a centenary, as the Dogon observe a 5 days week); the Dogon are animists and practice polygamy. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2420.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2423.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2478.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2500.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2503.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2581.jpg The Dogon elders enjoy chewing on cola nut (from Cote d'Ivoire); this is a bitter stimulant and appetite suppresser and the shape of the nut can be interpreted by the initiated. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2434.jpg Ropes are made from the bark of the baobab http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2439.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2441.jpg Our guide in traditional attire, near a door decorated with animist symbols (the sacred animals are: the cayman, the turtle, the fox, the snake) http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2567.jpg Some window blinds are decorated with elements from the Dogon cosmogony (the 8 ancestors, the fox divination etc) http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2723.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_5573.jpg Traditional stool http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2574.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2577.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2578.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2812.jpg Dogon art is manipulated to ornate functional details or to mark a sacred spot |
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Natural togouna in Begnimato http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2783.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2787.jpg Landscape artists are are jobless in Dogon Country http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2821.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2813.jpg Ana the hunter and his big guns. He has 20 kids, is a christian and the brother of Begnimato chief http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2762.jpg Our guide http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2773.jpg Nadine http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2770.jpg Ana & Roger looking into the abyss http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2785.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2625.jpg Food for the tourists: chicken with rice. The Dogon believe that the whites survive on a diet of canned foods and spaghetti. We had to insist to even taste their food: to (millet mash with baobab leaves) http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2827.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mali/IMG_2834.jpg We say goodbye to the fabulous Bandiagara cliff and set off to Burkina. |
Sangha to Ouahoughyia - My Golgota
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We kicked off early from Sangha, northern Dogon Country. This cloudy day promised to be pleasantly cold, but it was a day that would end in misery. The first 5 km to Banani - a Dogon village with a picturesque waterfall - are similar to the Bandiagara - Sangha road: broken concrete patches interrupting the largely rocky piste, alternating with deep sand and pebbles. It steeply goes up and down through an amazing landscape that kept our spirits high for a while. But then we hit the plain and we were in no man's land: deep sand, pools of water from recent downpours rendering the road impassable, labyrinthian villages swallowing the piste that kept disintegrating into just an idea of going forward towards what we knew was Burkina Faso. 10 km further we turned right after Dougou and started the climb. Sandy hills kept on claiming our sweat and breath for hours. At over 400 kg load my Tenere felt uncontrollable from time to time (when the front end loses grip) and I rode it at sometimes 5 km/h, losing count of the falls as I was sliding and dancing in the uneven sand. Whenever the sand gave way to a superficial layer of grass I was riding along the road. We had to stop 2 times for about an hour each time, to rest and replenish the minerals lost through excessive sweating under the 40+ heat. I suggest you always carry some rehydrating salts and some calcium that you can drink with water. The alternate route to Burkina is gravel road from Bandiagara through Bankass. To navigate the sandy piste we took from Sangha, you should carry a GPS. The piste crosses the nomad territory, sometimes even nomad compounds. These elusive people are traditionally herders, men are always away with cattle and sheep, while their tattooed and adorned women are caring for the children. They live in huts made of twigs and dry leaves or in tents and carry all their belongings with when moving base. The 65 km to Koro, from where the sealed road begins, took us all day. We hit the sealed road by sunset and after a water refill we hastily set camp and fell asleep before 9 pm. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_2864.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_2865.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_2866.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_2869.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_2871.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_2872.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_2876.jpg |
Burkina Faso
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Crossing the border to this new country we knew so little about was a joy: first there is the police control, friendly and curious. A few km south, on the left, we checked in at the customs, where a Laissez Passer was issued against 5000 CFA by a Burkinabe version of Chris Rock. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_2880.jpg Officer Fidel signed us in and gave us his number to call in case we got into trouble or needed a party animator The visa for Burkina Faso has recently become one of the most expensive in Africa: 47000 CFA at the embassy in Bamako (2 photos, 1 xerox of the passport, lots of cash, hours: 7-11 am for applying, ready to be picked up 3-5 pm the same day) or 94000 CFA at the border, valid for one entry and 90 days. The main roads are tarred and most of the city streets are sealed, in the countryside they're not. Gas is widely available at roughly the same price as in Mali: 640-690 CFA/l. Burkina uses the same currency as Mali, Togo, Benin, and 1 Euro is about 655 CFA. ATMs are easy to find even in small provincial towns. There is no speeding control, but there are several Postes de Peage where a road toll for cars must be payed; passage for motorbikes and scooters is free. Beware though of the concrete speedbumps present even in the most remote villages. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_2895.jpg Just meters outside the custom control hundred of vultures were gliding about an open-air abattoir http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_2912.jpg We learned here the meaning of the "atmospheric front". The sky turned black and we simply saw the white wall of water moving toward us at mind boggling speed. We quickly streamlined ourselves and faced the storm head on: it hit us like a cold wave, chocking and slapping and pushing us to ride as fast as we could. Left and right there were black trees and the space between them white with rainwater. Soaking wet within minutes, we kept on going and half an hour later we were out of the storm and in the blowing wind, that helped drying our gear a bit. The road to Ouaga is hard gravel, a ride that after the Dogon pistes felt a child's play. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_2919.jpg In Romania we say "its in Ouagadougou" about something that is in an unknown place, far far away http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_2953.jpg There is no camping in Ouaga, but you can pitch a tent in the parking of OK-INN Hotel, if you keep a low profile and "contribute" at the restaurant. This grants use to the grubby showers and toilets by the pool and a quiet sleep in a mosquito infested field that is guarded 24 hrs. There is free and rather good wifi in the reception area, but the restaurant serves generic european food at very european prices. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3101.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3100.jpg Arguably the best brochettes in Ouaga: goat and mutton offal or meat, spot on seasoning, served with cucumber and onion salad in a baguette http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3096.jpg Behind the brochette stall, a typical Burkinabe burette, serving Lipton tea with lime and fresh mint for 100 CFA. Also available: softdrinks, beer, coffee, yoghurt, omelets, rice and sandwiches. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_2920.jpg The Dege Nazi: a lady we couldn't brace ourselves to photograph sells on Toe Street the best of the best version of this regional delight: millet couscous with sweetened yoghurt on ice, the perfect desert, breakfast or treat. Only available until 4pm daily, from 150 CFA/serving. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_2957.jpg A village buvette on the road to Bobo Dioulasso http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_2960.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_2961.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_2963.jpg Brother and sister work together in the buvette http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_2981.jpg Bobo is the commercial capital of Burkina; the train station here, built in the 30s in neo-moor style, used to be the terminus of the Abidjan-Niger route. Now is is a reminder of the colonists' megalomania and a beautiful headliner in the city skyline. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3076.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3083.jpg The beautiful mosque in Bobo is famously considered one of the best example of banco building in the world http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_2966.jpg In laid-back Bobo we ended up staying for a week. Above, the least glamourous aspects of overlanding. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_2972.jpg Slow roasted goat with rice, cucumber salad and fried plantain http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_2974.jpg An attempt at a Romanian summer favorite: roasted aubergine salad Bobo was a good base for visiting Banfora, which has a great Sunday market and Karfiguela Falls (access 1000 CFA/pers, plus 200 CFA parking fee). The piste to the falls passes through the gorgeous green landscape that is so south-west Burkina. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_2987.jpg Irrigation system for sugar cane plantations. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_2988.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3018.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3024.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3042.jpg Predator I http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/...adaburkina.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3053.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3055.jpg Riding back to Banfora |
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Burkina Faso in the country with the most amazing skies http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3087.jpg In Bobo we met the lovely Liana and Denis who are overloading through northern Africa with their dog http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3088.jpg And back to Ouaga to apply for the visa de l'Entente that will allow us to enter Togo and Benin http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3094.jpg On the side of the road you might find a poisoned arrow |
Tiebele and the Gourounsi Country
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Soon after our visas were ready we were off to Po, through arguably the wettest region of Burkina. As this is the wet season and august is the wettest month of the year, the combo yielded some endless downpours that soaked us for days. Pitching a tent under the rain is a bit of a hassle, but it was nice to be cold for a change. As depressing as grey skies might normally be, they are still breathtaking beautiful in Burkina. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3109.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3110.jpg Breakfast in Po: omelet, tea, mutton soup. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3119.jpg The commune of Tiebele is reached via an offtrack piste. Over 100000 people live here in 67 villages. The area is famous for its mud architecture, that remains to be admired only within the small "royal" compound. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/pano_tiebele-5.jpg The compound is home to 300 people, the 54 families forming the extended "royal" family. The Kasena people who are part of the Gourounsi, have created some of the most beautiful examples of vernacular architecture. Their traditional houses are built in bank (mud mixed with cow poo) and have smooth shiny facaded decorated with unique frescoes. The married women use nere oil as a veneer to polish the outside walls, then apply different designs using all natural colors: laterite for red, basalt for black and kaolin for white. Unfortunately the traditional ways are still alive only within the compound, outside it s wall only a handful of homes bare the intricate frescoes that are modernized with black bitumen brought in from Ghana. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/pano_tiebele-1.jpg The entrance is the also the divination area, where the elders congregate and where animals are sacrificed for the benefit of the entire community. After this sacred area there is small field where the animists are buried in 15 people vertical graves. The closed graves are leveled and marked with a stone, the small É are still "in use" with the pot serving as symbolic door. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3124.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/pano_tiebele-2.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/pano_tiebele-3.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/pano_tiebele-4.jpg There are two types of houses: rectangular (for unmarried young men) and figure 8-shaped (with an entrance salon, a room for the woman and a winter kitchen). There are no windows, only indirect lighting. The entrance door is so low that you must bend to get in and it is followed by a 60cm wall that would cause any intruder to stumble and be easily killed. The darkness inside and the nere veneered walls also support the defensive nature of the Gourounsi homes, which have karite wood roofing and terraces for drying the spices and grains. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3126.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3134.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3135.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3136.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3142.jpg Baobab flower http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3143.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3152.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3164.jpg The buildings with straw roofing are granaries. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3149.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3156.jpg Huge clay pots handmade by women in the neighboring village of Boudou are used for cooking or storing http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3154.jpg A display of typical Gourounsi symbols. From right to left: the fishing net; tribal signs (traditionally used as identity cards, now used as beauty marks by some women); macrame for the calabash pots. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3169.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3179.jpg Calabas pots http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3175.jpg Handmade mill for millet (white stone) and for peanut paste http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3204.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3207.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/pano_tiebele-6.jpg This Kasena woman is 82 |
From Tiebele we continued east on the 18km piste, then turned left and rode 20km more to Zabre, where the massive downpours and the river had made the road impassable. We took again a left turn and 25km later we were in Dondeou, still far from the sealed road, and too tired and too wet to continue riding through slippery mud and puddles.
http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3213.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/burkina/IMG_3214.jpg We set camp under a karite tree that offered us a tasty snack in the morning. The rain kept on going through the night, stopping miraculously for a brief while, allowing us to pack everything and hit the road again. This area of Burkina is beautiful and hardly travelled, filling our hearts with nostalgia about a very improbable future return. |
North & Central Togo - Them Bloody Loud Roosters
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You may be crossing a modest border, where a rusty sign barely reads "La Republique Tolgolaise", but this is not a country you can miss. The diminutive Togo is loud and proud and it was to become one of our trip's highlights. At the border the police are half men, half con artists, half stand-up comedians and there is that joyful somewhat slimy feel of a route people place. A transit visa can be issued at the border (and later extended in Lome). We've got the Visa de l'Entente valid for 2 months for Togo, Benin, Niger and Cote d'Ivoire, issued at the Surete office in Ouagadougou. To apply go from 7.30 to 11.30 am to the building on Av. Kadiogo with your passport, 2 photos and 25000 CFA; the visa is issued within 8-48 hours. The Laissez Passer for Togo is processed in the pink building on the right, just behind the police station, and it costs 6000 CFA (5000 the laissez and 1000 laissez registration or the beer for the officer… we'll never know). The good news is that gas is cheaper in Togo, at 595 CFA/l. The 650 km long Route Internationale in the Togolese Autobahn, connecting West Africa to the Atlantic coast and the duty-free shipping hub that is the Lome port. This very important artery is heavily transited by innumerable hyper-loaded trucks, wearing off the poorly sealed tarmac. The first 50 km have huge potholes that could swallow a car, putting to shame the untarred section of Route de l'Espoir. After Dapaong, a dusty little town where we stopped for the first togolese lunch of pate and sheep head, the road is very good, so we were able to ride safely to Kara. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3220.jpg Pate - a corn based sticky polenta (the staple food in West Africa) with sheep brains and meat in a very hot sauce and a local beer http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3221.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3222.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3226.jpg En route to Kara we crossed the scenic Mt. Kabye area, covered in lush banana, millet and rice plantations dotted with karite trees. Arriving late in the evening in the town where the incumbent president poured significant cash into was a paranoia inducing experience. By nighttime the Togolese get their groove on: cars and scooters zoom by chaotically (many with no lights on), streets are buzzing with food vendors and smoking grills, fluorescent lit pubs are loudly broadcasting the local taste in music. To us, coming from the tranquil rice paddies of southern Burkina and after crossing muslim countries during the Ramadan, it felt like being swept into a very piney beach party. Togo is divided between two dominant tribes: the muslim Kabye control the north, while the christian Ewe inhabit the south. We decided to get a room to wash some stuff and dry our soaking wet tent and boots and on the way we grabbed a yummy street dinner: rice with beans, hot sauce, eggs and corn on a cob. The Togolese nights are long and extremely noisy, with people engaging in onomatopoeic conversations. Mornings though kick off with innumerable roosters giving a very loud wakeup call, so we barely got a few hours of good night sleep. In the early hours of the day Kara market is a lively beast. Breakfast joints sell rice and beans with sauce, meat, bread and hard-boiled eggs. Women carry boxes with doughnuts and bread on their heads like some kind of eccentric colorful hats. We bought a huge sweet pineapple and some uneventful grapefruit and later checked out the local dancing talents at a Maggi cubes sponsored contest next to the market. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3235.jpg Pate is sold wrapped in plastic or in banana leaves - 25 CFA http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3228.jpg The price of a Lipton Tea includes a bread roll; you can add scrambled eggs http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3229.jpg A local landmark http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/comparatie.jpg African beauty (left) vs. a Moroccan depiction of a woman http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3239.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3243.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3245.jpg The grass is as tall as a man along the road that crosses six geographic zones, from the Sahel in the north, to central rolling hills and dry savannah, stretching further to the plains that border the ocean http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3263.jpg We continued south to Bafilo, passing through the diminutive and postcard perfect Aledjo Fault and the many trucks and car wrecks that are sometimes left to rot in the middle of a turn. We rolled into Sokode - the second largest city of Togo - in time to stubble upon a group of girls selling freshly cut coconuts and to have lunch. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3269.jpg Lunch in Sokode: corn pate, okra, Guineea fowl with sauce and some mysterious bushmeat stew, gamey and delish. We cannot help but feel a little weird, as poaching is serious business in Togo http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/pano_togo-1.jpg Atakpame was our target for the night, en route we passed the village of Yomaboua, in Sotouba district. This was the first slave trading base from where people were herded to the river for washing, then hot iron marking and shipping by train to Lome. Every year African countries observe the world slavery day, to find out more visit We spent two nights in Atakpame at Auberge de l'Amitie, a chilled out place at an unbeatable price, where we took a shower and streched our bones. The auberge was a much welcomed rest, especially the second night, when we returned here after more than 200 km of potholed tracks, up on the coffee and cocoa planted hills beyond Badou. We arrived too late in the afternoon in Akloa to hike to the waterfall, but the ride was beautiful, if tiresome. The route passes with twists and hairpin bends through sleepy villages with hardly more than 10 mud houses with straw roofs, where the occasional local dj is blasting loudly some engaging african beats. As it's the rainy season, there are big water puddles and many muddy patches which are a bit of a hassle to cross. The beautiful panorama from uphill reveals rural fruit plantations and wild tropical forests, but also the heavily forested savanna below, where poaching and overpopulation are serious environmental concerns. That is correlated with the governmental lack of commitment for conservation; there is a swiss foundation working to repopulate with wildlife a small park in central Togo, but hunting is still allowed (we even saw a dead monkey carried by 2 men). We are amazed at how different this country is from its neighbors: people have distinct, more rounded features; they are very easy going and many don't even notice us, too involved in their daily chores to care about becoming impromptu guides. The few who interacted with us were genuinely nice and never asked for money or stuff. Maybe in Lome things will change. As we are in the month of Ramadan (Careme), the predominantly muslim northern half starts grilling it's spicy brochettes only after dark, so breakfast and lunch can be find only at street stalls: pate, rice, chicken, bushmeat, sauces, boiled eggs, avocado, corn on a cob. Beware of the local favorite sandwich: bread with mayo. Bread can be salty or sweet, almost like a cake, eaten with a millet porridge (boui) for breakfast. Weirdly, the ubiquitous unappetizing fried doughnuts are preferred by africans to the amazing fruit they have lying around. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3272.jpg Breakfast in Atakpame: avocado salad, rice & Guineea fowl in tomato sauce http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3280.jpg The breakfast joint where the girls have quickly become pals. As always, we are asked for our phone number and to help them come to Romania or Europe. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3287.jpg Up on the mountain on the way to Badou http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3292.jpg We found one tasty treat, loved by kids: sweet peanut paste with a dash of chili (Klo-kluoi) |
The Lingering Smell of Dictatorship
Wake up at 6.20sh, yoga with Tony Horton or do laundry, fix breakfast, say hello in Ewe to a gazillion people on our alley (all too familiar with our life story), negotiate the mad traffic to Lome (sandy deviation and bribes for the barrier people included), go to meetings, lunch at Maman's or at fufu bar, crash in our tent, repeat. This was our routine for the long 3 weeks we spend in the capital city of Togo. Lome is now like home. We have become familiar with life in this sprawling African city, most of which is under construction: streets are being paved or redesigned, sky-scraping bank HQs built, parks delimited. The major infrastructure operations are controlled by the Chinese, but the underpaid workers are Togolese, with wages starting at 800 CFA/day (1,20 Euro).
http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3480.jpg Street workers are fancy Similar wages for the military personnel, a very conspicuous presence all over town, especially when the largely hated president passes through, stopping all traffic at very irregular and unpredictable hours. The president is the son of the former defunct chief of state who was a feared dictator and who messed up big time. Even if some reform has been implemented, the past is still part of the present. The president is serving for his second mandate, but it is likely that at the last minute the constitution will be altered so he can hold on to power for as long as he wishes, despite voters' choice. We witnessed one presidential escort crossing through downtown and the strong reaction it generated among the infuriated residents of Lome, who had to stop and wait at gun point for the shiny limousines to pass. Also while we were in Lome one of the many siblings of the president went on trial for conspiracy to organize a military coup about a year back. That again stopped all Lome for two days and tied people to their radios, but one can't help but wonder about a positive outcome. As our long stay allowed us to be close with a few locals, whom we spent time cooking, sharing our life and chatting till night would fall, we learnt some worrying details about what it means to live in a modern African dictatorship, something that us, Romanians, have almost forgotten. For example, if you would buy a nice car in Lome you might be asked to pledge it as a gift to the president and if you would open a new business you might get yourself arrested and held for inquiries about the source of your money. And I could go on. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3379.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3385.jpg Lome infrastructure developed and financed by the Chinese The suburbs are organized by districts or neighborhoods, controlled by a local chief who is elected during an elaborated ceremony from the "royal" family". People rely on their chief for all social matters, which makes them less aware of their power to elect and change governments they don't approve of and is allowing dictatorship to flourish. Preserving the tradition whilst living in a modern society is not easy. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3912.jpg Initially we were not planning to come to Togo at all, but here is Tony Togo, the only KTM dealer in the are where we could service the bike and repair our topcase, which had fallen off after kms of bumpy driving. . http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3332.jpg Our Tenere next to its older avatar We are staying at a well known overlander's joint, Chez Alice. As this blog is sharing our honest opinion, we are forced to badmouth the place. In a word, it stinks. Literally. The decaying huts smell and the communal toilets reeking of piss are unbearable; the monkeys, imprisoned in the name of love, are embarrassing to watch. Due to the ongoing street works, we were far from anything of interest and wasted a lot of time on dusty and sandy detours to Lome. First morning of our arrival one of the dogs bit me and teared my only trousers, Alice didn't care. But if you are like us, and decide to stay for the cheap camping (1000 CFA each), ask the lovely Yawo to let you pitch your tent in the second compound, which is quiet, clean and pleasant. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3299.jpg Now let's stop ranting about and focus on the food again. Prices are higher in Lome than elsewhere in Togo, but street food is spectacular. The Togolese are passionate foodies, with countless variations of sweet and savory treats widely available. We had superb lunches at this central street-restaurant, where a family serves on weekdays from 1 pm rice, beans, pasta and pate with various proteins in chili sauce. To find this gem, get in line with the business people on Av. 24 Janvier, opposite Boston Pub, near the French Institute. Also you will find here excellent homemade lemonade and bissap juice. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3488.jpg With Maman Victorine, the queen of Lome lunches, cooking some of the best rice we've had in years. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3410.jpg Ana with Beauty, the lovely daughter of the lunch lady and our new friend. She is beninoise/ togolese, spending holidays in Togo helping her mum http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3504.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3494.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3515.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3304.jpg Another popular street food: pate rouge (millet flour, corn flour, tomato paste, tomato sauce, onion, peppers, Maggi cube) with chicken wings and yam wedges Fufu bars serve a tasty West African staple, now in season: yam fufu with sauces (peanut and mackerel, tomatoes with onion or spinach and beef) http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3332.jpg Boui, a millet porridge, is served with sweet bread for breakfast. We don't care so much for it (preferring to prepare our own guacamole with vegetable salad, or to eat chili beans with eggs in the morning) http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3294.jpg African Cola - a popular corn and caramel soft drink http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3296.jpg Togolese cheese is a delicacy made from cow's milk and wrapped in a leafy plant that gives it a reddish hue; is usual sold in the north and also at the Benin border http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3524.jpg Few days into our stay we settled for this hearty breakfast: beans with chili oil and cornflour. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3455.jpg And the inescapable African food fetish: sugar cane We were happy to see again the ocean after weeks of riding through desert or landlocked savannah. The beach is nice, but not unspoiled, whith houses and bars lining the ocean. The waves were too strong for swimming or for fishing and the seafloor is quite steep. When the sea got calmer we found great fish and seafood at local fishermen. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3359.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3379.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3530.jpg In Lome many locals grab a picnic or catch a game of foot on the beach that lines the Atlantic coast. We would have stayed in Chez Alice only as long as we needed to wash our stuff, but in Lome we faced the troubles of getting the Nigeria visa. After being rejected once, we thought we should attempt to obtain a letter of invitation and try again. The Sallah holiday pushed our next attempt at the visa one week later, as the whole Nigeria stopped to celebrate the end of Ramadan. This extra time allowed us to meet the mini Romanian community in Togo and the honorary consul, Mr. Alin Roman, head of Togolese Dacia/Renault subsidiary, and who very graciously assisted us with the visa. As always, the expats from our country who chose to live in Africa are not ordinary people. We were invited for a delish fusion dinner at Virginia's and enjoyed yummy traditional Romanian dinners at Stefan and Nicoleta's. Romanian cheese is nothing like its French, British or Swiss counterparts (we had smoked cow cheese and sheep cheese in fir tree bark); it is rustic, but still handmade in mountainous areas from fresh unpasteurized milk; quite tasty, goes nicely with a dry red wine. Eating this simple cheese in Togo suddenly felt exotic and we wondered again why the Romanians don't cherish their heritage more, while being more fair about our flaws. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3554.jpg Together with Alin Roman and Mr. Dumitru at Dacia showroom http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3389.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3417.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3428.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3432.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3435.jpg Images taken inside Togo Bois, a teak factory headed by Stefan http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3521.jpg |
Lome was the place to fix another small disaster that hindered our travels since Ouaga. Our GPS - the one that we had to buy back from the thief in Morocco - broke there and proved impossible to repair. This time we decided we cannot be cheap again and went for the expensive but hopefully more sturdy Garmin Zumo, that we bought online, had it shipped to Paris, had a friend carry it to the airport where a contact of our consul brought it in Lome by airplane. Let's hope that we won't have to dig again this deep in our pockets or we may have to go home sooner than planned.
http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3533.jpg I am ecstatic for the new GPS http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3400.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3549.jpg We were lucky to find many like-minded people in Togo. They (Gaspard, Devine, Blondine, baby Lea nicknamed Chocolate, Nesto, Epiphany) were our daily buddies, happy to share a laugh, taste our cuisine, watch us exercise and listen to our travel stories spiced with pics and videos. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3359.jpg After 3 weeks we were settled into our own rhythm, eating and fruit shopping at the same ladies, moving about like locals, when we finally got the Nigeria visa. We happily packed our stuff and set off to Benin, not before ditching the very used tires that took us over 14000 km and after mounting the knobbies (fingers crossed that they'll last till Namibia!). http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3464.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3467.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3475.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3541.jpg Ready to make a move and gulping our last beans'n cornflour breakfast. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3555.jpg Exit Togo via a serene road that lines the turquoise ocean after the fetish center of Aneho http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3561.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3578.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/togo/IMG_3583.jpg |
BENIN - Fetish or Coconut Country
This wasn't at all what we expected. We chose to stop in Togo to service the bike and got stuck there for over 3 weeks for the Nigerian visa, so had less than 3 days left to see what we could from Benin. We created quite a sensation when we showed up at the border, where Togolese and Beninese crowds cross over on foot and where street-side stalls with brochettes and fried yam are catered for by Nigerian refugees arrived here at the end of the 90s. We already had a visa so we asked for a cheaper Laissez Passer that would allow us to transit the country. As there was no such thing, we took the custom officer's advice and set off without, only to regret the decision 3 days later, when we had to negotiate the price down from 20000 CFA to the original 5000 CFA. Gas is 540 CFA/l and roads are in poorer condition. We stopped over for a fufu after the dusty resort of Grand Popo, and rolled cheerfully towards Ouidah.
http://intotheworld.eu/blog/benin/IMG_3587.jpg In the XVII-th century Benin was still split into several principalities, but eventually one chief prevailed and started in Dahomey (present day Abomey) a bloody dynasty of ruthless kings. Their leisure consisted in frequent invasions of the neighboring Yorubas in Nigeria and building bank palaces rumored to owe their red color to the blood of defeated enemies. Also they eagerly cashed in the gold from the very lucrative slave trade based in Ouidah and Porto Novo and run by the Portuguese, the French, the British and the Dutch. Between 1800 and 1900 over 10000 slaves were shipped by boat from the so dubbed Slave Coast to Brazil and the Caribbean, particularly Haiti. The slaves brought along a robust gastronomy, lively folklore and the voodoo tradition, which was formally recognized as religion only as recent as 1996. It's hard not to get emotional along the 4km that were the last walked by the slaves on their way to meet their destiny. Ouidah is today a sleepy resort with largely paved roads, but this lonely route lined with palm trees, fetishes and monuments was symbolically left untouched. The sandy piste passes by the monument of the Tree of Forgetfulness, the tree that once stood here was circled by the slaves to induce eternal oblivion upon their previous life in Africa and erase their home memories. At the end of the line we found ourselves in front of the Point of No Return, a monument that recalls the 1970's marxist regime rather than the emotional life of the African slaves. We gaze for minutes into the abyss of the horizon, beyond the forever blue that was once that last image on the retina of many people, before descending into the darkness of their implacable fate. Not far from the Point of No Return we enjoy a lovely chat with a bunch of youngsters who sell some meaty and fragrant coconuts. We choose to roll towards Cotonou on the beautiful Route des Peches. 42 of sandy piste, and the knubbies make the difference. Barely ten fishing villages are quietly lining one of the most romantic routes we drove on in Africa. Traditional vegetal huts, old boats carved from a whole tree trunk, we ride alone while digesting the heavy emotions from earlier. In the magically warm and long light of the sunset, the clouds of sand our Tenere leaves behind are shimmering like gold. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/benin/IMG_3592.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/benin/IMG_3595.jpg We find drinking water at some generous shy fishermen and later we look for a camping spot in the beach. We end up near the compound of a local chief, a very well spoken and dressed man, who welcomes us happily. We stay up late chatting life and food and in the background the capital lights up the night. In the morning we brew black Sri Lankan tea with milk for everybody, and they feed us the best coconuts ever. On the beach the fishermen have already formed a line and are sweating over the full nets. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/benin/IMG_3597.jpg Cotonou makes quite an impression on us: solid infrastructure, modern office buildings, a maze of a market, good street food but an insane traffic and kamikaze zemi-johns (motorcycle taxis) zooming from very direction. Benin was dubbed The West African Latin Quarter because of its people: loud, energetic and very chatty, always glad to start an intellectual or political debate. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/benin/IMG_3608.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/benin/IMG_3609.jpg We were meant to be heading for Abomey, in the heart of the Fon country. The 140 km of bad potholed tarmac proved a boring ride, along which we met just dilapidated trucks with hysterical drivers. This was the main road, so we decided to drop the idea of going back to Cotonou the next day on a secondary road, but we cringed at the thought of having to ride on this road not once, but twice. The historical capital of the bloody kingdom that shattered the peace over a huge chunk of Africa didn't impress us as much. UNESCO has pomped some money to establish the Dahomey Trail, along which the former palaces are scattered. But the buildings are either abandoned to ruin or so neatly restored that they appear brand new, and that doesn't help with the overall charm. The locals can't be bothered to cater for the old sites but are eager to collect any money they can squeeze from the tourists. We forfeit the pricey museum ticket and head to the market, to browse the voodoo merchandise on sale. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/benin/IMG_3613.jpg Voodoo comes from the Fon and Ewe word vodun, which means hidden or mistery. The present set of beliefs are an amalgam of traditional and catholic ideas that formed in the Caribbean. Voodoo is a daily aspect of life in both Togo and Benin. The fetish market is like a voodoo pharmacy, where the wood dolls and dead animals' parts (gri-gris) can be purchased at the indication of a juju man. The ceremonies usually revolve around the consultation of spirits of dead ancestors, who are offered the gift of certain aliments or domesticated animals. Unfortunatelly the voodoo religion has been harmed by the policy of the marxist government that abandoned it to the exploit of Hollywood. We let you enjoy the pics of dead gri-gris and of an unfortunate but very much alive chameleon that un unscrupulous fellow would have liked to sell to us for less than 4 Euros. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/benin/IMG_3623.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/benin/IMG_3625.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/benin/IMG_3622.jpg In less than 24 hrs we were to roll for the first time into the dreaded Nigeria we'd heard so much about, and nothing could have prepared us for what was to come. |
Lagos - Inferno and Paradise
First, we were reassured that we would get a visa, "no problem" said the nice visa lady at the Nigerian Embassy in Togo. "We cannot issue the visa for you" she said when we showed up to pick our passports two days later. "The UN headquarters in Abuja was bombed and 20 people were killed in the attack" emailed Rotila. And Louis who was the only one who could have helped us with an invitation from a Nigerian company for the embassy was in bed with malaria. Everything that could go wrong went. And yet, on the 14th of September, on our 93rd day of overloading through Africa, we arrived at the border with a stamp in our passports that had bought us the right to enter the dreaded Nigeria. This is a different country in a new and raw way we haven't encountered since crossing the No Man's Land between Morocco and Mauritania.
After lengthy bargains with the Beninese custom officers and socializing with border police who fetched a trustworthy moneychanger for us, the rusty barrier was lifted and we were finally in. We knew immediately that this was the second A heat haze was frying the horizon and our nerves. I parked and went to sort out the papers. There were many tall slender AK 47 armed Nigerian officials asking for many un-officials fees. I showed them a pile of papers while explaining why we don't have a Carnet and hoped for the best. "Your situation is very difficult", the tall slender AK 47 armed officer who picked me from the parking said. "You have to post a bond for your bike, that you may collect on your way out". After an hour and a half of intense negotiations we were friends. A friendship that cost a hefty 30 Euros (laissez passer plus stamps) and a headache. In the meantime Ana was busy chatting the other people off, while under the terrible suspicion that they were in no position to allay. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/lagos-2.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/lagos-3.jpg Road to Lagos - photo credits Nigerian media The next 80sh kilometers were a shock to the senses: after the pauper but healthy street life we got used to in West Africa, suddenly we were navigating a chaos of brand new Q7s and MLs with spinners and custom rims, drivers in white T-shirts and oversized sunglasses with rhinestones. It was like stepping through the magic mirror into an alternate universe, but soon the luxury cars with 3.5 l tanks merged along dilapidated cars and trucks into a suffocating flow of petrol-heads on their way to Lagos. Every other 500m or so people in all sort of uniforms or - more alarming - civilians with guns would throw a wooden plank with hooks in front of the cars, forcing them to pull over. Sometimes we had to stop and chat until they forgot about asking for money. We shook many hands and smiled many smiles and told our story maybe 20 times but we arrived at Mile 2 without paying any Naira. The price for petrol is shockingly low: 65 Naira/l, less than 40 cents. Rumor has it that it is artificially controlled by the government to prevent civil unrest, because there are no refineries in Nigeria and the crude oil is exported to other countries, then later imported back as end product. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and possibly the most diverse nation in the world, home to a vast array of people speaking an astonishing 840 languages. Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo are the 3 main languages, with english and pidgin widely spoken and understood. Immense natural resources, many untapped, coexist alongside sheer poverty. It is a country of extremes, where the rich are not in any Forbes statistics and where white people are constantly reminded by everyday life that they are no longer in power, but guests at a table where the best bets are up for grabs. Hardly explored by tourists at ground level, clouded by terrorist Boko Haram and marred by a dihcotomic fight for the black gold of the Niger Delta, Nigeria was before us: a mystery and a challenge. Within the next month we were to meet the fringe Nigeria, surely unable to comprehend its vastness, not to get nowhere near the heart of it. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/lagos-5.jpg Life for ordinary Nigerians is tough, so they have to be strong enough to survive it. Here if you don't wake up and go out there and work hard, you die. If you stop in the middle of the highway, you die. If you are afraid to ask what you need, you die. It's that simple. Especially in Lagos. To come all the way to Nigeria and miss the fastest growing city on the African continent would be crazy. By 2020, Lagos is estimated to become the third largest city in the world, with 24 million people, and these are the official numbers. The many that get by in the slums of the mega-city remain unaccounted for. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/lagos-1.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/lagos-5.jpg Lagos - Victoria Island http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/lagos-2.jpg The sand people: they can't swim, but they dive in the murky waters of the lagoon to collect sand in buckets, then they sell it for a few Nairas at construction sites. Most can't survive this job more than a few years. Louis took Ana on an introductory speed boat ride through the port and I plunged into an introductory ride through the rush hour traffic of a megacity of 14 million. It was exhilarating and insane. Kamikaze motorcyclists were shuttling clients through every inch available. They are the okadas and their life is expandable. 4x4s, limos, minibuses, trucks and cars hurtle through the okadas at computer game speed. Red light, roundabout, lanes, sidewalk, traffic police are utterly useless bits. The point is to move forward by all means as fast as possible. 90 minutes later I knew hell had set up serious business in the streets of Lagos. And yet, I was digging it. During the following 5 days we tried to look into the eye of this monster city. We fell under the spell of this unique, vibrant, mad, excruciating place of a million faces, born out of explosive population growth, a place that feeds on money and power. In their book "Last Chance to See", Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine wite: "in different parts of the world strikingly similar but completely unrelated forms of life would emerge in response to similar conditions and habitats." They talk about behavior patterns and about the gift shop "habitats of Spain or Greece" where "the local people cheerfully offer themselves up for insult and abuse in return for money which they spend on further despoiling their habitat to attract more money-bearing predators." Cities are immense organisms where, likewise, local inhabitants develop special skills to better adapt to the concrete and steel habitat. Dubbed the New York of Africa, Lagos has surely its Nigerian versions of the many life forms that populate every speck of one of the world's most intricate cities. In this complex and paradoxical context, we visited Marine's workplace, the Louis Pasteur French school, where we we become subject of study for a bunch of reasonably rich and quite smart kids. We had fun asking questions like: "How did you cros the sea?", "How can you have Naira when in Europe you have the Euro", or "How do you repair the moto", "What do you eat", "How do you wash" or "Why didn't you take the plane?". We had a brilliant time, followed by another mad downtown crossing with Ana trailing our bike with an okada. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3640.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3643.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3647.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3652.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3668.jpg These kids were screaming of joy when they heard the price tag for my bike. One said he's got the money to buy it and that he's going home to demand his dad to get him a bike asap. If Lagos can be hell by day, by night we entered the realm of sublime at The Africa Shrine, the Mecca of an unique music style that originated in Africa in the 1970s. Afrobeat is a polyrythmic fusion of Yoruba music, jazz, highlife, funk and chanted vocals, created by the genius Nigerian multi-instrumentalist and bandleader Fela Kuti. A spiritual leader, a hero to millions and a musical pioneer, Fela used Afrobeat in his own political guerrilla that revolutionized the political scene of Nigeria. His music was confrontational and spoke about an imperative and profound social change that was needed in the post-colonial Africa of the 1960s, where people were struggling with military coups and social discrimination. With psychedelic neon lights, an actual shrine bearing personal belongings and intimate photos of Fela, the place is a sound capsule which evokes the original legendary nightclub where the larger than life artist performed with the same incredible energy with which he enjoyed drugs and women. We saw the live performance of Femi Kuti, a "cleaner-cut version of his father", but a true artist, a soft spoken man who exploded into powerful harmonies and rhythms, combining and improvising with different elements. The show was completed by the jaw-dropping dancing of Femi leading a group of 5 women dressed in traditionally inspired attire. Beside hosting the weekly concerts of Femi and Seun, The Srine also provides a venue for new Nigerian talent and a space for intellectual debate. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/lagos-6.jpg The Shrine. Photo credits: The Shrine: The Unofficial Website for Fela Kuti and Afrobeat Music The Shrine: The Unofficial Website for Fela Kuti and Afrobeat Music Street food in Lagos is not easy to come by, so we wondered if we'll get a chance to sample more local cuisine, other than sue, a delicious Nigerian version of grilled beef, thinly cut and served with red onion and lots of ground pepper. But we also promised to visit Karen, a one of a kind woman and friend we met in Togo a few weeks back. Happy to see her and the family again, we were thrilled to enjoy the best Nigerian food we were to have during our whole stay in the country. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3671.jpg Egusi - a thick soup made from grounded melon seeds and bitter leaves, with goat meat and 2 starches: eba (the yellow paste made from cassava) and seem (semolina paste) http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3681.jpg It was a biker's day. Max had to try on my Tenere and was fearless at 2. I tried his dad's K1. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3690.jpg Ana and Karen http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3694.jpg Me, Karen and the kids http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3698.jpg Ana sharing a smooch with her extended Nigerian family |
Makoko - The 103-year-old stilt-slum of Lagos
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Our friends, Louis and Marine showed us some black and white photos of an unusual settlement nestled in the Yaba Local Government Area of Lagos State, and we knew we had to somehow get there. Makoko is one of many shoreline slums threatened by climate change in Nigeria. Rising water levels, strong tidal currents and polluting human activities (wood burning, excreting in the lagoon, throwing harmful substances in the environment) are some of the problems Makoko has to deal with. This slum on stilts was initially a temporary fishermen settlement, mostly Egun people from Badagry and Benin. The population has continued to grow for more than 100 years into a community now largely abandoned by government. The small village has become permanent home to the poorest of the poor, pushed off the land because of the premium real estate prices in and around Lagos. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3709.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3710.jpg The village is built high above the 1,5m deep water, with houses supported by hardwood stilts driven into the water bed. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3772.jpg Every 30 years or so the houses require some maintenance works. It's a harsh environment where one must work hard to survive, but for the villagers, Makoko is home and they strongly oppose the federal project to relocate them. They are not interested to move in a more beautiful or healthier place, despite the evident degradation and pollution. Yaba Local Government provided plastic tanks for drinking water. There are no basic social amenities like health care, electricity and water supply or pharmacy. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3763.jpg The only primary school in Makoko is attended by aprox. 50 students who have to pay 50 Naira/day. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3734.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3761.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3765.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3767.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3768.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3710.jpg The adults - and many times little children - go about their daily business in their boats. Every family owns one. Fishing, shopping, selling food or goods is done from a boat. There are even floating restaurants, a mill and manna repair shops based in boats. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3746.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3748.jpg The murky water is almost black with litter and has the quality of oil. There is a calming poetry in Makoko though, gliding on the "streets" - narrow canals that open into the lagoon. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3715.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3720.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3727.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3732.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3740.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3742.jpg ThereÕs limited government presence in the stilt village of Makoko, the local gangs (called Òarea boysÓ) control the streets and the community issues are addressed by the Baale (the village chief). Despite extreme poverty, there is joy in Makoko. This is no or Venice of NIgeria, but kids welcome yovos (white people) with smiles and adults are eager to chat. |
Abuja - An Unlikely City
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And then there was the day to leave Lagos. We had fallen for this manic but vibrant, but we had to go. Our itinerary: cross western Nigeria to Abuja to do some visa shopping. We left on a downpour and crossed Ilorin and Ibadan, the city that was recently severely affected by floods and where about 200 people died because of collapsing buildings. By evening we were stopping in Offa, thanks to Karen who had arranged our overnight stay (cheers Karen!). http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3783.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3775.jpg The 70s decor where we stayed for one night. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3799.jpg Waiting for the tropical rain to stop so we can take off to Abuja. We were saddened by the poverty that is so evident in rural western Nigeria. People are struggling to come to terms with a fast developing economy. Focus has shifted from agriculture and manufacture to the oil industry, and not to everyone's profit. Food is scarce and lots of stuff is now imported and quite expensive. The road to Abuja through the Niger state was exhausting. Bad tar with potholes from side to side and a massive traffic: trucks, lorries, buses, minibuses moving about at mind boggling speed. 550 km, 10 hours of riding, 3 brief stops for omelet with tea and a visit into the bush. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3802.jpg Cossing the Niger river once again By sunset we arrived in Abuja less than 3 weeks after a bomb exploded at the UN HQ. The terrorist group Boko Haram had already claimed responsibility for the attack in which reportedly 20 people were killed. Compared to Lagos, Abuja feels quiet and peaceful, but there is a lot of security in the streets, also because all diplomatic missions, NGOs and big oil companies are based in the very young capital of Nigeria. The city was founded in the early 80s. It has an impressive infrastructure due to Julius Berger Nigeria PLC - the same company that built the longest bridge in Africa, the 11.8km long Third Mainland Bridge, which connects Lagos Island to the mainland. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3997.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4088.jpg The church and the mosque are towering symbols of the Muslim and Christian nation. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3809.jpg In Abuja we met the Romanian community and the Embassy staff. Mr. Mircea Leucea kindly wrote letters to the various embassies we had to visit to support our visa applications. A week later we had Cameroon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo and Namibia stamps in our passports. During our visa runs we met Julien and Frank, two bikers overloading round the world on a brand new Super Tenere and on a BMW http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4113.jpg We stayed for 2 weeks at Mircea Rusu's, a fabulous host who can cook a tasty salad soup. We cannot thank enough for the pampering and tips for things to see and taste in Abuja. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4087.jpg Ragu of beet with rice at Mircea's http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/Mogadishu.jpg There are many continental, chinese and french restaurants in the biggest cities in Nigeria, as Nigerians enjoy to travel. Prawns and Sole fish are exported from here to Europe, also prime quality red snapper, crocker, red mullets, as well as lobsters, crabs, gambas are available. The best grilled fish in the whole of West Africa is in Mammy Market of Moghadishu Barracks, Abuja. In the middle of the circular market choose your crocker from the many mamas, then savor it slowly cooked to perfection, with pepper, onion and tomatoe dip, lime and potato wedges. Absolutely to die for. Unfortunately at least 10 people died here in January 2011, when a Boko Haram bomb exploded. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4140.jpg The Nigerian cuisine includes a lot of red pepper, fiery hot. Some of the specialities are the pepper soup (usually with fish); eba, fufu (pounded yam), gari (cassava) with vegetable, fish or goat meat stews. The food is cooked in palm oil with indigenous spices and herbs. Our favorite was suya, the Nigerian version of brochettes: beef, liver, gizzards with lots of pepper, always a night deal. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4127.jpg Grilled pork with cabbage and red onion http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4137.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4128.jpg Fufu with beef in tomato pepper sauce and egusi http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4131.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4136.jpg Dried peppery Idemol caterpillar - a protein rich snack usually enjoyed with beer. Has a mild fish flavor. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4056.jpg Abuja. Carrot and sesame salad, chickpea salad with feta and fresh basil, aubergine salad (a summer staple in Romania!), zucchini soufflŽ, chicken and flap jack with passion fruits for pudding. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4063.jpg The Gurara falls, in full force at the end of the rainy season http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3959.jpg On the 1st of October, the national day of Nigeria, we stayed inside and watched on TV the festivities. Because Boko Haram threatened to repeat the terrorist attacks from last year, the ceremony took place inside the presidential villa and the whole city was deserted |
An Enchanted Night In The Rainforest Changed Everything
On the 9th of October there were presidential elections scheduled in Cameroon. The dictator Paul Biya, in power for over 20 yrs, was the expected frontrunner for yet another 7 years term. On the 30th of September an opponent of the current regime fired a gun in Douala, and the police found an unexploded grenade in Limbe, at the Elecam hq. On the 13th of Octiber our Nigeria visa would expire, so on the 4th we were heading from Abuja to the Ikom border, with the intention to cross into Cameroon and avoid the capital during elections or to bushcamp next to the border.
There 3 ways into Cameroon: the good tar up in the north, through Maiduguri and the highly unstable Boko Haram territory. The overlanders' hell, the dreaded Ekok-Mamfe piste, marred by lorries and loggers' trucks and potentially hazardous during the last weeks of the rainy season. Or the ferry from Calabar to Limbe, that we could not afford. The eastern Nigerian states are visibly more lively and prosperous. Small, colorful villages, mud brick houses with zinc roofs, fresh food markets, streetside restaurants with delicious food, plantations. People are friendly, food is cheap and we zoom by police checkpoints without being stopped. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4146.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4155.jpg The roads are bad though, so after Obudu we decide to crash overnight at Afi Drill Ranch. Emi and Oli, the Brits overloading in a Landie who we'd met in Lome and who are ahead of us in Gabon, told us to stop in Afi, if we had the time. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4156.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4162.jpg The air is moist, the forrest is soaking and we are rolling through dense high vegetation that hardly allow any sunlight in the undergrowth. The track is narrow and goes up and down for 15 km into the dark heart of the rainy forest. It rains every day, sometimes even more times a day. The tires slide easily or the sticky mushy clay, so a fall is imminent. We bite the mud two times, but we arrive in one piece, yet covered in dirt and with rivers of sweat flowing from the forehead to the boots. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4063.jpg We're in the deep bush. There is no GSM network, no electricity and no running water. Afi Drill Ranch is the research camp of Pandrillus, a conservation project dedicated to saving the primates and the forest of Cross River state from extinction. The camp is bordering the wildlife sanctuary established together with the state government. The project receives short teem visitors who can witness the daily work and learn about primates conservation. We are welcomed by 2 American long term volunteers, Amanda and Jens, who show us around. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4179.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4184.jpg We are completely exhausted. Soon we lay down in our tent, pitched in the bamboo shed. The night is magical. The darkness burns the eyes and is hardly interrupted by myriad stars and immense fireflies. A choir of forrest sounds - amphibians, insects and nocturnal mammals - completely new to our ears. We let this new energy burn its imprint into our DNA. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4190.jpg We're having a scottish breakfast in the middle of the rainforrest The route to Calabar is long and hard: area boys, potholes and traffic jams all over. But the city of Calabar is pleasant and clean. A very un-Nigerian place, where people walk the streets, where there are no okadas, with good fresh produce markets and a suya arcade. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4242.jpg We are camping right by the main drill enclosure, next to the crocodiles and the duika, in the yard of Pandrillus HQ, which is also the home of Peter Jenkins, the founder of the project. Him and Lisa Gadsby arrive in Nigeria while overloading in Africa. They had a 10 days transit visa and a meeting with destiny. They discovered that the Cross River subspecies of drill monkey, assumed to be extinct, was still roaming the forests, and they embarked on a race to save them. More than 20 years later, Pandrillus has become one of the world's most successful conservation & captivity breeding of an endangered species projects. It is amazing that such a project exists in the impoverished West Africa and in Nigeria, of all the places. To us it was logical to volunteer our time and effort, and a privilege to be accepted. We sorted out our papers (visa and laissez passer extension) and went shopping for working gear (trousers, long sleeve shirt, shoes) from the second hand shacks in the market. By the end of the week we were already back in the midst of primary rain forest. We were not to exit this unique but dwindling wildlife sanctuary for the next four weeks. |
What are Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, Afri Drill Ranch and Pandrillus?
Information provided by Pandrillus. Photos by us.
www.pandrillus.org Pandrillus is a Nigerian NGO that promotes survival of one of Africa's most endangered primates, the drill monkey. The main activity is the Drill Rehabilitation & Breeding Center project (nicknamed "Drill Ranch"), conducting conservation research and survey work in Nigeria and Cameroon, where it also co-manages the Limbe Wildlife Center. The project also provides sanctuary to 28 rescued orphan chimpanzees, the older ones living in their own natural forest enclosure at Afi Drill Ranch, while the youngest live together in a chimp nursery in Calabar. What is a Drill? http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4383.jpg Bulli, the challenging male to the alpha in Group 6, Ochu Drills (Mandrillus leucophaeus) are large, short-tailed rain forest monkeys, endemic to Cross River Sate, Nigeria, south-west Cameroon and Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea. Drills have a smooth black face, males have wider faces with intense magenta and purple coloration in genital area and around the cheeks, and they can surpass 45 kg. They have a particularly well-formed thumb, they communicate with facial expressions, vocalizations and specialized behaviors. Unlike most monkeys, drills are semi-terrestrial, searching the ground for food (fallen fruit, roots, leaves, insects, invertebrates), climbing the trees to forage and to sleep at night. They are also semi-nomadic, traveling long distances in the forest, perhaps following fruiting seasons of different trees. Like most primates, they are highly social and live in groups of 15-30. At certain times of the year super-groups of up to 200 animals can occur in the wild, allowing individuals to leave the group they were born in and join another, thus preventing in-breeding. Unfortunately these extraordinary animals are in danger of extinction. Hunted illegally for bushmeat, with only 40,000 sq km of natural range impoverished by logging, farming and human developments, drills are a top conservation priority among the 60+ African primate species. Little is known of drill ecology, as they are elusive and not well studied in the wild. The world population if wild drills is less than 10,000 and could be as low as 3,000. Drill Conservation http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4911.jpg The first step is to learn exactly where drills still live and which populations have the best chance of survival. Liza and Peter completed in 1989 a survey of Nigeria and covered most of Cameroon (which has over 60% of world's drill habitat). Drills are protected from hunting in Cross River National Park in Nigeria and the Korup National Park in Cameroon. In May 2000 the Cross River State Government created the Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, where wild drills, gorillas, chimps and other endangered species survive. Still, forests are difficult to secure against poachers. Former hunters are being employed as wildlife rangers, to patrol the sanctuary, in an award-winning community-based protection scheme. Recently Peter has created the first ever Task Force that is fighting illegal logging in an attempt to protect the wildlife habitat of these endangered species. Drills are rare in captivity and they reproduce poorly in zoos, where they lose some of their native instinct and are not likely to successfully return to the wild. While conducting survey work in 1988, Peter and Liza discovered infant drill in villages, by-products of hunting of nursing mothers shot for bushmeat. They decided to salvage this potentially valuable conservation and genetic resource and to raise the primates in natural-sized social groups in their own habitat. The Pandrillus project promotes habitat protection education and awareness about the importance of endangered wildlife conservation. What is "Drill Ranch"? The Ranch started in 1991 with 5 drills, and by January 2009 298 drills - over 75% of captive drills in the world - were living in Afi. Most drills were donated by citizens of Cross River; some were recovered by wildlife or park officers, or police. Two monkeys were recovered from Asia, from the hands of international smugglers. The project never buys animals, because it's illegal and we must not encourage wildlife trade. Drills usually arrive as infants and, after quarantined, grow and live together in 1 of the 6 groups, in solar-powered electric enclosure of naturally forested drill habitat in the Afi River Forest Reserve, Boki LGA, Cross River State, Nigeria. The first group of drills was flown by helicopter to Afi in 1996. The project is home to Africa's first captive drill birth and world's first ever twin birth in captivity, and has witnessed more than 200 births since its start. The nearest villages (Buanchor and Kataba) benefit greatly from the project: permanent staff is employed from there and most animal food is purchased from local farmers. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4186.jpg The wheelbarrows with fruits for one of the 3 daily feedings. Each will feed a group of drills, the scarcity of the food encourages the drills to continue foraging and prevents them from becoming dependent. The Graduation http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4920.jpg The project has been working for this pioneering event for over 5 years. If the project will be able to maintain sustainable protection of the Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, the super-group of over 130 drills will be released from Enclosure 1 on Afi Mountain, in a carefully monitored program. The Graduation will be a worldwide premiere and is scheduled for 2012, during fruiting season, with various scenarios planned. The super-group is expected to split into 3 to 5 groups, and the larger males - who will potentially assume dominance within the new groups - will carry collars. Chimpanzees in Drill Ranch http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4717.jpg Maya Another world record is about to be completed in Afi Ranch. The staff is working on the largest ever naturally forested enclosure for chimps, a beautiful 12 ha of primary rain forest, where the rescued chimps will be living a decent life, along members of their own species. Chimpanzees are 99% genetically identical to humans and after living in miserable captivity for years - in poorly managed zoos or as pets - they cannot re-adapt to life in the wild. The project offers home to rescued chimps, but does not encourage captive breeding. The chimps in Drill Ranch are divided in 2 heterogeneous groups, dominated by 2 alpha males: Willy and Jacob. The oldest chimpanzee is 42 years old and there is also one lowland chimp, rescued from Guinea, named Pablo. How is Drill Ranch funded? The project is funded by direct donation in Nigeria, the fund-raising efforts of Pandrillus Foundation in the USA and Rettet den Drill in Germany. The Cross River State Government provides monthly contribution for staff salaries and animal feeding and has donated a vehicle and funded eco-tourism infrastructure that brings in revenue. Non-national staff, including Liza and Peter, work for free, with about 40 Nigerian staff on salary. The project has a tree nursery where native species are being grown from seedlings, then sold for a modest fee to the forest department for re-planting. Pandrillus works in cooperation with the Cross River State Forestry Commission, Ministry of Environment and Tourism Bureau. Pandrillus offers a yearly grant for a green project developed by a Boki villager. |
Our Stint with Pandrillus - Part I
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Day 118. We reached the 30,000 km on the clock, and the next km will be only logged while moving to our working sites or going to the next village, Buanchor, where sometimes there is GSM signal. Working day starts at 8 a.m. with a staff briefing, there is also a 12 am - 1 pm lunch break. Crew boys - supporting personnel who perform most endurance tasks - finish work at 4 pm, the rest of us at 5 pm. We cook our own fod, dinner being sometimes served in the secondary staff shed, where we cooked and socialized, learning words in local dialects, how to use wild vines for the traditional Nigerian food (like egusi) and abusing the local staple, garri - a casava flour that we used for pancakes, tortillas and deserts. We are deeply grateful to our colleagues, the management and in particular to Peter Jenkins, for the opportunity to work together in one of the most successful and important conservation projects in the world. Satellite 6 & 1 works http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4264.jpg Cutting and pre-drilling the frame pieces http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4320.jpg A quick run to Ikom, to sort out our Laissez-Passer extension http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4351.jpg After work we would relax in the communal area, the main shed http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4270.jpg The view from the main shed towards the Afi Mountain it's never the same. Satellite 6 - 2 days, individual work http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4426.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4429.jpg We replaced rotten wood, fitted the panels with mesh, repaired broken frames, built new platforms for the quarantined drills and designed, built and fitted door stoppers for the sliding doors that connect the satellite to the enclosure and that separate the 2 compartments inside the satellite. After work we cleaned the site from debris and transported all scraps to the garbage pit and to the storage from where wood can be recovered for making fire. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4863.jpg On the Canopy Walkway, the second largest in Africa, suspended at over 30 meters in the trees. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4410.jpg Lianes are parasite plants typically found in the tropical forests http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4857.jpg A parasite tree is slowly murdering its host http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4584.jpg At the magic tree in Buanchor: the village GSM antena. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4603.jpg Kids in Buanchor Survey Work http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4686.jpg We completed and assessment of the entire built base, highlighting: what needs to be fixed, replaced or improved in visitor and staff cabins, sheds and animal enclosures, we tagged with red tape the fence poles that are must be changed, suggestions for an improved layout of the vet shed, tool shed and fuel shed in relation to the main staff shed and the working area. We proposed 2 washing points (water birds) with easy access from the toilets and water source (stream). One important aspect is using as many materials from site as possible and keeping the budget to a minimum. Our second survey work was assessing the new chimp extension which is a big operation: we proposed an improved working flow taking into account manpower and materials availability and sources (gravel and sand are difficult to bring to the site because the terrain is quite irregular and even marshy). We proposed a prototype for the 7 bridges that would ensure easy access around the enclosure for maintenance staff and an ATV. We proposed solutions for terrain works in particularly delicate areas (2 marshes and one area very difficult to cross). Bridge proposal follow a few main ideas: using materials already on site, using as little concrete as possible to keep pollution to a minimum, keeping the site clean for debris, building a cheap wood strecher-like container for concrete mixing (to avoid several pits difficult to clean afterwards) and following a simple but strict work flow. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4729.jpg Riding the truck to Buanchor http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4547.jpg American pancakes with garri and bananas by Jens http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4723.jpg Shaua-Shaua, the wild pineapple. In the background is CJ. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5030.jpg Changing the brake disc, thanks to our invaluable friend, Harry. |
Our Stint with Pandrillus - Part II
President Obasanjo
Former star president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo arrived at the ranch 10 years after his first visit. It was an intense team effort to prepare the camp for his visit and it was great fun to have him over and to get to know him. Years back in Galati or Bucharest we would have never thought that us, two ordinary Romanians, would get to know the president of Nigeria, and the most famous and powerful nevertheless. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4442.jpg President Olusegun Obasanjo posing with the ebony that he planted here 10 years ago. Ebony is one of the most precious essences in Africa, it's very resistant to humidity and was traditionally used for bridges in Boki region, but is now under threat of being forested into extinction. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4464.jpg At the chimp platform where I had build 2 new visitor benches. CJ is the star of the day, making a brilliant presentation for Obasanjo and the entourage http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4482.jpg Obasanjo signs the guest book, while Peter Jenkis acts as the man in the shadow. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4486.jpg Asuko (senior drill keeper in group 1 & 6) shows Poto, who is rather unhappy to be disturbed from his usual daytime sleep http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4489.jpg President asked us to take a photo with him, and we happily obliged. Now we are waiting for Jonathan. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4491.jpg The president meets permeant staff: Takam (crew boy), David (group 6 & 4) and Franca (animal food); the armed dude is from the escort http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4494.jpg The strong jaw of the president next to more ranch staff: Tony (group 1 & 6), Gabriel (group 2, 3, 4), James (group 2 & 5), Rose (housekeeping), Thomas (group 5, fence maintenance) Chimp Septic - 5 days, 4 crew boys (1 for digging, 2 for mixing and pouring concrete, 1 to wheelbarrow materials) Cleaning and maintenance of the two big and crowded chimp satellites was top priority. The faces, solids and liquids are difficult to collect and remove from site. Problems are: staff medical issues like frequent eye and skin infections, pools of dirty matter where mosquitoes quickly reproduce generating an unmanageable infested area and most of all, pollution of the nearby stream via a channel that carries all dirty waters. We proposed a septic pit: 95x155 cm, 1.60m deep, concrete walls, no bottom. We would lay gravel and then sand on the bottom of the septic, allowing the dirty matters to slowly be filtrated. The solids would by then be partially be consumed by insects and the surplus can be shoveled to the main garbage pit. The septic would be connected with a concrete gutter to the satellite, and would have a wooded pedestrian cover, making it easy to maintain and service. We would fit the septic wit an overflow: PVC slotted pipes that would direct only filtered liquids and meteoric water to the stream. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4508.jpg We eliminated the polluting drain system towards the stream, we closed the gutter in the satellite, we marked and dug the pit http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4553.jpg We sent crew boys for sand and stones, which we then pounded to the desired granulation. We designed the concrete recipe. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4554.jpg We built and placed the forms. As we were using scraps, we struggled to level the faces. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4560.jpg Forms, reinforcing wire and overflow drain fitted http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4579.jpg With my crew boys for the day: Mathew and Godwin. We prepared a semi-wet premix on the floor, then correct the consistency in the wheelbarrow, and poured with a metal basinet. We vibrated with an old iron. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4718.jpg Walls and washing platform done. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4742.jpg We dismantle the forms. The walls are not perfectly plane, but the concrete is impeccable http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4746.jpg Godwin covers the drain with soil http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4776.jpg We poured the connection gutter to the satellite. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4774.jpg Typical staff & visitors photo. From felt to right: Jens (from Oregon, volunteers for 1 year), a German visitor, Asuko (Senior drill keeper, from Calabar), Mageed (vet and manager), Ana, visitor & driver http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4808.jpg From left to right: me, Nasseru (welder), Ana, Asuko, Celestine (driver), CJ, Mageed http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5041.jpg Rose, Ana, Franca http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5046.jpg Takam http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5053.jpg Me, Peter, Ana, Godwin, Emmanuel 1, Amanda, Mathew, takam, Tony, Thomas, James, Gabriel, Robert, Emma 2 Final group photo, the departure morning. |
Wildlife and Nursing Animals
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Harry Poto - a 1 year poto adult, rescued after suffering a life threatening injury to the head. Its a nocturnal low rank primate, it feeds on fruit and insects and has chosen to stay in Afi, nobody knows why. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4343.jpg Green Tree Viper - the adult measures about 40-45 cm, it's poisonous but not dangerous. We saw it sleeping one cold wet morning by our water tank. The next morning, it was gone. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4572.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4789.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4823.jpg The many amazing butterflies that lives in Afi, some as big as a palm are still little known. Their food of choice are rotten bananas. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4611.jpg Lala, the wild civet baby who arrive in the cam soon after us. She is barely 1 month old and her mother and sister were killed by some farmers. While we were in camp, I was her daddy, nursing her with milk and taking her to matinal and evening outing in the undergrowth. Civets grow to the size of a Labrador, are nocturnal and carnivores, but unfortunately orphan babies have a less than 40% chance of survival. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4627.jpg Lala http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4761.jpg Rhinoceros beetle. It lives in the palm stem and its larvae are edible. This one is a male. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4955.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5063.jpg Praying Mantises http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5058.jpg Pius, the 4 months old porcupine who is recovering well after severe injuries from a drill attack. He will return to the wild within a couple of months. Chimpanzees In Afi There are two main groups: the chimps in the natural enclosures and the ones in the satellites, who will be release in their new world record home next year. Chimps in the satellite have been rescued from miserable captive conditions. They have never experienced freedom and the chimp extension is destined to provide them with that for the first time in their life. After spending all their life close to humans, these chimps can never successfully return to the wild. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4713.jpg Waiting for their new primary forest enclosure to be finished http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4925.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4933.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4943.jpg Lucy http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4951.jpg Murphy, the former alpha male in the enclosure http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_4957.jpg Pablo, a lowland chimp with a slight paresis |
Drills in Afi
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Fantastic pictures and writing. I've just got back from Morocco and would love to have continued as you are.
Happy trails. |
Thank you Ionut and Ana
Thanks for sharing these great pics and stories with us! Grant and I went through Africa a few years ago, took a few pics but were constrained by the fact it was before digital cameras and we had a limited budget for film. Looking at your pics makes me really want to go back again.
Please keep them coming! :D |
Amazing photos,and a truly great write up too. Excellent. Thanks for sharing!
:thumbup1: |
Ekok - Mamfe: Abandon all hope ye who enter (Dan
Our coworkers from the Afi camp didn't keep their promise to hold us hostages to the project. We secretly wished that somehow we could linger longer, in spite of the pricey Cameroon, Congo and DRC visas already in our passports. But our time to move on had come. And we have been dreaming of Cameroon - nicknamed "miniature Africa" - for a long time. The 9th of October presidential elections had passed peacefully, instead of turning into a bloody conflict, as predicted by the foreign news agencies. Paul Biya had paid for 7 more years of direct acces to Cameroon's wealth and power with a few campaign t-shirts and some bags of cash.
We had taken the visa in Abuja: 1 photo, application form and 50000 CFA. Gas is aprox. 595 CFA/l. 9th of November, last days of rainy season. We zoom from Afi to Ikom, where we fill up for the last time with the dirt-cheap Nigerian petrol and call home. 20 km farther we cross the border from Mfum to Ekok, where the Cameroonian customs officer has some troubles figuring out that our visas are still valid. A few hours and 7000 CFA later we have a Laissez passer for 14 days and we start rolling - late as hell - on the dreaded Ekok - Mamfe road, possibly the most difficult of its kind in all of Africa. A Nightmare Begins We are fierce and climb steeper and steeper hills of unsealed mud that has petrified under the scorching sun. Where pools of water linger, the laterite sinks our tires into a sticky swamp of hell. The Chinese are working at this road and they say in 2 years the legendary over-lander's nightmare will be buried under smooth tarmac. For now, the beast is alive and is claiming all our mental and physical energy. Ana walks the toughest parts. It's all challenging, but we are coping well. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5065.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_3220.jpg Romanians say that "one must not celebrate before the race is over". At a crossing, through a crater the size of a lorry, I feel the clutch on fire and my rear wheel just dead. I'm stuck, I have no clutch and people come running. I know I don't have a spare clutch, nightmare begins. As it turns out, we are on a plantation, where a 10 houses community has set camp to profit from the traffic to Nigeria. We carry alu-boxes, dry sacks and our frozen souls under a palm shed, then we push the bike uphill. A woman fetches us water to shower and plant on Ana's lap a 7 months baby who makes a wee. At might we drop exhausted and in a state of disbelief on our punctured mattresses. In the morning we begin the damage control operation: we have some food (oats, tea, 2 cans, 1 soup) and 4000 CFA (6 Euro). We buy garri, sweet potatoes, Magi, sugar, bananas and oranges and we sent scooter-taxis to Ekok to charge a borrowed SIM. After 4 weeks of conservation work in Nigeria, there we were, living among poachers, smelling the daily catch of bush meat (porcupine, monitor lizard, tortoise) in the villagers' pots and listening how illegal loggers cut rare trees, then ship them to Nigeria on floats during the night. We have to renounce all privacy, constantly scrutinized and hassled by curious passengers, dozens of truck drivers and mechanic wannabes. Kids begged for any plastic spoon and old sock we dared to use. By the third day we were forced to buy at inflated prices the oranges and potatoes that villagers had picked from the floor behind their house. By night, drunken people debating loudly our situation kept us awake, with alarming key words like moto, rich, money, Abuja, kidnapping. When we barely managed to close an eye, the goats and roosters would begin a delirious routine, feeding our paranoia. Every day we felt more tired and hopeless. We missed our scheduled live TED conference, but we somehow managed to contact our Abuja friends and our families. Harry bought a replacement clutch, FedEx-ed it to Abuja, from where it would be trucked to Ikom, then carried over the border by a taxi. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/...phine-0774.jpg It was the 5th day in Nsanaragati when saw the first white faces. Another overlander's vehicle had gotten stuck in the pothole that had claimed our Tenere. Jacques, Delphine, Lea (4,5 yrs) and Elisa (3 yrs) had left Toulouse for a year long African adventure by Land Rover Defender. It was Elisa's b-day, Lea had a fever, but all they said was: "rescue team is here". We took their generous offer to be towed to Bamenda and after 30 minutes of packing, we were attempting something we'd only seen at Dakar. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/...phine-5726.jpg © Delphine Lea is resting with high fever while Gillian is watching. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/...phine-5729.jpg The shed where we lived for 5 days. © Delphine The impossible becomes possible on the infernal 10 km to Eyumojok. No image can begin to describe what is like to actually be doing what we did, but that's all we have to remind us of this improbable experience. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5072.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/...phine-5736.jpg © Delphine http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/...phine-5741.jpg © Delphine http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/...phine-5742.jpg © Delphine http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/...phine-5744.jpg © Delphine One day the Chinese machines will burry the Ekok-Mamfe legend under tarmac. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5079.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5081.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5084.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5086.jpg Resting on some cocoa bags with a high fever from exhaustion. In the background, the car we later helped out of the mud. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/...phine-5752.jpg The epic day ended with Elisa blowing her 3 candles at the bivouac. © Delphine http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5089.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5092.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5096.jpg Campbells … in Africa http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/...phine-0781.jpg © Delphine http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5100.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5105.jpg We wash our vehicles. The road to Bamenda took us another two days, because the good tar is alternating with unsealed patches. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5126.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5133.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/...phine-5776.jpg © Delphine Brilliant camping spot, in the middle of the primary forest. Rain comes over indeed, but we medicate with Pastis and hot dogs. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5147.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5148.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5151.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5155.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5152.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5158.jpg In Bamenda we camp at Foyer Eglise Presbiteriene and spend our time doing laundry, shopping for necessities, finding a shoe guy to sew our disintegrating slippers and emailing home. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5160.jpg African plums http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5163.jpg Concha, a protein powerhouse served for breakfast in the north-west http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5164.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5166.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5168.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5173.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5174.jpg The other overlanders we had met en route are already in Congo and informed us that DRC and Angola visas are impossible to get now, because of the upcoming Congolese elections that are expected to become violent in the buildup. They got stuck in Pointe Noire and had to ship their vehicles (2 cars + 2 bikes) to Namibia and fly via JoBurg. A very scary and expensive option, we are hoping that as we already got our DRC visa we might get lucky with Angola as well in Matadi, if we can reach it before our Congo and DRC visas expire. In the meantime, our clutch arrived in Abuja and will be shipped to Yaounde where we will pick it up next week from the UPS office. With days to spare, we decide to take a joyride on the famous Ring Road in our french friends Landie. |
Ring Road
The 370 km Ring Road is the most famous piste in Cameroon, crossing a very diverse ethnographic area, home to many of the 280 distinct tribes in the country. We stock on food for the 3-4 days offroading: potatoes, vegs, grasshoppers, fruits.
http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5175.jpg Yam mountains in Bamenda market http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5178.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5181.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5184.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5185.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5189.jpg First day: we drive on the piste to Bafut, where we opt out of visiting the local chief compound, because of the tourist tax worthy of a major european museum. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5193.jpg Veggies and grasshopper salad for lunch. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5196.jpg Lea practices for Dakar http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5205.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5207.jpg We Falls http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5235.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/...phine-5832.jpg © Delphine One has to earn the perfect camping spot. So after a dignified struggle up on a hill covered in wild flowers and thyme and after some intense machete-gardening, we pitch our tent by a pepper tree and a guava. We would wake up with the most incredible view. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/...phine-5833.jpg Morning grooming. © Delphine http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5210.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5238.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5268.jpg The locals are herders and they look rather north-african. Mohammed and his sons pay us a pleasant visit in the morning. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5216.jpg The countryside is so beautiful that it's soothing to our recent memories of Nsanaragati. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5253.jpg Lake Bamendjing, that famously has a gas pouch on the bottom. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/...phine-5736.jpg © Delphine http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/...phine-5837.jpg © Delphine The second day the track becomes almost unpassable at times, with huge holes and ravines that run through the middle of the road. Jacques graciously allows me to drive for the first half of the day and even if it's a tough job, I am having a lot of fun doing it. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5254.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5258.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5273.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5279.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5285.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/...phine-5868.jpg © Delphine In the evening we camp on the edge of a mountain. We start roasting our sweet potatoes and the excellent beef we got from a butcher in a village. We are soon surrounded by a large muslim family, complete with the two wives and many kids. They give us some space to eat or dinner though, only to visit us again the next morning. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5293.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5298.jpg The third day we get going quite late, having to struggle with a leaking differential. The road feels smoother and it twists and turns among logged hills, rice paddies and tea plantations. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5295.jpg The green curvy landscape reminds us of our homeland mountains in summer. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/...phine-5894.jpg © Delphine http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5292.jpg We have lunch in Nkambe: rice, beef stew, chicken, boiled plantain and ero http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5323.jpg With our now impeccable sense of finding the right place, we pitch our tent in another super place. On the edge of a eucalyptus forest, with a breathtaking view of the surroundings: villages are dotting green mountains and we see cattle returning home and sun setting down in an explosion of colors. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/...phine-5895.jpg © Delphine http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5319.jpg At over 2300m, the air is fresh and cold. A warm shower, a fire, a Bordeaux and a plate of cabbage with beef - cooked with local ingredients - complete a memorable day. |
How We Couldn't Fix The Bike
After 4 zen days, we're back in Bamenda and back to our troubled reality. We organize transportation to the capital Yaounde, where we are expecting the clutch. Our only option is to take the night bus, so we bargain hard for the 30 Euro ride. The vehicle was stolen from the EU aids bulk and is barely recognizable under the load of yams and live pigs. A woman stuffs her chicken under my bike, and with only 2 bottles of water, some ground nuts and what we are wearing, we hop on at midnight, only to descend at 6.30 the next morning. It was impossible to close an eye, but somehow someone manages to steal our mobile during the night. On arrival we ignore the rude hasslers in the bus station, push the bike uphill to a Total and hitch a taxi ride to the meeting with the Vidals.
http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5337.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5339.jpg We apply for the Gabon visa (photo, form, 50,000 CFA, 48 hrs) and we set camp on the lawn of the unfriendly presbyterian center, the cheapest accommodation in Yaounde. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5372.jpg The huge water towers are local landmarks. Nearby, flourishing commerce: call booths and candy stalls. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5340.jpg There's plenty of french boulangeries in Yde, so we feast on buttery viennoiserie. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5344.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5346.jpg In the afternoon it's barbecue time: fresh mackerel and tilapia brought in from Douala and served with plantain chips and pepper sauce. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5343.jpg Yummy The clutch arrives http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5351.jpg 2 weeks after the bike broke down, we manage to collect our precious parcel. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5359.jpg We are high with joy. Finally we will fix our bike and get going. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5364.jpg Suddenly, my brain freezes over. The clutch discs don't fit! Even though Harry has explained to wemoto.com that we only have one chance to make it, they just sent us the wrong parts. We hit a new dead end. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5367.jpg Later, we would learn that the parts were for the old Tenere. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5368.jpg We pull the cover over our sick bike and we hop again on the Vidal bus. Our fiends suggested we should wait with them in Limbe, which is closer to the entry port for another parcel. This time Harry orders the second clutch from off-the-road.de, who will ship by DHL in about 5 days to Douala. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5382.jpg On the road again, we sample some banana leaf wrapped manioc. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5383.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5387.jpg And spicy fish stew. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5386.jpg Missing Nigeria. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5392.jpg Coke reigns supreme here. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5399.jpg But beer is still cheaper than water. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5406.jpg The green gold of Cameroon is constantly being lorried out and illegally shipped from Douala to every corner of the planet. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5417.jpg A vision of Mt. Cameroon. The lava giant rises above the ocean at 4090m. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5426.jpg We camp in the parking of Seme Hotel, on Mile 11 beach, where the girls' grandfather is expected to visit with a bag full of french gourmet foods. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5431.jpg Everyday we lunch on bushmeat in Batoke village: gazelle, wild rabbit, with manioc and corn on a cob. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5386.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5476.jpg Lea http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5478.jpg Elisa http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5469.jpg In Limbe we feast on fresh fish in the traditional port. Mt. Cameroon lures us again to climb it, and we decide to go for it during the next 2 days. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5453.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5458.jpg After the 1999 eruption, a cloud of volcanic ash changed forever the Limbe beach: now black sand is washed ashore by the warm calm waters of the ocean. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5446.jpg ITW was here! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5442.jpg To be continued. |
On Top of Mt. Cameroon
To Dr. Anghelescu (Med Sport Clinic), who helped me to walk again and to our friends Andreea Popa & Dumitru Buda.
http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5465.jpg We start our ascent in Buea, the hub for guide and porter hiring, where we stock on supplies and food. We will follow the shortest, steepest way up, the Race Track. This is the path taken during the annual race to the top, that famously logged in a stupendous 4 hrs. record! The route will take us through 4 distinct geo-climateric zones: tropical rain forest, savannah, alpine and finally steppe. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5482.jpg The 2 of us plus Delphine, Jacques, Edmond the guide and porters Mahindi, Jonas & Ibrahim start the climb at 10.30 in the morning. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5485.jpg We climb the first 500 m through plantain farms. When we finally entered the forest, the air is cooler and there are beautiful tropical flowers and birds. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5487.jpg We take our first break at 1500 m in the 100 yrs. old Hut 1. Our lunch: sardines and bread. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5489.jpg Hours later we are climbing the steepest part: the path is covered in high savannah grasses and in petrified lava. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5493.jpg At New Hut (1800 m). http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5495.jpg Stunning scenery. Perfect clouds are tumbling down into the abyss. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5499.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5502.jpg Jacques & Delphine http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5506.jpg A little after 6 p.m. we hit our target. We reach Hut 2 (2800 m) where the cold wind blows us into the shack. We gather around a steaming pot of Indomie and spaghetti, then we cuddle in or sleeping bags and tent. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5534.jpg At 4.30 we have to wake up, eat our disgusting chocolate sandwich and blindly follow Edmond towards the summit. Only me, Ana and Jacques chose to continue, and we are rewarded with the most amazing sunrise of our lives. The day slowly opens into an explosion of new colors and the birds offer an exclusive concert of delicate music. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5549.jpg Strange trees covered in moss appear from the ghostly layer of fog. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5550.jpg At Hut 3, at 3800 m above the sea level. Unfortunately Ana was forced to forfeit the ascent here, because of an acute headache. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5447.jpg Me and Jacques climb the final 300 m through a weirdly lunar landscape and breathing becomes more difficult with every step we take. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5443.jpg The Earth curvature is clearly visible from the top. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5539.jpg ITW is on the summit! P.S. The Race Track is a difficult choice. We carried for days our wounds: solar burns, bunions, blisters, cuts and swollen nails. A longer - 3 or 4 days track may be a wiser option, but we are pround and happy to have conquered another dream. |
Some very amazing photographs, you have a real skill with the camera. So the new Tenere, are you happy with iiit??
It looks back-heavy with all that gear plus the clutch failure with under 40,000kms seems a little early... Safe riding and we hope you're back on the road quickly. Thanks for sharing!! |
:rockon:chug:thumbup:
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Totally cool trip, writing and photos - thanks for sharing.
Safe travels. |
The Second Clutch Arrives. Will It Fit?
Thanks all!!!
I'm happy with the bike but the heavy load makes all fun to go away. The early clutch failure is part overloaded bike, part my mistake (by following the small tracks of chinese scooters = like riding w. the rear brake on). Overall is a good lowbuget allrounder. Quote:
The day after we had climbed Mt. Cameroon we felt exhausted in every aspect. Black nails, bleeding toes, sun burns, herpes. As if the long horizontal journey we set out to complete was not enough, we had added to it a long vertical journey. We logged online to check out the status for our delivery, made some calls to DHL Douala and then the customs in the airport to finally clear confusion - as DHL had registered 2 different parcels with the same tracking no. and we were told ours had been delivered to Oslo, Norway. Our parcel was indeed in Douala so we had to organize our trip from Mile 11 to the airport as fast as possible. Luckily a Cameroonian lady stopped by, curious to know about the strangers who were camping in the parking and eager to have some company while waiting for the husband. It proved that the man was attending a meeting nearby and that they lived in Douala, so we asked if they could give us a lift. It was a lovely "hitchhiking" experience, followed by a taxi ride to the miserable place that is DHL customs office, a place of corruption and deceit. We left that place with a lot less money in our pockets ("taxes and duties"), but with our parcel in hand. Inside the taxi, I torn the paperbox apart: it was the right clutch! We were saved! We asked the driver to take us to the bus station, we got tickets for the next bus to Yaounde and spend the 2 hours to departure munching on brochettes, fried plantain and fruits. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5553.jpg In the background: us, shabby backpackers in Africa, but with a hope to become overlanders again. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5554.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5558.jpg Of course none of the clocks in the station or inside the buses didn't work properly. We have the feeling of being outside any known time or space. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5565.jpg Two parcels: one shipped by FedEx + UPS from the UK, one shipped by DHL from Germany, 3 weeks, plenty of white hairs, a lot of cash and 3 small bags of Haribo bears = new clutch http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5566.jpg Deja vu: the second attempt to fix the clutch; this time the place is empty of people, we are alone in a Moebius-like space, with all our hopes and dreams at stake once again http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5568.jpg Once again we spread onto the cover all our belongings http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5570.jpg A tasty breakfast to fuel our efforts http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5573.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5577.jpg I manage to get my work done fairly quickly. The hundreds of kilometers of being towed on sloppy roads took a heavy toll on the brake pads, so I have to change those aswell. It is hard to put into words how we felt when I turned the key in and the engine came back to life. When we knew we were free again to pursue our journey, our dream. We deeply thank our parents, who supported us, Harry, who almost single handily saved us, the Vidals, for offering us a hand and their lovely company during a difficult time of despair and uncertainties. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5580.jpg Even if it's not always hot and sunny in Africa, we are reminded by many improbable Christmas decorations that the winter holidays frenzy is approaching. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5583.jpg The authentic genius loci can only be found again in a delicious plate of beef suya and grilled plantain. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/nigeria/IMG_5586.jpg Sun is shining and we are enjoying our last Cameroonian meal. The customs officers didn't even realize our Laissez-Passer was long overdue. Is this a sign that our troubles are over? |
Lost
GABON 01/12 - 06/12
Happy Anniversary, Romania! We celebrated the National Day with the chilled and rather hip looking border officers who welcomed us to Gabon, and handed the first professionally printed immigration forms in Africa. It was the first sign that this 9th African country we were entering was different. We had gotten the visa rather effortlessly in Yaounde (50,000 CFA), after trying in vain in Lome, Togo and in Abuja, Nigeria. From the border there was perfectly smooth tarmac, the kind of track designed for a petrol-head. Twists and hairpins, rapidly alternating at sometimes adrenaline pumping incline, spectacular luck jungle, 100% pleasure for hundreds of kilometers. Even if we roll through diminutive villages with no more than a dozen wooden huts, long is forgotten the poverty of West Africa. And if life in Nigeria is unthinkable without the power generators, the Gabonese must have is the grass trimmer. The result is the entire countryside looks like it could host a golf tournament anytime, even if it's not likely that many villagers would attend. The prices for everything match the manicured look: double or even triple compared to other CFA countries. Petrol is still at about 550 CFA/l though, so we soon arrived in Bitam, where we humbly requested permission to sleep for the night at a catholic mission. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5591.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5587.jpg The sister in charge kindly invited us to join an impromptu jamming of the kids. We learned that they are all orphans, hosted and schooled by the mission, and that the money for this charitable operation comes from Canada. We sing and dance into the night. All our misery in Cameroon and the aggressivness of the people seem a thing of the past. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5592.jpg We were heading towards Libreville and soon big artificial openings were replacing the dense jungle, signalizing massive logging operations, just like we'd seen in other parts of Africa. During the 50 years of African independence, many countries were torn apart by bloody conflicts and political mayhem. Gabon managed to somehow stay afloat, building a solid, stable economy, based on petrol and rich mineral resources. Then, in 1999, the english explorer J. Michael Fay hiked over 2000 miles along the Congo basin. His 455 day adventure changed Gabon forever. The president declared over 10% of the surface of the country as national park, transforming Gabon overnight into a champion of conservation. The unique biodiversity of this largely unexplored country was on every eco-tours agency mind, so they soon started moving in and advertising fabulous and very expensive packages for the rich. We could never become their clients. We were just going to Libreville to meet the Romanian-Gabonese family of Radu, a project initiated over a year ago by the only Romanian ever to have kissed the lips of Billie Joe Armstrong, Stoi. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5597.jpg Soon our GPS let us know we were crossing into the southern hemisphere. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5601.jpg The sign that marks the Ecuator is covered in overlanders' stickers. We put the dot on the I. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5603.jpg On the Ecuator equality of the sexes is finally achieved. We were chasing the time, with visas for Congo and DRC soon to expire. We had no expectations, only stress that we were late and unable to spend more quality time with our new friends. But radu had a different plan. He would guide us to a place that we were sworn secrecy to. Beautiful, impossible to find unless initiated by someone who knows it well - and there are very few of those people - this place can read your emotional profile and respond with the right energy, the one you need to recover your balance, to feel one. In this LOST place there is a beach, the perfect beach. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5609.jpg Anticipating arrival. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5614.jpg Nana The off-road that eventually arrives on the beach is temperamental and difficult, separating the brave from the unworthy. The rain was soon melting the sand and laterite into a lava under our truck. Then we arrived on the shore: mellow waters washing white sands, not a soul for miles, paradise. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5661.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5628.jpg The only human touch: a shed with a table with benches, a barbecue, a hammock. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5615.jpg I struggle for hours to light the barbecue. I am having a great time doing this. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5681.jpg Cristina http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5687.jpg Cristina http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5691.jpg Cheers! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5692.jpg Cristina tastes the olive oil. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5663.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5673.jpg The photos are far from the unbelievably laid-back reality. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5625.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5626.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5601.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5640.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5647.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5676.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5696.jpg After sunset we lay the table: grilled chicken and pork, tomato salad, chilled pineapple and beer, a very summery Romanian fare. The day of our departure from Libreville, Frederik dressed Ana in elegant African attire. The girls spend the entire morning at the Angola and Congo embassies, trying to find out more about the elusive visas. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5703.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5700.jpg Good bye, Radu & co., good bye Libreville! Thank you for your hospitality and see you soon! Another catholic mission becomes our home for one night: we sleep over in Mouila, hosted by a very smart monsignor, who serves us local beer and invites us into a room that is also the library. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5705.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5706.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5707.jpg Magnificent books, some even from the XVIII th century. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5708.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5709.jpg In the morning we cannot find any petrol in Mouila or N'Dende, so we make a 35 km detour to Lebamba, then we return in N'Dende for exit stamps. Now less than 50 km separate us from the misterious border to the Congo and then DRC, the dark heart of Africa. Soon, we will descent into the unknown. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/gabon/IMG_5713.jpg |
100% Off Road
CONGO 06/12 - 09/12
"Donnez moi l'argent!" were the first words spoken by the Congolese at the border. As always, people, especially when in uniforms, were demanding money, souvenirs, even our bike, dead sure that we are being sponsored by our government, our rich parents or that we can easily take a plane back home or just buy a new bike. We managed to avoid paying any bribes one more time and a hour later we had our passports stamped in on time. The Congo visa was not hard to get in Abuja, but it was soon to expire: we had only until the 11 th to exit the country, but what made things even more tricky was that on the 14 th a second visa would expire swell, the one for DRC. That meant the countdown to Matadi, the last place we were hoping to get the Angola visa from, had started. The neat Gabonese landscaping had been already replaced by a hot mess of savannah vegetation, piles of garbage and laterite huts. Hordes of street kids roaming the decrepit villages, along untamed chickens, piglets and goats. Tarmac had finished long ago, we were rolling on a piste of laterite bearing all the ugly scars of recent rains. We were back to the realm of rainy season, off-road and pain. The custom police and border control people warned us about another overlander's vehicle crossing the border about 2 hours before. Hoping we would be fast enough to catch up with them, I went full throttle ahead. When passing through Kibangou, the first little town after the border, I was so into the groove that I could not even glimpse at the police officers waving desperately. Some 5 km outside town though, I hear the unmistakable sound of a bike engine closing in. I wonder if we are being followed, but minutes later a white guy shows up on a KTM. I am so surprised that I can aryl mumble a hello. Alper is from Germany and is traveling together with his friend Esther around Africa for 8 months. They had already pitched their tent in the backyard of some villager, so they summon us to join the party. Back in Kibangou we learned that the German's set-up kicks ass: a Toyota Land Cruiser + a KTM 690, a solid mix of contort and fun! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5715.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5717.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSC09791-2.jpg Our host is Madame Poulet, the wife of a local mother****er We learn that we and the Germans share the same problem: if our DRC visa is valid until the 14th, theirs will expire only 1 day later. We conclude we all have less than 10 days to transit the two Congos, while avoiding the turbulence in Kinshasa and the potential refugees in Brazzavilles, to get the elusive Angola transit visa and, subsequently, to exit DRC. We also discover we have been planing to follow the same piste south of Mindouli, and to catch the ferry in Luozi. It's only logical that we decide to team up until Matadi... http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSC09800-2.jpg The next morning the rain is back, we fight not to fall while riding on the bloody laterite slippery like glass and we hardly notice the stunning surroundings. The Mila-Mila mountains stretch their curvy shades of green into Gabon; a misty fog camouflages their geometry. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5725.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5736.jpg We soon arrive in Dolisie, the first big city in Congo, where Madame Poulet told us we can find another Angolan Consulate. Indeed, there it is and the diplomat confirms that a 5 or 7 days visa is available for 100 USD. But there are over 500 km of corrugated road to the border with DRC, so she suggests to get it in Matadi, or buy 2 transit visas and go back to Pointe Noire in order to cross Cabinda. A quick lunch and a quick run to the mechanics for the Toyo suspension and later we decide to move on with our initial plan. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSC09802-2.jpg The Chinese are working on the road, so we try our luck on the under construction portions, but we get in even more trouble. The sticky laterite into a deadly concoction - the African ice - that soon claims my 90% bold back tyre. Bloody Conti TKC 80! Twice I bite the dust (mud), it feels like riding on wet soap! The aluminum boxes get damaged and my rear brake lever is bent; I hammer everything in place as much as I can, but I am forced to tie one of the boxes to the frame to kind of make it work. Later, in camp, I try to get the job done more professionally, but I manage to puncture a vein with the hammer instead. Esther intervenes to stop the freakish Tarantino-style blood squirt and everything seems under control. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSC09807-2.jpg The next day Alper rides along on his KTM and we are having a bloody good time. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5746.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5750.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSC_0539-2.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSC_0532-2.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5754.jpg We find drinking water in a village, where, as usual, dozens of villages gather while we fill up the tanks. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5755.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5761.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5777.jpg For a while the road seems to improve a bit; the sun is up, and I remember how easy and fun is to ride without pillion! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5784.jpg The corrugated road with large potholes is more difficult for the car, so the girls are having a rough drive. One more unidentified bush animal ends up in our lunch in Madingou, where once again we have a meeting with destiny. At a nearby table we meet a man who tells us about a different piste than the one we were to follow, a better one, he says. 100 km shorter, via Boko Songho. He was crossing that route regularly 2 years ago, we write down the name of the villages along it, we sketch a map and off we go. Beyond Boko Songho there is a blank area on the Michelin map, we will have to ride through to see what's there. Unfortunately rain returns, and soon after the village we realize the road is not as great as we hoped. As always in Africa, information about distances, time and quality of the road is to be taken with a big grain of salt. We arrive in Boko Songho only late in the afternoon, and we are immediately summoned in the gendarmerie office. The unfriendly chief of immigration police almost has us arrested for being tourists. Who are we? What is our real mission? We are ordered to set camp on the football field and told we must stay here for 2 days, because the borders to DRC are closed. We are awaiting the official results of the elections to be broadcasted from DRC, until then nobody makes a move. Many worrying thoughts trouble our night, but before laying to sleep we have to shower in front of the whole village. The next morning we are late for our appointment with the chief, who comes up with a completely different story: now the borders are open, even if the proclamation has been delayed, but we have to pay for the exit stamp or buy a laissez-passer (in fact a document that substitutes a passport + visa for citizens of neighboring countries). We discuss a lot, finally managing to get the stamps for free, but we have to pay a visit to the sub-prefect office before departure, which is not entirely unpleasant. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG09816-2.jpg Rain clouds again http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG09819-2.jpg The marshes, many potholes and unrelenting rain slow us down to an unbearable 6 km/h, we have only 12 km to Minga, the actual border point, where we can solve our customs papers. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSC09822-2.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSC09824-2.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSC09816-2.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5789.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5790.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5792.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5796.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_0547-2.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_0548-2.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_0532-2.jpg Three sets of custom and police people question and want to search our vehicles in Minga. We learn that only 3-4 vehicles cross this border each month, and that the last white people were here about 12 years ago. We have to go through the meticulous and utterly ridiculous process before being told that they want some money: to stamp our passports or just to let us go, or to fix the bridge that they just found out that had been washed away by the rain. We cannot trust anybody anymore, we just want to get out of this mercantile toxic place. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSC09826-2.jpg Unfortunately some 2 km away the drama unfolds: the information about the bridge proves accurate, we explore by bike the surroundings only to find an alternate route that stops in a village, so after pondering the idea that we could fix the bridge ourselves, we eventually return to Minga, to negotiate a solution with the village chief. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSC09827-2.jpg Alper is delegated to hire a team of workers and in the meantime we are invited to sleep over in the mayor's house, still under construction. We dine by oil lamp light and all we can think of is whether the villagers will cooperate to make the bridge somehow posable tomorrow…As the house has no windows and no doors, chickens, pigs and goats roam our "bedroom" all night. We put our mosquito net on the floor, everything is wet and reeks of sweat and mud. How will we get out of this? http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSC09829-2.jpg At 9 in the morning we are happy to count 14 villagers working on the bridge thing. We just might make it! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSC09832-2.jpg Also the water level has dropped considerably overnight. 90 minutes later we are able to cross the makeshift bridge. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSC09833-2.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSC09835-2.jpg And it only cost 10,000 CFA, a t-shirt and 1,000 CFA worth of Pastis. 11 km farther we reach N'Finga, the dreaded and much awaited frontier of DRC. The people are so surprised to see us that they forget to ask any bribes, and so we cross the friendliest border in Africa so far. The custom formalities and actual stamping takes place in the next bigger village, N'Kundi, where we find more friendly faces and loads of kids who, we are told, are seeing white people for the first time in their lives. A man in uniform starts directing the kids to chant our names, tattooed in their young memories as marks of a historical moment. But for us, the moment is indeed a milestone to remember: we managed to get inside DRC before our visa expired, and in a time when all foreign media had launched a paranoid propaganda about the elections. Now we were chasing the Angola visa before the 14th of December. A new challenge was on! |
We got into DRC. Now How Can We Get Out Of Here?
DRC 11/12 - 19/12
In N'Kundi we were now gods, so changing money, refueling and finding food was a child's play. In this country everybody "eats" the dollar, or the congolese franc. It feels like a parallel universe: while nobody outside here gives a damn about the US currency, here they only take and use crisp banknotes that look like they just came out of the printer. And the prices are quite paranormal, compared to the rest of West and Central Africa: we don;t know how will we afford to even transit this country, food, fuel, everything is expensive, and low quality. At least we are being told that the road will start to get better from here on, but how can we trust such an information? http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5811.jpg Should we have made this journey by boat? http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5821.jpg Our semi-amphibian vehicles suffer a lot. Some flooded passages are so deep that my front like is completely submerged. The Toyo is having even a harder time coping with the immense pools, due to the extreme back load. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG09846-2.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG09847-2.jpg Every other pool of water we have to stop and check the depth and discuss how to approach it. Sometimes I ride in front, right through the moddle of the ponds, to help Alper assess the water level. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5835.jpg In between drama we take a breather on the sandy rocky patches. Our boots are filled with dirty water, we are soaking wet and no more dry clothes in the sacks! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG09851-2.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG09853-2.jpg We completely miss the beauty of this charming region, totally stressed out and worn out. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG09859-2.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG09886-2.jpg Disaster strikes: trying to avaid the deep middle, Toyo ends up with both differentials stuck in the mud. We try everything; we push… http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG09888-2.jpg We fight... http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG09895-2.jpg We dig with shovels, hammers, our bear hands… http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG09901-2.jpg Then we push again… Finally, 3 long hours later, we manage to extract the car from the mosquito infested marsh. We are totally exhausted, wet and in dispar, but we decide it's impossible to stop now. There is no place to camp, we have nothing to change into and we have to push it to Luozi, where we hope to catch the ferry tomorrow. Two more times the Toyota gets stuck: once a providential Rover comes to the rescue. At almost midnight we arrive, and almost faint asleep, at the catholic mission in Luozi, where we are hosted for free. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5838.jpg We were on the ferry the next day at 11, but we crossed the mighty Congo only 5 hours later. The very drunk ferry worker that has squinted to see the rain coming made everybody leave the deck and wait and wait and wait. The rain came indeed, an hour later, then there was nothing else to do, but drink, talk and hope the rain will stop. On the other side of Congo the road was almost impassable after all that water had fallen over for hours: I don't even know how we managed to get through. Every meter of that road was pure hell, alternating rocky steep inclines with deep ravines, deep soapy mud with sandy tracks, punctuated by abyssal holes filled with sticking water. To make our ride even harder, rain started once again: small drops, cold, unrelenting. I couldn't believe it when at 21 hrs, after 6 days of riding over 700 km off-road I finally hit tarmac again. We had to stop and cheer, then we decided to splurge on a room for the night. In Kimpese we found a catholic mission, not so catholic after all, as they wanted to charge us 100 USD for two not so functional rooms. Finally we settled for 40 and got some salty goat brochettes and beer to celebrate our success. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG09906-2.jpg Back to our fav breakfast in the mo' http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5842.jpg We fill up our tanks under the electoral posters. In the background, the opposition candidate who had announced organized riots after the voting. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5845.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG09908-2.jpg The 140 km to Matadi are a breeze as the sun is shining for the first time in days and we have perfect tar road under our wheels. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG09909-2.jpg By 11 we were knocking at the Angolan Embassy. But here we had another shocking news: the consul had fled to Angola on an early Xmas holiday, under the pretext of potential civil unrest before, during and after the DRC elections. There is nobody here to make our visas, only the bodyguard and a secretary remain, the consulate is closed until at least the 15th of January! Our hopes are shattered, we have made it here in time, in spite of all the hardships, only to knock at a closed door….What will happen now? Was all this that we have been through in vain, or will we somehow find a way out? |
Off to Lubumbashi
For more than 10 days we have tried everything: Muanda, going to the border to talk to the police on both sides, Dolisie. We interviewed truck drivers and car salesmen who go for Angola runs all the time. We got the chief of immigration to mobilize his connections for us. We rode to Kinshasa in the middle of the presidential inauguration, when the capital came to a standstill. But it was all for nothing. We cannot get the Angola visa, the embassy will not issue it for tourists traveling by car/bike and the French consul cannot help us. We could apply at an Angola embassy in Europe, but only in January, as now all diplomatic missions have closed for holidays. We had to get an extension for our DRC visas, so now we have 2 months to figure this mess out.
And we have made our decision! We are leaving to Zambia, 2000 off-road tracks will hopefully get us closer to our destination. We will have an extrem Xmax indeed! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all! |
We are here
|
Malaria
DRC 19/12 - 23/12
We were aware of the risks associated with crossing over 2000 km of extreme tracks through some of the most remote areas of DRC. Most importantly, we were slap in the middle of rainy season, when chances to become ill with malaria are peaking. We have been taking prophylactic Doxycicline for the last 4 months, hoping that we had not been poisoning our liver and whole immune system with this large spectrum antibiotic for nothing. Doxy is the poor man's Malarone, but with quite unpleasant side effects: extreme sensitivity to sun exposure, interference with the menstrual cycle etc. We gambled, and we lost. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5850.jpg The day before the last day on Doxy, Ana started to have a fever and to feel generally weak. After 2 days of paranoia, the self test for malaria turned inconclusive, so we head to a private hospital, for a blood test. A few hours later the verdict was implacable: malaria! We had to accept the fact that we had been taking drugs in vain and that Ana was sick, but at least she was in a country where malaria is curable and almost a banality. We were bitter, but we were no longer scared, and Ana prepared calmly for 24 hours of shock treatment with Falcidox and Doliprane. She felt completely drained, hardly slept while sitting up, trying to cope with the non-stop nausea that made her unable to eat and vomit even the water. The emphatic gang was feasting on the most gourmet meals in Matadi: grilled kafta and beef steaks from the Lebanese butchery, with pantagruelic tomato salads, juicy pineapple and fragrant aubergine couscous. We felt sorry that Ana couldn't eat with us, and we forget about the uneventful Congolese staples altogether. No more manioc leaves stew, beans and manioc & maize fufu for us! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5847.jpg Slowly, our bike and gear were being prepared for the toughest roads ever: I changed the rear and front sprockets, cleaned the chain and mechanical parts (suspension, brakes + engine), I did my best to hammer back into shape the luggage frame, badly bent after the tumbles on the soapy laterite of Congo. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5851.jpg Alper meticulously cleaned his KTM and Toyo and serviced the car at a local garage, so did Jacques. We had our HQ at Bienvenu's place, a young Congolese who lived in Limosges but was visiting the family for a week, and whom Alper met in the street. We pitched our tents at his sisters, on the veranda of an unfinished house, where we scrubbed and tooled for a few days, getting ready for the adventure and dealing with Ana's malaria. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5853.jpg This time our we had something new in our luggage: a box of Falcidox, knowing that eventually malaria will be back, and that we would not take Doxy again! P.S. The unusual levels of white cells indicated an infection of the blood, so the doctor also prescribed Ana 2 other antibiotics. Knowing that we all had superficial wounds, that due to extreme humidity and poor hygiene while on the road were infected and not healing properly, we chose not to buy the drugs and to allow the body to recover naturally. |
DR Congo Rally - Kinshasa to Lubumbashi
Etapa 1/ Stage 1: Kinshasa - Tchikapa
Ziua/ Day 1 - 23/12 Km: 530 Traseu/ Route: Kinshasa - Kikwit Starea drumului/ Road: asfalt/ good tarmac Vremea/ Weather: 36°C, insorit/ sunny & hot http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSCN0947.jpg Last day in Kishasa was day of shopping for the road ahead in the scruffy central market, watching the inauguration of Joseph Kabila on TV while the capital was in freeze mode under the watchful eye of heavily armed forces. By night though we were enjoying our Congo Kiese moment, with barbecued meats and bear and music and Congolese friends. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSCN0955.jpg Time to leave our camp in the catholic mission. Our German friends, Alper & Esther, had left 2 days earlier. We were hoping for an easy drive on the tarmac, but we were slowed down by the village crossings and many police checkpoints, even if the bike riding in front of the jeep helped a lot with the ever inquisitive officials and non-officials. There seems to be a general conviction that tourists are being sponsored by their governments to travel, I don't' think we were able to clear people mind on that matter! As African domestic animals are roaming the streets unattended for, just like their kids, eventually a cock, two chickens, a duck and a bat ended up under the wheels of the Land Rover. Just as we had done in Cameroon, we were rolling on the kids' schedule, so we would be stopping for lunch and to allow them regular play and nap time. Soon though, we would realize that we had underestimated the duration of our trip and the availability of food along the piste, so we would face hunger and thirst, while our supplies quickly finished. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5859.jpg 50 km before Kikwit - where the tarmac ends - my front tyre gave up. Luckily Alper had agreed to sell me his spare Pirelli MT21 in Matadi, so one hour later I had mounted the new rubber, confident that this will make the offroad drive ahead much easier. But Congo had a different plan for us... http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5860.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5862.jpg It was almost midnight when we rolled in the catholic mission of Kikwit. While we started to set up the camp, Jacques went on a scooter with a priest to register our passports with the police. Just like in Congo Brazzaville, here tourists cannot just show up and go, people would inform the officials of our presence then we would have to submit our papers for registration. Sometimes they would just write down our data on pieces of paper or into handbooks, another reminder of the communist era in Romania. With the tent pitched we were about to cook dinner, when Jacques returned with bleak news: we had to pack everything up and go, the mayor had given us an ultimatum; sleep at his place or leave town. Jacques had tried to explain that we had children sleeping, we were too tired to move and it was late, offering to visit in the morning, but we either accepted to be "supervised" or took off. It was like an army drill: completely burned off we dismantled and packed up everything, then set them up again on a football field at the outskirts of Kikwit. Some Indomie instant noodles for the men - the girls opted out - and off to sleep. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSCN0964.jpg It was our most violent morning yet: at 5.30 a.m. we heard people screaming and by 6 we were dressed, we had packed our stuff inside the tent and were ready to unzip and face the crowds. They were shouting at us to come out and show ourselves, and at some point someone stepped on the tent and almost tumbled on it. So we got out. We were surrounded by more than 100 people standing where the tent ended, not even a centimeter left. We had to push them away to get to the bike and like a wave they opened then shut behind us. We tried to be as fast as we could, in the frantic madness someone pulled Ana's hair to see if it was real and we lost it. There was no room for smiles and friendly handshakes, we left pissed, stressed and hungry, worried about what this part of Africa had in store for us. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSCN0966.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSCN0967.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSCN0972.jpg For the first time in six months we were not excited. What were we doing there? Would we be able to cope with everything while crossing some of the most remote regions of the continent? |
Ziua/ Day 3 - 25/12 Craciunul/ Christmas Day
Km: 82 Starea drumului/ Road: nisip negru adanc/ deep wet black sand Vremea/ Weather: 37°C, insorit/ sunny & hot http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSCN0980.jpg In the morning the kids had plenty of gifts to unwrap: Barbies, books, candy, sunglasses. We gave Jacques a Brie and Camembert to Delphine, and Cadbury toffees to the kiddies. We got almond candy for ourselves. :) Happy days! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSCN0985.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5910.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5917.jpg Elisa with her new doll http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5901.jpg As we were packing up, an unsettling SMS from Alper arrived: we had 2 ferry crossing ahead of us and the first required 15000 francs, 10 liters of diesel and a 24V battery to start up the engine. We had researched before departure and were aware of the epic story of a Belgian couple who struggled on the route from Lubumbashi to KIN a couple of years back. They had done it in dry season and still had barely made it with the car in one piece. They had mentioned this dreaded ferry crossing, when they got stuck in the middle of the river, battery dead, having to push start the jeep on the ferry to recharge the battery and be able to keep going. A horror story and we were dead sure we were not on the same route, but w e were wrong. So we wondered: are we prepared to face such a situation or should be try to go back and follow the alternate route via N1? After much deliberation, we opted against the ferry gamble and we spend the rest of the day going back to the tarmac, which 20 km off the junction became un-passable due to a broken bridge. The new piste was here: a narrow path hardly visible from the main road, but this was the path that we had chosen to follow 2000 km east to Lubumbashi. Ziua/ Day 4 - 26/12 Km: 113 Starea drumului/ Road: nisip negru adanc/ deep wet black sand Vremea/ Weather: 38°C, furtuna matinala urmata de soare/ morning storm followed by sun http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5937.jpg Rainy season is in full swing, but luckily we are spared from the impressive storm! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5947.jpg The moist sand is not so bad, but soon the sun dries up the road and I am reminded of the Mali to Burkina day of hell. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5955.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5957.jpg Elisa doesn't miss a single chance to walk barefoot on the warm soft sand, a true free spirit! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSCN0997.jpg At lunch we have a new birthday celebration in our little group: Lea is turning 5 and Delphine had improvised a yummy cake, breakfast cereals and chocolate truffles. Lea gets the classic French "1000 Bornes" and Cadbury chocolate from us. Happy B-Day, Lea! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSCN1007.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5958.jpg The unsealed National 1 is routinely crossed by surreally charged trucks and lorries. The scarred body of sand, mud and water could be more accurately described as a piece of land art, rather than a national road. Torrential downpours transform the pits dug by the truck people into massive craters. Green murky waters fill them, rotting, smelling, glistening like puss on a corpse. This unimaginable road is where hundreds of bike-people spend their lives. They push their modified bikes, loaded with over 100 liters of fuel, for days and days under the scorching sun, through the deep muddy sand, supplying petrol and diesel throughout the region. This in turn yields record prices for fuel: 2600 francs/liter!!!!! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5964.jpg In this difficult terrain even finding a bush camp can be tricky… |
Ziua/ Day 5 - 27/12
Km: 30 Starea drumului/ Road: nisip adanc/ deep sand Vremea/ Weather: 38°C, soare/ hot http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSCN1010.jpg Some 50 people arrive in the early hours to see the strangers who slept in the bush. They were hoping we can give them some jobs, but they had to settle with an ordinary session of white watching... http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSCN1013.jpg …followed by a hoot shoot. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSCN1016.jpg Our day was to be remembered for 3 crucial moments when the Landie got badly stuck. We were becoming experts at lifting, cabling, digging, but we were still novices in tracing the hidden water under the sandy tracks, the moving sand patches, the traps. In Congo you are never alone, even in the apparent middle of nowhere people would start pouring in from the bush, asking for money to help or even to just watch us struggle. We discovered that communication was difficult, and that people's minds are sometimes fogged by confusion and lack of correlation with the real world. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5982.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5986.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5971.jpg Then we hit rock bottom: it was my turn to get stuck, and it was to be the most spectacular moto event of the whole trip. If you have seen what happened to Cyril Despres during Dakar 2012, you get the idea. I tried to avoid the murky parts and I knew I could not balance the bike on the slender path for bicycles, so I took my chances and rev it up through what appeared to be a puddle. And I got stuck waist deep in mud, like in wet cement. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5973.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5977.jpg We got help from the 2 truck people we were helping to reach the next village. I was out, but I was also sure that I had to take some more load of the bike if we were to continue. Ziua/ Day 6 - 28/12 Km: 40 Starea drumului/ Road: nisip adanc/ deep sand Vremea/ Weather: 38°C, soare/ hot http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5992.jpg Wild orchids in the bush where we slept over night. A good sign for the new day ahead of us! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5996.jpg But it was a deceitful one: this road was tougher than us, curving our every attempt to play it. The Defender got stock over and over again and the rescue tools started to get jammed with sand. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5997.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSCN1019.jpg In the extreme heat the right front tyre was loose from the rim, so sand got in, and the tyre deflated. We soon leart that the air conditioning compressor from the car, that Jacques also used to power some handy tools, was no longer working. We would investigate that later at the bivouac. My chain was also looking bad… I was worried that we were heading for disaster. 3 km before the bridge in Luange we got stopped by the police again: we were crossing from one county to another, so they wanted to write down on their notebooks our passport and visa info. But they could hardly read or write, so after we beard with them 30 min., we just left. But after the bridge the others were waiting. One more hour of lame chatter, while Ana and Jacques were buying food and water from the villagers. Then we got the bad news: the trucks were stuck, blocking the deviation for the small vehicles, so we had to go through the enormous mud trenches. I got out through some villager's yard, but of course the car got stuck and the riot began: people gone berserk at the situation, and we struggled to cope with the stress, noise, heat and difficult operation. We somehow managed to get out of that madness and find a calm bush camp for our worn out souls. But the night didn't spare us: a huge storm started, with massive thunders and lightenings that struck so close they made us cuddle in fear. Our tent was leaking water, we folded our mattresses, laid towels and t-shirts on the puddles that dribbled in, and tried to get some sleep. Ziua/ Day 7 - 29/12 Km: 0 Vremea/ Weather: 36°C, soare/ hot We knew we had to try to fix the compressor and inflate the tires, so got to work. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6002.jpg We oiled it and tried many things, but it was too late. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6003.jpg So we greased the elevator and inflated the tires with my small compressor. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6008.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6010.jpg In the meantime the girls did the laundry with rain water from last night. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6005.jpg Ziua/ Day 8 - 30/12 Km: 37 Starea drumului/ Road: nisip foarte adanc/ bad deep sand Vremea/ Weather: 34°C innorat/ cloudy Our most difficult moment will remain unphotographed. In the morning of our 200th day on African adventure, we had our toughest climb: a hilly, muddy track with huge holes dug by downpours. The kids and girls climbed on foot, but the car was inevitably stuck and later dug out. We had to dug away to cut our way, because the road was too narrow ahead to continue. Before noon I was stuck in deep sand and I had to put the bike on one side and pull it away into the right track. Jacques jumped in to give me a hand, but slipped and fell onto his back, hitting the hardened roadside. For a few seconds he could not breathe: we knew we had to stop and lay the mat for him to rest. He took some anti-inflammatory drug and a pain killer, but we were all shaken by the event. After lunch he was not feeling any better and was too tired and too stressed to cope with the innumerable people that chased the car like hyenas a wounded elephant. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6017.jpg After another breakdown we knew the day should come to an end: we got out of the mud and searched for a place. Unfortunately we ended up in a fly infested plane, the bloody beast were biting really badly so we wasted no time to look for shelter in our tents. |
Ziua/ Day 9 - 31/12 Revelion/ New Years Eve
Km: 15 Starea drumului/ Road: nisip adanc/ deep sand Vremea/ Weather: 34°C, soare/ hot http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6034.jpg Jack woke up all stiff in the back: I was facing the potential dead-ends alone. The road continued to keep us guessing, alternating steaming swamps with flat sandy patches, narrow paths or hilly ravines. And navigation was confusing: in some villages, people would stare as if we were freaks, and we tried all day to keep our poker faces on. We were struggling to make sense of the contradictory information we could harvest from the locals. Finding the deviations and avoiding at all costs the dreaded N1 was imperative if we were to arrive at the end of this trip. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6041.jpg Sometimes you don't find the providential tree where you want it to be. One time we mount the winch on a palm stub, and Delphine keeps a watchful eye on the fable wood screeching and threatening to give up. Ducks swim in the rainwater ponds and pigs enjoy a mud bath. If not for the excited crowds, the whites stuck in deep shit and covered in sweat and dirt, this would make a lovely photo subject. But this is no serene scene from some travel magazine. We bump again into familiar faces: over the coming days we would meet several times with the same trucks. These people are the real deal. We may have been pushed into driving on this road but we only have to do it once in our life. But for them, their life is this road. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6045.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6055.jpg Every mistake can have cruel repercussions on this cathartic trip: we find the car suspended, centimeters from tumbling into a big hole. Villagers rush to enjoy the show, kids occupying the better "seats". We could picture them with the bags of popcorn and Coke cups, munching on. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6062.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6017.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6065.jpg We work in vain, only to finally attempt a desperate solution: pulling the 3.5 tone jeep using only man power. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6082.jpg And it works: dozens of villagers jump at the opportunity to participate in the event and then ask to mount the bike and get their photos taken. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6086.jpg We spot a strange beauty: an African woman with clear green eyes. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6094.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6097.jpg Its the last day of the year. We feel the exhaustion and stress in every cell of our bodies, but what a way and what a place to spend it really. We have the comfort of a shower, a table to spread a lovely New Year dinner and the beauty of our bush camp under the most amazing sky. We feel far away from anything familiar, but we are among friends and we drink our champagne to our dear friends and to you who are supporting us and keeping us virtual company in this cathartic trip. Happy 2012! |
Ziua/ Day 10 - 01/01/2012
Km: 12 Starea drumului/ Road: nisip adanc/ deep sand Vremea/ Weather: 34°C, soare/ hot http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6099.jpg Without the winch it was no way we could go on on these roads, so the target of the day was to fix it. While working on it, villagers pour in to investigate. Some brought ridiculous human rights activate badges. Some claim they are village chiefs, regional guards or all kind of operatives entitled to check on us. As we try politely to explain why we need some space, they get cheeky, asking for some ID. One even says we'd camped in a cemetery. It's laughable, but annoying. We tell them how we spend all day long with local people in villages and towns, and that at night and in the morning it's important to have some privacy and peace to attend to our vehicles and the kids, it's in vain. They have nothing else to do with their time, besides it's the first day of the new year, so they expect us to cheer them up with some gifts. Let's say that we managed to define some private space around the camp, but as we leave it, we understand that these visitors were actually quite permissive. We have camped almost next to a village, the homes are visible as we get back to the road, no wonder they came to meet us; it's amazing that they left us alone during the new year night! But maybe we should not have celebrated the humane nature of Kashitu villagers quite yet, cause it was here where our group was to receive the most surprising blow yet. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMGP6212.jpg Entering the village we are eventually trapped in the usual watery trenches left behind by some truck that got stuck and had to dig its way out. So we get digging too, and the enthusiasm among the 200 plus attendees to the show is high. For some moments we forget to watch the bike, but this is our 12th country in Africa, and people have shown nothing but respect for our property so far. But not these people. As I return to the bike to get ready to drive, I see the radio is missing. We have been using a pair of walkie-talkies to communicate - car and motorbike - while on this route with many separate deviations that sometimes force us to drive alone. Mine is now gone, and all hell brakes loose. We try everything we can think of: mobilize the villagers, ask questions, shout at them, threaten them with the army and police in Kinshasa. The so called activists and chiefs have disappeared, nowhere to be seen. No one assumes responsibility for this village and community, the Vidals are on the brink of a nervous breakdown. And hours pass with a sea of people around us. We attempt to communicate, it's useless, they're useless. And suddenly, rumor that someone is coming with the radio. East to the village a large group is making its way towards where we stand. And they have the lost radio. Minutes later we get moving, while ransom requests pour in from every direction. We feel disappointed, ashamed. It's not why we made all the way, all the sacrifices, to come to Africa and have to deal with this. We don't want to be these angry people, shouting, threatening, fighting, pushing kids away. We know these are not the most friendly of all places, but there are reasons for it and we don;t want to get sucked in them. And we understand why we almost have. We left KIN with an unrealistic target, in an attempt to exit the high risk malaria zone and spend the holidays as close as possible to Zambia. But this road is tougher than us, we cannot beat it by force, we must cunningly use other skills to trick our way where we want to be. We have been accumulating frustration and despair and we have been acting on impulse, allowing stress to get to us. And on this road every mistake costs. Not carrying enough water or food supplies, going too fast or too slow, it all matters. And even if we can all speak french, communication is difficult. So in the next village the French agree to spend their first night at a chief's compound: we set camp behind the mud house and we kind of get to dine in peace, after shopping for some groceries (bananas, pineapple, drinking water). We throw what other goodies we have on the table - a last tomato, a cucumber, some bulgur and corn on a cob, and that's dinner! Soon after we hit the sack, anticipating an early awakening. Ziua/ Day 11 - 02/01 Km: 68 Starea drumului/ Road: nisip adanc/ deep sand Vremea/ Weather: 34°C, soare/ hot Our host asks us to charge a jeep battery, so we oblige, while he leaves to bring more drinking water. But he veneer comes back, so after packing our stuff, Lea says good bye to the many kids she has been playing ball with all morning and Ana to the villagers she has been visiting to discuss traditional gastronomy and what not. We are ready to face the roads again. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6111.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSCN1021.jpg The home of the village chief. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6100.jpg Lea with the kids http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSCN1026.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6102.jpg Enthusiasm http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6113.jpg And desperation… This time not our own: a Congolese 4x4 is stuck, so we town him out of the moving sand, where stagnant waters form deep underground pools, impossible to predict, easy to sink in. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMGP6247.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMGP6250.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6118.jpg No luggage and no pillion, now the ride is quite fun! I am learning a lot on this difficult ever changing terrain, I wonder how will I make us of all these newly acquired skills when we are out. We got tougher during the last couple of days, so we drive more calmly, more focused. The most important new rule: every time we are not sure about the best way to pass through a place, we stop and someone walk on foot until the next stable area. Then we discuss whatever was observed and decide on a strategy. Only after this process is completed we start driving. By late evening we finally arrive in Tshikapa. We are in Kasai Occidental province, but what a disappointed is this place! We find in the decrepit market bread, some tomatoes, canned corned beef, manioc, doughnuts. And we roll into the "main avenue", as the police officers at the check point pompously inform. What a joke: this was a tarred road sometime in the 60's, but since the colonists left there was no maintenance other then the torrential rains that sunk the tarmac. The avenue is a canyon, filled with metal leftovers from trucks that had mechanical breakdowns and of course nobody cared to clear the way from the debris. One of this archeological souvenirs gets in the way of the Landie's differential, and we are forced to work hard to be able to drive back and then out of the road. Because while we were sweating it out, no less than 3 trucks formed a queue, blocking the one lane "avenue" of hell. Kind of in a bad mood we slide our way through the deep wet sand up to yet another catholic mission, where we celebrate the achievement with a cold lager. Ziua/ Day 12 - 03/01 Km: 0 Vremea/ Weather: ploaie torentiala/ torrential downpour Today it's my birthday. It's not an obvious place to party. During the night we got soaked with rain, water dribbling at corners into the worn out tent. A bit disappointed in this North Face design, confy, light, but not so strong. We slept again on folded mattresses in the centre. Rain stops at noon, and the rest of the day we wash our stuff with rain water ad tend to our vehicles. We decide to move the tent under a roof, on a veranda, where later we have a small party. Beer, ground nuts, rice and my surprise b-day cake: minuscule belgian waffles that Ana found in the market. She has coated the cookies with roasted nuts in a brown sugar caramel, a sweet improvised delight in a cruel world. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6119.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSCN1035.jpg Happy b-day to me! |
Ziua/ Day 13 - 04/01
Km: 94 Starea drumului/ Road: nisip/ sand Vremea/ Weather: 38°C, soare/ hot 40 bucks for 2 nights of camping and some rain water? Way too much, we said, when father Sylvain-Desire Munzombo decided to show his mercantile side on our departure. We had asked on arrival about money and we thought it was understood that they wanted none. We had spent hours discussing politics and his desire to come to Europe, we exchange contacts and gave him coordinates of friends who might intermediate a scholarship. He seemed a bit off is some regards, but I guess it's hard to read people. We negotiated the amount, and he looked happy to take any money we were willing to pay…very christian, indeed. The day had begun on a negative tune, and unfortunately it ended just as bad. Few Ks outside Tsikapa we get lost from each other. We were now 2 groups: the car with the 4 frenchies plus Ana, and me. Besides N1 there is one more "main" road, a deviation, really, leading to Kananga. I have no idea we are driving on different routes, neither does Jacques, so we both take advantage of the almost dry piste. A crunchy layer of sand can be a blessing or a curse, it all depends on there is if a murky swamp under the crust. I can go 50ks/hour and Jacques 30-35, so, unawares, the distance between us grows, way beyond the radio coverage. When we realize the situation, it's too late: asking around in villages we're told that the variant will return to the N1 only in some 70 Ks. I have less than 4 dollars, a bottle of water and every chance to run out of gas before reuniting with the 4 wheeled group. In the meantime the others try to investigate and ran into a guy who tells them that he has spotted a white on a big bike taking the N1. So we push it, skipping lunch, hoping that we will make to the junction before it got dark. The road when it's not raining is indeed better, probably in dry season is even less challenging. But this time we cannot enjoy the good pace, cause we are running out of time: night is approaching and we start imagining all kind of creepy scenarios where I would have to spend the night alone, asking for shelter and food from some villagers, out of gas, out of money, maybe rain will come…you know…silly things like that. I arrive the first at the junction, but I can see no tyre tracks and no one has seen any car passing by today. So I wait, and I wait. Two hours run by, a cold evening rain pouring rivers of orange waters on the cracked surface of sand. after offering me a chair in exchange for my story, the locals let be to be. But there's no point to stay here any longer: the car may be stuck, I could be here for days or something, I have got to go back on the deviation and try to find them, it's my only chance. And sometime around 6 p.m. I see them, the Landie's fog lights rendering a ghostly apparition. We hug, we comfort each other, we tell our stories. They were indeed stuck in a swampy deviation of the deviation, right before meeting me. I buy some very pricey gas at 2600 francs/liter from a small stand. It is already pitch black, we must go for an emergency camping spot. Not a very calm spot though: minutes after we lie in our tents, tired and unsatisfied after another spartan dinner, we hear voices and people approaching. I ponder staying put and ignoring them, but these ones are determined like the Kikwit group, to go full retard. They are very loud and they start poking around at vehicles. The car is more protected, but I have to do something, I must intervene. I guess I don't look so menacing in my knickers and all, so I do my best to make it clear that we are exhausted, we are tourists and we need to rest, alone. Of course that soon after the fort group leaves the second arrives, and this time they are more cunning: they have summoned the police dude from the barrier, telling him them strangers are nearby and that they are afraid! The dude knows about us, I have chatted with him some hours back, but it takes a lot of convincing to make them all go. Disappointed that we are in no mood for socializing and that they got no souvenirs or money from the mundele. So they don't go far, just by the side of the road, enough to allow us to fall asleep, their voices still debating angrily the unsatisfying outcome of their visit. Ziua/ Day 14 - 05/01 Km: 161 Starea drumului/ Road: asfalt + nisip tasat/ tarmac + good sand Vremea/ Weather: 33°C, soare cu ceva nori/ warm and cloudy At 5.30 a.m. sharp the villagers are back. Group after group we try to keep them at bay, while shoving the breakfast into our mouths and packing in the same time. The yesterday rain left behind a topping of sand that is easier to ride on. This is small beer compared to what we've lived before Tshikapa. In Kananga we hit tarmac for the first time since we left KIN, a chicken poxed shadow of a once acceptable road, which has long collapsed under the rain, trucks and lorries. Pit stop at the market for some groceries: not much to buy though, platy of charcoal, bread, pineapple, dried fish, tomatoes the size of cherries (but not cherry tomato) and piles of ants and termites, some still moving. Everything is not cheap, and gas is 2600 francs for a liter! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSCN1044.jpg Sometimes the lorry tracks become narrower and my foot pegs get stuck in the sand, my rear wheel digging a sticky trench in the pocket of wet mud underneath. Tilt the bike, pull it out of the trench, twist it back into upright position - under the scorching heat I sweat a river at every move, so by lunch I am too happy to eat the cold salad of rice, tomatoes and avocado. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6126.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6127.jpg Giant pineapple, just 1 dollar a piece http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6132.jpg Of the bag of money we exchanged in KIN we have maybe 20% left. The biggest bill is 500 francs, so at a 900 francs to the dollar rate, you can imagine how it looks when people buy gas, for example. And yeah, as always in Africa, the money business is Lebanese. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMGP6267.jpg Most of the traffic between settlements is made on foot, no wonder we stand out. After the picnic we keep on rolling some 80 Ks east of Kananga, desperately looking for a reasonable camping spot. Villages and villagers line the road, finally at 8 p.m. we enter the woods and we take a sharp right straight into the bush, where we set camp under a menacing sky of charcoal clouds. Ziua/ Day 15 - 06/01 Km: 115 Starea drumului/ Road: nisip tasat/ good sand Vremea/ Weather: 29°C, ploaie/ rain http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6135.jpg Torrential rain. We cannot make a move until 10.30 a.m., when the storm becomes more tame. Under the drizzle we pack the tent, from inside towards outside, but our stuff got drenched anyways. 21 degrees, freaking cold, man. We are in no mood to roll, but our French side of the team has discovered their visa will expire in 5 days, so we've got to run. Ana gums in the car, sheltered from the cold rain, but depressed to spend hours in a moving cage. She sits on the bench behind, where normally the seats can be rolled down, to create arresting and playing platform for the kids. But due to the noise it's hardly possible to communicate with anybody in the car and there's a constant shift of falling objects knocking on her head: bags of food, potty, games, shoes, luggage. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMGP6271.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMGP6272.jpg After one hour the rain stops, but the sandy clay is so spongy, no wonder we are the first man men to venture on the road this morning. As the rain is still raging behind us, rivers of muddy water flow under our wheels, and we struggle to maintain a steady pace, while shivering and with the boots drenched up to my ankle. But we are moving forward, so that's good enough for me. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6140.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6142.jpg We lunch at the Mukamba lake, where we run into the first bikers since we entered Africa (Julien and Franck were moving about by Taxi in Abuja, so we veneer got a chanche to see them with the bikes). These two are from Belgium, and they travel quite differently: they fly from home to ride a determined stage, like this time they arrived in Lusaka and will fly back home from Kinshasa. I guess the bikes stay on the continent, so they don't need to carry spares and food, they travel light, sleeping mostly in hotels when they have a chance, eating local food….sounds like great fun. They have arrived here via N1 and they have met Alper a couple of days ago in Kamina. 20 km before Mbuji Mayi - our target for the day - we hit the final test, at least that's what the villagers say. The rains have carved the road into a real canyon, but on the bottom the mud is as slippery and wet as everywhere, so eventually we get stuck, twice. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6144.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6146.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6155.jpg Out from the trench at the mouth of the canyon, we get stuck the second time right before rejoining the flat. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6160.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6162.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6179.jpg The crowds rejoice in the sweat and blood show, even if disappointed that we are not rewarding their presence with money and souvenirs. On top of the hill, a village "de luxe" boutique. At midnight we reach our target: after 2 weeks of hardships we are in Mbuji Mayi, where we are welcomed by brother Richard, Hungarian ophthalmologist, and brother Jerome, a French doctor. They are living here for over 20 years, running one of the most extraordinary and successful projects in Africa, the Saint Raphael Clinic of Ophthalmology. Here they offer medical services at the highest standards, using the latest technology, thanks to donors from Europe and North America; they also offer educational programs alined to the Congolese psyche: theater plays, musicals, teaching them about personal health, trust in professional care, life. One of the focus is on continuous training and in producing Congolese specialists that will take the project further. Our generous and altruist hosts offer us a warm dinner and a real bed to rest after a long and cold day. Ziua/ Day 16 - 07/01 Km: 0 Vremea/ Weather: 30°C, soar, ploaie spre seara/ sunny, evening rain Ana's motto has always been: "I choose cheese". Cheese, what a wonder creation: we appreciate it on buttered bread this morning more than ever. The lovely breakfast is followed by a day of washing, drying, visiting the clinic and generally getting ready for the next leg of our adventure. The brothers are incredible sources of information about the true Congo, so little known outside projects and communities like this. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6186.jpg The clinic truck, the indestructible Pinzgauer, which has the diffs higher than the center of the wheel, to easily drive over the huge trenches of the Congo. I have "organized" things brilliantly: for my St. John celebration we get to party with the clinic staff, who are throwing a new year encore. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6180.jpg It's a yummy spread: goat stomach in tomato sauce, manioc and garlic stew, grilled goat, roasted chicken, tomato and onion beef stew, fried tilapia, manioc and maize fluff, rice, pasta, onion sauce, chillies, popcorn, roasted peanuts, beer, sodas. All followed by dancing to the sensual rhythms of Congolese rumba. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6182.jpg This great team of dedicated people are sharing with us not only the party, but also the activity report of the year and their ambitions for 2012. Read more about the project at: Egy beteg kálváriája |
Ziua/ Day 17 - 08/01
Km: 150 Starea drumului/ Road: nisip tasat si pamant/ good sand and dirt track Vremea/ Weather: 29°C, insorit/ sunny http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMGP6289.jpg We say good bye to our new friends in great mood and great shape: showered, clean gear and all, an encouraging debut to the second stage of our own rally to Zambia. For the second time on this trip we were to take a different route, less travelled, but one that we were advised by the clinic driver that is better than the National 1. The route is a bit longer, crossing to Kamina via Kabinda, Mission Kalonda and Grelika Farm. We have no map, just a list of the villages we will pass, like we did it in Congo with team Alper & Esther. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSCN1060.jpg Half way to Mission Kalonda we run into our hosts for tonight: brother Richard has already called the sisters at the mission to inform about our arrival. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6187.jpg I stock on fruits every chance I have got. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6189.jpg The lovely huts where the Beatitude Sisters put us up. Here we encounter yet another special community, doing good for the locals, while working to preserve traditions. They bake bread, prepare homemade jams and fruit distillates. Tonight they celebrate the Epiphany, and we enjoy a lot their African ludic interpretation of the biblical story, happy to catch a glimpse of the Congolese way of living wit God. Ziua/ Day 18 - 09/01 Km: 156 Starea drumului/ Road: laterita/ laterite Vremea/ Weather: 30°C, insorit/ sunny Our idea to entitle this post "No days without getting stuck" was rendered useless by todays events. This portion of the trip is a breeze to us, after toughening it the other days. So we roll at the catholic house in Mission Kalonga, after spending the day driving through a picturesque rural wonderland of small mud huts covered in dry grass, where people weave ingenious baskets to fish, carry their crops, or to filter a presumably taste enhancer distilled by mixing water with a black bicarbonate palm dust. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6192.jpg Food has become a rare and expensive commodity on this trip. With dwindling supplies, we are happy to find some pretty good tomatoes and beer on the small stands in town. Delphine improvises a French dish: farco,s, using almost exclusively local ingredients: leafy greens, canned corned beef, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, maize flour, a dash of milk. The gullets are lightly browned, then served with boiled potatoes and local beer. Ziua/ Day 19 - 10/01 Km: 150 Starea drumului/ Road: nisip tasat/ good sand Vremea/ Weather: 34°C, cald, apoi ploaie/ hot, then rain http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6195.jpg In the morning we pack our tent pitched under the chicken house roof, where goats use to sleep. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6203.jpg Jacques & Delphine ask us to allow the playing space to the girls, as the piste seems to be improving, so today we are riding 2up on the Tenere. Brilliant sun, good sand under the wheels, bright colors in at the rural landscape, a regained freedom to ride, to be. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/SANY0026%20(2).jpg But it was a brief joy: after 80 Ks our Dakar proves more merciless than theirs. My chain link breaks in two, under the increased weight, worn out by sand and bumpy rides. I try to fit a temporary wire, but there is no way. My heart sinks, I have no choice but to do it like in Cameroon. So we start the tow, and to make things worse, rain comes back upon us, soaking me and the laterite piste that becomes once again dangerously soapy. In the stress of the moment, we make a mistake with the longer towing cord, so the first tumble is inevitable. Then I fall again, and again, and again: sliding like a toy on ice, being thrown into a tree, losing rear grip in a pool of water. My rear brake lever gets bent each time, so eventually it breaks, forcing me to use only front brakes to tension the tow cable. 70 more km of hell, to realize that this is to dangerous to do, we are risking a serious injury and we are some 200 km from any town. We have seen nobody in the last couple of hours, we are alone here. We must stop. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6205.jpg We set camp after the 4th fall, right on the road. There's little chance that someone will pass by. But our troubles don't end here: the Rover has been leaking oil from the engine for the whole afternoon, the level is on minimum and there is no spare oil to replace the lost one. I have some 10W40, but using motorbike oil may damage the turbo. We have to find a way, we must do something to get ourselves out of this forsaken place, and we must do it with whatever we have got. Ziua/ Day 20 - 11/01 Km: 206 Starea drumului/ Road: nisip tasat/ good sand Vremea/ Weather: 19°C, frig si ploaie/ cold rain http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6213.jpg Broken chain http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6206.jpg No brake lever And no change of oil for the leaking engine of the car. As the compressor is broken, we have improvised a system to cut some holes last night: a cord wrapped around the drill. And some hours of hard work later, we had fixed our vehicles, African style. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6210.jpg Cold welding for the Defender http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6215.jpg Handmade link for my chain, fitted with 2 found bolts. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6216.jpg Ana went back to her corner and off we went, nervous at every bump, at every curve. And the patched chain hanged in there, feeding my hopes to escape from this place in one piece. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6224.jpg As we reunited with the village road, where some bicycles do pass from time to time, our efforts were rewarded by a tasty Congolese meal from the road-side stands: beef in palm oil stew and hot fluff. Delish! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6222.jpg Hunger and meat cravings behind us, we were in the mood to notice the changing landscape: more vivi colors, more wildlife, maybe we would see some African beasts after all! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSCN1078.jpg Whipped by the torrential rain, we rush into Kamina, tent, sleeping bag and mattresses soaked. Our dry sacks no longer can be call as such, worn out by the tough weather. We pitch our wet home under a roof and we grill some fluff. We need to call Alper and check on him, but the news are not good at all. They are in Kolwesi, after 6 (six!!!!) days of hell. The road is flooded, dozens of trucks are stuck along the way and there are 2 difficult river crossings. Alper, who has a lot of experience with off road bikes, tells me that one of the rivers is impossible to cross on a motorbike, with the water level above 1m! They have broken the lamelar suspension of the Toyota and are dealing with that. The nightmare begin all over again. |
Inspirational
We're planning a trip down west africa this October so your thread has totally engrossed us. We've read it from your beginnings to now.... you've met some amazing people and had some fantastic times (and some hard ones) and you're still out there!!!!! Thank you so much for sharing your experiences and photographs and GOOD LUCK ............ looking forward to your next instalment. :thumbup1:
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Thanks for the appreciation!
I guess meeting amazing people is the gift you receive when you embark on such a trip. If I can help with any other info just let me know. Quote:
Km: 0 Vremea/ Weather: 26°C, ploaie alternand cu soare/ rainy with periods of sun http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6249.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSCN1081.jpg Our tent pitched ar the Kamina catholic mission becomes play house for the kids http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6251.jpg The Rover is sheltered from the rain, next to his big brother http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSCN1096.jpg But our hosts boost an infectious optimism, so we forget for a moment about our troubles http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6229.jpg Observam…/ Cameleon http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSCN1084.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSCN1090.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6254.jpg I take some time to tend to my bike. In a nearby shop I find a welder to fix my brake lever and someone who own an old Honda. He agrees to sell me for 20 bucks his used chain (only 104 links), an insurance for me for the road ahead, as there is no way I can replace my broken part here, or even in Kolwesi. We find out that there is a train station in Kamina and we start dreaming to finish the last stretch to Lubumbashi by train. Alper senates us some text messages and the situation of the road through Sokele is not really easy; the constant rain made some parts really difficult, there are two river crossings, one is impossible with the Tenere as the water is more than 1m deep the current is really strong and there are big stones all over the 50-60m long crossing. Could the train be our way out? http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMGP6320.jpg We start investigating at the Station. Feels like Sunday, a laid-back atmosphere, and we have fun taking pics of the guards. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6231.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSCN1098.jpg We lose a whole day going back and forth, visiting different offices, trying to find a solution. Everything from the interior decor, to the rusty dialogue with the socialist managers remind us of communist Romania; same bureaucracy, same "meaningful" wording, same approach. Finally we get the whole picture: 1350 dollars to rent a merchandise open platform, the minimum fee for a 7 tone load (even if we have 3.7). And the prospect of 4 to 7 days by train to Lubumbashi, unless there is a serious, but quite possible power cut, in which case we would be waiting for a diesel locomotive to pull us out. Ziua/ Day 22 - 13/01 Km: 0 Vremea/ Weather: 26°C, ploaie alternand cu soare/ rainy with periods of sun We are still in Kamina, negotiations for the train alternative going strong. We scale down the options to tree: 1. send the wone, kids and bike by regular train and make an all men team to drive the Rover to Lubumbashi; 2. share the ridiculous cost for the train with another car and travel by train up for 400 km for 500 bucks; 3. continue by road. For us, the train option is an uncomfortable option: pitch the tent on an open moving dirty platform, exposed to rain and sun, not a lot of room to move about. But it could work. So we decide to take this chance and skip the bumpy nightmare that claimed Alper's suspension and nerves. We pack up and fill the car with supplies: beer, goat black pudding and sausage, goat steak, deep fried manioc, veggies, bread. We have butterflies in our stomachs, but we puled by the train station in high spirit. In a few days we will arrive safe and sound in Lubumbashi! But life in Africa is a certain uncertainty: the train has been delayed… maybe for tomorrow, on some other day, they'll let us know. And the price has changed, 550 bucks, up from the 500 quoted in the morning (not to mention the 480 promised). What a blow, but in a way, what a relief! We are overlanders, so we must overland. We will hit the road, then, but as the day comes to an end we go back to celebrate our reclaimed courage with black pudding, sausage, caramelized pineapple, rice and whisky, together with the lovely people from the Catholic mission. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6236.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6240.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6247.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6243.jpg Ziua/ Day 23 - 14/01 Km: 55 Starea drumului/ Road: nisip tasat/ good sand Vremea/ Weather: 29°C, soare/ sunny http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6253.jpg Once more, we said good bye to Gaby And we drove away. Where the road became a narrow path lined by vegetation and stumps, the car hit a tree with the upper luggage support. In the impact, one of our aluminum boxes was totaled, along with our 5l jerrycan! What a nightmare…we collected our stuff in plastic bags and wondered how we would fix this new problem. We could not ride with only one box, but alu is hard to weld and a new set would be too expensive, if not impossible to buy or ship in the next town. But we had no time to mourn our box, we had to keep moving. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMGP6331.jpg 50 km further we hit a new low: the right rear wheel of the car gets stuck in some trench and we discover what was the strange metallic noise that Jacques heard during the morning drive. The winch is not working, again. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMGP6339.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMGP6341.jpg We scramble to find a way out, at some point a 4x4 arrives and the dudes pull us out, but then we get stuck again, 1 meter down the road. One of the dudes start shoveling away and punctures a tyre, and in the heat of the moment they decide to take off and leave us there. This was a new challenge: the day had started with the car stuck in a trench, and it would end in yet another. Rain pour over, rivers of dirt flooding the trenches, but we no longer care. We are tired, dirty and have had enough. Our French friends decide to sleep in the car as it is, the roof tent impossible to lift. We pitch our tent in the wet grass. And try to sleep. Ziua/ Day 24 - 15/01 Km: 65 Starea drumului/ Road: nisip tasat/ good sand Vremea/ Weather: 29°C, soare/ sunny http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6255.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6270.jpg The uncomfortable rest worked: in the morning we realize that we can use the winch after all. A truck has arrived in the evening and is waiting 100m down the road for the rainwater to dry off. We borrow a chain from them and we manually winch ourselves out of the hole using th Hi-Lift. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6271.jpg In the meantime my Tenere is ready for new adventures http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6264.jpg And the girls watch some Disney character's adventures under the shade http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6262.jpg What we left behind, after 24 hours of hard work http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6273.jpg My quick African fix is still holding pretty well http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6278.jpg We arrive at a river crossing, where we wait for the trucks to pass. The truck people have been working for days to fix a huge hole right after the bridge: sand bags, wood, the works. Later we find ourselves at yet another river crossing, but this time there is no bridge. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6282.jpg Too tired to attempt the crossing, I suggest to set camp on the soft sand some 200 m off the river. It's one of the loveliest camping spots so far, almost like a bai, where you would imagine elephants passing by. |
Ziua/ Day 25 - 16/01
Km: 30 Starea drumului/ Road: nisip tasat cu grope si balti/ good sand with potholes Vremea/ Weather: 29°C, soare/ sunny http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6286.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6297.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6319.jpg Crossing the river was easy, but the heavy part was yet to come! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMGP6347.jpg The road is all potholes filed with a murky pus of stagnant waters and sand. We are told to follow the deviations, the deep holes can be fatal. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6328.jpg Suddenly we are out of the woods, where an incredible scene unfolds: http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6324.jpg Welcome to infamous Sokele! Lovely warm weather, a mild breeze, a pleasant summer rain about to fall. Take a seat in the shadow, and if you're still hot, soak your feet in the cool waters. Hungry much? There's plenty of sweet bananas, 3 for 100 francs. Cheap food, beautiful scenery, sensual rumba music in the background. An enchanting place, if you can ignore the flooded river, the 2 trucks stuck in deep sand and the 20 people desperately working to build a passage and to get their vehicles out. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6333.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6335.jpg There are dozens of trees missing from the picture, cut since 3 days ago to level the river bed and allow passage. One truck driver tells us he knows Alper, whom he towed out of a pothole about a week ago. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6342.jpg Up to our knees in the infested waters, the Defender defenseless in the sticky sand, the kids hungry and bored to tears, we have to get our shit together and find a way out of this. At a closer inspection, Jacques discovers that we can fix the winch after all. And we get the job done, this time in the blind, feeling with our hands under the water. The kids get a cheese sandwich and cartoons for desert, and we know how lucky we are to be able to do this. Life is tough in Congo, and even after living on the road and in the bush for weeks, we are far from understanding what life is like for the ordinary truck drivers with whom we shared food, hope and tools. We may feel pity for ourselves at times, we may consider this adventure some kind of martyrdom, but, seriously, how can we even compare our own misery to the black and white reality of this place? http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6345.jpg Filtered water, Bear Grylls style Once the winch is fixed, we tow ourselves out of the river in no time. But we soon find out that the real crossing was ahead of us. The dreaded river was 2 km before Sokele. The villagers have built a passage for the cars: stones piled on the river bed, so that the depth of the crossing is about 1.2 meters. Impossible by bike, indeed. But I am told there is a collapsed bridge where I could pass, and some kilometers away I find it. No problems, I quickly reach the other side, only to arrive in time for one of the most spectacular moments of our adventure. Unfortunately there I was with no camera, watching the incredible: hood covered by strong current, the Defender swam over. If it wasn't so scary even the idea of taking another shot at this, I would have suggested to go back and cross again for the camera. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/river.jpg Luckily Alper snap the river crossing right before he went for it http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMGP6372.jpg Ziua/ Day 26 - 17/01 Km: 7.5 !!!!!!!!!!! Starea drumului/ Road: noroi/ mud Vremea/ Weather: 18°C, umed, ploaie/ humid, rainy http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6347.jpg Ah, the smell of freshly baked bread in the morning! The Vidal bakery delivers once again, this time a wheat, soy and maize bread. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6350.jpg Anticipating the daily rain, we set off in a hurry. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6359.jpg But we hardly drove some 7 km from the bush camp, when the infamous road teaches us yet another hard lesson. The Rover is once again trapped in the mud. We figured this time we were not in very deep shit, so we chose to not double the cord, as we normally would. And something went wrong: the winch broke, leaving us with almost nothing left to do. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6362.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6336.jpg We tried to dig, desperate to do something, anything. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6379.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6347.jpg To make things even more difficult, the car would not start. We were out of diesel. Because the car was sitting at an angle and with the secondary tank mounted before the principal, the injection pomp was failing. This time we were unable to take fuel from the secondary to the principal tank, as we had done before. This time even the secondary tank was empty. I had no other choice but take my bike and start searching for a village where I could buy diesel. I was risking a broken chain, and the radios were no longer effective since we were rolling through the forrest. But as the rain kept going, we knew no trucks or other vehicles would dare the lava of soaking mud for days. We could be stuck in this place for a long time, and that was not an option. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6375.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6378.jpg Guacamole on maize pita while I go shopping 11 km towards Sokele I strike gold: a village where they have diesel, and at a reasonable price, just 40 dollars for 20 liters. I return to the sunken Defender, and everybody is relieved. In the meantime Jacques kept digging, so after we fill up the tank we finally get the car out of the mud. Congo is Congo: minutes later a heavy storm starts pouring its furious waters upon us, drenching us, freezing us. I appreciate now more than ever the comfort of a car: the frenchies seek refuge in the heated car and get to change the wet clothes for dry ones. After a short wait we decide that we've got to set camp, and we drive just a bit out of the road, onto a field of high grasses. And the car is swamped, we feel stupid, incapable to dig more, to winch more. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6383.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6384.jpg There is nothing to do. It is raining too much, we are too cold and it's just too late. One more night with the car stuck and the tent soaked, the coldest, darkest, most terrible night so far. Ziua/ Day 27 - 18/01 Km: 120 Starea drumului/ Road: laterita/ clay Vremea/ Weather: 29°C, soare/ sunny http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6409.jpg Seriousely, this photo is taken the next day. Look at the glorious sun, at the green meadow! Who cares how we got out of that doomed place? Jacques fixed the winch - it just needed some cleaning and some grease - we dug a bit, and we got out. The swampy roads behind us, 36 km later we hit the solid laterite of N38. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6414.jpg Bugs http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMGP6377.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6418.jpg Where history was made http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6419.jpg And the parking of the Kolwesi catholic mission where we camped at 17 degrees. Brrrrr! Ziua/ Day 28 - 19/01 Km: 306 Starea drumului/ Road: laterita, apoi asfalt/ clay, then tarmac Vremea/ Weather: 25°C, cer acoperit/ cloudy http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6421.jpg This is the only photo that counts from the 28th day of our trip. We had stopped by chance in front of that supermarket in Kolwesi, we actually crossed the street to shop for some veg at the market. The guy in white tshirt next to my right is John, and he would be instrumental for our subsequent happiness. He spotted the bike and the heavily loaded car and he knew something was off. So he came to meet us. John and his friends were the first whites we were seeing in weeks. And these white people were different: they offered us the true reward at the end of a hard and testing adventure. They assured us their friends in Lubumbashi would help us find a place to camp and one to fix the vehicles. Even the supermarket owner came to hand us a bag of snacks for the road. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMGP6391.jpg But the road was too easy, even under the cold rain. Just 150 km left of laterite, and after Likasi we were back on tarmac. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSCN1103.jpg the night was epic; we were wonderfully received by the Belgian community, with a gourmet dinner of shrimps and beef.. [http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/DSCN1106.jpg …with moelleux aux chocolat and bordeaux. And to top the feast, Caramel Votca, the latest in fancy drinking straight from the pubs of South Africa. People were disputing where to host us, and Champs, John's wife, won. Late in the night we arrived at the house: a real house, with real beds. A home. We were at the end of the road. Our Congo adventure was over. |
Lubumbashi 19-22/01 Home Away From Home
http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6428.jpg
We had plenty to do in order to get our vehicles to run properly. Luckily we were in the best place for the job: Amze car shop (Toyota specialist), where together with Patrick and his team of mechanics we would launch a 24 hrs major operation. I fitted the bike with a new Tsubaki chain, I replaced the gear change lever and the back wheel bearings, I repaired the deformed shield and handlebar mounting piece, I cleaned the air filter and did what we could to fix the damaged aluminum box. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6422.jpg I am still in awe that our makeshift chain link held over 700 km of hard roads! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6424.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6474.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6432.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6440.jpg The alu box hammered back into an approximative shape that would allow us to kind of close it. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6523.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6528.jpg And the final fix: now we could mount it, but it was no longer water proof, just like some of our camping gear. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6441.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6462.jpg Patrick's garage occupied by the Romanian/French team. Jacques replaced all oils, fitted the spare tyre on the rim and put the Defender back in shape. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6448.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6450.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6577.jpg With the staff http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6580.jpg And with Patrick - the owner - and his garage manager. Thank you, guys! Friends We had found in Lubumbashi not just the needed help to fix our bike and the car. We had regained here the warm feeling of belonging - even for a brief while - to a community, a family. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6560.jpg Madi, the head of the Belgian Club and moto club, who welcomed us in the place that became for a while our own meeting spot. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6551.jpg A beer with friends http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6567.jpg …Congolese beer nevertheless http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6569.jpg Ana & John http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6476.jpg Dinner at John's place http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6475.jpg And preparations…we had been invited to give a conference at the Belgian club that night. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6479.jpg The conference was fun. There is quite some interest in cross biking in Lubumbashi, where even a competition is held yearly. John's boys are always there on their Kawasakis. We discussed a lot about our adventure and maybe our story would fuel the idea to organize a rally in Congo. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6484.jpg 24 hrs later the French were already in Zambia, their RD Congo papers renewed thanks to Champs. We had spent together quite intense, tough moments. Thank you and see you soon. Bon voyage, les amis! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6535.jpg We were still in Lubumbashi, partying at the best place in town, Bush Camp, with our gourmet gang. Feasting on local Chanterelle mushrooms, so delicate and fragrant, sausages, barbecued beef, grilled andives, veggies, even the green salad we had been raving about for months. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6531.jpg But the star of the show was indubitably the amazing beef steak. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6532.jpg The world renowned Congolese beef, a melt in your mouth piece of perfection http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6544.jpg The delicious food was completed by an aromatic Bordeaux, Belgian chocolate mousse and vanilla float in kahlua. We had a hard time saying good bye to Patrick, Carine, Doc, Gilbert, John & Chams. Thank you, friends, and hope to see you again, in Europe, even Romania. Or, why not, in Congo. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6574.jpg Reborn and ready for new adventures. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_6588.jpg Good bye, Congo. Zambia, here we come! |
Lusaka - Everything Is Perfect And Nobody Is Happy
Zambia 23/01- 04/02
It was just weird: we were trying to fall asleep in our tent in Lusaka, and instead of crickets and bush sounds, there were mobile phones beeping in our fellow campers' tents. SMS coming in or a call that got rejected. It was a black night, we were lying in our tent as usual, but this was no African bush. We had found a backpackers camp to pitch our mobile home and it was a fine place: friendly Irish staff, a clean lawn near a small pool, communal kitchen with fridge and real showers with hot water. Utter luxury. They also had a book swap shelf with plenty of interesting reads and most importantly of all, decent wifi for a reasonable price. But trust us brothers and sisters, we were anything but relieved to be there. I could not say we were disappointed. Confused, maybe. After weeks of toughening up on the road, we were hungry for more. More trucks, more sand and mud, more downpours, more nasty bug bites, more villages and villagers hauling at our arrival and subsequent crashes. We could do with not showering for days, wearing the same clothes over and over, sharing an avocado, 3 tomatoes and 4 pieces of corn among 6. That was just fine. But Zambia was a whole different ball game. Straight from the Chingola border the roads dramatically improved, even compared to the good tar in Lubumbashi. We needed no visa and the papers for the bike were free. We only had to pay a small carbon tax, then we were off towards the capital. The first provincial town had a shopping mall and people dressed in fancy clothes. But gas was almost as expensive as in east DRC and for lunch we had to settle for a fast food, as we could not spot any local restaurants or mamas with corn or any other stuff that we knew from West Africa. This place could just as well be in Romania or U.S., no way we were still in Africa, were we? http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6589.jpg We had to lunch on fast-food "pies": pastries filled with meat or veggies. In this small provincial town we found a shopping mall, but no local cheap restaurants or food stalls. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6591.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6589.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6592.jpg At the franciscan mission in Ndola, where we stayed for the first night. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6599.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6600.jpg Custom carpet in our room. I wonder where can you order this stuff. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6595.jpg So the second day of Zambia we had arrived in Lusaka, after sleeping the previous night at a franciscan mission. The US dollars keeps flying our of our pockets at alarming speed. Everything was expensive, everything was foreign to us: american brands, south african brands, lots of weirdly colored juices, crisps, chocolate, margarine…processed foods and shiny packaging. Water was hard to find: no pomps, tap water in fast foods was yellowish, even in villages there were only 500 ml plastic bottles on sale. What a crazy waste of disposable junk, and the junk was being disposed all along the sides of the roads indeed! Even the toilets in gas stations were not free. But we were not disappointed. We just felt a bit lost. In front of the many shelves of Shoprite supermarkets we wondered at the many kids of tooth paste available. We were back hey. The bush drive had been hard. It took a toll on us, our relationships and our vehicles. Yet somehow a sense of nostalgia was lingering. It felt as if we had survived a difficult test, only to arrive at the finish line and be handed a wheel chair. Life was too easy. Even bread - widely available - was already sliced and so soft it needed no chewing. We were prepared for another kick in the gut, but we we got a soft hand shake. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6603.jpg Zambian staple: nshima (similar to Romanian polenta) and fish http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6604.jpg Perfect tar to Lusaka http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6606.jpg A Zambian dude goofing around. They love to do it. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6610.jpg Rolling a big one. Zambia looks like a brand new country, a nicely greased machine that runs properly, a stable, safe system that just works. But somehow, magically, in this highly modernized place, the African megafauna still thrives, unlike in the Congo for example. After living in the wild for so long, after camping in random places that felt like the most remote corners of the planet, only now we were hoping to spot some wildlife. The elusive creatures we were dreaming about long before our departure, our childhood stories heros. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6613.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6614.jpg We spend 3 nights in Lusaka, resting, washing, blogging, taking a dip in the pool, cooking the big round tomatoes and mushrooms that filled the markets, shopping at the giant African corporation Zambeef. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6616.jpg Take 1: rabbits love bikes http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6617.jpg Take 2: moto magic, the rabbit has become …Sam Then we left in search for the giraffes, zebras, monkey, elephants, we went south. We were struggling with this new found comfort of driving on perfect tarmac, unable to find a resolution of this absurd dichotomy. Should we feed our hunger for adventure, should we enjoy the civilization? In Lusaka we had met with the second pair of bikers since we had left. James and Bryce are from Cape Town, and they rode their BMW F650 GS from London - where they've been living and working for many years - to their home in Africa, via Europe, Turkey, the Middle East and the east coast. Finally we had things to learn from others like us, we had stories to tell, tools to share, bolts to screw. We ate the same foods, we packed the same gear, we flaunted the same uninhibited swagger. James had had a problem with the clutch and had been towed by Bryce for miles, so in Lusaka we went to the same shop to rebuild brake pads. I also had to fit a new chain lock as the original one had already fallen off since Lubumbashi - so much for the cross chains reliability! - replace a lost shield screw and repair the broken right mirror, now necessary because of the driving style in Zambia. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6619.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6622.jpg It was logical and fun to ride together on our way to Vic Falls and on their way to Kariba Lake. But after being stopped for the second time for speeding by the same police car and after making them go so we could enjoy our lunch of roasted chicken with salad and corn, Bryce discovered that his chain was damaged. It was like it happened to us in Morocco, the chain was extremely stiff, with many frozen links. So they went back 50 km to Lusaka to find a new chain, and we drove south on the straight road until we felt we would fall asleep from boredom. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6623.jpg But this is the heart of Africa, and it comes with the most incredible sunsets. We were tripping in this surreal light that was scalding the vast plain. It was all ours, to bathe in, to make our temporary shelter on. So no wonder we arrived the next day in famously named Livingstone with high expectations. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6639.jpg Chicken with leafy greens, similar to spinach http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6640.jpg Beef stew http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6641.jpg Both dishes served with nshima, the Zambian must eat staple http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6628.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6635.jpg The small town was founded in 1905, but has been developing as tourist hub only for the past 5 years, and today it offers 2 shopping malls, many supermarkets, petrol stations and innumerable lodges and camps. The offer for the adrenaline junkies is mind-blowing: white water rafting, bungee jumping, paragliding, helicopter rides, safaris, fishing in the canyons. In Livingstone, you name it, and they have got it. Actually the insane over-development has urged the international committee to consider removing the World Heritage Site status of Victoria Falls. Since World Cup the entrance fees to the waterfall have doubled and a parking fee was introduced. The 20 US dollar ticket and the 5 US dollar parking tax are dumbfounding. We felt robbed, and right across the ticket counter there was a ridiculous display of shops selling kitsch replicas of African art. It was like we had to do this only because it was a famous landmark that we came across. It felt weird. We took our camera and walked in the direction of the roar. And there it was. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6643.jpg The Smoke That Thunders http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6694.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6697.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6704.jpg Upper Zambezi is a gentle, wide body of water dotted with islets, washing the shores of green pastures where animals roam undisturbed. It calmly collects rivers and springs, rain making it stronger. But at this 1.7 km long 108 m deep crack in the black basalt, the river turns wild. A dormant beast wakes up and roars. Before you can lay your eyes upon it, you hear its voice, you see smoke coming from its mouth. Mosi-Oa-Thunya literally means in tonga "the smoke that thunders", the inverted rain clearly visible from miles away, as it raises high in the sky like geysers. Immense, alive. The force of Victoria Falls pounds mercilessly, over 500 tones of water a minute strong. In the perfect afternoon light we wondered at the incredible power of this delicately intricate structure of falling water. It balances for a moment on the sharp edge, then it jumps into the abyss, while dissolving in an erotic dance, a thrusting see-thru body that disappears below, in the mist. An almost 360 degrees rainbow, droplets on our skin, sounds of another world, and we felt transported, transfixed. Whatever the price some mercantile people put on nature, we abandoned ourselves to being present, alive, feeling it, smelling it, drinking it. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6718.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6673.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6645.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6657.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6671.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6685.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6681.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6652.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6720.jpg It is beautiful, this waterfall. After exploding at this wide edge between Zambia and Zimbabwe, Zambezi can no longer longer let go, and it twists into narrow gorges, whirlpools in turbulent rapids. Right on the edge of one of these gorges, at Rapid 14, we found what we were looking for. A peaceful spot to relax and collect our thoughts while planing for the itinerary ahead. Free wifi included. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6736.jpg |
Keep Pressing The Button
Zambia 28/01- 07/02
Where were we... http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6740.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_7021.jpg We had arrived here by pure chance, looking for just a place to sleep one night before crossing the Namibian border. Since entering Zambia we had also entered anonymity: nobody cared, nobody gave a second look, almost no hand raised for hello, almost no smile returned. But, unknowingly, we had arrived where we needed to be. We had found on the border of Nsogwe canyon our own Dharma Initiative, another special encounter on this trip. 6 years ago a South African ex-consultant for Camel Trophy founded here Overland Missions (Overland Missions Any Road... Any Load... Any Time...). http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_7022.jpg The Smoke That Thunders, visible on the way to the camp. Vic Falls Panoramas http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/pano-zambia-vic1.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/pano-zambia-vic2.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/pano-zambia-vic3.jpg Mostly American missionaries come here every dry season to learn about working in remote areas, where they will teach villagers how to care for themselves, how to farm the land in a sustainable manner, how to build wells for drinking water. The projects follow two objectives: SAM (organic agriculture + drinkable water wells) and LIFE (education, consoling, family planning). Overland Missions provides knowledge, loans the money needed, then retreats: the villagers are involved from the beginning in the projects, then are left to manage alone, with a minimum of guidance. Work is the payback, nothing comes for free. Ana was just reading a book ("Dead Aid") written with the very same thesis by the Zambian Dambisa Moyo. The money carelessly pumped into Africa for decades is not helping. It hurts the Africans, killing creativity, making people and countries dependable on aid, unable to sustain a living economy. Aid feeds corruption and civil unrests. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6741.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6753.jpg The base is quite vast: tents for the trainees and staff, gingerbread-like homes built in Zambian style, a center with communal kitchen, living room, braai terrace, open classroom, an organic garden, garage, showers, laundry facility. Lovely vernacular structures with a minimalist twist, in one of the most stunning places we have ever been. It was rainy season, the regular trainees were not around, so we were alone, with the few staff actually living on the property. It made sense when the blue eyed man who received us said that his name was Jacob. If you have seen Lost, you get what we mean. Jacob is the leader of this community and has been living on the property from the beginning with his wife, Jessie, their kids and their black labrador. They have a 2 year old daughter, Kya and they have adopted a Zambian girl who turned 6 the week we were at the base. The night of our arrival we had dinner together with them and their friend and colleague Laura. So instead of staying for one night, we lingered for one week, getting to know and care for these people who have chosen to leave the security and safety of the USA, to teach and help others. Their work also includes an orphanage, a pre-schooling project, and the list could go on. It comes to no surprise that they are beautiful, talented musicians and very very smart. In this little imperfect corner of perfection they are living with a purpose that gives them everyday strength and joy. We cooked together, enjoyed rooibos and cake at the wonderfully Victorian High Tea at the Royal Livingstone, we hiked into the gorge, shared two emotional Sunday mornings and had some of the most challenging and engaging conversations in years. Touched by the friendship these people offered, thankful for love they shared. There are many fantastic places around the world where heavens meets the earth, with only few accessible on foot. This is one of them. It gave us strength, it allowed us to meditate at our purpose in this quest that has been going for 8 months. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6788.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6801.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_7017.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6983.jpg Indian trees http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6778.jpg Play time http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/pano-zambia-r14.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6838.jpg Hike into the canyon http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6824.jpg Hippo paw. Bodies of drowned elephants and hippos are washed here, the meat taken by villagers, the bones left to dry out on the rocks. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6830.jpg Jacob http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6825.jpg Ana, Sunda, Jacob http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6849.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6822.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6856.jpg Tea and cakes at the Royal Livingstone http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6875.jpg View from the hotel terrace http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6901.jpg Zambezi sunset http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_7008.jpg Moon over the canyon, Nsogwe village http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6871.jpg Sunda, Kya, Jessi, us, Laura Then it was time to go. Difficult to leave, this place had become our home, these people had become our friends. Would we see them again? We could hear the calling of the savannah, of the copper Namibian dunes. And this time we knew: the answer to our questions was not here, was not there, it was inside. __________________________________________________ _______________ Cooking and Wildlife Viewing in Nsogwe, Livingstone http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6780.jpg Breakfast: oats with milk, cinnamon and honey http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6774.jpg Lunch: guacamole, tomatoes, cabbage raita with Italian herbs http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6804.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6989.jpg Mini-quiche with feta cheese and wild leafy greens. Taste similar to spinach, but with a superior nutritive content. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6992.jpg A Romanian traditional dish that we cooked here for the very first time. We had to pickle the cabbage ourselves! These cabbage rolls are stuffed with beef mince, rice, onions, garlic, herbs and spices and slowly baked with tomatoes and shredded cabbage. The dish comes from the Middle East and various countries that were influenced by the Ottomans have their own version. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6995.jpg Local muhsrooms http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_7004.jpg The mushrooms were mixed with eggs, peri peri peppers, basil and marjoram to bake a big quiche In the vast gardens of the Royal Livingstone live giraffes, zebras and springbok antelopes. Our first wildlife sightings in Africa after the Afi stint. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6884.jpg Velvet monkey http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6924.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6931.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_6934.jpg Hartmann's mountain zebra http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia/IMG_7010.jpg The African football cup was underway while we were staying at Rapid 14, and soon after our departure our prophecy came true: Zambia become for the first time the champion! Long was forgotten the only incident: a spitting cobra sought shelter under our fridge, sadly ending up under the blows of Wezee. |
Hey MrWhite nice to see that you guys are still going. I have been watching and reading your thread with interest. The commentary is exceptional and the photography is just brilliant. Thanks for the efforts of posting your experiences........man what a trip !!:thumbup1:
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Caprivi Strip & Bushmanland
Cheers JJZep!!!
Namibia 07- 11/02 http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7043.jpg Once on the Caprivi Strip - infamous in the past for the armed ninjas that were crossing from the war ravaged Angola - we got warned that we were not alone. First morning we woke up with what we thought to be elephants crossing from the Bwabwata national park. But we saw just foots prints and elephant feces. Wildlife remained elusive. In Katima Mulilo tarred roads and malls clearly show who is on top of the food chain in a country of more than 800.000 square Ks and less than 5 million inhabitants http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7028.jpg Arriving 2 months later in Namibia at the Katima Mulilo border, it felt like the the beginning of the end. Our detour across DRC through Zambia had brought us in the Caprivi Strip, the greenest and rainiest Namibian region, rarely visited by overlanders. Gone were the rickety rice and beans shacks, supermarkets had replaced corner shops, the service stations and customs offices were modern and air conditioned. The town, chuck full of malls and fast food joints. For a moment we were trapped by the tricks of a familiar world: receipts for every shopping, Gouda cheese, whole wheat bread, chocolate, discounts, air conditioning, mobile network. But the novelty wore off quickly. The impeccable tarmac took us through San villages (ethnics famous for the click sounds that articulate their language). Mud huts were tucked behind a layer of greenery, after all rain falls here almost year round. And when the rains have been plentiful, the river that crosses Caprivi spills over, flooding the fields of northern Botswana and creating a lush water paradise in search of which immense herds of animals march for months: the Okavango Delta. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7093.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7027.jpg Traditionally the Okavango is crossed on mokoro boats http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7055.jpg And the more refined version of mokoro, for visitors. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/...a-okavango.jpg Okavango http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7059.jpg We stopped for a night on the Okavango river, in a camp with pool in cage, to protect the tourists from the hippos and crocs. A first sighting of Botswana, where we planned to go later on. In the afternoon we saw a small group of elephants grazing over the river, on their way to the Okavango Delta. Our expectations deceived: 8 months in Africa, thousands of kilometers through thick jungle or savannah, bushcamping in remote spots, and we had hardly seen a few wild animals, if any at all, and always from great distance. Then, the following night, I got attacked by a hippo. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7081.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7083.jpg The story goes like this: we pitched out tent near the water. Rain came overnight, we were unaware that the others, tourists and staff, had sought shelter in the bungalows. And nobody bothered to tell us anything. Around midnight I heard a splash in the river and I went out to see where that came from. The hippo who was grazing 4 meters away, head barely above the water, must have felt he was being challenged, so he charged. I shouted, trying to wake Ana up, I stumbled on her legs and fell over, so she screamed. The hippo got even more scared than us and slipped while trying to climb out, so it gave up, exiting the river 5 meters away, through the next camp site. I thought I saw it from behind, disappearing in the night, but as we walked all over the camp trying to find someone to talk to, I convinced myself that I had imagined the whole thing. There was complete silence, nobody around, how could there be hippos roaming the camp? But in the morning the foot prints were all over the place. We found out that two cheeky hippos do sometime dare to graze here in the night, the idea is to stay inside the tent, and you're safe. We didn't get the chance to face the hippo again, cause it started raining cats and dogs again. We had stitched the tent in Zambia, but it was still leaking, so we had to leave in search of drier places. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7091.jpg Destination: Etosha, with stopover for groceries in Tsumeb, the Namibian mining center (silver, lead, germanium, cadmium). What a strange artificial town, American feel after decrepit villages, no local markets, no street food. White people with 4x4s, crappy Internet for 10 Euro/hour, groups of boozed San ethnics (Bushmen) gathered to beg and wait in front of the Spar supermarket. The hunter-gatherer San communities, under constant pressure from the Khoi-Khois, the Hereros and the colonists, has almost disappeared, absorbed or enslaved, pushed to the limit of survival, the limit of existence. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7120.jpg Tsumeb http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7100.jpg Nambian lunch: beef with maize porridge On the way to Etosha we took the chance to step on extraterrestrial soil: the Hoba meteorite, the largest that fell on our planet; 60 t, most of it iron, but discovered only in 1920. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7118.jpg One cannot walk o alien rocks, so I had to balance while levitating. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7108.jpg Memory from outer space. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7114.jpg |
We Get Pwned
[still] Namibia 14-24/02
Damaraland http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7803.jpg The gravel road unwound through some of the most thinly populated and driest Namibian countryside. Long before we ever learnt about this place and dreamt of riding our bike across, its native nomadic inhabitants, the hunter-gatherer San (Bushmen) and the herders Khoisan (Hottentots) had been almost entirely chased away by white settlers, missionaries and venturers alike. Leftover villages were scattered in the [insert yawn here for the predictable adjective] vast territory. From time to time a Himba man with his cattle would appear in the horizon, a speckle in the infinite stretch of ochre, white and blue. As time passed by, the occasional paths stopped turning into the bush to indicate a village or the remains of it: we were finally alone, hundreds of miles between us and the next human settlement. This was Damaraland, one of the driest environments on Earth. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/...-mountain1.jpg A chameleon crossed our path, so we stopped to check it out (sorry for the man-handling little fella'). http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7810.jpg Above the barren veld rose a flat gradient of blue. Thorny shrubs, tufts of grass and acacia trees swarmed the reddish earth like stubs of hair on an unshaven face. We drove across this sameness for hours, like an alien craft interrupting the astonishing vacancy of the veld. No typical African mud-and-dung huts, nobody walking with their stuff on their head, no women crouching alongside the road, waiting for a lift. No-one. Then the gravel lost its tan and shone white in the midday haze. Luring us to push on, the Khowarib Gorge, where the land suddenly swelled from zero to 1600m. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/...-mountain2.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7830.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7826.jpg In the 20s Germany had to let Namibia go, so the country went to join the Southern-African Union. Until the 1990 independence some 6000 fenced farms were leased or sold by the aperheid government to the new white settlers who flocked in, leaving the "natives" no option but make house in the 10 "reserves". In the North there was Kaokoland (nowadays Kunene), home to Herero and Himba; the fringes of Kalahari in the South-East became the last frontier of the San; the Topnaars retreated to the Namib. And on the central plateau the Damara, one of the three groups that use a click-accented dialect, established Damaraland. Even today the arid territory is not officially protected, but offers sanctuary to wildlife: zebra, Springbok, Oryx, Kudu, giraffe, suricates, birds and reptiles. Rumor has it that even desert elephants and lions still roam some of the more remote corners of this veld. And this time the animals that wandered about were not unfazed by our sudden and noisy apparition, like the Etosha herds. The encounter would last only for a brief moment, leaving us dumbfounded, wondering if it had been a day-dream or not. Soon the Grootberg pass forced the road towards east. A jacquard of lava lingered under brittle grasses, few meters high cactuses and freakish stumpy trees with water-filled torsos. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/...untainpass.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/hdr-namibia1.jpg Clusters of enormous rocks were laying around in the fuzzy veld, strange toys forgotten behind by some nowhere-to-be-seen giants. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7854.jpg Pass the granite Lego, we rolled into Kamanjab, where the newest overlanders' joint (complete with overland album where we could spot familiar faces like Margus & Kariina, Alper & Esther, the Vidals) welcomes non-African vehicles for free. Our original plan was to take our first shower in a week, do some launder and feast on the famous Namibian farmed game, but Oppi Koppi was to become more than just a pit stop for us, protein hungry, dirty vagabonds. For one, as we arrived on the infamous 14th of February, we celebrated the Valentine's Day for the first time, the main incentive being the specials on the menu: butternut soup, zebra sirloin with veg and, yes, ice-cream! As camping was free, splurging on the very reasonable dinner set menu was a no-brainer. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7858.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7860.jpg And as South Africa was already on our radar, it was time to start practicing our braai skills, sporting boerwors, farmed game and the famous termite mushrooms we had chased in vain in Etosha a week ago. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7880.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7873.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7865.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7903.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7900.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8227.jpg The rest camp was a hippy garden of sorts: prickly bushes, cactuses, pod bearing trees that Ana felt inspired to wear as instant jewelry. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7985.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7989.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7905.jpg An unedited photo with our campsite scalded in the surreal sunset. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7991.jpg Malaria Scare Two days later we were ready: showered, shampooed, hairstyles, well rested. We had started to get used to and take for granted all these first world luxuries - heated water (actually running water), T.P., electricity and easily available plug, right by the tent. Long were forgotten our scruffy days in the Congo, when we would save any drop of water and milligram of soap, washing our hands by squeezing a tuft of grass heavy with morning dew. But one of the bad memories, if not the worst of them all, was to come back and haunt us once more. That dreadful morning debuted with a weird feeling in my stomach. By midday my bones and knuckles were aching like hell. At night I was sporting a decent fever, but not too high, so we decided to postpone our departure, to see what was up with that. The next day the cycle restarted: more fever, more head aches… al day I was laying down in my tent, powerless, weaken. The paranoia was on: Ana was reliving the Matadi moment, I was growing more convinced by the hour that I had malaria. On top of all these, we knew that Esther, with whom we had traveled in Congo and who was a bit ahead of us now together with Alper, has been hospitalized in Windhoek with malaria. She had started the treatment with some delay, maybe a couple of days, and she was now suffering from kidney failure, a common but nasty malaria complication. She had been receiving dialysis for about a week and she was about to be repatriated in Germany. Their adventure was over. We decided it was not the moment to take risks, so I started taking Lonart, an equivalent of Qartem, immediately. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8561.jpg Malaria candy, bought from Zambia. The next morning we were helped by locals to summon medical assistance at the newly built, but quite desolated village clinic. They had malaria tests alright, the kind that had already been proven unreliable in Ana's case. I had already taken 2 doses of antimalarial medicine, of course the test came out negative. A proper blood test was available only 500 ams away, in Windhoek. And the nurse, who I can't imagine had ever treated or even met someone with malaria, assured me I was fine. 10 euros and two cute ziplocks with Indocid and multivitamins later, I was back home. And back on Lonart. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_7978.jpg Pain-killers + multivitamins from the "doctor" As it is the case in Romania, Europe or the US, in Namibia not a lot is known about malaria. The country is out of the severe transmission map, besides, we were in Kamanjab, a few thousands inhabitants village. My best bet was to follow the correct antimalarial treatment scheme. So I did, taking my time to recover and rest. A few days later in Windhoek it was too late to trace the plasmodium germs in my blood. So this will remain a big question mark. Was is, or wasn't it? I guess I'll never know. Three days later I was back on my horse, pushing on westwards. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8000.jpg Saying good-bye to Melissa, the daughter of Vital, owner of Oppi-Koppi http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8009.jpg On the road again http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8006.jpg The record mileage was hard to believe, even for us http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/...a_brand_01.jpg The Namibian touristic agenda is quite extensive, and of course nothing is free. Lonely Planet has never been our traveling bible, so we skipped the local "must-see"s and took the sketchiest off-road route towards Skeleton Coast. Our plan was to reach Walvis Bay by sunset. The daylight had a surreal quality to it, tempering colors, melting away topographical features that were fighting for contrast under the scorching sun. Every time we would stop for a brief water break we could hear nothing but our own voices: the land appeared lifeless, smelling of heat and drought, only interrupted by twisted corpses of thorn trees without their melted Camembert clocks. The sky was wider and higher than any we had seen before, smeared with theatrical cloudscapes that kept coagulating and dispersing. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/...a_brand_03.jpg Namibian veld http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/...a_brand_04.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8025.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8048.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8054.jpg It was one of the greatest rides of them all. The Namibian veld dissected by this adrenalin-pumping clutch-burning tyre-roasting road. We were discovering it kilometer by kilometer of rock crumble, stopping at a vantage point from which we could view it all. Rushing up on a blind hill, bent down into a corkscrew like the famous Laguna Secca turn. This stretch would make a beautiful rally stage, negotiating a water thirsty desert that eventually fades away into the ocean ravaged Skeleton Coast. It was rainy season, but rain rarely falls here. All the river beds were dry, their sandy bottoms ghostly reminders of a once breathing body of water. At some point we took a small road, a thin line on the map, and got lost for some time in a labyrinth of sandy deviations. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8024.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8057.jpg Dry riverbed: wide, deep, sandy, difficult to cross 2up The massive Brandberge, the "burnt mountain", towered at 2573m over the unmitigated flatness of the veld. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/...a_brand_02.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/...a_brand_05.jpg Then all that was left was formlessly horizontal. West, east, north and south, ever the same, only the wood poles with their sagging electricity cables still standing. The sky was smudged with cloud, and the wind was bringing in from the frozen coastal waters a salty smell of thunderstorm. Through the distant rains that were hanging down from the clouds like soaking laundry, we could barely see Mt. Spitzkoppe, to the left of the road. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/...a_brand_06.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8083.jpg Then we entered on the Skeleton Coast through a strange field of lichen in bloom (a reserve and national park). http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8076.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8087.jpg The cold Benguela current was blowing mercilessly, so we rushed by the swish white suburbs of Swakopmund, the capital of all adrenaline-junkies. For wads of cash one can skydive, sandboard or do anything here, so this was not our place, not our budget. On the outskirts of the outskirts of the town we drove by the Topnaar township: shacks of any description in the sandy plain littered with all sorts of debris, a landscape where mountains were man-made out of trash. We had last seen the desert 8 months ago, in Mauritania, and the Atlantic more than 2 months ago, in Gabon. We would see them both again, side by side, dunes melted right into the ocean, in the Namib Naukluft. Ochre dunes, a salty crust wrinkled over the land, ocean roaring beyond the horizon. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/...a_dunes_01.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/...a_dunes_02.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/..._walvis_02.jpg Walvis Bay to Windhoek http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/..._walvis_01.jpg Only a couple of manic gourmet travelers like ourselves could drive for hundreds of miles through the desert, bushcamp in the sketchiest spots and save every penny, in order to afford half a dozen of oysters. But we had been obsessing over the Walvis Bay oysters since 2008, and our efforts and stinginess was rewarded: the mollusks were plump, nutty, with a perfect brine. Mmmmmmmmmmmm…… http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8128.jpg It was already night when we started driving again in the direction of Windhoek. We were determined to push as mush as we could, so that we would have less Ks in the morning till the South African embassy, where we had to apply for our visa. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8130.jpg We had no idea when we stopped that we were bushcamping again in an exceptional place. Then the sunrise was more than convincing. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8137.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8140.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8145.jpg The capital city felt exhausting. From the manic streets to the black township where even the public grill was on the way to become some sort of meat mall. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8164.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8165.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8172.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8177.jpg But we had driven all this way only to submit our RSA visa application, a simple enough affair, we naively thought. Romania is not part of Schengen (and will not be for a long time), so Romanian citizens must apply and pay for a quite expensive visa. Immediately we understood that was not going to be easy: spartan working hours, aggressive and condescending personnel, high fees. Firstly, our application was denied: they suggested we apply in our country of origin. We considered crossing directly to Botswana and try there, or simply cut South Africa from the itinerary. The third day they agreed to take our files in, but only after we payed 85 euros in visa fees and 70 euros for the faxes that this embassy would presumably send, we were informed that we were now facing a minimum 10 working days waiting time for a response. That meant while our passports could be rotting in some drawer at the RSA embassy, our Namibian visa could expire, placing us in an even more delicate situation. We tried to plead with this people, they just don't care, though. 99% of all overlanders don't need a visa for South Africa, they just roll into the southernmost point of the continent. Is this the end of our 28000 km adventure, will we be denied access to a classic overlander's milestone? Will we have to scramble for a last minute exit out of Namibia? We just don't know. We are sad, we are hopeless, we are angry. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8197.jpg Update: a week has passed since, and nobody could be bothered to process our visa applications. We keep calling the embassy, wasting more money, more time. It feels like we hit a dead end. |
Great photographs. Very high quality.
Well done .. :thumbup1: . |
Just one word :
respect :clap::clap::clap::clap: |
Wow, what a nice trip.
I felt in love of the picture 'Enthusiasm' you took on 02/01 in Ziua. If you don't mind, I would like to print it out and display it in my house. It remembers years in Africa. Is it possible to get the large size file? Thanks a millions By the way, did you fix your visa issue at the Z.A border? |
I love this ride tail - Absolutely one of the best in terms of both details and great photographs
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From Durban
Hello Mr White and Ana. We live in Durban east coast South Africa. If you come this way please call we could meet. Your pictures are great.
Enjoy the ride:thumbup1: |
Into the Wild
http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8255.jpg
http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8260.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8263.jpg That's how our day begun: hundreds of Springboks, dozens of giraffes and oryx. We had embarked, the two of us, plus Vital (owner of Oppi-Koppi), on what was to become our own booze fueled Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas trip. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8242.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8244.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8248.jpg First we needed to observe the tradition and drink a bottle of ginger spirit, to avoid a flat tyre. At the Sesfontein village joint, where we stopped to stock on the lucky-charm drink and beer, a regular Monday was at play: people were chatting and liquid-dancing to the blasting jukebox, pool was being played with a golf ball, nickels were being dropped in the poker machine. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8266.jpg Then we were out of the map. The end of the road was only the beginning of the journey. We were driving across the unpeopled, formless, oldest desert in the world, the pro-Namib. The vacancy, the remoteness, the sheer implausibility of the place was astonishing. Wisps of dry shrubs covered the earth with a scabby pattern of circular, barren patches, like enigmatic landing spots of some past flying saucers. The average diameter of these patches: 5–8 m! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/...mibia_trip.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/...ia_trip_01.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/...ia_trip_08.jpg These are the so-called ‘fairy rings’ of Namibia, one of the most enigmatic phenomena in the desert regions of southern Africa. To date, the bioassays conducted in soil samples collected from these sites failed to support any proposed explanation for this patterning (localized radioactivity, termite activity, growth inhibitors released by dead Euphorbia damarana plants etc). But the relative permanence of fairy rings in the pro-Namib desert is believed to be critically linked to the optimal functioning of the ecosystem. The fairy rings may be some sort of adaptive response to extreme arid conditions, facilitating capture, storage and recycling of limited resources. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_6491.jpg But this was not the only strange feature of the landscape. Chunky trees rose swollen with water. Crumbling rock scattered. Winds honed lava outcrops. And in this world of the Oz, a lonely telephone, to give a call to the gods. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_6462.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_6500.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8300.jpg This is not officially designated as a wildlife reserve, national park or protected area. But locals know: the place is teeming with wild desert lions and desert elephants, and many other animals. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8307.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8309.jpg To go deeper into the wild, we had to descend into the dry river bed. The sandy bottom was full of elephant poop and eventually we spotted some foot prints. Everything was so quiet, and we were cruising at almost zero speed, trying to make as little noise as possible. 15 meters high acacia trees shaded the river bed so vast that we were unable to see the banks, our lilliputian vehicle lost, dwarfed, nullified. Then the bull appeared, and suddenly the astonishing scale of the landscape made sense. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8353.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8330.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8361.jpg He allowed us to watch, and it was so quiet that we could hear him chewing on bark. Desert elephants don't need to drink every day and their tusks are smaller, due to the scarcity of nutrients in their environment. But this guy was an impressive size and we were hoping to see him again later, as we would set up camp downstream, into the river bed. Looking for a spot to pitch our tents we met more surreal creatures: slender giraffes, Oryx, ostriches, guinea fowls… http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8506.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8509.jpg Giraffe footprint: guess the walking direction! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_6531.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8365.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8369.jpg We enjoyed more red wine with our braai, then it was time to have some rest. Lying under our mosquito nets, we saw everything, we heard everything. The sky was white with stars, jackals and birds were calling their mates, the river was silent, smelling of heat and sand. It was one of the most relaxing places we ever slept in and we woke up when it was still dark, when the bull from earlier passed by our camp, snacking on more bark. We were humbled by the respect wild animals had for us, keeping the right distance from our camp, allowing us in their home for one surreal night. And we don't think we were under influence there, it is that simple. We live together, we share, we survive. Of course, the sunrise was just as psychedelic, a white haze filling up the valley, deserts flower delicately scenting the dry, fresh air. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8398.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8396.jpg Tea was brewed, sandwiches were fixed, tents were packed, careful to remove all traces of our ephemeral campsite. The sun was obliterating smell and vision, air too hot already. Jackals, antelopes, ostriches, baboons were going about their business. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8420.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8454.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8462.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8515.jpg Going back we took a different way through the river bed, wondering at the huge exposed roots of the trees, unsuccessfully trying to picture the river flooded with water. Some fresh elephant poop and recent footprints appeared: two babies with some adults maybe. Incredulously, we followed them along, and here they were, a bunch of elephant mammas with the little ones, taking a lovely sand bath! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_6519.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8483.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8490.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_6525.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_6526.jpg With all the antelopes swarming the land, that had to be a predator's heaven. Soon we met the proof: fresh lion foot prints, lots of them, cubs with adults. We tracked them for a while, thrilled, but of course the lions remained elusive, minding their own business in the perfectly matching colors of the veld. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8499.jpg Cub foot print http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8502.jpg Adult lion paw next to Ana's hand As we drove on, the sandy bottom started oozing water, brittle desert plants giving way to a marshy field of tall grass, where another bull was enjoying his beauty mud bath. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8519.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8520.jpg Exiting the river bed back into the veld, our party of three was still as boozed as the day before, but more quiet, nostalgic, really. Our awesome escape was coming to a close. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/...ia_trip_06.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_6539.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_6559.jpg On our way back we stopped again for the mandatory ginger liquor, but some beers later, 80 kilometers before Kamanjab, we remembered one must not drink and drive. So we parked at the Grootberg Pass Lodge, which belongs to a friend of Vitals, to collect our composure with the aid of several double gin and tonic. The lodge was built in an environmentally friendly way in a pristine conservancy, on the rim of the ancient Gondwana split, among 132 million years old volcanic mountains. But the night was young, the view was stunning, and our generous hosts proposed dinner and bungalows perching on the edge of the canyon. So we stayed. Tempering the pampering with two bottles of red. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_6574.jpg In our so-called Western world, we live far from the wild. We work hard to maintain the boundaries. Some even believe that we have become a species disconnected from the natural mechanisms of life. But in a place like this, one cannot help but wonder, “how could I possibly want more, something else?” Just open the eye into the world, and see. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8530.jpg |
Somewhere Under the Rainbow
Namibia 01-11 martie/ 1st-11th of March
http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/...mibia_wndk.jpg Windhoek. We needed to leave asap the only place in the world where the names of Nelson Mandela and Robert Mugabe meet at the same crossroads. After all, we had come only to collect a visa (done!), and to locate a friendly garage and supplier for spares to do some maintenance work on our Yamaha (postponed). The only shopping we could afford was a set of Heidenau K60 Scout. Looking quite solid, hopefully these are the last we shave on African roads. One front caliper rubber is broken, so I cleaned the caliper boots, something that needs to be done more regularly from now on. It was also imperative to change the oil, and the only option at that time was the Yamaha dealership. Huge prices there, all I'll say is that since I put on the Bel Ray 20W50, the clutch started to slip. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8645.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8635.jpg Windhoek, where Mugabe + Mandela = L.O.V.E. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8626.jpg The only somewhat affordable accommodation in Windhoek was this backpackers joint. We paid two beds, but of course we cuddled in one, happy that at least we had a decent wifi connection. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8629.jpg I am having some work done in the hostel yard. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8614.jpg TKC 80, done http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8597.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8592.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8601.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8620.jpg We had had a pretty intense week: Ana's b-day party, not in Cape Town, as planned, but among lovely people. We had also encountered 3 German dudes and their dog, determined to bicycle from Cape Town to Berlin in 4 months. Ahead of us, the rainy season was cooling off, epic cloudscapes still threatening with thunder, but already too week to spread their rainbows downy to the earth. Dry season was nearing, and we were loving the news. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8564.jpg Beer, wine, braai and two joyful girls (Melissa and Ana) http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8571.jpg South African Merlot http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8573.jpg Meeting our fellow nomads, Daniel 1, Daniel 2 and Pirco http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8574.jpg Important health and visa information was exchanged… http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/...a_sprewndk.jpg Clouds stretched a fading rainbow above… http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8586.jpg We pitched out nomad home under the stars and at 9 p.m. a full moon cast shadows over the veld http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8588.jpg A cheeky sun followed up the next morning The little used road that links Windhoek to the southern part of Namib Naukluft was supposedly beautiful, but the ride exceeded our expectations. The gravel swirled up across a breathtaking succession of passes, hairpins cut through golden veld punctuated by wind-powered water pumps, travelled by families of thick furred baboons. Wild flowers were putting kuler to shame and quartz filtered the last rays of the day. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8648.jpg I spotted a breach in this alpine bungee, in the monotonous horizontal of wire fencing, a chance, an opportunity. So I took it, and found another stunning wild camp. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/...babooncamp.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/...booncamp03.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8724.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8697.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8683.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8689.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8688.jpg Translucent boulders scattered http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8668.jpg Months of wild camping paid off: we had become pretty good at smelling a good spot http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8698.jpg Another sunset… http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8708.jpg Another moonrise! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8706.jpg We gathered near a fire, then the strong cold wind forced us inside. The spartan morning was fast, wind still blowing untamed, but luckily the air got hotter as we descent down to the desert. Our first stop was at the Tropic of Capricorn signpost. We were preparing to take the compulsory photo, when a guy on a BMW F 650 Dakar passed by. Minutes later Reiner, original from Cape Town and just returning from a 3 week solo ride through the region, came back. It was the beginning of a fun 3 and a half day marathon to the Mother Town; sometimes we rode together, sometimes we separated, only to meet again for a pie in Solitaire, a beer in Sesriem, or a chat about how we could not afford the ridiculous price for a safari in the famous Dead Vlei (another park forbidden to motorbikes). The gravel roads were excellent, wide and empty, only vast herds of hundreds of zebras, springboks, oryx, giraffes and ostriches shared them with us. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8739.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8753.jpg Far from the Ecuator, memories of Sahara also lingered http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8761.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8798.jpg Riders understand each other: the gravel was fair, the sky deep, the rain threatened to come. But we rev our bikes into the black eye of the storm, confident that we would find over the next horizon a quiet place to camp. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8777.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8797.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8809.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/..._sprefrc01.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/..._sprefrc02.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/..._sprefrc03.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/..._sprefrc04.jpg The smell of dry desert lingered, but the real drama was unfolding above; we needed to stop before the last 590 kilometers to the canyon and we knew had found the right spot, under yet another epic rainbow. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/...erainbow02.jpg After the fabulous show of the sunset, the morning felt calm and clear: we rode along the scarlet dunes of the desert, born thousands of miles away, in the Drakensberg mountains, from where the Orange River sweeps ochre sand into the cold Benguela current. The massive dunes - one of the most extreme and inhospitable ecosystems in the world - are stingily covered with detritus. This fragile layer of dry and dead plant and animal debris is the basis of food web in the desert. After a good night of fog, it can contain up to 60% of its weight in water, and as low as 2-4% during the day. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8867.jpg Reiner http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8890.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_6607.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_6594.jpg A few hours of non-stop riding later we had arrived at the last turn towards our last Namibian target. Which we celebrated with the last couple of beers with Reiner. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8912.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8914.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8924.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8930.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8938.jpg Crisp Windhoek Lager, another tank filled and another stretch of gravel to the second largest canyon in the world and the largest in Africa. Fish River Canyon opened below into a gigantic dolomite ravine, some 160 km long, up to 27 km wide and 550 metres deep. The river, 650 million years old, cuts intermittently into the dry, stony plateau, sparsely covered with drought-resistant plants. But it was the end of summer, so only a few long narrow pools still lingered. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8969.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/...ibia_frc01.jpg We spend a bit too much time gazing into the canyon, witting for the sun to set, snacking on a brief dinner. Setting off in the already deep darkness, we knew it was too late to reach our meeting point with Reiner. Riding at low visibility avoiding the wildlife proved quite demanding, so soon after we could exit the protected area we stopped to set camp. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8988.jpg A lonely, romantic place, only the jackals kept calling into the night http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_8995.jpg The last sunrise in Namibia. The next one would happen on South African territory, where we were about to proudly set a record, driving the first motorbike from Bucharest to Cape Town. Kilometer by kilometer the sheer rock faded away into an infinite moonscape. It was the end of the world. Blue, flat, an artificial-looking sky floated upon an even stranger papier-mâché of sand and brittle gravel. Was that the right way? How could that surreal nothingness become something again? http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/..._sprersa01.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_9007.jpg But suddenly we saw the tarmac snake, a cruel, perfect cut across the desert, leading straight to one of the most important borders, the one that separates black, vernacular Africa from the African America. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/namibia/IMG_9017.jpg We had butterflies in our stomach: we would soon cross, after nine months as intense as nine lives, into South Africa. After the fundamental Mauritania - Mali, Benin - Nigeria and DRC Zambia frontiers, we ventured again, full throttle, into the unknown. |
Bucharest to Cape Town
We're here! A marathon: 84 hours, 1900 kilometers, so that finally a couple of Romanian nomads arrive by bike in South Africa. The yellow moon, the original moon, shone ghostly upon the town and upon two oceans. We're halfway, or maybe just at the beginning, of an incredible adventure that's been going for over nine months, that we've been dreaming about for a lifetime.
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Flash Forward
Stay tuned for the continuation of Into The World
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The End of The Endless Summer
Cape Town 11- 21/03
http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/pano_rsa_sprect01.jpg The last border of the first part of our Africa tour proved to be the easiest. West Africa was now behind us, next there were the South African subcontinent and the presumable easier East Africa. More tarmac and more fences ahead, less freedom, no more random wild camping, but more untapped wilderness and many unknowns. After the sharp looking immigration officer ruined yet another page of Ana's beaten passport, we were in. No taxes, no bullshit. The only direction we were given was to use the "white people exit". It was the first bell to ring. Next, we needed to retire some money, fill up the tank and replenish our food supplies. That was going to be a long day: Reiner was already far ahead of us, but his example had inspired us to do the same and ride all the way to Cape Town no matter what. Over 800 kilometers that is, but 100% exceptionally good tarmac. Our pit stop happened to be in Springbok. On a Sunday, the sleepy little town looked like a life-size papier-mâché model. All crisp edges, bright colors, wind sweeping brittle grass on empty streets in the milky haze of early morning. At any turn we would expect to see people swarming out of this Trojan horse. But we were alone. We rode about the ghostly assembly of houses and supermarkets Everything looked brand new, like an experimental settlement implanted in the bony mountain. It soon became evident that we were subject to a different kind of illusion, one more subtle than a deus-ex-machina. The illusion of simple, perfect life in a provincial town. Springbok was our second warning. Corporate power and consumerism were about to assume dominance to our everyday world. But for the moment, we couldn't be bothered with that. Out of Springbok we were giving our Tenere a beating on the thrilling roads that wind through Namaqualand. After the adrenaline-pumping race, the road became smoother and shy. Namaqualand is a top destination for flower watching. In full bloom, this daisy paradise must be mesmerizing. As we arrived at summer's end, the flowers had shed their bright petals months ago. The spring glory was gone. The curvy field was blanketed in dry grasses. And the sun shone surgically precise over this charming geometry. The ride started in high pitch, thrusting across a hefty chink of rock, a solitary giant in a surreal, empty landscape. The air was filled with dense colors that blurred our perspective. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/pano_rsa_sprect02.jpg At a red light, we received the first proof of the proverbial Capetonian hospitality. Charl and Carla, a young couple waiting alongside in their car curiously inquired about the language we were speaking. Our story appeared to interest them, and at the next stop we met again. This time we exchanged phone numbers and the promise to hang out or braai together in the upcoming days. Hours later we were feeling exhausted by the long drive, having to make seldom stops for refreshment. We had eaten breakfast in a fast food joint in Springbok and lunch from our supplies in a gas station somewhere. All we had to do is hang on and keep pushing. In Citrusdaal we received a second offer to overnight, from a local family who happened to spot us while filling up with petrol at the Total. We kindly declined, but what a good feeling that gave us! We had arrived in South Africa quite battered and we planned to speed up our pace. Already the journey to there took us 3 months more than the original 6 we had allowed. And our financial resources were ever dwindling. So the idea was to exit South Africa in less than 3 weeks. But the first encounters invited for a more lengthy stay. We arrived at the outskirts of suburban Cape Town by night. But this was a whole different ball game than the other 19 countries we had visited so far. Fancy saloon-shiny cars were speeding by, navigating a well appointed infrastructure. There were persistent, well designed directions everywhere and the highway was flushed with lights. The city was a patch of twinkles, beyond which we guessed in the darkness that filled the horizon the Atlantic ocean. The full moon was up. We had finished the first half of our African adventure. The mud, sweat and tears in the Congo were now yesterday's news. The following morning, at 6.30 a.m., we woke up to start packing, only to find ourselves surrounded by walls. We had machines to cook breakfast and brew tea for us and hot water was again at the press of a button. We were staying for the next week in Hout Bay, with Iulia and her capetonian boyfriend Zak. Iulia is a Romanian girl who has come to live in Cape Town 4 months ago and who discovered our blog and had the generosity and inspiration of inviting us over. In the coming days we would discover that we share many quirky habits and a common passion for food. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9050.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9183.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9180.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9184.jpg Fish and chips at a Capetonian legend http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9054.jpg Hout Bay http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9056.jpg No comment http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9062.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9071.jpg Seals love basking in the sun on these shores http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9088.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9108.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9116.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9114.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9170.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9176.jpg The sheer scale of Cape Town started to gradually down on us as the days passed. We had arrived in the night, and all we could make of it was the fragrant smell of pine trees to Kirstenbosch and the scintillating downtown under the huge full moon. Hout Bay, our home for the week, is one of the pouchiest, most chilled areas of the town: low rise residential developments, but mostly sunny villas tucked along a gentle bay. People walk barefoot even to the shopping mall and their dogs roam the beaches sometimes unaccompanied, accustomed to enjoy the odd pat and cuddle from the tourists or any animal lover really. We were lured by this peace and epicurean, holiday-village life. The drive to town was even more intoxicating. The perfectly smooth tarmac was wrapped in heart-pumping curves: on one side the crisp mountain was splitting clouds, on the other the cold surf pounded white sandy beaches. Loud sun, fresh air, we felt high with enjoyment. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/pano_rsa_hbharbour.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9258.jpg The first thing that jolted us back into the reality of a modern metropolis was the traffic: we were feeling more at risk in this dandiest city of the continent than in the deepest bush of the Congo. The city has a population comparable to Bucharest, but it is scattered on a huge area. Most locals reside in single-family homes in the suburbs, the business district and the industrial port are located north of Lion's Head, in Table Bay. To the south there are several national parks with exhilarating hikes and the iconic Table Mountain, covered in a layer of intricately beautiful fynboss. The swankiest properties and the trendiest al-frescos line the Atlantic Western coast, especially in Camp's Bay and Clifton, but also in Hout Bay and Seapoint. To regulate traffic both in DT and in the residential neighborhoods, Cape Town has employed an original solution: STOP signs instead of red lights, and we must vouch that it's one that works. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9401.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9402.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9428.jpg We had lots of business to cater for: passport pages running out and a bike in need of spare parts. We payed a visit to the Romanina Consulate and the welcome was beyond any expectations. The Consul, Mr. Silviu Rogobete, made substantial efforts to offer us the best solution to be able to continue our tour of Africa, while his wife kindly entertained us with cake and quick bites. We may not have many diplomatic missions in Africa, but the ones we visited are top notch. Thank you, Silviu! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9045.jpg Thanks to a tip from Charl, a fellow Capetonian advrider, we arrived at Trac Mac, a friendly and well appointed service and fitting centre. Remember our enigmatic clutch slip that has been bugging us since Windhoek. Well, the synthetic Bel Ray 20W50 was the culprit (thanks to the questionable customer service of Yamaha Windhoeak): I switched back to Motul 5100 10W40 and the clutch works. After a quick assessment we also concluded that unfortunately the chain we fitted in Lubumbashi (DRC) must be changed, after only 6000 km: already 2 (two!) security clips had fallen off and again there was a lot of wear around the connection link was damaged. This time I went for a riveted connection link with a DID X-Ring. Time to change sprockets (after only 10k, because I had to fit them with an old chain in Matadi and because most of this mileage was off road) and brake pads also. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9262.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9266.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9269.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9276.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9280.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9282.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9288.jpg The rest of the week we chilled. We had fun playing a game that we used to wrongfully dismiss for being commercial and stupid: Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Especially for Iulia's b-day. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9710.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9714.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9718.jpg And hanged out with Charl and Carla at the legendary Blue Peter and a farmers' market, sampling local olives, olive oil, wine and biltong. The evening we braid and finally stayed over their chic crib, decorated in French country style. They are talented, sporty and ridiculously attractive people. Charl is an entrepreneur and Carla recently started a photography venture, have a look here: link facebook http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9294.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9289.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9293.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9324.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9340.jpg Braai After 10 days we moved to a 'surf house' in Table View, which is exactly what the name says: a house where the kitchen, living room and toilets are shared spaces, whilst several rooms and garden cottages are rented out to long term vacationers. This was 'Endless Summer': a place located in a very quiet residential area, 200 meters from the beach with the best view of the iconic mountain. The locals have a cool name for the daily show of cloudscapes creeping on top of the flat rock: Table Cloth. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9461.jpg The business relies on word of mouth to attract the aficionados of some of the coolest water sports around. People from the Netherlands, Norway, France, Switzerland and the UK are flocking here in summer to surf, SUP, kite surf and windsurf. They stay anywhere between a couple of weeks to season-long terms, spending their holidays in the cold crisp waves, or enjoying other cool stuff that Cape Town and South Africa have to offer. Safaris, game drives, cage diving with great white sharks, seal snorkeling or diving, paragliding, skydiving, bungee jumping. Or wine tasting, hiking trips, or clubbing on Long Street, where party buses arrive loaded with old and young sardined together high on booze and imported weed. BTW, the dudes who appear to be selling clothing hangers at junctions, are actually in a different kind of business. It's all good fun, but it comes at a substantial cost, way beyond our budget. We felt apprehensive about moving in this fun hub, fearing that the temptation would be too big, that we would get sucked into it. But the price of fun kept us at bay. Regrets that we couldn't enjoy the opportunity to discover some fantastic sports aside, we had to remember we were on a mission to overland. Already we had arrived there with our budget in shambles, butchered by systematic visa problems, DHL fees and enormous import duties for parts. And for the last 5 weeks we had been struggling to cope with the high costs of living in Namibia and South Africa, while still trying to enjoy some of the good stuff available. We ended up staying longer: the magic flowed, we enjoyed cooking, relaxing in a real bed, reading books, updating our CVs and scouting for jobs in SA or elsewhere, thinking about the future and how we can solve our immediate financial problems. The long, tapering breath of Friday braai fire became a catalyst for sharing stories and making friends. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9463.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9462.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9475.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9483.jpg Sheree, the godmother of this joint And how did we feel to be the first people to travel by motorbike from Bucharest to Cape Town? Well, it didn't feel like quite an achievement. Last June it was too vast to grasp, now it was too full of memories to summarize in a few words. The innumerable hours of riding, the peaceful nights wild camping, the freedom, the fragrant dawns, the breakdowns, the weeks of living and sharing everything with the French family, it all needs time and space to sunk in, to become real. I guess we felt pleased with ourselves. Whatever would happen next, we knew now something that should have been evident before we even begun to plan this journey, something that we should all know: we can do anything we truly want to do. |
Two Hundred And Seventy-five Sunrises
We have been riding across the longest inhabited continent on Earth for over 9 months, its time to share with you some interesting numbers.
As you already know, this ride is not a race. We begun in Morocco, riding from the heights of the Atlas, to the fringes of the Sahara desert. We crossed Al-Qaeda afflicted Western Sahara and Mauritania, and entered Mali via the infamous La Route de l' Espoir. After the vibrant Burkina Faso and Togo, we arrived in Benin, the land of the voodoo. In Nigeria, Africa’s economic and cultural powerhouse, we stopped to volunteer at one of the most successful captivity breeding and wildlife sanctuary projects in the world. In Cameroon we reached the lowest point of our trip - the first major technical breakdown, but also the highest –conquering Mt. Cameroon. The lush Gabon was followed in Congo by a mad rush to the border with the DRC, that was heating up after controversial presidential and parliamentary elections. In the DRC we faced our most challenging task yet: with the Angolan borders closed for over landers, the only way out of the country was to ride over 2000 km off-road, across remote rural areas, in the middle of unforgivable equatorial rainy season. It took us 4 extreme weeks of mud, sweat and tears to arrive in Lubumbashi, the capital of the Copper Belt. We marveled at the natural wonders of Zambia and Namibia, from Victoria, the world largest waterfall, to Etosha, one of the biggest concentrations of wildlife in Africa, to Namib Naukluft, the oldest known desert and to the Fish River Canyon, world’s second largest. During this journey we rode often in harsh conditions from deserts to high mountains, had our passports retained by corrupt officials in Mali, our GPS stolen in Morocco and got stranded with a burnt clutch on a sketchy plantation in Cameroon. We had to rebuild with the villagers a washed out bridge and to improvise from scratch a temporary fix to a broken chain, so we could ride out of a remote Congolese region. We had been bitten by Tsetse flies and suffered from malaria in the DRC and Namibia. We ate - sometimes unwillingly - unusual dishes such as porcupine, kudu, oryx, camel, grasshopper and caterpillar. We visited the ancient medinas of Meknes, Fes, Marrakech, the Roman ruins of Volubilis, the largest mud-brick building in the world in Djenne and the millennia old civilization of the Dogon. We slept in villages in Mali, Benin, Congo, DRC and in a traditional Himba kraal, but we also met the ex-president of Nigeria, Mr. Olusegun Obasanjo, while working as volunteers. We shared our wild camp under the vast African sky with desert elephants and jackals. And if riding around the continent wasn't enough, we climbed Mt Cameroon, hiked in the equatorial forest in Nigeria, into the gorge of the mighty Zambezi and up the iconic Table Mountain. Into The World is our work in progress. Every day teaches us more, and we are continuing to improve, as we move through our over-land trials. May our humble story of travelers on a budget inspire anyone who has ever dreamt of breaking away from daily routine. 9 Months of Africa in numbers: Journey • Countries visited: 20 (Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo Brazzaville, Congo Kinshasa, Zambia, Namibia, South Africa) • Number of days spent on the road: 275 (10.06.2011 - 11.03.2012) • Nights in the tent: 182 (minus 1 in car, 2 on ferry, 90 in real beds - of which 57 while volunteering in Nigeria) • Distance covered by bike: 32 300 km • Distance covered towed by another vehicle: 370 km • Distance covered by public transport (bus): 600 km • Distance covered by car: 750 km - with the Vidals in Cameroon, while bike was broken • Distance covered together with other motorcycles: 550 km (50 ks with James and Bryce @ www.bloodsweatandbeards.com; 500 ks with Reiner from Cape Town) • Distance covered together with other cars: 3600 km ( 700 km in Congo with Alper & Esther + 2900 km in RDC with Vidal family) • Fuel burned: 1776 l • Other teams of overlanders met: 7 (Nadine & Roger by Toyota Land Cruiser, Switzerland; Liana & Denis by Land Rover Defender, France; Oli & Emily by Land Rover Defender, UK; Franck by motorbike, Germany; Julien by Yamaha Super Tenere, France; Vidal family of 4 by Land Rover Defender, France; Alper & Esther by Toyota Land Cruiser, Germany; James & Bryce by BMW 650 GS, South Africa) Records • Most economical mileage: 4.5% @ average speed of 90 km/h off-road • Least economical mileage: 6.5% @ average speed of 120 km/h on-road • Highest daytime temperature: +46C (114.8F) (Nouadibou-Nouakchott road, Mauritania) • Lowest daytime temperature : +11C (Ring Road, Cameroon) • Record continuous riding (km): 810 (Fish River Canyon Namibia - Cape Town R.S.A.) • Record continuous riding (hours): 13 (Namibia - R.S.A.) • Highest speed: 147 km/h • Highest altitude reached on foot: 4090 m (Mount Cameroon, Cameroon) • Highest altitude reached by bike: 3050 m (Imilchil, High Atlas, Morocco) Maintanance • Engine oil used: 9 l • Engine oil filters used: 2 • Air filters cleaned: 10 times • Front tires used: 3 • Rear tires used: 3 • Punctured tires: 0 • Front brake pad sets used: 2 • Rear brake pad sets used: 4 • Rear brake disks used: 1 • Sprocket sets used: 2 • Chains used: 3 • Biking gear washed (times): 7 • Bike washed (times): 5 • Tent washed (times): 1 • Mattresses washed (times): 2 • Haircuts: 4 Problems • Offroad crashes: stopped counting on Kinshasa - Lubumbashi off road • Onroad crashes: 0 • Crashes with other vehicles: 0 • Stops by the police: 5 (excluding checkpoints and military posts estimated to have exceeded 100 in Morocco and Western Sahara alone, and over 100 in Nigeria alone) • Fines for speeding: 3, never paid (Western Sahara, Zambia) • Breakdowns: 2 (burnt clutch on Ekok - Mamfe, Cameroon; broken chain - DRC) • Technical issues: 9 (abnormally worn chain with o-rings missing & frozen links - Morocco; plastic top box damaged & repaired in Togo; cracked rubber caliper sliders - will change in SA; broken rear brake lever - welded in Kamina, DRC; broken right mirror - DRC; gear lever - DRC; damaged frame for alu boxes - Congo; totaled alu box - DRC; totaled jerrycan - DRC; completely shaved front tyre - DRC) • Damaged gear: 9 (tent - punctured, waterproof seams damaged, leaking; mattresses - valves broken; dry sacks punctured; bike rain cover punctured, waterproof seams damaged; helmet air vents cracked & broken; 1 pair gloves kaputt; bike pants torn in several places; Kinddle screen broken, manufacturer fault; broken GPS - Burkina Faso; inverter broken - Namibia) • Health issues: 5 (altitude sickness - Ana @ Mt. Cameroon; malaria - Ana @ DRC; malaria - John @ Namibia;bee sting - John @ Morocco; dog bite - John @ Togo; dehydration - John @ Mauritania, Mali & Cameroon; skin ulcers caused by bacterial infection - both @ DRC; 3 fallen nails - Ana after Mt. Cameroon climb; contusions due to offroad crashes - John) • Stolen items: 3 (GPS - Morocco; mobile phone - bus in Cameroon; radio - DRC) • Lost items: 15 (pocket knife + whistle - Morocco, tshirt - Togo; 2 tent pins - Cameroon; metal bar for securing aluminum box - Congo Brazzaville; toothbrushes + toothpaste + floss + dry sack - Zambia; insulated water containers - Mauritania, Mali, Nigeria; plier - DRC) Money & Visa • Most expensive fuel: 2600 Congolese Franc/liter (2,15 Euro/l) - DRC • Cheapest fuel: 65 Naira/liter (0,31 Euro/l) - Nigeria • Most expensive accommodation: 25 Euro/night - lousy auberge in Kiffa, Mauritania • Cheapest accommodation: 20 Moroccan Dirham/night (1,79 Euro) - camping near Meknes, Morocco (bushcamping is free :)) • Local SIM cards bought: 4 (Morocco, Mauritania, Nigeria, Cameroon) • Countries with Vodafone roaming available: 5 (Morocco, Nigeria, DRC, Zambia, Namibia) • Countries not requiring visa for Romanian citizens: 3 (Morocco, Togo, Zambia) |
amazing report, awesome picture.
|
Edge of Africa
Cape Town - Cape Agulhas 01- 10/04
http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/ruta_cttobdrp.jpg The first men who ventured into the southern seas were spellbound by the wild beauty of the peninsula: flowers, herbs, woods, elephants, hippos. Since the advent of pastoralists, the original peninsular Khoi vanished, the wild herds were wiped out and much of the endemic vegetation has been uprooted to make place for industrial and residential developments. But the city, one of the world's few, like Rio and Hong Kong, that enjoy an exceptional geography, has kept its charm. We almost grew roots in Cape Town. For many over-landers, it represents the glorious finale of a arduous journey down. For us southern hemisphere's most important container port meant more business than pleasure, a much needed logistic base camp to sort our stuff out. We tried to organize as best as we could our journey ahead, couldn't get any temp jobs though, not could we find sponsors, fix our leaking tent or patch the aluminum pannier turned harmonica in the Congo. But southern winter, with rain and cold winds, was an extra incentive to suck it up and get moving. Which we did, not before enjoying with James a final wine and cheese at the Fairview Estate, one of the many Old World-like vineyards in Stellenbosch. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9750.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9751.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0252.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9752.jpg A rich soil, a gentle climate and a permissive law, that allows mixing grape varieties and techniques means that even the cheap supermarket wines are seldom not very good in South Africa. After the gourmet hour, we took a fair well ride in the crisp sunset through Bainskloof Pass. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9757.jpg We took our last breakfast in Cape Town with Charl, who was keeping another ace in his sleeve: the best eggs Benedict in town. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9764.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9762.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9760.jpg When we were shopping for a shared room to rent in Cape Town, a guy had mentioned Clarence Drive as being more stunning than Chapman's Peak. From Gordon Bay to Hermanus and up Gansbaai we finally had the chance to see that for ourselves. The Indian waters are strikingly blue, the shores gently curved into successive gulfs, while the perfectly smooth tar keeps the adrenaline pumping. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/pano...oagulhas01.jpg Now and then we stopped to listen to the ocean and count clouds. Epicurean surfers were hanging out in the frothy surf and life seemed beautiful. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/pano...oagulhas02.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9780.jpg We continued on the R44 to Gansbaai, where we lunched on fish & chips. We were bored of tarmac and running out of time, so we cut it straight to our destination, across the Agulhas National Park. One would expect a dramatic view in such a landmark spot, but the shores of Cape Agulhas are flat and a simple wooden path leads to the famous sign. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9795.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9797.jpg We have been marching to this point for months, and once there, we felt joy, but also butterflies in our stomachs. Where the traveller imagines an extraordinary scene, the earth is flat, modestly dotted with juicy flowers, and the waves rhythmically pound into the indifferent shore. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9799-2.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9815.jpg We obliged for the mandatory photo at the Cape Agulhas, but gravitation is kind of weird around here… http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9804.jpg The end of a chapter, so many faces, places and stories that have become memories we miss. From now on, our journey will took us only north… at least for a while. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9824.jpg |
The Swastica, The Ironman, The Metal Jockey and The Magician - Part I
Couchsurfing: Garden Route, Port Elizabeth, Somerset East 11 - 15/04
http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/ruta_bdrptope.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9811.jpg We had left from Cape Agulhas in good spirits, but at that time of the year the day was short and evenings too chilly for our summer gear. I had lost my gloves long time ago, in Windhoek, and my spare pair had been baked by desert heat to the point of being unwearable, so my hands were freezing. Everybody had been saying how wild-camping was unsafe in South Africa, but the fact of the matter was that had not seen a single unfenced spot all day. We did try reluctantly a few campsites, none was open though, high season now over. We stumbled upon some hotel that was 60 euros for two beds in a dorm. When we arrived in Bredasdorp it was already pitch black. We saw a couple of power bikes parked in front of what looked like a cute pub, The Pink Piano, so we figured we could go in, have a drink and ask locals for advice. If you're not in the business of meeting quirky characters don't bother to couch surf in South Africa. Here one must leave their prejudices at the door and step in expecting nothing. Which is what we did, and we were rewarded with hospitality, sense of humor and some of the most unusual encounters. The cocktail nation of South Africa may lack in the peaceful cohabitation department and may not be the jolliest around, but this very polarized structure has allowed all sorts of social specializations that are quite an eye opener for someone coming from a place like Romania. Not being judgmental is hard, so let's go. In Cape Town we were hosted by a jewish guy who works in the film industry and his romanian girlfriend, then by christian Afrikaners, who couldn't be more different from the cocaine addicts we were warned about. The Cape Town motorcycling community provided the fun, the information and the rides into the veld. 300 kays from the Mother Town, in Bredasdorp's Pink Piano pub, we had a bad feeling that it was the right place to ask for directions. Three biker dudes and a goth chick were dressed head to toe in black leathers, sporting army style haircuts and swastikas pins. We sipped our tea and beer while the guys debated our situation in Afrikaans. Nothing good could come out if this, we thought, but we were about to be proven wrong. The guy sitting right next to us at the counter put down the phone and offered us a wide smile; his wife had agreed to welcome us for the night at their place! JJ is a mechanic at a testing facility for the South African military aviation. His wife teaches English at a colored school, and they have two kids, a girl and a boy. We enjoyed each other's companies and stories so much, it was hard to put an end to the night. In the morning we exchanged contacts and regretfully said good-bye. Cheers, JJ! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9826.jpg Midway between Ct and PE, on the East coast of SA, lies the scenic garne Route, named for its lush vegetation. Garden Route is hailed as one of world's best drives. Frankly, we couldn't see why: its basically a quite busy freeway running parallel to, but far from a section of the country's most beautiful coastline. The drive itself is not particularly thrilling, as the routes more a eco-tourism destination, for shopping, sunbathing and the odd celebrity spotting, a holidaymaker and the world's rich and famous paradise. It is a charming holiday area, not catering to the travelers on a show string, but to enjoy the beautiful views, the beaches and tranquil bays, one must leave the freeway and drive many kays to reach the resort towns. We had nor the time or the budget for this, so after a few off-road detours to smell the salty breeze and sink our eyes into the endless horizon we kind of got bored with the traffic. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9828.jpg In 1488 Bartholomew Diaz was the first european to reach south African soil in Mossel Bay. We stopped there in a cute cafe owned by architects, for a latte and internet. Later we asked some locals where to sample the famous Mossel Bay wild oysters, but they were not even close to the ones we had in Walvis Bay! The seafood basket at the Sea Gipsy was brilliant though, if not very cheap. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9834.jpg Garden Route, when it's not full of jeeps. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9839.jpg After Knysna we decided we had had enough, so we took a left towards Route 62, via Albert Pass. In a couple of kilometers we were again alone, riding on a superb gravel road that winded up rolling green mountains. For a while we remembered to take some shots of the stunning views and frigid waterfalls, but soon enough we were too spellbound to stop. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/pano...bertpass01.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/pano...bertpass02.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9846.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9848.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9853.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9856.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9871.jpg The road looked like that: Once we hit the plateau again, we took Route 62 across the hilly countryside that cuts through several conservancies. It was already getting dark though, so unfortunately we didn't get to see much. At some lost filling station we bought petrol and some food. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9873.jpg It was after 8 p.m. when we arrived at our host in Port Elizabeth. Bernard had been following our thread on advrider.com since last year. But this guy was an Ironman. If you are not familiar with what is the toughest and most grueling athletic competition in the world, let us give you a few details. The numbers alone defy description: 3,8 km open sea swim, 180 km cycling, 42,2 km run; world record is over 8 hours, cutoff time 17 hours. Bernard has done it twice, in little over 11 hours! He has been training his body and mind for a lifetime to beat what is generally accepted to be humanly possible. And yet, with this ironman schedule, he invited us in his life, and boy, what a man we discovered behind the iron! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9896.jpg Bernard & Sharmyn are quite the iron couple really: she has also done the competition, twice! PE is the third largest port for cargo, built around the Bay of the Lagoon and the 1799 fort, but officially named after the arrival of the 1820 British settlers, their ships carried ashore through crashing surf and confronted by a desolate sweep of sand and the uncharted bushland behind that. Today PE is - together with Uitenhage area - the heart of the motor industry where the largest automobile manufacturers are headquartered. Also PE's Nelson Mandela Bay is the venue for Ironman South Africa. The wind swept beaches are perfect for an intimate picnic, so we grabbed some barbecued chicken and a bottle of Merlot and hit the dunes. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9885.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/pano_rsa_pe01.jpg The few rustic Dutch town houses that survive have been refurbished as souvenir shops and info points. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9881.jpg Malls and recreational areas line the ocean. From this wifi connected cafe we could see street-side african art dealers selling generic carvings and jewelry called 'curios' since Zambia. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9884.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9880.jpg PE is nicknamed 'the friendly city', and rightfully so. Terry, an architect and his wife Dorianne had also been online with our travels for a while and were keen to meet and host us. We shared many stories over a lovely dinner, a far too short opportunity to get to know each other. Hoping that we would meet again, we left PE the next morning, as Bernard had made plans to braai at his father's farm near Somerset East. We hoped on our bikes: us on the Tenere, Bernard on his 80s BMW R1100 S, and 150 km and a prickly pear road side snack later, we were in front of the Avon Heights gate. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9910.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9907.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9898.jpg The country estate is a collection of charming buildings and family memories: pliable chairs manufactured in the 30s for the British army, old photographs, vintage furniture and a lovely rustic kitchen & stove http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9933.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0012.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9999.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0013.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0002.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0010.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0004.jpg Among the family treasures, a 1932 Harley, from a 1137 pcs. lot specially designed for the British army. One day Bernard will bring this baby back to life. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9924.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9932.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9915.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9921.jpg But the most precious secret on the estate is the waterfall that offers an astonishing background for braaing and swimming. We left our beers to cool in the crystal clear stream and made the fire. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9955.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9990.jpg Our chilled gang http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9985.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9991.jpg Avon Falls, an impressive sight at over 30 meters drop into several pools http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/pano...vonfalls01.jpg All that is good must have an end though http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_9997.jpg In our case that meant a trip to the public hospital in Somerset East, where Bernard's dad had to get a few stitches after injuring himself onto a rock. The three hour wait in the hallway was quite interesting for us: this sketchy countryside hospital is not much worse that our Municipal facility in Bucharest! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0015.jpg |
Great trip, lots of photos. I love it. The picture of the tent on the beach with the shipwreck in the background should be entered in the HU photo contest. good luck.
Cheers |
The Swastica, The Ironman, The Metal Jockey and The Magician - Part II
Couchsurfing in East London & Durban 16 - 27/04
http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/ruta_petodurban.jpg We left Avon Heights on a chilly morning, wearing almost everything that we've got. Across the mountain, then through some farmland and rocky trails, the ride to East London took the better part of the day. We reached tarmac again in the afternoon, stopped for another barbecued chicken and veggies lunch, then rolled into Gonubie. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0016.jpg This poor fluffy jackal had been hit by a car, even in this lost land http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0028.jpg A puzzle of suburban homes for coloreds and blacks. Something that in South Africa is called 'township'. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/pano...ownsheep01.jpg Our big hearted main man from Cape Town had been the first to suggest we should meet a certain Metal Jockey. In PE it seem to be unanimously agreed that that was a good idea. So we popped in, our only chance to meet the legend. And the man, not to mention the wife and the kid, were up to the hype. Their ride reports on advrider are a must read. Our encounter was brief, but rich. These people are keeping it real. One day, if I'll have a kid of my own, I hope I'll have the balls to follow MJ's example and strap him or her to my bike and keep on being myself and do what I love best. Cheers guys for the braai and book! We left late morning and on the way we decided we would push the 675 km to Durban. Lucky that the roads are top notch! We zoomed across the picturesque Transkei countryside, stalled by STOP sighs and roadworks. In the background the Drakensberg and Lesotho lured us to future adventures. The sun followed its prescribed route and as soon as it fell behind the horizon a cold wind gripped. We arrived in the Kloof suburb of Durban metropolitan area late at night, after passing by a familiar industrial sight. It had become a habit to reach our day's target by darkness. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0043.jpg In 1497 Vasco da Gama named this stretch of coast Natal (Nativity), having reached it on Christmas Day. Today Durban is the municipality of KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa's biggest general cargo port and a mecca for holiday makers. We had come here invited by the most unlikely family that had accidentally learned about us. It looked like our couch surfing journey across South Africa would end among compatriots and now citizens of this land. Twenty years ago, Martin and Camelia gambled their life, left a newly freed of communism Romania, and won. Today they are living a comfortably if not wealthy life, which has allowed them to own property in exotic places and even indulge in the fantasy of overland travel. In a couple of days, they would be making the fantasy a 4x4 reality, taking the road from Cape Town to Cairo and Bucharest. One of the coolest thing is that their son, Andy is a magician. A very young & talented one. To get your mind blown by some of the most new age magic numbers though, you must travel to Durban, before this guy will explode on the international scene. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0240.jpg Andy's sweetheart, the half woman, half fairy Candace, a massage therapist and healer. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0238.jpg We were received with Romanian meatball soup http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0161.jpg Pork rind and red onion - another Romanian 'snack' http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0256.jpg Romanians must be amongst the few whites who savor African maas or amassi (sour milk). Locals eat it with pap (maize meal similar to our polenta). http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0168.jpg Audrey, the maid. She rents a room close to Kloof for 350 rand/month (about 35 euros). http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0193.jpg Durban has a lot to offer: bustling city life, mild beaches, great surf, hiking trails in the Kloof Gorge and a heap of pleasant cafes along Florida Road. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/pano_rsa_durban01.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0047.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0220.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0222.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0197.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0048.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0058.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0075.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0044.jpg Atmosfera urbana http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0216.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0223.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0228.jpg A funky way to recycle: making lamps out of discarded milk bottles http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0062.jpg The new football stadium, built for the 2010 World Cup http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0177.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0229.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0230.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0233.jpg The Scientologists couldn't miss to have a share of the pie http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0236.jpg South African breweries are world's biggest. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0182.jpg While sorting our shit out and gearing up for the continuation of Into The World we had an attempt to do Sani Pass on a light set up, with just the tent and mattresses strapped to the bike. Even if we took the tarred road to Sani, the ride was great, the green mountains stretching forever. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/pano...elesotho02.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0078.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0094.jpg Epic fail. 50 km before the border I noticed that the back Heidenau had been delaminating and soon a big piece of rubber fell off. We though we would give it a go, but at the border we decided it was too risky to head into Lesotho like that. Figure for yourselves: http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0166.jpg So we returned to Durban, kinda pissed, even if the ride down was fantastic. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0096.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0100.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0101.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0121.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0126.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0128.jpg We would definitely give this place another shot http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0133.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0156.jpg We were lucky to return to the city: the guys at Bike Gear in PE were fast in sourcing us a free replacement tyre. A quick visit to Gear Up in Umhlanga was all it took. We couldn't find another Heidenau, so, taking into consideration the state of the roads up the East coast, we decided for a Michelin Anakee 2. Hopefully we are not sacrifing our love for off-roading in vain and this tyre will last to Europe. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0173.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0172.jpg But a Travellers' life is the road, so off we went. Good bye Martin & Camelia and safe travels along the East coast of Africa! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0272.jpg |
The Swastica, The Ironman, The Metal Jockey and The Magician - Part II
Couchsurfing in East London & Durban 16 - 27/04
http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/ruta_petodurban.jpg We left Avon Heights on a chilly morning, wearing almost everything that we've got. Across the mountain, then through some farmland and rocky trails, the ride to East London took the better part of the day. We reached tarmac again in the afternoon, stopped for another barbecued chicken and veggies lunch, then rolled into Gonubie. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0016.jpg This poor fluffy jackal had been hit by a car, even in this lost land http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0028.jpg A puzzle of suburban homes for coloreds and blacks. Something that in South Africa is called 'township'. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/pano...ownsheep01.jpg Our big hearted main man from Cape Town had been the first to suggest we should meet a certain Metal Jockey. In PE it seem to be unanimously agreed that that was a good idea. So we popped in, our only chance to meet the legend. And the man, not to mention the wife and the kid, were up to the hype. Their ride reports on advrider are a must read. Our encounter was brief, but rich. These people are keeping it real. One day, if I'll have a kid of my own, I hope I'll have the balls to follow MJ's example and strap him or her to my bike and keep on being myself and do what I love best. Cheers guys for the braai and book! We left late morning and on the way we decided we would push the 675 km to Durban. Lucky that the roads are top notch! We zoomed across the picturesque Transkei countryside, stalled by STOP sighs and roadworks. In the background the Drakensberg and Lesotho lured us to future adventures. The sun followed its prescribed route and as soon as it fell behind the horizon a cold wind gripped. We arrived in the Kloof suburb of Durban metropolitan area late at night, after passing by a familiar industrial sight. It had become a habit to reach our day's target by darkness. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0043.jpg In 1497 Vasco da Gama named this stretch of coast Natal (Nativity), having reached it on Christmas Day. Today Durban is the municipality of KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa's biggest general cargo port and a mecca for holiday makers. We had come here invited by the most unlikely family that had accidentally learned about us. It looked like our couch surfing journey across South Africa would end among compatriots and now citizens of this land. Twenty years ago, Martin and Camelia gambled their life, left a newly freed of communism Romania, and won. Today they are living a comfortably if not wealthy life, which has allowed them to own property in exotic places and even indulge in the fantasy of overland travel. In a couple of days, they would be making the fantasy a 4x4 reality, taking the road from Cape Town to Cairo and Bucharest. One of the coolest thing is that their son, Andy is a magician. A very young & talented one. To get your mind blown by some of the most new age magic numbers though, you must travel to Durban, before this guy will explode on the international scene. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0240.jpg Andy's sweetheart, the half woman, half fairy Candace, a massage therapist and healer. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0238.jpg We were received with Romanian meatball soup http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0161.jpg Pork rind and red onion - another Romanian 'snack' http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0256.jpg Romanians must be amongst the few whites who savor African maas or amassi (sour milk). Locals eat it with pap (maize meal similar to our polenta). http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0168.jpg Audrey, the maid. She rents a room close to Kloof for 350 rand/month (about 35 euros). http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0193.jpg Durban has a lot to offer: bustling city life, mild beaches, great surf, hiking trails in the Kloof Gorge and a heap of pleasant cafes along Florida Road. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/pano_rsa_durban01.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0047.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0220.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0222.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0197.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0048.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0058.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0075.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0044.jpg Atmosfera urbana http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0216.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0223.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0228.jpg A funky way to recycle: making lamps out of discarded milk bottles http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0062.jpg The new football stadium, built for the 2010 World Cup http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0177.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0229.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0230.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0233.jpg The Scientologists couldn't miss to have a share of the pie http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0236.jpg South African breweries are world's biggest. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0182.jpg While sorting our shit out and gearing up for the continuation of Into The World we had an attempt to do Sani Pass on a light set up, with just the tent and mattresses strapped to the bike. Even if we took the tarred road to Sani, the ride was great, the green mountains stretching forever. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/pano...elesotho02.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0078.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0094.jpg Epic fail. 50 km before the border I noticed that the back Heidenau had been delaminating and soon a big piece of rubber fell off. We though we would give it a go, but at the border we decided it was too risky to head into Lesotho like that. Figure for yourselves: http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0166.jpg So we returned to Durban, kinda pissed, even if the ride down was fantastic. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0096.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0100.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0101.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0121.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0126.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0128.jpg We would definitely give this place another shot http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0133.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0156.jpg We were lucky to return to the city: the guys at Bike Gear in PE were fast in sourcing us a free replacement tyre. A quick visit to Gear Up in Umhlanga was all it took. We couldn't find another Heidenau, so, taking into consideration the state of the roads up the East coast, we decided for a Michelin Anakee 2. Hopefully we are not sacrifing our love for off-roading in vain and this tyre will last to Europe. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0173.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0172.jpg But a Travellers' life is the road, so off we went. Good bye Martin & Camelia and safe travels along the East coast of Africa! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0272.jpg |
We do Lesotho
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Landlocked Lesotho (which translates roughly into the land of the people who speak Sesotho) is the only independent state in the world that lies entirely above the altitude of 1,000 metres (3,281 ft). Its lowest point of 1,400 metres (4,593 ft) is the world's highest. The kingdom's geological exuberance is possible thanks to massive tectonic events, that left the land disfigured by a jumbled mass of mineral scar tissue, peaking over 3000 meters. The most popular entrance to the kingdom is via an off-road legend, Sani Pass. This was to be our second attempt to tackle it, after having to forfeit with a faulty tyre. This time would be different: fully loaded bike & gear and on a road oriented back tyre, but what the hell! Tipped by John @ Gear Up Umhlanga, we took a different, more scenic route, via Hella Hella Pass. The brisk morning and the empty bends cheered us up. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/pano_rsa_helahela01.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/pano_rsa_helahela03.jpg The place was just as stunning as we remembered it to be. Rolling mountains, cool springs, rocky steep trail. The wind though was another ball game: it was blowing hard this time, downhill. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0291.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0296.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0325.jpg The Sani Pass is as beautiful as they say it is, it's not the hype, it' s an addiction. Many succumb to it. As it was the 27th of April, so public holiday in SA, celebrating the first multi-racial democratic elections, the place was swarming with four-wheelers and bikes. Many 1200 GS and enduros, some of the guys visibly enjoying the ride more than me, on light set ups and full taps all the way! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0334.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0336.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0388.jpg Our beef was with the wind: blowing so hard that several times I was about to drop down on the loose rocks. It was a bit unnerving having the tour operators' 4x4s rumble and come past the bikers (and us) on the steep bends, clearly less affected by the strong winds. About 2 km before Sani we met a biker who was catching up his breath after the descent and kept worrying about his mates who had already taken a couple of tumbles and were lagging somewhere behind. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0330.jpg 'I'm going to walk a bit" Ana said, determined to take some shots of me climbing anyways. 'No ways am I going to sit in these tracks and wind through the climb!' 'Try catch a lift from one of these cars if you can' I mumbled, then watched as she wobbled up, step by step, struggling to keep a steady pace against the wind. A couple of minutes later I gunned down the engine and hallway thru the second climb I realized that if I dropped my bike in there, all I could do was scramble up and hope for the best after impact with the hard rock. The inevitable happened a hairpin later: the road just too steep and the downhill winds just too strong not to lose traction. With the help of a driver I lifted up the 400 kg of machine and gear, while Ana hitched a ride up. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0347.jpg The last part of the climb kept me quite busy, those were some of the most intense minutes I have spent on this bike. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0340.jpg At the border we negotiated our entry to the kingdom african style. After that was done, a mandatory drink at the highest (priced) pub in Africa. In the courtyard it looked like a BMW and Yamaha reunion. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0348.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0354.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0358.jpg The beer effect took a while to wear off, so we took a bit of a tumble. That left a crippling scar on our left pannier. We could barely lock it now. The scenery was stunning though. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0360.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0361.jpg We rode by some scattered homes almost indistinguishable from the rocky environment. But already some of the villagers are dropping the traditional and very functional wind-resistant round shape of the house in favor of the more contemporary rectangle layout. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0458.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0432.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0427.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0514.jpg The local economy thrives on sheep and cattle herding, but since recent years has been gradually opening up to tourism. The operations are still small and mainly catering to the South African market. Here and there one can have a glimpse of how an invasion of large eco-tour operators and big hotels (the alpine ski resorts in the east for example) could change this fragile place and disenfranchise the locals, reducing them to street hawkers and parking boys. While scale economies can bring in significant revenues and commercialized tourism promotions can increase visits, the risk that this will reduce Lesotho's culture and lifestyle are high. Money always has its drawbacks. Some may disagree, saying that it's egoistical to keep countries in poverty just so some can enjoy their human safari; but it pays to have diversity, just look at Thailand, its got its posh beach resorts for the rich and lazy as well as the edgy, remote places for the cheap and adventurous. Lesotho is small and beautiful. It’d be nice to try and keep it this way. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0372.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0374.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0378.jpg People kept creeping up from behind the rocks: blanketed in their thick wooly attire and all sort of hats to protect them from the whipping wind. Some were on foot, wearing the same rubber boots. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0393.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0394.jpg 6 p.m. and still no camping option in site: too damn cold to pitch our tent and quite a few people walking or riding their donkeys about. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0399.jpg The darkness hindered our progress on the rocky bends, but 6 km down the road we managed to navigate our way to what appeared to be a guest house. It had no electricity, but did offer gas heated water, so we enjoyed the warm candle lit shower and dinner (more SPAR chicken). To conclude a top day we downed a bottle of Fairview's vintage Cabernet Sauvignon, that we have been toting since Cape Town, when we had bought it with plans to drink it with our friends Harry and Laura. We were both mentally and physically spent: me from riding and manhandling the bike after each fall, Ana from walking on rocks in touring boots. We both slept like dead things that night, snugged under multiple wool blankets harvested from the empty beds in our dorm. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0414.jpg More riding excitement was to follow the next day, saving the best for last, as they say! We started fairly early, cooked some porridge and tea, packed our bits while a man came playing his setolo-tolo, and by 8.30 a.m. we were already getting into the swing of things. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0417.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0419.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0426.jpg First, we had to retrace our ride to the main road. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0440.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0444.jpg It was good African tar for a while. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0449.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0461.jpg Then we had to negociate 25 km of reasonably smooth flowing gravel, followed by 35 km of sketchy potholed tar filled with a crumbly mix, the hard edges masked by the dust and not easy on my front fork. Then we hit good gravel and finally some decent tar, which made the tight bends enjoyable again. Rolling down the road we chilled out, just taking in the scenery, the day so clear that we could see for miles on end, our Tenere surged forward in the cold air that was being forced through its throttle body. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0470.jpg Long day in the saddle - 10 hours. We spent all day crossing the mountains at between 2500 and 3283 meters. It was a breathtaking road, but it also meant it was freezing cold for 300 km. We wondered how the locals cope with this weather; must be that those blankets do their job quite fine. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0466.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0472.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0481.jpg The sun light smeared pink the fringes of cloud clusters. We crossed many streams, sparkling waters gushing through rocky gorges, many towering peaks, many rolling hills. In this stunning solitude few huts popped here and there and even fewer unconspicuous locals dared to walk closer. The people are sweet and timid, only a boozed dude barely mentioned 'gifts'. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0489.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0511.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0515.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0520.jpg Anyone that brags about fantastic fuel consumption and good tyre grip on these roads are not enjoying their bike to the fullest. Just look at this! Lesotho offers more than a stunning ride, I would do these bends any day! We stopped in this place to snack on our lunch, and stumbled in other people's lunch! KFC does have a tight grip on the southern sub-continent and one can find their greasy fare even in small villages. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0522.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0523.jpg Down at the border to South Africa our last image of this remote and fragile country was a herd of sheep munching on the brittle grasses. A few months from now the food will have payed off and the sheep's wool will be harvested to manufacture the new season's Lesotho-wear. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0520.jpg |
Johannesburg
Johannesburg 28/04 - 10/05
Jozi City was on our exit route towards Botswana. A must stop to shop for parts for the second half of our African tour, possibly service the bike (pushing 50K now) and apply for visas in the the jure capital of SAR, Pretoria. All the previous information on Johannesburg spoke of a somber, dirty place inhabited by dangerous black hooligans, something like this: http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0536.jpg But the infamous de facto capital of SAR lookes more like this: http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0615.jpg The sprawling industrial and commercial hub of SA and a true African metropolis swept us up in its vibrant energy. We needed to a place to stay, and after a short but depressing mishap, boy, were we lucky to land at David, Sam & Layla's place in Bedfordview suburb. Mircea, our Abuja friend, had suggested to visit them since last September. We cooked, braaied, watched movies and generally hanged out, enjoying one of the best companies we've ever had. So our couchsurfing stint in SA would end in a blast after all: fun, good food, happy days, a true home away from home. Thank you dear friends: David, Sam & Layla, Roberto and the cutest dogs Vincent & Kelly. We miss you already! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0856.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0589.jpg Joburg is also nicknamed 'The Gold City' because of the bustling mining industry. We would soon see why. Since the end of apartheid, the downtown businesses have been moving to Sandton, the new posh suburb-to-be, where luxurious malls and office towers speak of money and power. The buildings 'abandoned' by the whites to the blacks don' t look so good: broken windows, squatters, bad maintenance and poor management, but all too predictable as the power transitioned to a miss educated and incipient political and administrative class. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0548.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0554.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0560.jpg Signs of good things to come are evident though every way you look, and to get a better view of it all, we climbed on 'top of Africa', the Carlton tower. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0613.jpg And gazed upon the metropolis through the looking glass http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0628.jpg Urban texture reminiscent of New York, solid street signage, pedestrian developments, decent infrastructure, public transport chaotic but working http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0640.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0641.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0601.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0605.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0540.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0547.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0602.jpg The famous Smal Street, the narrowest in Africa, leads into the Carlton mall, an engineering masterpiece http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0608.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0611.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0669.jpg We drove by Soccer City (former FNB Stadium, upgraded for WC) http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0671.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0679.jpg This Is Soweto Possibly the most infamous place in SAR and Joburg is Soweto, and most of the struggle against apartheid was fought in and from here. The name Soweto is an acronym, made up - in apartheid days - from the first letters of the words 'south western township'. Its history started in the 30s, when the first people were relocated in Olando township, in an attempt to remove 'black spots' from downtown Joburg. In 1976 this was the birth place of the student uprising that later spread across South Africa. The sprawling cluster of townships is today home to over 2 million detribalized and largely streetwise people - the biggest black urban settlement in Africa. Luckily the Jones are cool with that - they have actually moved from Durban to Joburg and like it here, so they were the best guides into the contemporary Soweto. So we hoped on, David, Sam, little Layla and us two, on the family 'bus', and took a long Saturday drive through Soweto. No guns, no paranoia, no expectations. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0686.jpg If one expects decrepit misery and menacing gangs, Soweto will disappoint. Homes are ranging from makeshift shacks to extravagant mansions, and a local lingo - tsotsitaal - an eclectic mix of several local languages, Afrikaans and street slang - has been developed and is used mainly by the young. We have seen far worse looking African capitals, not to mention certain East European towns. We parked in the guarded (!!!!) parking lot in front of the famous Wandie's. Inside a bus-load of tourist were enjoying the excellent buffet with live music. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0685.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0683.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0684.jpg The food was a fusion of south-african and tribal cuisine. Even ice cream and fruit for pudding. Not threatening at all. We loved the atchar, a spicy pickled carrot relish. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0680.jpg The Mandela House looked even less scary. It true that it's been rebuilt and re-opened as a world-class museum in 2009. Located at 8115 Orlando West, the first township of Soweto, where few authentic shebeens (bush bars) still exist. The house was originally built in 1945 on the corner of Vilakazi and Ngakane Streets and Nelson Mandela moved here in 1976, but spent little time living in the house in the ensuing years as his political agenda became all-consuming. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0691.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0692.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0737.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0717.jpg Born in 1918 at Mvezo, near Qunu, son of a chief councilor to the paramount chief of the Tembe, Mandela spent early childhood in the Transkei, being groomed to become a chief. Later, he become founding member of the youth League of ANC, invigorated in the 40s the present SA ruling party and became a key figure in the uprising and subsequent fight for freedom and reconciliation during his imprisonment on Robben Island and after his february 1990 release, when he returned for a brief 11 days to 8115. In 1994 Nelson Mandela became SAR's first president voted in democratic multi-racial elections, uniting both the country's racial groupings and a fragmented public service. Today the 1993 Nobel Prize winner (award shared with former SA president F. W. de Klerk, a key figure in ending apartheid) symbolizes the struggle of oppressed people around the world, and is universally considered a quintessential peacemaker & negotiator. In 'The Long Walk to Freedom' Nelson Mandela said about this house: 'It was the opposite of grand, but it was my first true home of my own and I was mightily proud. A man is not a man until he has a house of its own.' http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0700.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0701.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0702.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0707.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0713.jpg There are not one, but two shopping malls in Soweto. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0690.jpg And the scariest fact about Soweto might possibly be the bungee hung between the two graffitti-ed water towers http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0752.jpg Time To Go OK, we were well trotted, rested, fed and with at least one new visa sorted out. Our next task was to patch the tent, that has been leaking for months. So we bought some waterproof material from Oriental Plaza and glued it on the damaged seams. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0581.jpg Nobody was happy to say good-bye http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0582.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0783.jpg A last finger-licking lamb potje - traditional South-African hot pot slowly cooked for many hours http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0812.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0788.jpg Sunset over Joburg… We'll miss this skyline. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0805.jpg |
Thank You to Our South African Sponsors
Almost two months in the South African cosmopolitan jungle has taken a toll on our wallets and moods. I guess we felt encouraged by Gui and we thought the corporate world would fall on its ass learning how we had arrived here with no sponsor, but it was not like that at all. Fundraising and scouting for sponsors eats into the good spirit, we even started to despise ourselves. Then, when least expected, we met some wonderful, generous, positive people.
Thank you Linex Yamaha - the leading Johannesburg Yamaha dealership - for providing complimentary service for our bike. Thank you Danny, Roger, mechanic Jacques and the whole team! And thank you Yamaha South Africa for offering free genuine parts (clutch kit, brake pads, front brake discs, hub rubbers) http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0844.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0830.jpg Thank you Arai South Africa for offering complimentary service for my Tour X3 helmet and a new visor. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0820.jpg Thank you Bike Gear, Porth Elizabeth for new ROK straps and an Air Hawk for my sore arse. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0018.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_1811.jpg Also thank you: Wayne (for the waterproof HB bag), Dirt & Trail Magazine for the interview (Dirt and Trail Magazine Online - Quads | Bikes | Trails | ATV | Offroad |), Gear Up Durban (for fitting our tyre and friendly advice), cheers to the whole motorbiking community that helped us along: Charl, Bernard, Terry & Doryanne; and thanks to our super hosts: Iulia, Carla & Charl, JJ, Eric, Bernard, Martin & Camy and the fantastic Jones. Love u all. |
Between Heaven and Earth
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Crossing the border into the country where we would go back to our free camping routine was a bit of a hassle. No sign of the infamously laid-back Batswana. First, the VAT office in SAR had been shut down, so to claim the beefy 60 euros we were directed back to Pretoria. Then I had to drive back and forth between the two borders to be repeatedly refused exit or entry stamp in our new temp passports. Then we learnt that Botswana - for which we luckily didn't need a visa - demanded 240 Pula to allow us driving through (1 year road tax, driving permit and insurance). Tried to talk our way out of this, in vain. Only after we were way out of the customs premises I realized that the border bureau de change had paid our fees by mistake, giving us double the amount due for the dollars I wanted to exchange. Serendipity or poetic justice, anyway it was too late and we moved on. Gas is 8,9 Pula/l. BTW, even if in the local lingo (setswana) it means 'life giving rain' (key survival parameter for this land 80% covered by the Kalahari), the name of the Botswana currency will make any Romanian giggle. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_0874.jpg Riding Botswana is like that say: flat, horizonless, boring, straight but decent tar cutting through sketchy villages lost in a largely dusty, deserted mass of land. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_0869.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_0906.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_1059.jpg Except for curious meerkats standing by the road and for the surreal natural salt pans - world's largest - that stretch for 12,000 sq km. The life auspicious conditions will prevail on Earth for less than ten percent of the planet's overall lifespan. Our habitat is narrow, excluded by the deep ocean from two thirds, yet imagine that million years ago water was even more prevalent. These pans were once part of a massive inland lake that the San people (the original inhabitants of Botswana) have seen in their time. You could wander for weeks in the Makgadikgadi without encountering another human being, let alone the swarms of safari vehicles that make some of Africa's game parks seem like vehicular feeding frenzies. In rain season herds of wildebeests, springboks and one of Africa's last great zebra migrations turn the Makgadikgadi into a movable feast for predators such as lions, cheetahs, jackals and the rare brown hyena. This harsh wasteland becomes a lush green carpet of savanna grass. Shallow lakes also form then, providing nesting grounds for Africa's second-largest gathering of pink flamingoes. The pans remain - like many other natural wonders in Africa - largely off limits for motorcyclists. In the Mopipi pan, just a fraction of the Makgadikgadi system, we could hear ourselves self think. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_0908.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_0881.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_0885.jpg Clouds of gray clay dust in this epic emptiness Read more: Makgadikgadi Pans - Kalahari safari stirs the soul | Full Page http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_0895.jpg Since the 1966 independence Botswana has been enjoying a peaceful democracy, a happy accident in sub-saharan Africa. Barely 2 million people inhabit over 580,000 sq km, you bet it feels lonely. That also meant you could stop and camp at will and nobody would be appalled that we are shopping for groceries at the street side stalls and take water from pumps. This had been our last snack in South Africa: http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0862.jpg We hit the 50K on the clock as well http://intotheworld.eu/blog/rsa/IMG_0859.jpg After starting the day at 10 degrees Celsius… and barely able to venture outside our tent around 7.30 a.m. … http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_0863.jpg … we ended it one sweating copiously in the tourist hub and entry gate to the Okavango Delta, Maun. The town was too civilized for us to sleep like bums on its outskirts, so we would camp for the night at the Old Bridge Backpackers. The 'backpackers' attribute - we had learnt since Namibia - has nothing to do with actual backpacking, not in the southern-african subcontinent. It may well be the case for the entire East coast as well. It just means that camping in allowed on the premises and that sometimes accommodation in dorms is also offered, besides other sleeping arrangements. This place was laid back and friendly, but slightly run down and poorly maintained. Built a while back with less money than the very similar Ngepi in Caprivi, but just as expensive, clearly not targeting the budget travelers. As always when we slept in tourist hubs, we had a hard time falling asleep with all the partying and drinking going on at the campsite's bar. In the afternoon we had toured the airline offices at the airport to inquire about scenic flights over the delta, as the alternative to visit the Okavango by mokoro would take too long. Luckily by late evening we had met two travelers from Munich, who would made an old dream possible - so in the next morning our party of four (us two, plus Dominic and Stefan) was reporting for a ridiculously scrupulous security search in the diminutive Maun airport. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_0916.jpg Airplanes being given a hand wash http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_0925.jpg Some fun data about our aircraft: also known as the ‘StationAir’, the sport-utility Cessna 206 is capable of taking up to five passengers. Fuel consumption 1l kerosene/ minute; range 5 hours. During our 45' flight we traveled for 228,82 km, covering 109,707 ha with a maximum speed of 300 km/h. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_0919.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_0926.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_0932.jpg Andras, our US born pilot (Major Blue Air | Excellence in Aviation) < link Major Blue Air | Excellence in Aviation > , heard that that was our maiden flight with a light aircraft and offered to entertain us with the 'adventurous' version. A frisky take off and a couple of funky maneuvers and we were hooked. The whole gang was trepidating with adrenaline. Eventually all the Gs made my head turn, so Andras suggested piloting the 4 seater would make me feel better! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_0934.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_0928.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_1020.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_1014.jpg Have I mentioned that all this awesomeness was happening a few hundred meters above the Okavango Delta, one of the Earth's most magical places? http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_0936.jpg The 16,000 sq km Okavango Delta is one of the world's few deltas that do not end into a river or the sea. First the Gumare rift changes the incline of the Okavango riverbed, thus the Delta is born. The river splits into three main channels, which later further split into dozens of others. The Thamalakane rift is where the inner delta ends, so the Okavango never reaches the ocean, partly evaporated, partly absorbed into the Kalahari. The Delta is a complex mosaic. Innumerable lagoons and water channels are cut perpendicularly by a radial network of trails (made by animals). Around them there are circular escarpments populated by water lilies and papyruses, the 'islands' of the Delta. Finally, there are the peripheral dry patches that never get fully flooded and that are mainly covered in grasses. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_0940.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_0944.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_0952.jpg We had already had a glimpse of the delta's fringes back in February, when it was in full flood. Now we were Yann Artus Bertrand wannabes, attempting to gain perspective of the ensemble. During the 45 minutes we witnessed many intimate scenes of this unique biome: elephants and giraffes making their way across marshes, some lonely bull hanging out by a stream, hippos grazing or chilling while fully submerged in the many pools, zebras scattering, a rhino family, a huge crocodile basking in the sun, herds of antelopes and flocks of birds enjoying an unspoiled paradise. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_0964.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_0946.jpg The colors of water, sky and earth, the many shades and textures of grasses, the dry patches bearing the scabs of later summer's burnt trees - simply stunning. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_0965.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_0977.jpg The Delta was not at the peak of the flood, but the changing of the season was revealing new aspects of life in this vast, complex ecosystem. As we are short for words, please enjoy some humble photos of an only a corner of the amazing place we call home. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_0955.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_0963.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_0984.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_1016.jpg This small poem appropriately describes our experience "High Flight" by John Gillespie Mage Jr. Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered winds; Sunward I've climbed and joined the tumbling mirth Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hovering there I've chased the shouting wing along, and flung My eager craft through footless halls of air. Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue, I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace Where never lark, or even eagle flew - And while with silent, lifting mind I've trod The high untrespassed sanctity of space Put out my hand and touched the face of God. After such an exhilarating morning, we needed a moment to clear our heads. Our German buddies bought us a couple of iced lattes in a swanky cafe across the airport, a nice place to chat a bit with our cool pilot. As it turned out, the job is good for hours, but it doesn't pay well enough for his ambitions that should see him landing a commercial airline job somewhere in Europe. What followed was a quite appropriate monotonous drive across Botswana. We were all adrenalined out, and anyway motorbikes are probated to enter inside the arguably wonderlands of Nxai or Makgadikgadi Pans or on the Kubu island. This in turn offered the space to digest the memories of the Delta as seen from the sky. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_1022.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_1028.jpg We knew the road to Zambia would cross Chobe National park and incidentally the migration corridor of many wild animals. So we pitched camp within reasonable distance from the known cut-off, and warn the critters of our presence with a safety fire. One of those perfect spots it was. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_1039.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_1034.jpg Charged by another mesmerizing sunrise, we rolled - impatient to see lots of wildlife - into a large operation to enlarge the road, which has disrupted the migration path of the animals crossing from Zim to Chobe. But we did spot some big game though, many many miles further north, besides duikas, warthogs, elands and many species of birds. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_1054.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_1048.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_1046.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_1056.jpg It's mind boggling how these giants have adapted to man's presence and ever increasing appetite for territories. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_1060.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_1073.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_1061.jpg At the border we met with a large group of super equipped South African holiday makers. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_1086.jpg Together we hoped on the 15 minutes ride across the Zambezi by a 30 Pula ferry. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_1094.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_1098.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_1114.jpg A group of mokoros zoomed before our eyes across the channel, the fishermen looking as smooth and athletic as their Durban kaiak rowers counterparts. Just that these people are not exactly doing it for fun. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/botswana/IMG_1102.jpg Back in Zambia we were jolted back to the realization that we were back in the Black Africa as well: chaotic border control and hoards of middle men trying to extort newcomers. As the police had the South-Africans by the balls, we managed to slide under their radar and make our way out of the mess without paying a dime. But faith was awaiting in Livingstone: while negotiating the exchange rate of our last 160 Pula for the local Kwachas, an opportunistic money changer seized the moment and simply grabbed my moneys. Before I could step off the bike or alert anyone he was gone. The Spar supermarket that had been under construction in February was now open for business, so we wiped off the bitterness with chicken and rice, then loaded with fresh veggies from the market we were off to Rapid 14. |
Dust, Sweat And Prayers in Zambia
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In Livingstone the turquoise cabs were desperate for customers. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/...ivingstone.jpg Riding the steep track to Nsogwe, we could smell the falls, see the wave of mist now a shadow of its February might. We had butterflies in our stomachs. It felt like coming home: returning somewhere for the first time in over 10 months. There we knew people's names and every single corner. There we had a past, and we had come back to recover that link. Surprisingly, wifi is hard to find in Joburg and even more a precious commodity in Botswana, so we hadn't warned of our imminent arrival. But we found everybody in good health and received some very happy news for the end of the year. Laura's parents were ending their visit with a vow to return in a couple of years. Some things were different though: http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1133.jpg The colors had faded away into shades of rust and gold, after simmering all summer. The camp looked older, as we were as well, wiser, as we hoped to had grown. More drama was filling up the gorge, the Zambezi wider and now flooding the rocky beaches under its swarming rapids. But the roar of the river and those awesome sunsets that only happen at Rapid 14 were just as we remembered them. Unfortunately this time we would stay for three nights only, to spend time with the gang, clean and organize our stuff. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/...ia_rapid14.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1116.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1120.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1134.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1141.jpg The base was now fully operational: teams being shipped into the field, dozen of staff working around a very busy schedule. That would go on for months. The night of our arrival also the founder of Overland arrived. Phil told us that after serving in the South African military, he had traveled independently for six years throughout more than 40 countries, then worked as international instructor for Camel Trophy. In 1999 he founded Overland with his wife Sharon, committing to bring the Gospel, humanitarian care and economic opportunities to communities that remain isolated by geography. The couple had been rated one of the top 30 emerging voices in the USA for their work in developing nations. A few years ago, Pete had taken part in an Overland expedition in the Amazon. Then we went briefly to Zambia. Next year he stayed at the base for 3 months, next year for 7. In 2012 he decided to live permanently at rapid 14. 'If you need something done, I am happy to help', he offered. We could squeeze some bike work, I thought. Together we fabricated the bash plate bracket, a 2.0 version, sturdier than the original already broken twice (Lumbumbashi & Namibia). We also welded some holes in the exhaust to temper a tad its scream. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1125.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1124.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1126.jpg Way too soon, it was time to leave. Laura could not have put it any better: saying good bye twice was not going to cut it. Next time we needed to make a plan and stay. Verba volant, scripta manent: there will be this next time. As we were preparing to go, Pete was summoned in the field. It was one of the expeditions' trucks. Stuck somewhere deep in the bush in the Nyhawa chiefdom, the field team having to push-start it for days. 'It's a one day job', Pete said: 'go in, replace the part, go out'. 'You should come along', he suggested, 'spend the night in the village with the expedition, then continue to Lusaka the next day'. Brilliant, let's do it. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1150.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1155.jpg 90 kays north of Livingstone, in Zima, we went off the tarred road down to Nyhawa central. Lucky that the pastor's wife correctly suspected that we should track down our people in the Siamundele village. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1229.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/...mbia_nyawa.jpg We got to see some field action. The young US missionaries have been living in the chiefdom for a week: walking for hours to visit the huts, helping the villagers with house chores, offering counseling and spiritual guidance, organizing school activities and even a football match. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1162.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1182.jpg As we have seen across Africa, the church offers a common ground for artistic expression, personal and spiritual engagement and much more. African would always incorporate dancing, choral music and even theatrical performances (as we had seen in DRC in Mission Kalonda) in the worship. And of course there are a lot of animist beliefs still shaping every day life. In this particular cluster of villages, like in many other in the unseen and little known Zambia, there is a quite influential 'witch doctor'. People would employ this dude for protection, only to become dependent on his expensive manipulations. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1167.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1177.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1170.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1192.jpg Watching the kids taking part in the activities made us think of the DRC. Zambia looked so different now than back in February. On the main road and in the towns the globalization was striking, but here, deep in the rural Zambia, not so much. Sure, Zambians are tamer and shyer than the Congolese, but they share a helluva lot of common features. It was exciting to experience simple life, even if mass consumerism is slowly taking over the country. But people suffer from lack of proper education: severe migraines caused by dehydration, diet poor in nutrients, sketchy agriculture, the same story. Overland projects focus on education and teaching: how to feed better (introduce cheap proteins like beans in children's diet), how to grow food better. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1189.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1203.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1207.jpg Tonga, the dominant ethnic group in south Zambia, have an end of day ritual: dancing by the fire with the 'shetenge' (African skirt). We had seen something similar in a Gabonese orphanage. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1215.jpg After a full day of riding, dancing and story telling by the camp fire and after having our first ever SMORE ( an American 'give me some more' camping desert: roasted marshmallow sandwiched with a piece of chocolate between two rye cookies) we were knackered. Since leaving Cape Town weather has been warming up, but days have also become shorter and shorter. It was now getting dark around 6.30 p.m. and the mornings were at times very chilly indeed. This time we woke up more frisky than usual, as Pete had come up with a new plan. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1224.jpg 10 years ago Jako left his home in South Africa behind, and Amber left the States, for a lost corner of Zambia. 6 years ago these pals of Pete founded an orphanage and a preschool, out of the government radar. To learn more about Jako's project visit Mission Of Love Community Orphanage Zambia - Home. The plan was to ride across the bushveld to visit Jako, Amber and their sons, Jacob and Jeremiah. To reach Jako all we had was a hand drawn sketch by the Nihawa pastor and our navigation skills. We knew the locals would guide us thru. It was a 70 kays task. A maze of trails. In Southern Africa we learnt that this kind of terrain is called cotton soil. A deep layer of a powdery unstable mix of dirt and sand, tricky in dry season (and we were lucky to be in that benevolent time of the year), but deadly in the wet. When it is drenched, its sticky, swampy, but solidifies like concrete between downpours. Ironically, cotton plantations doubled the cotton road. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1232.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1236.jpg That must be how the Kinshasa - Lubumbashi road would unfold in the dry. I'd do it again, 2up even. Crossing in the rainy season was slightly insane. In Zambia we found that confusing pattern of deviations and footpaths, but no anonymous heroes to work the road. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/...ia_drclike.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1234.jpg The most crucial aspects separating Zambia from the DRC are that the tonga villagers will eventual hit tar, thus a vital network of motorized food and medical supplies; many Zambian villages have beet fitted with water pumps, rendering people less vulnerable to drought. The rainy season is also more forgiving in this part of Africa, the government less corrupt, allowing some cash to flow into the infrastructure and some humanitarian projects to develop. End of rant, back to the road. Pete has some problems with the tyre pressure. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1241.jpg At Jacko's we had had some time to see the project and had lunch. 40 km of 'cotton' later, in Kalomo, we parted ways with Pete. We scrambled for a bush camp in the tall grasses, another reminder of the DRC. In the morning the tent was drenched in dew. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1249.jpg Before noon we were out of Lusaka: Bomoko oats and roasted chicken from Pick&pay - check, Motul oil from Ali Boats Yamaha - check. East Zambia had a more tropical feel and as the nights continued to become longer, they also became warmer. Crossing the rolling valley of Luangwa we could imagine that the northern and southern national parks must be beautiful. Here the parks were unfenced, bordered by GMAs (Game Management Areas), populated by both game and humans. But we were determined not to cross borders on sundays, so we a bit in a hurry to be in Mozambique the next day. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1252.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1255.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1256.jpg Sunset had been at 5.10 p.m., sunrise was scheduled for 5.56 a.m. At 5.15 a.m. the horizon was already blushing. Tent wet again, little puddles have formed where the poles reach the ground. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1271.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1268.jpg We had devised a system to warn critters we were there: poke the grass with a long stick, as there are snakes around here and last night we had some rodent foraging about. We had also capped the exhausts with the beer bottles we had for dinner. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/zambia2/IMG_1269.jpg |
Tudo Bem?
Mozambique 19-23/05/2012
http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambiq...mozambique.jpg With the exception of the Tete and Niassa provinces - where we would enter it - Mozambique lies within 300 km of its 2500 km coastline. Two thirds the size of South Africa, it lured us not only with its legendary tiger prawns that were supposed to be jumping straight into the pan along the beaches, but also with the unique blend of Latino and African cultures. Besides vernacular Bantu, some Arabic, Makonde and Swahili in the north, the official language of the world's best sailors' colony is Portuguese. Romanian is closest to Portuguese. Hence, we were very keen to practice. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1272.jpg We had our first attempt at Portuguese right at the border. Our successful conversation - as sketchy as it was - beefed up our enthusiasm for this 17th country we were visiting in Africa. In less than 30 minutes, chit chat with the lovely chaps on both sides included, we were stamped in Mozambique, no muss, no fuss. We had payed 27 Meticais - not even 1 Euro! - for the 14 days Temp Import Permit. We asked which side of the road were we supposed to drive, and off we went. Brilliant. We already loved the place. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1275.jpg Let's talk about how much fun is riding on a dirt road suffocated in a cloud of dust. How about a lot? Now, don't get us wrong. We play the game, too. Saving time and rubber, not breaking every bone in our bodies and arriving at embassies in decent shape are all good. The unpredictability of the African infrastructure though is that temporary escape from the Tar Prison we live in. We might look like a mess when we apply for our next visa and inspire a few odd stares with our frizzy hair and shredded soiled gear, but, yeah, baby, nothing beats the open - literally road. We knew well of the over-developed southern half of Mozambique, so we had planned a less traveled route: across the Zambezia province, thru Tete. The idea being to ride off road along the mighty Zambezi, then cross it - if the ferry was operational - somewhere before Caia, after which we would finally get a taste of the Mozambican tarmac. Our plan worked pretty well. Day two, 2.00 p.m. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1339.jpg Day four, 12.45 http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1683.jpg Rewinding to day one, we spent the better part of the day riding through a very poor, but quite picturesque rural region, dirt huts, most people on foot. Maybe once every two hours a shiny 4x4 would UFO through. In Tete we got some bad news: petrol was the most expensive so far in Africa, about 15 Rand/l (6,5 Ron) and the roads we wanted to take after the Moatize were now private because of coal mining. Our target for the next day, a bumpy dirt track, was behind the baobab forest. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambiq...gravelroad.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1292.jpg Dawn at 5.22 p.m., we had a bush camp with a view of Malawi. We fetched supper - potato samosas(1 Metical a pop), avocado, tomatoes, bananas and the famous Mozambican bread rolls. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1282.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1279.jpg We almost went full retard on day two. The sunrise kick started us, so by 7.30 a.m. we had an awesome off road swagger. The road has everything you could ask for. Demanding, if not a bit technical, alternating gravel, dirt, deep sand, rocky plateaus, even dry river beds and huge rocks. This must be a bitch in the wet. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1299.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1305.jpg While trying to find the best passage thru this temperamental road profile, we almost collided with a scooter taxi coming from the opposite direction. I had to stop in the high dirt bank. Right mirror broken (again!), some scratches on the fairings, new dents in the pannier, and 15 km later I noticed the right light also missing. So for the next 60 kays we cooled it down to about 40 kays per hour. Sunday, we noticed, was a regular weekday around there: women do laundry, harvest crops, fetch water from pumps or boreholes, carry fire wood, sieve maizena; men go about their business, kids play in the dirt or help with household chores. Our lunch time snack of canned tuna, avocado and bread stirred some interest from the villagers, but nobody bothered us. These people are different. Chilled, shy even. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1291.jpg At the odd junction with the rail road I got a 'boa tarde' from a cyclist. I was glad I knew how to greet him back. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1301.jpg We had been out of water for hours, when finally spotted a pump. Thanks EU! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1312.jpg After 279 km of powder and sun we were spent. We had hit the Dona Ana Bridge, at its time the longest railway bridge in Africa, spanning for 3,67 km the Lower Zambezi. The bridge cost more than £1,400,000 in 1935 and is even today an example of engineering achievement. link Dona Ana Bridge - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia sau OVER RIVER AND LAKE http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambiq...railbridge.jpg As we were waiting for the train to pass, we spotted pedestrians and cyclists coming from the bridge. Could we cross it as well, instead of searching for a ferry ahead that might be working on not, especially on a Sunday? That required some investigation. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1324.jpg The villagers helped us navigate the maze of paths leading to the bridge, where we discovered we needed to climb a 45 degrees flight of stairs in order to access the pedestrian way. With the panniers off and the strength of me plus other 4 men combined, the bike was up. I generally don't give money to people, but I figured it was the decent thing to buy them some beer. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1334.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1337.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1344.jpg Seen from up, white and purple water lilies populated islets on the Zambezi, making the river look like an immense delta. You would never suspect somewhere on this calm flow of water the untamed Victoria. Midway across, there was a couple of concrete slabs missing. The crowd cheered when we lifted the bike across the gap. That's what the end of the bridge looked like on the other side, next to a small market: http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1346.jpg You're on African off road if it's covered in man. Most are walking, some cycling, some even napping, completely zoned out on a bag of maize. The African road is a place of awe and companionship. We often get to see man's most ingenious attempt to carry a shitload of stuff, be greeted by passer-byes and get waived-through by policemen with a boner at the sight of our bike. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1350.jpg In Caia we crossed Zambezi for a second time. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambiq...caiabridge.jpg We found gas and in the next village tomatoes, avocado, bananas and a crumbly cookie of crystallized sugar, honey and ground nuts. People kept surprising us with their laid back attitude, minus the occasional snap. We had a feeling they could become a highlight for our African travels. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1379.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1394.jpg By now a habit of serious landscaping for every bush camp had been established. To pitch a tent in the 1,5 m tall grass meant we had to work for 20 minutes, using our boots for shovels and our hands to clean up the spot, while various species of bugs would feast on our sweaty bodies. That's what the campsite looked like after packing up: http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1416.jpg Morning fog http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1409.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambiq...ique_fog02.jpg Midmorning we had reached sleepy Quelimane, now only a shadow of its former glory, when it was an important port for the gold, ivory and slaves trade. David Livingstone was appointed the British Honorary Consul to Quelimane in 1858, and later started his crucial exploration from the Zambezi from here. Splendid but crumbling down colonial ghosts lie next to moldy Corbusier-era architecture. Housing complex, residential villas, public buildings, this place would deserve a future. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1420.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1423.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1427.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1428.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1433.jpg The internet was painfully slow in the only shop we could find, but while searching for a cyber cafe, we stumbled upon a Mozambican tradition: the pastelaria. If we had arrived in this country for the rumored seafood, we were to stay for the bakery. A moist desiccated coconut cookie and an aerated sponge cake with a hint of dulche de leche introduced us to local pastelarias. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1435.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1418.jpg Coconut-palm plantations stretch as far as the eye can see, but go largely unharvested along the 33-kilometre run down to the Zalala beach. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1449.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1447.jpg The fishing village was nothing like the palm fringed beaches we have heard about; we were the only non-fishermen, so finding a place to camp generated some commotion in the village. We settled on the lawn of some deserted guest house, whose owner proved to be the chief of police. The office was actually right across the sandy road, so at least we were safe. Within 10 minutes we were off to the beech to find fish and fishermen. Less than 24 hours later we were packing up after one of our most efficient pit stops. We had managed to: buy and grill seafood, make the unpardonable mistake to buy fish that was a bit off (the guardian took it), do all our laundry and shower (with a bucket and cold rainwater of course). We were back roughening it up, baby. Ana had given me a fresh haircut using the frontal Petzl as only light (which in the morning we unanimously decided it's a good tradition to start). http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1437.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1438.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1439.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1440.jpg The venue for our next breakfast, back in Quelimane, turned out to be the best pastelaria in town (owned by friendly Arabs). Very good cup of coffee, but the pastries! The caramel danish, the mille feuilles with a fragrant vanilla filling, the house special almond muffin. As we sank our teeth into the crispy outside layer of the last pastry on the plate and felt the moist coconut concoction inside, oozing with flavor, we were in love. We knew the only way to put an end to that delicious delirium was to pay our bill and just go. Running away from guilty pleasures that was. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1452.jpg The Mozambican bakers also produce some of the best bread rolls and an astonishing variety of doughnuts (eaten for breakfast in a maizena congee), cookies and biscotti, prices ranging from 2 to 5 Meticais. Savoury street food is limited to samosas and hard boiled eggs, the rest are a proof of the Mozambican sweet tooth. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1467.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1468.jpg The uneventful tar to Nampula soon collapsed in the purest African spirit, swallowed by gravel and dirt, decorated with all the potholes in the whole of South Africa and Namibia combined. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambiq...mbique_tar.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1456.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1458.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1461.jpg We had no choice that night but to camp in a field of cassava. Chance to test the people of Mozambique for friendly attitude towards squatters. A villager spotted us after a few minutes, and later came back accompanied by 3 other men. They waved shyly and asked permission to approach, then we had a basic chat, just said we are sleeping there for one night, and that was it. Nobody else came, not that night, not in the morning. If these are not the most peaceful Africans we don't know who is. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambiq...savacamp01.jpg Nampula may be Mozambique's third largest city, but it felt less alive than Quelimane. Slightly run down, a handful of notable buildings, and this interesting mural. If you will be going to Maputo you'll spot plenty of these. Mural art emerged in Mozambique in the 1970s in the context of the revolutionary struggle and then the transition to a postcolonial society. The renewal of the physical urban environment and, more broadly, of the social, economic and political fabric of the entire country, spawned a national identity, even arguably a national style. The artists used Makonde mapico (mapiko) masquerade or machinamu ancestor figures, slogans and symbols of European domination to investigate the mystical power attributed to colonists and to interrogate the political future of the nation. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1475.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1487.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambiq...ue_nampula.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1486.jpg We wanted to try the local pastelarias, but what a disappointment. The only one where we could sit down and eat was this communist establishment where the pastries (even pastilla de nata) were boring and the clientele looked like the local mother ****ers' convention. Totally reminding us of our parents stories from the communist Romania, when the restaurants were empty, menus were pretentious and ample and nobody could afford them. We have see plenty of similar places across this part of Mozambique: ancient restaurants and tourist spots where a chicken dish would fare 400 Meticais, in a country where a big bread roll is 5 and a regular one is 2. So 200 of these babies would just buy you a questionable plate of stew and corn meal. Pretty damn sad. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1476.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1478.jpg The ground nut and honey cookies were smashing. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1488.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1490.jpg Fresh produce is local, just like in Morocco: pineapple, papaya, tomatoes, salad, cucumber, avocado and pumpkin can be found only in certain areas; oranges are available countrywide, as are bananas. Vendors tend to quote fair prices (except some dude who wanted to seel for LOL price of 700 a 50 Meticais machete). Moving further north we finally hit cashew nut country, wich you buy by the 150 Meticais basinet. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1503.jpg Another chameleon moved from the busy road to the safety of the bush. We love these guys! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1494.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1498.jpg |
Ilha de Moçambique
Mozambique 23-24/05/2012
As the baobabs made way for the palm again, we reached the mesmerizing Ilha de Moçambique (pro*nounced ilea de musa’biki), the country's original island capital and World Heritage Site since 1991. This is the unpolished gem of the African east coast: grand colonial architecture stands monument to a past, from the entrance to the old dockyard to the urban residencies in the cidade de pedra (Stone Town) and the once impenetrable Fort of Sāo Sebastiāo. The name Mozambique is derived from Muss Mbiki, the Sultan of the Ilha when the Portuguese arrived there in the 15th century. The Ilha is linked to the mainland by a 3,5 km causeway. The southern end of the island is the poorer neighborhood called cidade de makuti (palm frond town). The huts are where the locals actually live and contrast sharply with the faded architecture of the rest of the former hub to the entire sea route between Portugal and the far East. The Makuti slum was built in the quarries that had provided the stone for the 400 colonial buildings; a parede social (wall) separates the two residential areas. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1515.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1505.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1516.jpg On the northern end of the Ilha, narrow streets wind between the double-storeyed coral stone buildings of the old Stone Town. This was the aristocrats' territory, an eclectic mix of Portuguese and East African architecture. Few houses have been restored, due to conflicting ownership and governmental stammer. Many are only shells, held together by roots and vines of wild fid trees. Some streetscape: http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1548.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1560.jpg The paint peels off facades in layers of it-will-never-the-same-again http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1504.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1509.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1562.jpg But life goes on http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1564.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1552.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1545.jpg When Vasco da Gama landed here in 1498, Ilha de Moçambique was already a well established trading port, linked to Zanzibar, Madagascar, Oman and Persia. It is the island that gave the nation of Mozambique its name, not the other way around. By the 16th century it had become a permanent Portuguese station for their ships and crews sailing to the eastern bases in Macau and Goa. Various early 20th century events (discovery of gold in the Transvaal, the Suez Canal inauguration, the rise of the port of Maputo) led to the decay of the island's economy. Population shrunk, buildings collapsed and sadly many irreplaceable carvings, shutters and furniture had been used as firewood by civil war refugees. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1534.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1547.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1551.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1518.jpg School http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1523.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1521.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1525.jpg In the small fishing harbor of Santo Antonio families gathered on the praia (beach) to sort the day's catch and chillax. Check out the traditional boats, called dhow. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambiq...que_isla02.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1542.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1558.jpg Not even these Muslim fishermen were daring enough to demand being photographed, but once one would be so cheeky to ask us, a photo frenzy would ensue. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1601.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1594.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1602.jpg Look at the fabulous catch! Mollusks, sea urchin, octopus and all sort of exotic species, hunted with spears and small fishing nets. Must be sold to fancy restaurants? http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1598.jpg Chatty locals kids have captivating bright eyes http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1580.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1582.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1591.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1626.jpg Mina and some play buddies http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1643.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1627.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1528.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1532.jpg Me and my pal, Saidi http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1647.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1649.jpg We wanted to sleep on the island, and we were too shy to squat on the beach. But the dorms were too expensive, so we were looking at another night in the cassava bush. Only in the morning we would realize how risky had been our pick. Too tired and unable to navigate in the dark, we had pitched our camp right between a village road and a neighborhood path. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambiq...savacamp02.jpg A little after 5 a.m. we had already made acquaintance with Amina, Anija, Ajira and Antonio. Sweet people (even the Portuguese had called this place Terra da Boa Gente - 'Country of the Good People'). They were genuinely happy to see us, and we printed some photos for them. Ajira was quite elegant with her basket. Amina was the only one who mentioned briefly a money gift and her nephew inquired if we could employ him. That is another reminder of DRC: frequently foreigners who build the roads squat in tents and say they are 'in transit', so it makes sense that when there's word of white people sleeping nearby, villagers would gather and look for temporary jobs. That became a hassle in DRC, when it proves eagerness to work. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1668.jpg |
Mozambeech, Tsetse Flies And A Scorpion In My Pants
Mozambique 24-31/05/2012
http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambiq...mozambique.jpg African dust for breakfast? Heck to the yes! Test our Anakee tyre on some dirt? We got what we were in for. The rugged, kind of lonely road boasted fantastic scenery tho': rocky outcrops, koppies and pinnacles rising up sheer from the flat countryside. We had arrived at the southern end of the longest rift system on earth, that stretches for 6400 km, up to the Horn of Africa and Jordan. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1680.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1684.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1690.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1715.jpg Nice bridges even on these dirt roads. Old folks sitting on their palm frond benches flashed their gums as we rode by. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1693.jpg I was rocking the dirt, rocking the gravel, rocking the deep sand and the boulders. It seemed like nothing could stop me, I was Bikatron, carrying our sorry asses from village to village, stopping only to replenish our water supply in the cheer of the kids. The gear lever was my Achilles tendon, hanging loose for some time now, like an overworn pair of undies. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1720.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambiq...irttopemba.jpg It happened all of a sudden. The gear lever was kaputt. Wouldn't downshift. I rode a good 30 km stretch in the 4th, but all this involuntary bunny hopping on that trenchy terrain couldn't possibly have any favorable outcome. We stopped to do something about it in the middle of a village, knowing this would be the friendliest crowd. It's hard to stomach the fact that more than one in ten people we see in these photos will be dead in five years because of AIDS. Most children get infected while being nursed by HIV positive mothers, receiving at the same time the precious gift of life, and a death sentence. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambiq...ue_crowd02.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1697.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1701.jpg The bush was steaming. All that could be done was adjust the lever to a somewhat grippier position, which under those riding conditions would mean squat. So until we reached tarmac I kept stopping to hand-gear, then kick it off again. And again. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1728.jpg When camping, the first couple of days without showering have an i-am-one-with-nature feel to them. After the trip in the HippyLand is over, it's just an itch and bad smell affair all over. In Pemba, we desperately needed a place to shower and rest for a bit. And where were those famous Mozambique beaches anyway? The industrial town lies in the deepest natural bay in Africa and has been recently blessed/ cursed with the discovery of the world's second largest (if not the number one) gas pocket. There's offshore drilling and corporate brunching, prices are high and food is scarce. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambiq...e_pembabay.jpg After checking out the other popular backpackers, we settled for Pemba Bush Camp. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1893.jpg Rudi was born in East London, but he spent his teenage years in Mozambique, where his father had been appointed General Consul. Found a nice piece of land populated by mangroves and baobabs, in a quiet bay in Pemba and started building. A few years ago, he opened a lodge on that piece of land. Lots of freebies to keep one busy there: welcome drink (homemade baobab juice); braai, chairs & lockable chest @ campsite; shared kitchen; wifi (when generator is on, 12 a.m. - 12 p.m.), kayak, archery, nature walks with Rudi's son, and mud bath. If you can afford it, Rudi cooks great dinners and buffet brunch on sundays. We couldn't, but, for some reason, Rudi liked us, so he invited us for dinner anyway. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1901.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1896.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1905.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1913.jpg The down-to-earth, chilled staff were our kind of people, so we decided to linger for a few days. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambiq...mbasunrise.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1906.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1910.jpg We started our fish hunt in the village of Paquetequete. Every species was there, rotting on ice in wooden trunks. Nothing was fresh. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambiq...embamarket.jpg It was 7.00 in the morning and the sun was already high in the sky. We took the kayak and rowed to a bay where fishermen were pulling their nets. Small-scale artizan fishing communities in Mozambique struggle to eke out a living in remote areas with depleting resources. The fishermen called us to join the group effort. It took over 2 hours and 13 people to pull that out, while two ladies were sieving the shallows for any escapee. After laying the nets, the fishermen divide in two groups that start pulling from the sides. Each person wraps around the hips a cord, that is later attached to a knot on the net cord. Unfortunately these waters have been overfished, and our work in the sun barely yielded a couple of fish. It’s a hard, mostly subsistence existence for these people. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1903.jpg After one day we had our lebanese vendor where we would buy eggs and bread, and even managed to find stalls with fresh fish on Wimbe beach. Then we spotted a boy with a basket covered in shrubs (actually selling prawns). We could finally have our feast. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1794.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1809.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1804.jpg Manica and 2M are competing for the national beer title. I am not the man to discriminate. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1812.jpg Ana didn't drink Manica, but got hooked on masanica, a wild berry she would pick from around the campsite. It tastes of wild apple, each unique flavor depending on the color, and the tree the berry fell from. Cause you don't pick these babies from the tree, but off the floor. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1816.jpg We walked among the baobabs and mangroves with Kai-Uwe and Thomas, a backpacking DJ from Vienna http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1850.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1856.jpg View from inside this 1800 years old giant http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1864.jpg Tsetse flies fed on Ana, who took one for the team, and saved my groin, as the scorpio hidden in my riding pants stung her, and not me. Note to self, never leave any gear outdoor again. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1834.jpg To make Ana feel better, Kai-Uwe took us to a sort of natural spa. The main ingredient of the mud is crab poop, rich in sulphur and minerals that exfoliate and soothe skin and hair. It was greet fun. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1783.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1787.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1792.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1793.jpg The corridor between Mozambique and Tanzania is now open, and the expensive ferry can be avoided passing the newly inaugurated Unity Bridge. Immigration & Customs are in Negomano. The morning we were set to take this route, Pemba was hit with the last rain until December. We left at noon, only to find rain on the way, so rode back another 40 km to camp in the dry. Antonio, a farmer who had moved from Nampula to raise cattle, arrived a couple of minutes later to let us know we were about to squat on his land. Wouldn't we prefer to come to his house, instead? (he offered) We would hang out and get to meet his old lady, he said. Now, who can argue with that? http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1932.jpg Our home was pitched in 10 minutes. We learnt that it had taken Antonio 2 days to build theirs. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambiq...ampantonio.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1916.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1940.jpg The hut has two rooms: a kitchen and a bedroom, but Antonio wanted to keep us company, so he pulled out the bed for a night under the stars. Ana laid eggs, tea and biscuits. Francisca cooked rice and fava beans. Faseli, their shepherd, went to the village, to get their best friends, señor Pumbolo and wife, to join us. What a great night! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1949.jpg In the morning we had promised to swing by señor Pumbolo's house to say bye. Our visit drew a seizable crowd, instantly catapulting Pumbolo as favourite for the next village chief elections. We spent the rest of the day riding across the stunning Forestry & Hunting Reserve that lines the Niassa National Park. The dirt road has very thick powder dust and heavy trucks had left behind many potholes after the rainy season. It was damp, and wild. We munched on whatever we had find in the last village before the reserve. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1953.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1951.jpg We spotted baboons, macaques, birds, blue-assed duiker. It was time to get some rest. There were plenty dead trees lying around. Our machete had cracked in two in Namibia months back. But MacGyver was in the house: I tossed the wood and set it on fire to give a neighborly hint to the lions. Could that be the best bushcamp ever? In our tent we closed our eyes, and enjoyed the kaleidoscopes behind the eyelids. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/mozambique/IMG_1960.jpg |
Eat. Pay. Love
Tanzania 31/05 - 03/06/2012
http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/ruta_tanzania.jpg Save your money. Tanzania wants your blood, sweat and tears. It wants you cash-drained and on the next plane to wherever you came from. This vast country boasts stellar safari destinations, a tropical archipelago with some of the best diving on the planet and the highest peak in Africa. We craned our imagination at Ngorongoro, explored Serengeti behind eyelids wide shut and climbed Kilimajaro in our dreams. But to enjoy all that, and afford to travel around the world, you'd better own the Internet. Now, we decided we would not be bitter about that, 'cause you know, best things in life are free. The plan was to ride some dirt, see some lake, sail some sea and have a ball while not thinking about the fact that we had arrived at the peak of wildebeest migration across the Serengeti. We exited Mozambique and crossed into Tanzania the same way we had entered, o a bridge. This time, a proper one. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_1963.jpg And encountered another cutie. I think we'll start a Chameleon Hall Of Fame http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_1991.jpg Arriving at African borders with the visa regulations for your particular nationality well researched: always a good idea. This officers were super friendly, but their border documents stated that we needed to purchase a visa. It helped a lot that I was sure we didn't, so even if it took 2 hours, we sorted out our documents money free. And there was even wifi on the premises! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_1971.jpg Straight off the bat, we knew we had hit a foodie jackpot with new country. While in Mozambique the options were minimal, in Tanzania on the other hand, good time appeared to be all about food: selecting it, frying it, eating it, even paying for it. Swahili time meant the day had just begun, so there was indian spiced tea (chai) with milk and chapati for breakfast in this local joint. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_1973.jpg Plus our first taste of a national favorite that was to become an unavoidable, but filling staple for us. Ana hates chips, but for the next 20 days she would learn to enjoy them as Tanzanians do: chipsi mayai (omlette with chips inside). We had a feeling we would not make much use of our stove here, with all the cheap street-side bonanza. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_1993.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_1997.jpg Spicy pilau, mishkaki (kebab), sweet potato, fried cassava… http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2000.jpg Octopus, squid, curried potato dumplings… http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2008.jpg And passion fruit sold in 10 liter paint buckets for less than 2 euros (to briefly mention what is on offer in markets and with hawkers) http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_1999.jpg After sleeping in a field, next day we drove to Dar Es Salaam. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania...z_bushcamp.jpg As we found the campsites in Kitumbue to be noisy and pricey, and the city, well, a city, we camped 70 km north, in Bagamoyo. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_1991.jpg This was the place where all those 19th Century pioneers - Stanley, Grant, Burton, Speke - set off to explore the interior of the continent. For David Livingstone, it would be the start of his African journey and the last stop in life: he returned there only dead, his body carried 1500 miles by his porters from Lake Bangweulu in Zambia. Already famous for centuries, the town had been known as ‘Bwagamoyo’ ('crush the heart’), the place where thousands of slaves who had marched eastwards out of Central Africa awaited to be shipped to nearby Zanzibar, and then towards their final destination somewhere in the Gulf, across the Arabian Sea. To preserve what remains of the former German administrative centre isn’t a priority at all: most crumbling coral-brick buildings are used to dump rubbish or to empty ones bowels. Even if the architecture and details are just as interesting as in the famous Stone Town of Zanzibar island. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania..._bmoyofort.jpg At night we went out for a beer http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2406.jpg Some days one just got to live and maybe venture out of their league. Zanzibar, we knew too well, was not a destination for budget travelers. But we wanted to go there anyway, at least to meet the family of our Zanzibari friend from Lubumbashi. We needed a plan. Air travel was out of the question, so sea travel it was. In september 2011, a ferry carrying 800 passengers from Uguja (the main island in the Zanzibar archipelago) to Pemba capsized, and over 200 people died. And dhows had long been forbidden to take foreigners on board. That ought to give anybody considering a sea voyage across the Zanzibar channel some food for thought. Then we met Daudi, captain on a traditional Omani dhow, who, for 15,000 shillings (7,5 Euro, but already three times the price a local would pay) would take us to the archipelago (call him at +255713334674 to arrange your journey, minimal swahili recommended). Later we would be appalled to learn that a ferry ticket would have costed US 35 for one way. Was our decision to take a wind-powered, medieval style wooden dhow potentially dangerous? http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania...oyoharbour.jpg In some respects, it was: there were no life jackets on board, we didn’t know the captain, all we could do to was leave our Romanian mobile no. with the campsite where we had parked the motorbike. Taking our Tenere across would have been possible, but we wanted to avoid any customs entanglement in the semiautonomous Zanzibar. We figured Chams' folks would fetch us a donkey or something to ride about. While the tide was still low, we carried our stuff (including our tent) onboard. Camping is supposedly illegal on Zanzibar, but this is in Africa, nobody cares. On the beach men actioned the catch of the day and women cooked it. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2024.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2022.jpg The tanzanian version of chai-wallas sold bite-size groundnut cookies with black coffee at 50 shillings a pop. We thought about how even the poorest of the poor can, and does afford to enjoy a sweet moment. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_1998.jpg For Daudi, this trip was all about cargo. Besides the jovial 4 men crew and the two of us, there was just one more passenger squeezed on top of tomatoes, bell peppers and mattresses. We watched Daudi steering the age-old vessel. The unfurling of the sail gave us a full body buzz of excitement - we knew were embarking on one of those journeys one doesn’t easily forget. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2030.jpg Over 30 years ago my mum was determined have her New Year's bash. She was about to pop her second child, but she made it through another 3 days of fun and dance, eventually giving birth on the steps of the maternity, basically on the backseat of my grandfather's Ford Taunus. Being born in a vehicle sealed my faith. I spent my childhood near motorized machines, creeping around my grandfather (who was a mechanic), begging to be allowed to temper with the tools and steal some secrets of the trade. Rocking it on the sea though, was a whole other ball game. Halfway through, if we squinted really hard, we could see both the mainland and Zanzibar. That's about when I became so seasick, that I was 'come on, stomach, don't fail me now'. Nothing left to do but lay on top of those tomatoes and try to snooze. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2032.jpg 4 hours later we arrived in the harbor near Stone Town, where Nassur picked us up. We would stay at his sisters's place, Neyfuu. We were lucky again to spend time with local people and this time our karma had brought us to another happy home, filled with Zanzibari beauties and kids. |
Everything Is Better In Zanzibar
Zanzibar 03 - 07/06/2012
The Arab spring was bubbling and the architecture industry was tumbling into a new ice age. Meanwhile, 20 nautical miles offshore mainland Tanzania, in a tiny gulf in the Zanzibar archipelago, 36 years old Fatuma had woken up before 5 a.m. to work on her seaweed plantation. She had until noon to take advantage of the low tide, but she was in no rush. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania...r_pongwe06.jpg We had arrived 2 days ago on her beautiful, but touristy home-island. Until the 1964 Revolution, Zanzibar was ruled by a sultan, overthrown in favor of an experimental union with the (then) republic of Tanganika. That abruptly ended the Omani influence and the archipelago's heyday. Zanzibar had long been the centre of East Africa's slave, ivory and spice trade, enjoyed economic prosperity and became the birthplace of swahili culture, a unique blend of African and Arab heritage. The largely conservative Muslim society is proudly distinctive from the rest of Tanzania, and Pemba island still dominates the world's clove trade. This is a foodie paradise. For our first night out, Neyfuu took us to Forodhani (Jamituri) Gardens, for zanzibari pizza (a chapati stuffed with minced meat) and mishkaki (kebabs) http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2035.jpg Many tourists mingled abut in skimpy clothing; it was the largest concentration of whites we had seen since leaving SA http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2034.jpg For breakfast, Neyfuu and cooked Omani bread (resembles a French crepe) with clove honey from Pemba and ginger tea… http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2400.jpg Everything tastes better in Zanzibar. We did don't sample what proper restaurants - you the kind of places your order tilapia and they bring you embellishments of fruit and flower - have to offer. This is all street-side food. Locals start their day with a dose of carbs: usually Zanzibari bread (bolo), Pemba bread (like a double toasted bolo), maandazi (you may see it spelled andazi, and is a small doughnut which in Zanzibar is perfumed with whole cardamom), chapati or another variety (and there are dozens). Bread goes with spiced masala or ginger tea (chai rangi - simple, or chai maziwa - with milk). Sure, if you need to move some tons of charcoal and sugarcane with your bare hands, you might go for a hardier breakfast, like soup. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2240.jpg Top shelf: bolo. This is a typical village breakfast stall, unmarked, camouflaged behind a curtain. Hungry? See a curtain? Pull it, and there's your food, man. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2243.jpg We've got one word for you: Darajani. This is the central market in Stone Town, where all vendors, flavors and temptations collide. We walked through, taking bits of everything. As usual in African rural communities or muslim countries, hospitality is key. Vendors were happy to refill our tea cup over capacity and street-side mamas frying fish to see us returning for seconds. Something caught my eye with this one mama. 'It's tuna', she said. 'Do you eat this?' We did. Tuna is arguably an unsustainable fish, but it's so good, raw or grilled, but fried? The perfectly crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside chunk of tuna swung a magic broom in our gustative memory, clearing an instant space, where sushi used to be. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2350.jpg Octopus soup http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2352.jpg Beef liver in mango sweet and sour marinade http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2353.jpg Oversized boflo http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2359.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2361.jpg But there's more: skewered scallop, squid, mussels; beef soup; potato dumplings… Even chinese noodles rolled by the chinese, drying on outdoor platforms. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2347.jpg To refreshen the palate between bites, there is a mind boggling variety of juices: sugar cane, passion fruit & avocado, tamarind http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2358.jpg We pondered the time and effort needed to produce a 200 Tsh (10 Euro cents) glass of perfectly chilled sugarcane juice: the cane needs farming, harvesting and transporting to the juice stall; where a man would work for hours to clean it and cut it, then when the thirsty crowds gather, he will roll the cane through manually operated machine to squeeze the sweet liquid, which is mixed with crushed ice, and we haven't even started about where does that come from. Now, we are not Gargantua and Pantagruel. To make space for more of the good stuff, we took a walk around Stone Town, the pulsating heart of the island. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania..._stonetown.jpg Narrow alleys, double storied houses with diminutive spice & handcraft shops @ ground level and veiled women reminded us of the Moroccan medinas. Ana was toting the empty eco package from some fruit she had bough a few hours ago in a village, which kept instigating touts to ask if we were from the 'spice tour'. It turned out that on these 'spice tours' tourists receive the most ridiculous woven hats that resembled Ana's basket. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2389.jpg Zanzibar has around one million of predominantly Muslim inhabitants. Mosques, madrases and caravanserais blend harmoniously with churches and hindu temples into the townscape, with their simple white facades decorated with suras from the Quran and pavilions so typical of early Arab architecture. Since 2000, the capital of the small archipelago has been a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2376.jpg After looking like a miniature Djema El Fna last night, now Forodhani was quiet and sunny http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2392.jpg In the heart of Forodhani lies the jewel of the late Sultan Bargash, the 'Harun ar-Rashid' of the Busaidi family. The monumental building with elements of Victorian and Indian colonial architecture was dubbed the 'House of Wonders', because at the time it was the only house on Zanzibar that had electricity and even an elevator. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2393.jpg Imposing gates, portals and shutters are a characteristic of the old quarter of Stone Town. Decorated with symbols of status and prosperity (lotus, water lilly, the sun), wood inlays and calligraphy (Quran verses), they are indicative of the diverse of Arab, Indian and Swahili heritage, providing information about the owner of the building, his origin and even his trade. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2366.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2367.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2370.jpg Even the newer doors bear an important significance, and make mandatory wedding gifts for newlyweds http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2375.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2396.jpg Gujarati style doors at the main entrance of the Ismaili jamatkhana (mosque) http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2398.jpg 'I'm ready' I said, after a while, 'let's hit the fruit stalls'. Everything seamed to be miraculously in season: passion fruit, star fruit, banana, daf (young coconut), embe (mango), parachici (avocado), pawpaw (papaya), durian, bread fruit and anything you could possibly desire. But we knew what we were looking for, something we have seen before in Asia but had yet to try. The oversized testicle of the fruit world. 'Nataka fenesi', we asked left and right, and soon enough we had found our dealer. He quietly cracked it open. “Check this out,” he almost whispered. Inside, pearly yellow clusters of perfectly ripe jackfruit. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2394.jpg Isn't it awesome to feel like a kid again, and eat something that tastes like banana custard with your hands? Sure, there will be some of that sticky stuff oozing from the center all over yourself, but dang, baby. Jackfruits, they is fine. Now, it was time to see some island. One option was the inexpensive dalla-dallas, but I had to have an engine between my legs. Nassur called a chap who would give us a Honda for 2/3 of our daily budget. 'Local price', he said. After a moment of self doubt, we shrugged and said: hey, its' okay. We could indulge in great food for under 3 euros for both per day and we would sleep al-fresco anyway. And this bike was light enough for Ana to also have a go. First, we headed to the northernmost point of the island, Nungwi. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2081.jpg Free feet, at last. We kicked off our suffocating shoes, peeled off our stinky riding socks and let a bazzilion molecules of mother earth massage and tickle our soul and our soles. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania...r_ngunwi02.jpg From Nungwi we rode south along the east coast to Matemwe, where direct weekly flights between Italy and Zanzibar had resulted in a eclectic scene: fishermen greeted us with a 'ciao, come stai?', Italian-speaking Maasai tribesmen (or people wearing a costume, who knows) stand guard by resort entrances, while local men and veiled women mended their nets. Some kids wanted to skanderbeg. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2089.jpg The more south we went, the more touristy it became. As a longtime cyclist quoted in his excellent blog, 'there are certain places, surrounded by a halo of romance, to which the inevitable disillusionment which you must experience on seeing them gives a singular spice'(Somerset Maugham). Hectares of trees had been long wiped out, there is little, if any, wildlife left in the now 'privately owned' Joziani forest and there is a hectic display of real-estate bubble waiting to pop. Unfortunately many contend to enjoy their white beaches and turquoise sea, while whole communities are being disenfranchised and dispersed to make place for more and more buildings. (A note to fellow Romanians: we recently learnt that Vama Veche beaches have became so trendy that some streches have now names!). In Jambiani, we couldn't enjoy our passion fruit snack, without constantly being offered 'cheap' accommodation, collectables and henna tattoos. Riding through coral stone settlements we found peace again. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania...jambiani01.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2119.jpg We had spotted an empty compound where we could camp, but then we found an empty resort near Uroa, where they would allow us to pitch the tent and indulge in decent wifi. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2093.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania...esortnight.jpg We slept well, the roar of the waves splattering the reef carried ashore by the south east monsoon wind. In the morning, the dhows floated enigmatic on the rising tide. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2132.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2134.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2232.jpg Halfway between the southern and northern tip of Uguja island, the surf retreats every six hours many kilometers away. Great for beach riding. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania...r_pongwe01.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2253.jpg At low tide, the wet mass of sand stretches naked. Small pools of water were busy with sea urchins and starfish. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2284.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2343.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2282.jpg This guy had a psychedelic glow http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2344.jpg It is the ideal environment for aquaculture of red algae (Euchema spinosum and E. cottoni), used in the food & cosmetic industry. Seaweed farming is exceptional, because it is an environmentally responsible trade and because women famers can earn up to three times than what men earn in commercial fishing. In the village of Pongwe, a handful of locals had come out to work. Fatuma was among them, and soon enough she invited Ana to give a hand. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2306.jpg For a while, Ana fantasized about staying in this corner of paradise and work on the plantations for a few months. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2308.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2335.jpg Once harvested, the seaweed is sundried. The government has provided women with access to coastal waters, ownership of seaweed plots and negotiated on behalf of farmers a fairer harvest price with export-import companies. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2257.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania...r_pongwe02.jpg An interesting fact is that algae could be an environmentally friendly source of bio-fuel, one that, unlike alternatives, does not compete for arable land. But transition to a bio-fuel revolution could be far from happening, because of the recent emergence of women as primary bread-winners in the conservative Zanzibari society. And maybe it would be better to stay this way, because venturing into the global market always has its negative perks. Anyway, after spending a few days in Zanzibar, it was time to go. Say good bye to the surreal seaweed fields and the romantic dhows. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania...r_pongwe03.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2297.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2299.jpg Tenga, a woven fishing basket http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2270.jpg We left Zanzibar with mixed feelings. We guess it could still be viewed as a relatively unspoiled paradise, but the tourism industry is striving to change that. Ordinary people born on Zanzibar or Pemba hardly reap any benefits and remain largely uneducated and poor, and younger generation is favoring a return to autonomy of the archipelago. But the culture, landscape, food and especially people of Zanzibar made us fall in love with this place, dreaming to ever return, and maybe stay. |
I have to say this is a hell of an adventure, you guys are living the dream, well impressed with the photography and the story, keep it up and stay safe!! Gino.
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Quote:
Cheers, J+A |
Fast Forward!
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Natron Schmatron
Tanzania 08 - 10/06/2012
We had returned to pick up our motorbike to the crumbling old customs in Bagamoyo http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania..._bmoyofort.jpg Our mood - even if we were returning from the stunning Zanzibar - was crumbling as well. To top the list of gear that has been slowly decaying to bits (tent, mattresses, clothing etc), in Bagamoyo we had new wounds to lick. Our MacBook and 24 mm Canon lens had been damaged, after an unfortunate incident that involved a concrete slab. Camera appears to be ok. We duct taped the lens, but there even hand held it will focus one out of maybe fifteen attempts. A small disaster we have yet to come to terms with, now that vagabonding has tempered with our attachment to material things. But these things were tough to get. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2065.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2059.jpg Blogging, documenting and taking photos have been all integral to our journey across Africa. If we are to continue doing so, we must find a replacement laptop and lens. Besides shopping for sponsors (so hard to come by), we never planned that other people somehow fund our travels. We left thinking that we'd find temporary jobs while traveling or scramble. But after 1 year on the road things are getting a bit desperate. We are now looking for the cheapest way to replace these two essential tools. Maybe you know retailers or dealers who might be interested in offering a hefty discount or even sponsorship to us? Maybe you’ve enjoyed reading this blog and even if you've been saving all year for summer holiday you might still consider contributing, if you can, something towards covering the cost of the broken bits. … If so, please get in touch, any information/support is very, very much appreciated indeed. It is also why for a while there will be less photos in this report and why you can now see the dreaded paypal 'donate' button this link . Hopefully you will not see it for long, but if you decide to click it, your support will not remain unrewarded. We have selected 5 photos representing 5 special moments in our round Africa trip. For any donation of min. 20 Euro, we will post from Bucharest the photo of your choice, printed on B5 format and signed. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/selection.jpg Africa never forgives a mistake, but we were still in the game. One of the reasons we went west, on the border of Kenya and Tanzania, was to see a soda lake with water nearly as basic as ammonia, that breeds 2.5 million of endangered Lesser Flamingos: Lake Natron. This salty red hell of algae and cyanobacteria is one of Rift Valley’s most environmentally extreme spots. Natron is close to the more famous Ngorongoro crater, which could provide us with the opportunity to ride along another amazing place. It took us a day and a half to arrive there, actually in Moshi, after sleeping a night in a sisal plantation. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania...bushcamp02.jpg Sisal farming is experiencing a revival in Tanzania, once world's largest grower, now a distant, albeit promising second after Brazil. In the late 19th century, in what was then Tanganyika, seeds were smuggled from the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. Today over 2 million Tanzanian smallholders are growing sisal, but in the meantime even the economic significance of the plant has changed. Traditionally used to make ropes and twines, the sisal lint is now used to reinforce plastics in car interiors, in roofing materials, piping, and fiberboard. The low grade fibre is even employed in the paper recycling process. Sisal is a promising source for biofuel. Not to mention that the plantations make a nice background for camping. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania...z_aloecamp.jpg Road to Arusha http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania...arusharoad.jpg At 5895 m, Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain and arguably its most iconic landmark was right in front of us. An impressive sight. At least it would have been if it wasn’t completely hidden behind the thick dark cloudscapes. We took some dirt tracks among lush coffee fields, hoping to find a spot where, if we squinted really well, we could see a shadow in the fog. There's your Mt. Kilimanjaro, better luck next time. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2485.jpg This guy confirmed that what we could not see was indeed the famous mountain http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2484.jpg Mount Meru was a bit more visible. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2490.jpg And later these long extinct volcanos were a nice backdrop for our freedom http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania...bushcamp03.jpg To reach Natron, you need join the good tar leading into the crater. These few miles of 5 star road are populated by innumerable safari jeeps, that stop here and there, so that the tourists can step out and snap Maasai tribesmen and women. If until recent times the nomadic people of Tanzania and Kenya have been discouraged to modernize their way of life, things are now changing. On the way to Ngorongoro one can see dozens if not hundreds of Maasai (or are they?) lining the road, masquerading the traditional attire, waiting or even begging to be photographed for money. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania...rongorotar.jpg Then we turned right. There's always something therapeutic about leaving the long straight lines of tarmac and zig zagging among mountains and valleys, helmet flooded in sweat, until you and your bike can finally breathe again. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2529.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2532.jpg It was scalding hot, kooky cacti forests sprayed across the vast expanse of mattress-puncturing acacia where few Maasai compounds scattered. These are called Boma, and are inhabited by man and domestic cattle alike. A hut takes 3 days to build: a timber framework is fixed directly into the ground, then a web of branches is interwoven with it, and finally plastered with a mix of mud, sticks, grass, cow dung and urine, and ash. The traditional Massai society is patriarchal and polygamist, centered around cattle, the primary source of food. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania...ngorongoro.jpg The occasional Maasai stared vacantly at us as we stopped to contemplate asking permission to take a photo. They were wrapped up in Shúkàs (traditional red and purple plaid blankets) and wore bike tyre flip flops. The Maasai believe that a camera can steal their soul, but since mass tourism has conquered this land, things changed. We already are too shy to shove the amera in someone's face, most times we prefer to spend some time with the people, interact, introduce ourselves etc. Now there was also the photo-for-money paradigm to negotiate. Nuyara gave us a minute. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2563.jpg The site of world's largest volcanic caldera stirred our souls. Somewhere beyond it we could guess the Great Open Place of Africa, Serengeti. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania/IMG_2537.jpg We stopped at the edge of this horizonless, dramatic natural arena and gaze not at one, not two, but at three volcanos http://intotheworld.eu/blog/tanzania...orongoro02.jpg We had researched our destination: some travelers had reported Natron to be infested with hasslers, blocked by illegal toll gates. People had been forced to pay hundreds of dollars at gunpoint, escorted from their bushcamp etc. We hoped those reports had been accidental. In Arusha we confirmed with the police and several travel agents that Natron is not a national park, that there should be no fees (except for a 1 Euro community fee in the village), no problems. Then, we arrived at a barrier. Someone had painted '15 USD' at the bottom of a wood board, obviously after it'd been mounted. That was the first 'toll gate', so the reports were accurate. We argued in vain, and soon the first dude with AK47 showed up. They told us that there was a second 'toll gate', where we should pay 10 USD. So 50 dollars to see the lake. As we were turning back, a bus crammed with locals arrived in front of the barrier, and suddenly a white arm sprung out waving and someone shouted 'great country!'. Almost instantly the barrier was lowered and more vigilantes and AK47 appeared. The unfortunate man who couldn't contain his enthusiasm and had to salute us, proved to be a tourist accompanied by a Tanzanian lady. He had a letter from some NGO, that should exempt him from paying the 'fees'. If he had kept his mouth shut, the bus would have passed through. Everybody started to shout and argue, and it became clear that we will not be allowed thru. It was time to concede that Natron was not meant to happen this time. Retracing our tracks back to the main road, we still felt good, tripping on hot baked-in chemicals, released off the ground. Nothing in the tranquil and warm landscape that sheltered our last night in Tanzania let us suspect that we were about to pay for all the good times we had had. |
Rogue Weather In Kenya
Kenya 10 - 27/06/2012
http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/ruta_kenya.jpg Thank you officers, for letting us in. The 20th African border penetrated by a vehicle carrying no Carnet and the first Romanians around Africa. Get all the details on how to skip CpD here. 50 bucks paid for 30 days of man and 20 for 30 days of bike. 'You're not afraid of wild animals?' said the customs officer. 'No, dude, I'm the Romanian Mowgli' I said to myself. But there was no time for that, sun was about to set in 40 minutes and we were in the proximity of Tsavo National park, roamed by elephants and lions. We claimed the first flat empty spot, and dang, we had a bedroom. Four Kenyan ladies stopped to giggle at the strange squatters. Pauline had curly extensions and cute dimples, Ruth didn't speak much English, Janet couldn't stop laughing and Beatrice was sporting a pink shirt and a cracking smile. 'Do you want to come to my house?' she offered. We looked at each other - you know, staying with locals is what we love best in this adventure. But we were too tired to be the village superstars that night. Our camp was already set on the best surface possible. And it would be pitch dark within minutes. 'Is it far', asked Ana. 'It's just there', the girls pointed to the nearby shrubbery. 'And you could wash your body'. Now, how could we refuse that? We packed, and off we went: Ana on foot with the chatty gang, me on the motorbike. For the 2,5 km to Beatrice's compound the giggling didn't stop. To the surprised villagers we kept being introduced as 'visitors'. Look what a lovely spot we had in Timbila village, on the river Lumi. Our hosts told us that elephants and even lions come often close to the compound, but hakuna matata, they will use pots and pans to make the big noise and scare the beast away. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2569.jpg 28 years old Beatrice is from Mombasa. Her traditional name is Mwanaidi. She is a busy housewife, but also a trader, buying hoho (bell peppers) from farmers and selling them on the market. She has 2 daughters: Eunice (8) and Faith (3). Now she is on birth control, as are her best friends. Beatrice cooked the kenyan staple kitere (also spelled ghitere), which is maize and beans. After dinner she fetched us a bucket of water for shower. We lingered a while longer watching 'Kenya's Got Talent'. It felt awesome to be there. As the night before we had mentioned that we liked chapati, in the morning Beatrice organized a chapati workshop for breakfast. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2566.jpg Bea's husband, Gadiel was born on a bed of banana leaves, which inspired his mother to also name him Madundu (which means banana leaves). He turned out to be the village chief deputy, so he insisted on taking a photo in his official uniform. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2575.jpg Imagine we had to deal with dozens of people like him in Zaire, Cameroon, Nigeria. Uniforms, guns, spiked barriers inspire fear, but many of these people must have been like Gadiel, honest, God fearing, simple family men. In this chiefdom (Taveta), as in many other parts of Kenya (and Africa as well), the deputies struggle with staggering HIV levels, poor school attendance and ever dwindling buffer zone between wildlife and human settlements. Also many villagers tend to favor the traditional marriage (to avoid dowry) which allows several sex partners, making birth and AIDS control almost impossible. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2590.jpg In their compound, our kenyan friends have electricity, TV, laptop, even a dongle to connect to the internet. We downloaded the pics to their PC, also printed out a couple. After more chai maziwa (spiced tea with milk) we regretfully said our good byes and got back in the saddle. We needed to be in Nairobi asap, to sort out the dreaded Ethiopia visa. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2592.jpg Not long ago, we had spent days riding similar roads in Mozambique. Deep red dust covered the narrow stretch of land cut across an impossibly green forest. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2602.jpg Soon enough we left the last huts behind. Game was the only thing that could slow our pace down, but it remained elusive. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2604.jpg Only when we hit tarmac we spotted the first wildlife: zebras grazing in the debris of human consumerism. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2606.jpg Tsavo National Park is transited by Kenya's busiest road: Mombasa Highway. One constant stream of trucks, transporting goods from the coast to half a dozen countries. There was only one option to both drive and live, so we stayed on it for only 50 km. An abandoned building caught our attention, so we stopped to explore a bit. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/hdr_abandoned.jpg The concrete structure well executed, solid details, interesting spatial design - this once busy restaurant must have been a welcome stop for travelers in the middle of nowhere. Probably in the heydays of this place wildlife was still around. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2616.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2621.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2623.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2628.jpg As we climbed the last plateau before the escarpments of the Rift Valley, to the 1660 m altitude where Nairobi is situated, air begun to cool off. In the astonishingly modern capital of Kenya and economic centre of East Africa we hit the afternoon traffic jam. In a way we had a deja vu, remembering Lagos, but this was a clean, disciplined, far less congested version of the Nigerian metropolis. The Maasai name for the city was Enkare Nairobi, which means 'cold water'. Once nothing more than a swamp, Nairobi became a necessary base camp for the british engineers and their african and indian workers, who were busy building the railway. Even if the Equator is a few hundreds of kays away, the weather is never pleasant. We arrived with winter, so it was very cold, averaging 14-15 degrees. But Nairobi winters are dry. If only we should be that lucky… With the climate changing all over the world, rains have become less predictable, so we had them falling almost on a daily basis. Believe us, camping on wet mud and grass and shivering in the tent is not fun. Our pep: this cute chameleon we nicknamed Pinocchio http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2684.jpg If in over one year we had barely met 7 teams of travelers, of which all but two were already home, in Nairobi we suddenly were in over-lander's world. The compound we were staying in was choking with cars, trucks and bikes, the shared spaces busy with backpackers and even a Japanese nomad musician. Yusuke backpacked all the way to Kenya, where he decided to buy a bicycle. His songs about what he had encountered on the road provided us with fresh inspiration for our own quest. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2674.jpg One of his songs about Mongolia pretty much describes how we feel: 'Walk/ Walk everywhere/ Until the air/ Is New And you reach the other side' Listen to Yusuke (Charu) singing We had to deal with the bike http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/pano_ken_jjs.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2649.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2651.jpg The gear lever I had manufactured in Mozambique from a chinese scooter was still in great shape http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2654.jpg And sort our Ethiopia and Sudan visas. Thanks to the Sudanese embassy that requested a letter from our own embassy, we met the wonderfully gracious and friendly people who work at the Romanian mission. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2638.jpg We couldn't thank enough for all the support, good advice, care and awesome food. Check out the Romanian braai. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2697.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2699.jpg The visas proved to be less tricky that expected. We had an interview with the Ethiopian consul who was persuaded by our Congo extravaganza; a few days later we had the stickers in our passports. As always, you win some, you lose some, so while driving in the city we had our first flat tyre in over 50,000 km! http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2681.jpg Geoffrey, a biker who has been following our story on advrider, invited us for a Kenyan feast. A good meal means here 'nyama choma', which is swahili for 'meat on the fire'. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2687.jpg Look what this guy was chopping for our party of seven: http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2688.jpg Let's say that it was not all meat: there was some fried banana and cabbage involved as well http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2690.jpg Our eclectic gang (us, Geoffrey, Jack, Andrew, Kaizer and Joe) debated everything from arts to politics. Kenya is rapidly growing into a powerhouse that bears less and less resemblance to its less developed African neighbors. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2692.jpg Jack Rooster is an emerging Afro-beat DJ. Listen to his stuff here Joe Barasa is a self-taught illustrator, currently working for Shujaaz.FM, a monthly comic book written in sheng (the contemporary slang language of Kenyan youth). Shujaaz means 'heroes' in Kiswahili. It is a series of stories shared on different media platforms: a 32 page comic book published online and printed monthly in the Saturday Nation newspaper, Kenya's biggest publication; also broadcasted via daily FM radio programmes on more than 17 FM radio stations around Kenya. The agenda of this pioneering magazine is to feed the young generation with information and empowering ideas, to motivate them to become proactive and responsible within their communities. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/screenshot2.jpg We had to leave Nairobi, come rain come shine. It had rained all day and all night before our departure, we were chilled to the bone, tent, mattresses, sleeping bag all wet or damp, so we had to dry them a bit before setting off. We didn't go too far though because of a second flat tyre. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2700.jpg Minutes after I managed to solve that, rain started again. Soon it was pouring cold waters, and we were driving on the famous stretch that should offer 360 vistas over the Rift Valley. We couldn't see squat, so why stop in the downpour to try to take photos of grey fog and whatever else was there with a broken camera that doesn't focus properly? We hold on to our horses and endured the torture. In Naivasha the rain had become a more merciful drizzle, so we stopped in front of a shack for hot tea and andazi. I think that tea must have saved us from a serious case of hypothermia. We pitched on the shores of the lake, where all night we could hear the hippos grunting and grass-munching, their chunky bodies barely visible from the swampy field. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2703.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/pano_ken_naivasha.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/pa..._naivasha2.jpg This was no Congo, so riding for days with cold water in our boots was out of the question. We decided to cut our visit even shorter, and because there was a bit of sunshine, stopped to see the flamingo colony that inhabits lake Naivasha http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2765.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2741.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2771.jpg You'd be wrong to believe this is some kind of pristine wildlife heaven. Lake Naivasha, one of the few fresh water lakes in the Rift Valley, is an environmental disaster. A huge flower farming operation has long been established around the lake, pumping waters and spilling all sort of hazardous chemicals back into the habitat of endangered birds. Some years the water levels in Naivasha have been so low that one could walk for 150 meters from the shore. The flamingo colony is a shadow of its former past. Unfortunately the flower industry is flourishing, and when it'll be finished with Naivasha, it'll find another lake to deplete. It's a strange thing to think about when buying roses in Europe, isn't it? http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2785.jpg The area around Naivasha is still home to a fairly healthy population of antelopes, warthogs and zebras. We spent the rest of the day - that was mostly dry - crossing several times the Equator http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2797.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2813.jpg Lake Elementeita, another soda lake of the Rift, and another desolate sight, once home to a vast colony of flamingos http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/pa...lementeita.jpg A last nyama choma, with a side of kenyegi (mashed potatoes with spinach and corn) http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2789.jpg As we reached Mt. Kenya, the weather turned rogue once again http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/pano_ken_storm.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/hdr_mtkenya.jpg There was no way we could stop in Nanyuki, as planned. We pushed thru the night, to escape the highlands and the rain, until we arrived in a village where people had congregated to watch a kung fu movie in the only tea'n doughnut joint. Miraculously, by the river we found an unfinished lodge where the owner allowed us to camp for free. There were no facilities, the toilets were appalling, but the people were extremely friendly, putting up toilet paper for us in the loos. And because the place was still under construction, we were alone under a clear sky. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2827.jpg With no rain after two weeks of it, smiles started rolling, happiness unjammed and we were feeling A-OK. Who cared we were heading towards East Africa's worst road? For the moment we were rolling on chinese tarmac, filling up on cheap tea and more doughnuts, enjoying the treat that lasted even 140 km after Isiolo. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/hdr_afterisiolo.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2839.jpg While a bunch of vultures enjoyed their lunch we stopped to snack as well. Mongooses were creeping up from everywhere. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2891.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2893.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2841.jpg Probably killed by a speeding car, the anteater had been professionally butchered in search of the best bits http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2852.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2854.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2877.jpg As we entered the land of the colorful Samburu people, the asphalt ended, and the rattling begun. This has been described as the overlander's nightmare and for travelers who do only the East route it must be so. Corrugations are profuse and so dense that even at low speed you can feel every bit in you motorbike suffer. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2896.jpg The scenery is superb: mountains creep beyond the veld that progressively becomes a horizonless desert. A handful of mud and dung huts of the nomads who inhabit this hostile environment. Many people came running, asking for water or money. We barely had half a liter left to sheer between us two, so there was not enough to spare. We felt terribly guilty, but we absolutely had to arrive in Marsabit that afternoon, as we planned to continue west, across the Chalbi desert, to Maykona. Once in Marsabit we stopped briefly for tea and the usual doughnuts. But as soon as we left town, the road deteriorated so much, that we started to question the entire plan. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2903.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/pa..._tomaikona.jpg |
We remembered the dramatic report of tsiklonaut from the Turkana route and this was starting to look more and more like what he described. The best stretches were relatively hard, but so corrugated that we could feel our bodies splintering to molecules. The rest of the road was an unpredictable carousel of loose gravel and rocks. Sometimes we would find ourselves suddenly riding on soft sand, then on our absolute favorite, something that could be best described as a swamp of boulders. A hot dry wind kept blowing across the veld that barely allowed a shadow.
http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2907.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2913.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2928.jpg 30 km and we were spent. With our current speed we we unlikely to arrive in Maykona before night, we were going to visit to somebody there. But that meant that to go to Ethiopia, we would have to do this 75 km of pure hell again, on top before the Marsabit to Moyale ride. Was is all worth it? http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2926.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2917.jpg Once our brain cells cooled down a bit; we could think more clearly http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2919.jpg So the night found us back in Marsabit, camping in the compound of the Catholic Technical Highschool, and dining on kenyagi with our generous host, father Francisc. After watching together venezuelan telenovelas, we said good night, only to reunite for tea in the early hours of the next day. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2934.jpg The Marsabit to Moyale failed to live up to the terror. It went down like that: http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2940.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2956.jpg Of course we didn't stop to take pics on the worst parts, which were quite similar to the Chalbi road. Loose rocks or a deep layer of gravel mixed with sand, but the really rough parts only last for about 50 km. The Chinese - almost ousted from this project - are back working on the road as we are writing this. Some stretches have been leveled and you want to take all the deviations to spare your vehicle and yourself a lot of trouble. Of course that you have to be on the ball, looking out for those moats and potholes, careful to spot a shadow for a ditch. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2954.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2966.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2970.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/pa...abitmoyale.jpg We encountered vast herds of camels and sheep and many Borana nomads http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2946.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/pano_ken_camels.jpg At a very reasonable 2 p.m. we were in the congested little town of Moyale. Now my bike now had been there, rode that and lived to tell the tale. As we had stopped many times to drink water, and once to snack, we estimate to have crossed the 250 km in 6,5 hours. Of course it isn't as relaxing as it looks, but it is definitely not as bad as they say. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/kenya/IMG_2971.jpg But if after suffering cold rains and a baking desert we had been arrogant enough to believe the hard part was over, soon we would regret it. We were heading to the highlands of Ethiopia, where the wet season was just peaking. |
Planet Ethiopia
Ethiopia 28/06 - 06/07/2012
http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/ruta_ethiopia.jpg There’s a marvelous feeling to enter a fresh territory where, like Yusuke sings, the air is new. There's a sense of excitement and the natural fear of the unknown. Crossing borders in Africa is also generally not easy. Custom forms and TIP need filling, passports need checking, money changers need bargaining. In time, we learnt to expect nothing and be prepared for anything. So when one of these uncharted territories proves easy and we get the wave through in a place so notoriously difficult as the Ethiopian border, we know we had a good day. Amazingly enough, the temporary import permit was free of charge, details soon to be updated on our HUBB thread dedicated to overloading in Africa without a CpD. Visa was 20 dollars for 30 days and petrol around 20 Birr/l. Ethiopia is a very special place indeed, utterly distinct from any other country in Africa. People look indeed different. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3118.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3121.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3623.jpg Human history here dates back at least 4.4 million years. It is the only never colonized African nation, with its own unique calendar, language (that belongs to the semitic family), alphabet and religion. Sadly, Ethiopia has a very bad reputation among over-landers. But even if we drive the same routes, we don't all often groove to the same beats. Instead of throwing rocks and sticks at us, people welcomed us with shy smiles, confused about the unheard country we were coming from. First night we slept in the compound of a catholic mission: http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_2982.jpg The next day we hit the 60,000 km mark. That meant 48,000 in Africa! We were climbing the dramatic plateau that boasts altitudes between 1800 and over 4500 m. After a short couple of days basking in the heat of Chalbi, we would soon have to wear the entire content of our backpack under the riding gear. Vernacular architecture proved to be equally original: long eucalyptus poles are used to built a high ceiling single room house, that is often left un-plastered. Some facades are painted in bright colors. In more remote villages huts have kept the traditional round shape, that in the more emancipated communities is only used for storage or cattle. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_2998.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3001.jpg Even if we are well a decade over the new millennium, most of Ethiopians are still pastoralists. It nukes you back into a rural, mystical age, as if you've stepped into a living time travel machine. Every child is supposed to take part in herding the family livestock, thus the origin of rock and stick throwing. Unfortunately after being saved from the 70s famine by a concerted international effort, the younger generations have lost some of the authenticity and pride of their elders and, accustomed to foreign aid, are more prone to begging and hassling tourists. The markets on the other hand, have pretty much stayed the same, with villagers congregating from many miles away to trade cattle and produce. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia...eth_market.jpg Ana told me about a pack of cards she had as a child, the kind that you have to match pairs of two alike to win. Her cards had a ethnic wear theme, and she had now flashes of something quite similar to the Ethiopian getup. The main ingredient being a thick cotton scarf that can become shawl, poncho, skirt, dress, baby sling. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3110.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3594.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3604.jpg That goes for the plains, because the highlanders favor colorful plaid blankets and mandatory green or kaki shorts for men. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3580.jpg Wandalal (43) http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3566.jpg At 11, Ylumaga is a fine herder http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3577.jpg After buying some fruit, we wanted to offer a couple of photos to people. Within minutes we had become a mobile free print shop. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3032.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3039.jpg Sadly the printer battery lasted only for a short while, and as people were expressing their eagerness to be photographed, a strange vigilante crashed the party. This guy wore no uniform, but appear to command some sort of authority over the crowds. He grabbed a boy's stick and started hitting people away, while shouting at them to disperse. We tried to explain that we were not being assaulted and that his actions were completely unwarranted. As the situation regain calm, we shook some hands and took off. That evening I switched to a second hand Heidenau that Chris at JJ's Nairobi had given us for free. Since entering the country, we had been introducing our taste buds to new flavors. The staple food is an entirely original Ethiopian creation, based on a cereal (tef) that, much like many of the plants and wildlife that live on this land, are endemic to the country. The tef flour is used to make a watery dough that is fermented, then baked on a clay oven or in an ironcast pot. The spongy and slightly sour pancake resulted is called injera, and substitutes both serving dish and eating utensils. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_2993.jpg Eaten with your hands, injera is savored with a wot (sauce) spiced with berbere (a mix of cumin, cardamom, clove, cayenne pepper, ginger and turmeric). With sauteed vegetables, boiled meat or even raw meat. Our favorite was shekel teps, roasted mutton or goat served sizzling hot with peppers and onion http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3046.jpg Vernacular Ethiopian being alive and well, injera is not carried around in Tupperware, but in a dedicated basket, woven, then insulated with hide. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3509.jpg Of course the famous Ethiopian coffee is constantly brewed and savored across the nation, with much ceremony. The beans are roasted on the spot, incense is being burnt and the smooth velvety liquid sweetened. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3520.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3519.jpg Not being huge coffee drinkers, we favored the ubiquitous 1 Birr tea. Beer is available either bottled or locally brewed from germinated cereals in the countryside, where your drink it from tin cans. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3516.jpg Nothing was as good as the insanely delicious fruit juices, like this mango/ avocado/ papaya creation http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3127.jpg Making our way north, we passed Lake Abiata national park. As they wanted us to pay a bribe to ride to the shores, we entered a mile farther, on a dirt track. Unfortunately, there was not much to see: a few flamingos scattered, and some donkey. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/pano_eth_lake1.jpg At the shores of Lake Ziway the barrier and ticket office were just being sorted. Local fishermen can still picnic next to pelicans and some tall storks. Hopefully when they'll start collecting money for this place, it will go into some environmental damage control. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/pano_eth_lake2.jpg Being so different comes with a few quirks. Ethiopia also claims to have the undisputed diplomatic capital of the world dominated by an 'italian' piaza, to foster the Ark of Covenant, to be the center of orthodoxy. Ethi-utopia anyone? Addis Ababa, with its hectic urbanism, with immense governmental compounds lost among scruffy boulevards, had little to support such preposterous claims. To us, the soviet influences were too evident to ignore, and the modern developments too kitschy and amateurish to bare. Hosted with unparalleled hospitality by our Bulgarian brothers, we were for the first time alone, an entire apartment to our disposal. Not having to squat in a disintegrating tent under the daily rains was bloody fantastic, also offering Ana the required peace and comfort to experience her first food poisoning in a decade of backpacking and hardcore street food sampling. In between downpours, our friend took us out for coffee and some sightseeing. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3052.jpg After visiting the imperial paraphernalia in the nearby museum, the Raguel church (with a circular layout, built by an indian artizan) felt equally bland http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3055.jpg The modest palace of Menelik, situated on top of Entoto hills was quite interesting, with superb roofing details http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3050.jpg After taking a few days off because of Ana's injera overdose and having to deal with ridiculous foreign currency laws in order to buy some much needed cash for Sudan, we realized the Wadi Halfa ferry would leave in a few days. We had to decide: a sprint to the border, or hand around for another week and catch the next one. This infamous boat is the only border crossing into Egypt, and leaves only on Wednesdays, if it runs at all. For us, that would be the second time we would rush like that, after the adventurous crossing of the Congo. The first step, crucial to the success of our endeavor, was to do the Addis - Lalibela stretch in one day. Remember we spoke of penitence for all the good fun had in Africa? Our metal Ark and our sinful beings were treated with Flood. The morning of our departure it started pouring again, cats and dogs. Drenched and chilled to the bone, almost unable to grip the clutch, we had to stop in the first sizable town for hot tea. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/pano_eth_rain1.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/pano_eth_rain2.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3078.jpg Our gear is not designed for cold weather, nor for wet. When it rains, it rains right through it, even with the weatherproof layer on, so it doesn't take long to have everything, down to unmentionables, completely wet. In moderately warm weather a tender wind will soak our clothing reasonably fast, which is great, so far we couldn't complain at all about that. Even in DRC, where we were riding for days under pouring rains, it was bearable. This time, we were shivering at below 14 degrees. The real feel while riding was much lower. It rained almost all day, with brief intervals of modest sunshine which we cheered with disproportionate euphoria, probably due to our advanced state of hypothermia. But the highlands were stunning. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia...mountains4.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia...mountains5.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia...mountains6.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3104_5_6.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3524.jpg Our gear is not designed for cold weather, nor for wet. When it rains, it rains right through it, even with the weatherproof layer on, so it doesn't take long to have everything, down to unmentionables, completely wet. In moderately warm weather a tender wind will soak our clothing reasonably fast, which is great, so far we couldn't complain at all about that. Even in DRC, where we were riding for days under pouring rains, it was bearable. This time, we were shivering at below 14 degrees. The real feel while riding was much lower. It rained almost all day, with brief intervals of modest sunshine which we cheered with disproportionate euphoria, probably due to our advanced state of hypothermia. 60 km before Lalibela, in pitch darkness, the tar ended and we continued, blind and tortured, on a winding, slippery river of mud and gravel. I'm assuming the scenery was fabulous, I we could see it. That would have made the ride reasonably fun. Over an hour and a half of hell we eventually arrived where we were almost not hoping to reach. We hardly slept, unable to heat our limbs back to normality, but nevertheless, the morning was dry, so we were ready to be dazzled. |
Lalibela - Assume Bedazzled Position
With the impressive 4190 m Mt.Yosef in the background, Lalibela may not feel like it's situated at 2630 m altitude. 8 centuries after king Lalibela of Zagwe dynasty dreamt to build here a new Jerusalem, this remote Ethiopian town is finally fulfilling its destiny. 11 rock-hewn churches, narrow passageways and crypts were carved into the iron-rich volcanic rock. Today not only arduous pilgrims and monks flock to this UNESCO World Heritage site, but also tourists from all over the world.
http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia..._lalibela1.jpg The soft basalt hardens after carving, but Ethiopian rains are merciless, so, in time, some of the churches deteriorated so severely, that UNESCO has temporarily installed protective roofs. Some of these roofs are quite unfortunate looking, given the context, some give character. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia..._lalibela7.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia..._lalibela8.jpg One cannot simply come and see Lalibela. This special place makes you work, like Cambodia's Angkor, on a more modest scale, of course. Climb, walk, sweat, lose balance, get stuck, become blind, be dazzled. Smell the rock, smell the mountain, admire the craft and dedication, written in a stone kept alive with faith by present-day worshipers and students. It's interesting how the layout reads from early christianity, the clothing has semitic flair, and the chanting of verses makes you feel in a mosque. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3220.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3244.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3266.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3436.jpg If the play of shape and proportion is quite spectacular, the interior of the churches left us unimpressed, as did the decorations. Lots of incense and beeswax candles reminded us of the gloomy hopelessness from the Romanian churches. The chanting reverberating from hidden praying chambers were, on the contrary, mesmerizing. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia...lalibela10.jpg . Bet Giogios is particularly stunning, emerging, symmetrical and monumental, from the gut of the mountain. The lichens on the outside walls make it even more beautiful and more alive. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia...h_giorgis1.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia...h_giorgis8.jpg Next to the labyrinth of churches, a rather secular one: the traditional tukul village. Because of torrential rains last for many months per year in this region, contemporary homes have similar design. One or two floors, on top of a round, rock foundation. A real life smurf village. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia..._lalibela5.jpg At the end of the pious circuit, this devilish kid http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3499.jpg And his best friend, the guard's son, with berbere smeared around his mouth http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3501.jpg Ready to give the descent a go we were, but unfortunately for us, so was the rain. Sky was black with cloud, only lit by even scarier lightning. Ana looked at me. 'I wonder if this is a good idea' she said. I could tell she was worried. And to be fairly honest, my own confidence we could make it to Wadi Halfa under such weather was weakening. I was ready to rock, packing up gear and squinting at Ana when she mentioned the rain, making an 'are you serious?' face. 'Why haven't we looked for ponchos?' she asked. When I replied that we didn’t need any ponchos — the rain couldn't last forever — she said: 'we should have prayed in all those churches'. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3524.jpg It started like a drizzle. We were not fooled, the whole valley was shaking with thunder. Soon the skies broke, and water started pouring furiously. Before I had been mindful of declivities and tight bends, now all I could barely feel was that the road was disintegrating into mush. I would see that soggy bog and hope it was solid, but my front wheel would sink into it, knobblies covered, mud bubbles rising. It was like riding on soap and smutted worms. With the bike sliding and drifting, we just hung in there. Pounded by cascading rain, teeth clenched, fingers and toes frozen, head spinning, the lot. It was not pretty. I don't know if the plastic bags covering Ana's hands can be easily spotted in this pic. I used the same metaljockey trick to cope with the wind. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3544.jpg I don't know how we made it to the junction with tar. If not shivering uncontrollably with cold we would have stepped off the bike to kiss the asphalt. It took another hour to buy petrol from the local mafia (actually from a bajaj driver I decided to stop), as the gas stations were out and the next ones were at 100 and 140 kays in both directions. I should probably mention that, as soon as we took off, it was raining again. For those of you who keep track at home, that is another full week in the wet. In one hour it was dark, and we stopped again. We had spotted a dim light coming from what looked like a tea room. Amira had not only sweet, hot, live preserving tea, but also two freshly baked loafs of bread, with aromatic black sesame seeds in the crumble. Back in the saddle, it took a mere 5 minutes to lose all heat, contort and hope.'Look, a hotel'. Ana shook my shoulder. Only later it would come out that she had coped with the insane weather imagining a chain hotel, nothing more fancy than an Ibis for instance. She fantasized about standard cleanliness, white linens, hot water, a good mattress. Well, our visit to the mystical town of Lalibela would pay off: the ghostly building was indeed a hotel, looking like Ana's fantasy, clean, but dirt cheap. Before we could settle in, windows were screaming with wind and torrents, sky was lit with dramatic lightning. It was scary to think we could have been outside, riding. We devastated the room, using all towels, slippers, blankets and hot water, until our sorry-asses failed asleep like dead people, on the best beds we had seen in 400 days. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3561.jpg The next day was sublime. Impenetrable fortress of escarpments, pinnacles and protruding ridges. Streams and waterfalls gushing through gorges. The mighty Ethiopian highlands. The Abyssinian abyss. We had arrived in the ethereal kingdom of sky, and it had taken our breath away. After leaving our nighttime oasis we were still going up the mountain, sometimes passing the 3000 m altitude, wondering if we would ever reach the plains again. Behind us, the dreadful storm from last night was regaining composure, preparing to hit hard. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia...mountains7.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia/IMG_3529_30_31.jpg Everytime we would stop to get the green terraces of tef in focus, the sky seamed to darken in anger. We could smell the rain, run, Forrest, run! Only when we were off the plateau and into the valley, seemingly out of danger, rain caught up. A blond sky hovering over our heads let out a gentle drizzle, or at least that's what it felt like, after the pounding of past days. But soon rain let up as abruptly as if a giant tap had been snapped shut overhead. We kept rolling under a changeable sky that was quickly loosing cloud and accumulating heat. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/ethiopia...ountains10.jpg A couple of dozen kays before the border we had to stop and strip. Temperature had been climbing like crazy, from less than 14 to 32 in one hour. Time to eat whatever we had left (banana and bread) and sort our papers out. While waiting for the customs officers to finish their lunch break a wannabe fixer told us: 'you didn't like rain?' 'Now go to fire'. |
Desertaholics
Sudan 06 - 11/07/2012
http://intotheworld.eu/blog/sudan/ruta_sudan.jpg In climatically harsh corners of the world, access for routine measurements and maintenance of a weather station is impractical, so the infrared energy emitted by land can only be detected with NASA satellites. These are their top ten highest ever recorded air temperatures on the planet (in degrees Fahrenheit) and (Celsius): 1. El Azizia, Libya (136) (57,8) 2. Death Valley, California (134) (56,6) 3. Ghadames, Libya (131) (55) 3. Kebili, Tunisia (131) (55) 5. Timbuktu, Mali (130) (54,4) 5. Araouane, Mali (130) (54,4) 7. Tirat Tsvi, Israel (129) (53,9) 8. Ahwaz, Iran (128) (53,3) 8. Agha Jari, Iran (128) (53,3) 10. Wadi Halfa, Sudan (127) (52,7) Me, Ana and our Yamaha only landed in the place ranked at the bottom of this top ten, so no glory to behold. To our defense, it was July, so at least we had made it to number 10 at the peak of summer. The little town of Halfa, as locals call it, is the only border crossing in use between Sudan and Egypt. In the wake of the 20th century, the egyptians decided to flood it, along with the entire homeland of Nubian people, sinking them both under Lake Nasser, world's second largest manmade lake. Egypt needed a dam to harvest more Nile. We would learn more about the consequences of that dam a little later. Now our main concern was to cross this water border with the weekly ferry to Aswan. It must be told that there is a brand new overland route, but Egypt keeps postponing its grand inauguration for many months. Reportedly some overland jeeps have already driven on it, after paying thousands of dollars for the privilege and the armed escort. Our journey across Sudan had been more humbling than ever. Maybe the dreaded ferry was just the right end to it. The Sudanese visa was easy to sort out in Nairobi, requiring just a bogus hotel booking and a letter from our embassy. The funny thing is that even if the Sudanese ATMs don't take foreign cards (we did not believe that until trying ourselves), we had to hand in for the visa a xerox of our VISA. For the Yamaha we had to wait a couple of hours at the border, while temperatures soared and a soft rain flickered, so that the custom people could enjoy a meal, a nap and a prayer. Time we had plenty, and we got a great deal for waiting patiently. 15 Sudanese pound for the temporary import permit. Again, details on how to overland without a Carnet, our take, on the HUBB. The question Africans ask us all the time and that we also often ask ourselves is: 'why do we travel?' I guess some people travel to get that perfect tan by the side of a pool, but we don't know many who do. Travel can be a testing gap in what we take for granted. Learning how to fix your bike with whatever you can find and then pull it through difficult terrain, negotiating roadside purchases in a foreign language, mastering a crackling fire where lion footprints are fresh. New skills for the new you reward the decision to allow yourself to be vulnerable. Since traveling, the world has become more 'real' to us, but the scope of our journey, besides our subsidiary quest for a 'home', has been meeting the people and sharing their lifestyle. If you are like us, and travel for the people, Sudan is a treat. The hospitality of the Sudanese is legendary, and we didn't need to move away from the border to experience it, as the officers invited us to share their food. Our first bushcamp that night was sketchy, but it was dry, the sky was clear and we were happy to sweat again. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/sudan/IMG_3657.jpg First breakfast was a bit goaty for 7 in the morning (flat unleavened bread with goat soup, lentil soup and goat offal stew), but the cook in blue galabiyya was so happy to feed us, that we couldn't say no. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/sudan/IMG_3669.jpg Crossing the bridge over the Blue and White Nile confluence in Khartoum, we felt we should wash down the protein loaded breakfast with something raw. We swung by the market and found this juicing joint. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/sudan/IMG_3684.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/sudan/IMG_3681.jpg Now, you need to know these are the best fruit juices in the world. Sudan, once the largest country in Africa, after the independence of South Sudan falling into second, is basically a vast, baking desert. Compared to Egypt, the Nile valley is barely a trickle of life across the ocean of dunes and bare rock. But somehow delicious fruit is widely available, and cheap, so are the amazing freshly squeezed juices and homemade yoghurt smoothies. And they will gladly fix you a custom blend of your choice, should you ask. I got mine just right: half guava, half lime. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/sudan/IMG_3675.jpg Actually, all the food is Sudan is very good. Saffron rice, pickles, kebabs, falafel, roasted meats, soups, salads, lentil pancakes and lots of inexpensive flat bread. You can tell the people love to eat and to share their food with strangers, as we were often invited to grab a bite or taste a dish. At every corner of the dusty capital and dotting the national routes between towns, women brew ethiopian coffee and tea. The Sudanese had already impressed us with their beauty and pizzazz, even if there is very little on display, because in Sudan, a muslim country, is enforced a form of sharia. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/sudan/IMG_3680.jpg But the tea ladies were positively gorgeous, even more so in their vividly colored, transparent veils. Their tea stands are minuscule, but somehow kept neat and perfectly organized. The tea lady would sit upright on her stool for hours, brewing, mixing, serving and cleaning, without losing her smile and grace. Like Sayida, for instance: http://intotheworld.eu/blog/sudan/IMG_3744.jpg So was Fatuma, who seemed to like me :) http://intotheworld.eu/blog/sudan/IMG_3741.jpg Sayida has, like all tea ladies, a collection of glass jars with cardamon, cinnamon, pomegranate peel, ginger and other spices and aromatic grasses, that you can perfume your tea with. We noticed that many people, particularly the old, are very picky with their tea. One grandpa even walked to the stand with his own blend tucked in a piece of paper. He would only trust the tea lady with boiling the water. Sayida's palls were hyped we had stopped by the stand. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/sudan/IMG_3732.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/sudan/IMG_3736.jpg After a spicy sandwich of stewed eggplants in pita bread, we left, stoping here and there to peel off the melting socks and let our sorry feet breathe. Since entering Sudan we had been recording temperatures of 52-54 Celsius by day, and 27 at dawn. Our routine had changed: drive from 6 to 22, with long breaks around noon. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/sudan/IMG_3699.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/sudan/IMG_3693.jpg In this extreme weather people bodies should be rotting along the road, just like dead cattle do on some stretches. This reminded us of Mauritania, only with great food, fabulous people and an amazing lifeline: Free, good drinking water for everyone. Clay amphoras filled with cold water are laid out with a cup for everyone to share, under the shade of brick or concrete kiosks all over the country. Sometimes a chair, a bench, or even a carpet, so that the thirty and the tired can rest and survive. We love the concept, Africa should see more of this. In one of these man made oasis the caretaker heard our Yamaha, and came by to ask if we needed any food. We pushed on to another top notch campsite. After showering in our own sweat for two days, we decided to sacrifice some water to freshen up a bit. We managed to drop-shower and brush our teeth with less than 2 cups. When we had pitched, it was crazy hot, quiet and beautiful, as only the desert can be. We had missed it. We noticed some distant lightening in the distance, but we took them for harmless wrinkles on the perfectly starlit sky. We were wrong. Not even an hour later, the storm hit. First the wind shook us well and scattered some sand. Then it started to pour, a massive, relentless rain. Lightings stroke. Thunders roared. It was scary. We were alone in the desert, facing the most powerful storm in the whole Africa journey. What was this? Tent quickly filled with water, and we heard the bike falling on one side as the mushy sand gave up under its weight. But we had to stay inside, where it was raining just like in a tropical jungle, or the tent would have been swept away by the wind. I am amazed the poles and the fabric didn't break, because we had to hold the tent walls against the pounding rain for a couple of hours. We had no clue how to deal with all that, what if the torrents would come sweeping? Miraculously, the wind calmed a bit, so I went out to lift the bike. After serving her well on many thousands of miles, Ana's old sneaker was sacrificed to make a sidestand for our Yamaha. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/sudan/IMG_3730.jpg Maybe another hour later rain, wind, lighting and thunder all lost intensity. Now we could hear into the desert silence, and it was worrisome. It sounded like water flowing, and coming out of the tent we saw rainwater streaming across the desert, under the moonlight. We had been more lucky than cautious to pitch camp on a patch of higher ground, so we might be safe, even if surrounded by cascading streams. There were distant trucks honking: we had crossed a dry riverbed earlier, which must have been flooded, with the trucks ambushed by storm. It was difficult to sleep that night. The fact that we had taken a thorough shower while hanging for dear life inside the tent, or that our stuff, except for the gizmo backpack, was soaking wet counted less than the paranoia that the storm was not over. The brisk morning was quiet, almost dry, but last night drama was still evident. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/sudan/pa...booshcamp2.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/sudan/pa...booshcamp4.jpg Small pools lingered inside http://intotheworld.eu/blog/sudan/IMG_3701.jpg In half an hour everything was dry again. Packed up our bits, and left to find people, and tea. Now I realize that at this point into the story you might have grown impatient with the abundant text, and the lack of supporting photos. We'll explain why. After last night's storm, we felt alienated from the security and assertiveness of human settlements, we missed our friends and families. But the beauty of Sudan melted the panic away. We had reached the fringes of the ochre Nubian desert, where rocks glisten blue under scorching sun. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/sudan/pano_sudan_meroe1.jpg We enjoy scorching sun, so I revved up my bike and hit the dunes. Until I ended up in a DRC moment, only in the copycat the swamp was blistering sand, instead of cotton mud. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/sudan/IMG_3765.jpg And flashback to DRC http://intotheworld.eu/blog/congo/IMG_5971.jpg A man arrived on his camel, not too bummed we would not take it for a ride, but rather happy to give a hand. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/sudan/IMG_3772.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/sudan/IMG_3787.jpg http://intotheworld.eu/blog/sudan/IMG_3790.jpg The light bike felt awesome on dunes, I had a blast. It had possible soared to 54sh Celsius, but I was enjoying my riding, and Ana her shooting. We had almost forgotten to check out the Meroe pyramids behind the dunes. From 592 BC to 350 AC the Meroitic black pharaohs thrived on this land, finally conceding power to the Abyssinians arrived from modern day Ethiopia. Their narrow pyramids cluster in the well preserved Begrawiya site, a geometry even more striking against the soft profile of the desert. http://intotheworld.eu/blog/sudan/IMG_3905.jpg Unfortunately this was our final photo in Sudan. Abruptly, the camera stopped working. I tried in vain to resuscitate it for the next days, it never powered up again. To make our day even 'better', minutes after the Canon heart attack, our Garmin GPS died as well. It was the second GPS to lose on the trip. That night in the bush the mood was as bleak as it gets: we had a basic map of East Africa, but without a GPS we would never find customs offices and whatnot to sort our papers in Egypt. Now we were sure prey for the egyptian fixers. We could see no end to the sacrifices that the journey demanded. We were surrounded by clean desert, but we hardly slept. The next day we arrived in Abu Hamed, the last stop before the final push to Halfa. 340 km more to reach the border we had feared the most. In our original plans from the 2010, before the crash, we had not included Sudan, nor Egypt, knowing that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to cross the border without a Carnet de Passage. Now Yemen and Syria were in turmoil, so without satellite communication or other emergency device we would not attempt to cross them alone. Egypt was the only logical next step. In Abu Hamed the sidewalk was melting. We had developed by now a routine of pouring water over our riding gear and heads whenever we could find it plentiful. Quite effective in the blistering desert wind. But the mix of stress from last day's events and intense heat made us both feel dizzy. We pulled by a falafel joint to recover with a cup of strong cardamon tea. We were welcomed again with heart melting smiles and incredible hospitality. Hearing that we were about to leave for Halfa, everybody jumped off their chairs: 'the road is very bad, you cannot go, you must go back and follow the new tarred road!' So we were not on the new road then? The GPS had broken before Atbara, I guess we must have missed a turn. The Abu Hamed alternate route to Halfa is pure offroad, and it runs parallel to the train rail, with stations every 30 km. Halfway, at station 5 we would find a rest place with water and tea, but should anything go wrong, for the rest of the journey we'd be alone in the desert. 'There is very little traffic', the men insisted. After a lengthy debate, we had to concede it was irresponsible to continue. We were in no shape or gear to risk being stranded under intense weather. So we turned back. Now if we were to catch that damn ferry at all we had to do at least 650 km before the end of the day. Back in Atbara we juiced up for the 200 km stretch of nothing that comes next. We kept thinking about that cyclist met we had a few days ago, wondering how did he cope where there are no settlements, and no amphoras. This new road is like they say in Abu Hamed: super smooth Chinese tar, man made perfection in an imperfect landscape of surreal beauty. The empty space gives one time to think about things. It was rough, but we made it to Dongola with our water reserves just about to end. Dongola had great beat, water was no longer as brown as in Atbara, bakeries baked bread, falafel stands smelled good, people smiled. We filled up the tank, then we camped, assured that we had done our job for the day. We had driven approximatively 730 km. Sun set again as if a huge red bulb had been turned off in the distant haze. We woke up with only 200 km to do. The game plan for the day was to arrive before noon, find a hotel and buy tickets for the ferry. Wadi Halfa is home to the remaining original inhabitants of the Nubian town of Halfa, now lying on the bottom of Lake Nasser. The few families that resisted forced government relocation founded an unassuming settlement that hardly looks like the important border town that it actually is. Every overlander has heard about Mr. Fix-It-All in Halfa. As much as we hate the 'fixer' concept, today, when we are writing this, and are able to put things into perspective, we must admit that Mazar is not a bad guy. We met him on our way to the docks taking home a girl from the UK who had arrived from Aswan. Many travelers stay for free at his place, and he takes care of all their papers and shit. Mazar is considerate, well spoken, and to be honest never asked anything from us. Theoretically we did not need him. The thing is, the ferry has a catch: it leaves on wednesday, but your vehicle travels by a barge, that leaves a day or more after the ferry. So you cannot load your vehicle yourself, unless willing to spend another week in Halfa waiting for the next boat and a hefty fee for storage in Aswan. Here's comes Mazar, whom we had to relinquish the bike key, to load the Yamaha on the barge that was not even there yet. That night we hit town for a few carafes of the famous Halfa lime juice with Kostas, a greek journalist who is paid to ride different bikes around the world. He had arrived from Egypt and was going to Cape Town, then to South America. The hot topic was his experience on the newly inaugurated RO-RO from Turkey to Port Said, currently the only option in or out of Africa. Back to our hotel, we were anticipating a frenzy on the ferry: the place had filled up to capacity, luggage flooded any available space. But we had no idea. After a final Sudanese breakfast of fuul with gibna (cheese), rocket and olive oil, we fought with 500 more people onboard for a place under deck. We were embarking for the craziest 24 hours journey. On that Ark, in that Babylon, we would endure every imaginable emotion and smell, experience revolt and awe, and meet and befriend Carola and Joe, who would play a significant part in our future. |
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