I really want to write a deep and meaningful post about all the great lessons I have learned and the experiences I have had, but the truth of the matter is that I am just so exhausted that I can’t really think of anything to say. Even though I have finished cycling I have by no means had any time to rest. After arriving I have had to strip Herbert down and give him a full service so that he looked (and sounded) respectable for his new home and I have had to wash and clean all my kit. The biggest job though has been finding a new home for Herbert! After doing such an incredible journey I wanted him to go to somebody that would truly appreciate him, like the kids at the Huruma Orphanage did with Flashdance. After meeting as many people as possible in the short time frame that I had I finally found a young boy whom I felt will really benefit from Herbert.

Nkululeko is a 19 year old boy who dreams of becoming an Engineer one day. So passionate about his dream that he walks a 24km round trip to and from work everyday. He turns his had to pretty much anything he can on the farm were he works, so that he can help pay for his tuition fees and one day fulfill his dream. He is a very shy and quiet person and his honesty and sincerity was touching, especially when I asked him if he was good on a bike and he replied that he had never had the chance to ride on one before. In the light of this new fact I spent the afternoon giving him a few lessons and showing him the in’s and out’s of Herberts working parts so that he would take good care of him. At the end of it all when the time came for me to leave him and Herbert, he just stared at me and told me he had no idea what to say. I smiled, wished him a Merry Christmas and headed off down the road. With that Herbert has begun yet another adventure, my journey on the other hand has come to an end here. Africa has been a spectacular and unique experience but I am very much looking forward to going home and seeing Katie now.

My bus is due to arrive in a few minuets to take me to the airport and I still have some packing to do so I will write again when I get home and I have had a few moments to compose myself and my thoughts. I just want to thank Mountain Equipment, Profeet, Raleigh and Pangaea TV again for their support throughout the trip, their input has been exceptional and without them the trip would never have got off the ground. Congratulations to ‘Re-cycle‘ for all their hard work bringing bikes over to Africa and if you would like to help them in their work then please visit their website.

Djibouti:
Well lets not beat around the bush, this is defiantly NOT the best country to start a cycling journey from. There are very few bikes in the country as a whole and the ones that are around have seen better days. Unless you are starting from here you are very unlikely to actually go here due to its geographical location and politics with surrounding countries. However if you do visit there are a few things you might need to know. It is a French speaking country with very very little English spoken. They use the Djibouti Franc and quite frankly their economy still baffles me now, the cost of goods and services is extremely high and yet it has a very run down African feel to it. Banks only open for a few hours a week but none of them will change any currency unless you have an account with them. The only two ways of changing money are with ‘The Ladies’ in the market square at night or in the change bureau if you can work out when it is open! Shops are only open when the owners want to open them and some big stores are only open for 1 hour a week so don’t stand outside stores expectantly for too long. The true Djiboutians are very kind and hospitable however be careful as the city is surrounded by immigrants and refugees from Somalia and they WILL throw rocks at you as you cycle past. Take a lot of water as the country is predominantly desert and a hammock and mosquito net will be fine for the night.

Ethiopia:
The stretch of road from Djibouti to Dire Dawa is very very sparse so be prepared!!! The road (dirt track) is very bad and water and food is incredibly limited. If there is one part of the journey I would recommend taking water purification tablets, this is it, you will not be able to get drinking water and the only food you will be able to get is bread. Once your onto the main road at Dire Dawa the roads throughout the whole of Ethiopia are very good quality. However if you venture onto a secondary road, the quality deteriorates exponentially, expect a 150km journey to take between 8 and 10 hours by vehicle let alone bycicle!!! Their currency is the Birr and the general cost of living is exceptionally low. Their food is some of the best in Africa, but may take a few days for your stomach to adapt to it. They have a lot of customs you should try to familiarize yourself with asap and respect. The national language is Amharic and as a rule only those who have been educated speak English. This is one of the most spectacularly diverse countries with every kind of landscape you can imagine. There are a lot of mountains so either get a bike with gears or be prepared to push! Unfortunately most of the population believe that it is the DUTY of white people (travelers in general) to give them money! Almost every single child is bought up to beg and as you get closer to the boarders the adults also do it. There is also a huge problem with forced services, people will perform jobs that you often don’t want and then demand extraordinarily large sums for their services.

Kenya:
In comparison to the Ethiopians, the Kenyans have a much better understanding of tourism and so you won’t be hassled nearly as much. As a general rule people are very friendly and despite Swahili being their national language most people speak English. Their national currency is the Shilling and compared to Ethiopia the cost of living is very high. When you cross the border at Moyale you will not be allowed to proceed by bike, the guards at the edge of town will stop you but there are armed escorts that will take you past the ‘danger zone’. Once you are passed this area you have got a 200km cycle along a very bad dirt track before you will get onto tarmac. The country is relatively flat with the exception of 2 mountain ranges. As a general rule the roads are tarmacked well enough to cycle along but they are covered in pot holes so both you and the traffic need to swerve regularly so be careful! Your entry Visa can only be paid is US Dollars, UK Sterling, EU Euro and SW Swiss Francs (they don’t accept their own currency!). On the plus side the visa is valid for 3 months and you can come in and out of Kenya as many times as you like during that time.

Tanzania:
Ah yes Tanzania… The best piece of advice I can give anybody who is looking to cycle on the main roads in Tanzania is DON’T! I have been very fortunate to have traveled a good portion of the world and I have to say that the Tanzanians (especially the bus drivers) are in close contention for being the worst drivers in the world. I heard some staggering figures regarding the annual death toll on Tanzanian roads and I can well believe it. Apart from that small deterrent it has a lot to offer. Their national language is also Swahili but it is a very different kind of Swahili to that spoken in Kenya. I believe it is a considerably more formal and traditional version, although I can’t be sure of that. In any case most people speak English so if it takes you a few days to learn the new version it isn’t the end of the world. There staple food is maize although they have some fantastic additions to their diets including the ‘chipati’. It is only served in the mornings but it makes a spectacularly good breakfast along with the local fruit. There is an impressive abundance of food stalls on the side of the roads were you can buy a huge variety of local goods and bottled water is available everywhere. The national currency is also the shilling however it does not have the same value as the Kenyan shilling. Most people are incredibly friendly however that doesn’t mean to say that they won’t take you for a ride if they get the chance. If you do choose to risk your life on the roads then you should be aware that the road between Dar Es Salaam and Mbeya is bad… not in a quality, but in a driving sense! There are almost no hard shoulders and there is a considerable drop off the road into the grass. As you start to get close to Iringa the hills start and there are an incredible amount of lorries, buses and cars that have rolled over and are on the side of the road burnt out!

Malawi:
This on the other hand is a brilliant country for cyclists. There are some serious hills to climb, most notably in and out of Mzuzu, so I would probably recommend some gears on your bike and obviously there are some serious downhills so good brakes are advisable. The people are incredibly kind, the lake is very very beautiful, the roads are in generally in excellent condition (NB. Be very careful when heading out of Mzuzu down towards Nkater Bay, the road is very steep and suddenly, on a number of occasions the tarmac stops). Despite having quite an absurd number of languages throughout the country most people speak English. Whilst accommodation is plentiful there is a considerable difference in the frequency of food stalls between here and Tanzania. You will find relatively few and the ones you do find sell mostly fish, however the biggest problem is water! Very few places sell bottled drinking water and the quality of the countries flowing water is not very good, so be sure to buy stock when ever you can. I enjoyed almost all my time in Malawi and the only thing that made life difficult were the children! There is a distinct similarity between the Malawian children and the Ethiopian children when it comes to begging. Almost every child will scream out something along the lines of ‘give me my money’ as you cycle past which dampens the whole experience slightly. Unlike many African countries, Maize is not their staple food, instead they grow a crop called ‘casava’ and although an expert in the matter would probably strongly disagree with me, I couldn’t taste much difference. The currency is the Kwatcha and the national obsession with money will mean they will take it when they can, negotiations are an intense affair however as long as you keep the mood light everybody will be smiling at the end. If you chose to cross the border down through Nsanje (highly recommended) then be aware that there is no tarmac until you reach Caia (about 120km into Mozambique).

Mozambique:
Truth be told I still can’t make my mind up about this country. It is a truly enormous place and is predominantly covered in forest. Due to land mines it is ill advised to camp outside of village boundaries and I know I said in my equipment post that you didn’t really need a tent but obviously the second I said that was the moment I was to be proved wrong! I still believe that if you had a good bike and a light load you could do without a tent but I have used it on several occasions now. Accommodation is a little on the sparse side and you should seek the permission of the village elders before setting up camp in a village. The staple food is basically bread and fruit although rice and maize are everywhere as well, and supermarkets are fairly common in the south. As I mentioned before, the currency is the Meticai and is a little confusing when you first come across it so have a good look at the notes and coins and get familiar with them. The most widely spoken language is Portuguese and very few people speak English, so make sure you have at least a basic grasp. With the exception of two stretches so far the road has been very good and flat. Drivers are good at giving you space when they overtake and everybody is very friendly. Apart from the occasional moment bartering is really not so much a part of daily life. Most people are honest about prices right out although it doesn’t hurt to be cautious. As you head further south the road becomes increasingly populated with South Africans and the sides of the roads are absolutely covered in glass from smashed beer bottles so make sure you have good tires or lots of spare inner tubes.

Swaziland: ….. still to come!

Crossing the border was a spectacularly enjoyable experience, no cues, no touts, nobody desperately trying to change money, no bargaining, no heated debates when they try to fleece you, no spending hours waiting for officials to clear you. I just arrived, had my passport stamped, cycled the 6km through no mans land, had my passport stamped again, changed my money with a guy who gave me the exchange rate I asked for first time and then proceeded to cycle the 50km along the sand track down to Vila de Sena. Most of the journey was spent with the local fisherman, who were all on their way down to the river to do a good days fishing. When I finally reached the mighty Zambezi River I found that the bridge for vehicles was closed for repairs and the only way of crossing was along the railway line. So following the line of locals I hauled my bike up onto the railway track and crossed the 2km bridge into Vila de Sena.

From there life became considerably less interesting as I tried to get to grips with Portuguese and the new currency (The Meticais). At first glance their currency confused me as they operate 2 separate decimal values for the same currency!!! 1000m is 25 cents (US) and $40!!! Its not so bad when you get the hang of it and you know what all the coins and notes are, but it is confusing when you start. Amazingly Portuguese is a relatively simple language to understand, I can understand quite a lot of what people are saying but I am really struggling to answer.

Once I reached Caia the dirt track ended and I was thankfully back on tarmac. Mozambique must have an incredibly low population density, as 99% of the country is simply forest! All the way through my journey, I have cycled through small villages, towns or even just stalls on the side of the roads selling food, every couple of kilometers. However, since coming into Mozambique I have pretty much just seen forest! I can cycle for a whole day and only come across 2 tiny little villages, neither of them equipped to sell anything at all. This complete absence of all contact is one of the reasons I can’t quite make my mind up about this country. The other reason is something more subtle. Although on the surface this is definitely an African country with many of the same trends, it also has a very peculiar lack of African intensity. Firstly the customary negotiation that is normally so heated and intense is almost non existent. They give one price, you give another and they usually settle for that… Life is still painfully slow but not even nearly on the same scale as any of the other countries. The people are all friendly but there is a distinct reduction in the ‘Mzungu’ shrieks that normally echo in the air long after you have cycled past people.

Anyway, I am sorry this is a short post but tiredness has overwhelmed me and I have to be up early in the morning. Will right again as soon as I can.

So what would I consider to be indispensable equipment when cycling through Africa? Well the truth is I would only say that you actually need 4 things: A bike (and I think that Herbert has proved that it can be pretty much any old bike), a set of cloths (as much to protect you from the sun as for common decency), your passport (with any relevant visas etc.) and money. Thats pretty much it. Of course there are a number of other items you can bring that will aid you on your journey but that is actually all you NEED.

The items that will make your life more comfortable and considerably easier are actually pretty limited as well. A map is a huge help and I would recommend getting a waterproof one even if its going inside a waterproof pouch. A waterproof bag that fits onto your handlebars to put everything in that you can take off easily and carry around with you. A first aid kit is an excellent idea but you can buy most basic drugs in towns and cities so don’t go OTT with a medi kit that will allow you to perform open heart surgery on the side of the road!!!! Most importantly make sure you have what you need to clean cuts and cover them up. Malaria tablets are a good idea and although they are considerably cheaper out in Africa they have a huge problem with counterfeits so be careful. A tool kit, the reason this isn’t on the essential list is because no matter where you go, no matter how small the village, somebody will have enough tools and knowhow to fix your bike. That said I give you about 5 days before they drive you completely crazy with their ‘African Way’ of fixing things so I would probably recommend taking a good multi tool with you, a few spare parts such as an extra inner tube and a pump. Incidentally something that we never found written anywhere in any of the ‘Cycling Africa guides’ before we left, was that African pumps are designed exclusively to fit to their special African valves and they wont fit on standard European valves!!! Depending on the countries your planning on cycling through, a helmet is also not a bad idea. I was torn between putting the next item in the essential list but decided that it was in fact just a very useful item and not critical for success… a bell (make it as loud as possible). Something that I never really used until reaching Malawi were water purification drops (iodine). Up until Malawi you could buy drinking water on the side of the road every few kilometers (its relatively expensive but worth it) but its a real rarity in Malawi so I would just check with somebody that has been to your destination before deciding whether to take any. A cycling computer can be both your best friend and your worst enemy but in the long run is probably a good thing. Not so you can gloat over how far you have cycled but so you can get an idea of distances between towns and villages. Unfortunately on a bad day you stare at it every 2 minuets and painfully watch the kilometers creep by.

No trip is complete without it’s luxury items. My luxury items constitute about 70% of all my equipment amazingly. This is predominantly cameras, batteries and chargers. When ever I look in other peoples equipment they have the most obscene amount of adapters to convert plugs for one country to another, which take up vast amounts of space. If space and weight is a premium, as it is on a bike, then cut out the middle men. At almost all borders you can buy plugs for that country (just the plastic housing with the relevant contacts), if you take your one off and give it to them, they will usually exchange it for the next one you need. Aside from all my electronic equipment that I use for filming, taking photos and writing posts my most useful luxury item is my ‘Panga Knife’ (It’s basically a 50cm machete). On top of acting as a generally very useful tool (for opening coconuts or cutting pineapples etc.) it is a good deterrent and protection against animals. You can pick them up pretty much anywhere for about $3 to $5.

One of the things that I have deliberated over quite considerably is my tent… To take a tent or not to take a tent? In conclusion I would have to say that there is no real need for camping equipment (tent, mattress or sleeping bag). Almost every single village and town has rest and guest houses that cost between $3 and $7. In your room you usually get a towel, a shower, a bed and a toilet. They are designed for truckers to stop at and so some are slightly on the noisy side and prostitutes are no rare sight but they are perfect for a traveler needing a rest and a wash. The reason I have started to prefer these to camping is that the room is more spacious than a tent, cooler, they have plugs and all your kit is together and out of sight. On top of this tents are usually soaking in the morning from dew, condensation or rain and if they are designed to be animal proof then they will probably weigh in excess of 10kg.

Of course it is going to depend on the purpose of your journey as to what equipment you will take and you will have to make the decision to balance up what you are going to take versus the amount of effort you will need to peddle it along. However I hope that you will see from what I have put in the indispensable list that actually you really don’t need much kit at all. Africa is pretty much designed to accommodate its own people and by extension if you can live like them it will also accommodate you.

Which brings me on nicely to why this post is called ‘2 Months and 2 Days’. Yesterday, after cycling through 4 countries for 2 months and 2 days something happened that has rekindled my dwindling faith in the Africans. Speaking exclusively from the experience of this trip I can say that the huge majority of Africans are indeed very kind, but their generosity on the other hand only extends as far as your wallet does! However after cycling a slightly longer day than I had expected, an elderly gentleman started to cycle along side me. I am joined for a few kilometers at a time by other cyclists all day long, as they go to and from neighboring villages, so that in itself was no big deal but what came next was a huge deal (to me in any case). After a lengthy discussion about the usual topics he asked me if I wanted to come and spend the night at his house. He was very quick to add that it would be his pleasure and there would be no charge. I was so taken back by the gesture of this ‘poor’ (for want of a better word) Malawian fisherman that I almost crashed Hebert right off the road.

His house was an extra 10km from were I had planned to stop for the night and so I grit my teeth and peddled on. His house was a modest, earth walled and grass roofed, traditional hut overlooking lake Malawi. The 2 dug out canoes and his fishing net lay out on the sand in front of the house as his friend prepared the gear for that nights fishing. As I understand it they only fish at night and use a lantern to attract the fish. His house had one main room about 2m by 3m (just tall enough to stand in) and 3 curtained doorways, which gave way to other rooms. The kitchen was in a separate outhouse as were the toilets and washing area. Still slightly shocked I was introduced to the family before going off to wash and get ready for dinner. During dinner we discussed a real mix of topics, I discovered that in his village it was traditional for men to have more than one wife and that he had another wife that lived the other side of the village. I was curious to hear how the two wives felt towards each other and how the whole social ladder worked. I also discovered a huge amount about fishing on the lake and how the fisherman are positive that a motorboat is the answer to making them all very wealthy!

We talked until about 21:00 before I could no longer keep my eyes open. I had really wanted to go out and film them fishing but the wind had picked up and the waves meant that they would not go out fishing until the following evening so I payed my respects and retired for the evening. My room was just long enough for my to lye down in and they had put down a blanket for me to sleep on. There was no window so without the light of my head torch it was completely black. Just before I switched the torch off, it flashed across the grass sealing and I counted 27 largish spiders getting busy for a nights hunting. Probably not everybody’s cup of tea but as long as they were eating mosquitoes then they were friends of mine.

After a slightly hot night we washed and sat down to an enormous breakfast, they didn’t want me to go hungry on my journey so they cooked enough rice to feed an army with some eggs, tomatoes and bread. We discussed a whole load more about Europe and the rest of the world before I the time came for me to pack up the bike and bid each other farewell. Despite his remarkable gesture he was in no position to feed me the amount of food he did and so I left him a contribution towards his weeks grocery bill and parted on the road side.

I am still somewhat overwhelmed that on a continent that is obsessed with money, one of the poorest of them all should break the mould and offer such a gesture of good will and generosity. To Levi, Dorothy and the whole family, I know you cannot use a computer but I was truly touched by your kindness and friendship.

Tarka has just entered Malawi and unfortunately has not been able to   find internet access as yet to put up a new post. This morning however, I read on one of our friends (Alastair Humphreys) website, an excerpt that gives a brilliant incite into what people fill their days with when cycling alone and therefore can offer some vague similarities into what Tarka will be thinking about as he and Herbert make their way South.

Aged 24, Alastair left England to cycle round the world. His journey along the length of the Earth’s three great landmasses (Africa, the Americas, Eurasia) took more than 4 years to complete, covering 60 countries, 5 continents and 46,000 miles. Alastair has written two fantastic books of his epic adventure, ‘Moods of Future Joys’ and ‘Thunder & Sunshine’, which have received excellent reviews.

Taken from: http://www.alastairhumphreys.com

People often ask me what I thought about all day when I was out riding, alone:

what do i do all day? well, many things really. in addition to the obvious, i also have a habit of thinking of a particular family member or friend and dwelling on my experiences with them. sometimes i even talk to them. i also constantly analyze and re-analyze my life and find ways, and there are many, to try to improve my general disposition and future direction. many times, i sing. i wonder why my pointer finger toe is longer than my thumb toe. i often search the side of the road for anything salvageable (the states, owing to its opulence and too often non-pedestrian lifestyle, was a venerable treasure chest – money, food, license plates, more food…). i eat. i read. i stop to scribble down ideas. i pee. i apply sunscreen. i, depending, remove or add layers of clothing. i chat with curious drivers. i repair flat tires or change out broken spokes. i listen to music. i take pictures. i write letters. i make to do lists (an unshakeable habit). i choose career paths and then quit. i re-live days of my youth, both the good and bad. i explain things to people that aren´t there and they finally understand. i think of things i should have said but didn´t. i, depending, laugh, cry, or am neutral in regards to certain memories. i try to remember where i slept seventeen nights ago. i look at the picture of my family that i have in a clear piece of plastic on top of my handlebar bag and am thankful. i look at maps and decide. i exchange fleeting pleasantries with people. i think about the future. i dwell on the past. i am surprised at the present. i remember things i´ve forgotten to do and add them to those to do lists. i grow my beard. i miss people. and, i watch the amazing scenery unfold. all in all, it makes for quite a full day.

Incidentally Ben (Saunders), if you want to do some ‘real’ training you can forget racing around London on your 500g carbon fiber bike. Get yourself a rusty old bike (about 10kg) with no gears that is too small for you, load it up to the point of destruction and then ride 60km uphill with a semi flat tire into a head wind on a road with melted tar… It’s one of those moments when you should really admit defeat, get off the bike and push. But instead you get this irrational rage, refusing to give up and challenging the road to throw even more at you, in a kind of ‘is that all you’ve got?’ way!

A few days ago I developed a high fever and fearing the worst I counted my malaria tablets to make sure that I hadn’t missed any. Not being an expert on African diseases I thought it best to visit the next Malaria clinic on route at Same (pronounced Sah-may). The great news was that the malaria test came back negative, the not so great news was that it was going to take a whole day to try and work out what was the matter. After exhausting every possible option two doctors finally managed to agree that it was probably due to untreated water. Normally all the water that I drink is either bottled or iodized but when I went to the orphanage I was offered a glass of water and in a moment of empathy for the children I drank it without thinking.

I think more than anything else the prospect of the Huruma children having to drink that water day in, day out has spurred me on even more to try and help them get a water treatment facility installed. I suppose at times I am just as culpable as the next person, when I am at home I take for granted the fact that clean drinking water flows freely from every tap. The most alarming fact is that still in the 21st Century, with all our technology, the greatest majority of the worlds population still doesn’t have access to safe drinking water!!!

On a related, but not quite so serious note (well actually just as concerning but in a different way) I read a shocking statistic recently, that more Coka Cola (products) are consumed everyday around the world than water! I have to say that I was very sceptical about this at first and would appreciate it if anybody has any hard data to back this up. However having spent the last few months in Africa I am starting to believe that this might actually be true. Coka Cola products (I.e. Fanta, Sprite etc.) are consumed at a frightening rate. The cost of a bottle of coke along this trip has been between 10 and 20 pence (sterling) whilst a bottle of water has averaged out at about 50 pence (sterling)!!! I have watched people consume Coka Cola products with breakfast, dinner and every hour in between. As much as the statistic may be disturbing (if it is indeed true) you have to admire the marketing of a company that has such a global domination.

I haven’t forgotten you Hector! I know I promised you that I would take photos of insects and unusual wildlife, but by the time I have stopped the bike (anything up to about 100m without brakes) and got the camera out, most of them have run into the undergrowth. I did however manage to get a photo of this chameleon for you and I will keep trying.

]]> http://www.primaljourney.com/archives/778/feed 2 http://www.primaljourney.com/archives/773 http://www.primaljourney.com/archives/773#comments Mon, 17 Nov 2008 07:38:23 +0000 Tarka http://www.primaljourney.com/?p=773 Katie’s sudden departure left us with a spare bike and I really couldn’t face dragging it all the way down to South Africa with me. Seeing as how Herbert was the original starter and began the journey back on day 1, it felt right that I should continue on him and give Flashdance away to a worthy cause.

After considerable searching we stumbled on a tiny little orphanage just outside Arusha. They receive almost no support at all and after a short conversation with Father Zacharia I felt that this was a good home for Flashdance. She was bought down from Nairobi on the top of a car and yesterday I went round to the Huruma Orphanage to give her away.

It was a twenty minute drive out of Arusha up a long dirt track to reach the tiny little building that housed the children. Abdul, the director of Abrojaley Africa Ajabu Ltd. has very close ties with the orphanage and kindly offered to drive me up there. Although the building was in need of some considerable love and care the setting was absolutely breathtaking. There was a spectacular view out the back looking up at the mountains blanketed in foliage. There was a small old swing and a tiny little football pitch set in amongst the banana trees. From what Farther Zacharia explained the children lived primarily off bananas (which they grew themselves) and from milk that is produced by the two cows that has been given to them. As it stood the single building could only accommodate a maximum of 22 children, some of which are HIV orphans others have simply been left at the gate with no explanation. As we walked around meeting the kids I was told all about the dream of educating each and every one of them and I listened intently as he meticulously explained how he planned to achieve this right down to what crops he was going to plant where and how big each classroom was going to be.

I am no psychologist and I have not visited enough orphanages in my life to create a convincing case study but I have found that children with the least often have the most to give. I have no idea whether the unlimited levels of affection that they display is a way of compensating for the lack of love that they have received or whether it is simply a natural human emotion that manifests itself in times of need. Despite all this outward display of affection I couldn’t help but be left with a sense of emptiness as I looked around.

I asked Farther Zacharia what the bicycle meant to them and whether it would be of any use so far up this dirt track. In truth I was partly expecting him to say that it was a very kind gesture but that it would probably be sold to help feed the children. As it turned out he told me that the children had been praying for a bike for some time now. It is more than a 2km walk for them to collect water each day and on occasions when they could buy supplies it was a long an arduous walk back to the house and the bike would make their lives considerably easier. As I watched the kids race around on the bike I also suspected that it would provide them with a little entertainment from time to time, in between the daily chores.

After a healthy amount of hugging it was time to continue on my journey and as we pulled away down the hill I caught sight of the children racing around on Flashdance back in the distance. I have to say that I have had my fair share of disagreements with Flashdance, I’ve even come close to quietly pushing her off a cliff, but seeing how useful she really is to people in need made me forget all the quarrels we have had.

However you chose to look at the Kenyan section of our journey you can’t say that it has been uneventful. From the second we reached the border between Ethiopia and Kenya, life changed! In many respects it has been considerably easier and more enjoyable, but it has also been logistically and bureaucratically considerably more difficult. In stark contrast to Ethiopia where people both old a young incessantly demand money and stand open palmed expectantly, the Kenyans have been far more ‘Mzungu savi’. Mzungu is the Swahili word for ‘white person’, and is used primarily passively to simply identify and announce us as we pass through towns and villages. It also has a slightly darker, rarer and more aggressive implication of resentment when it comes to money! In general though, the Kenyans have grasped something that the Ethiopians still lack, the understanding of making a ‘Mzungu’ feel welcome and at ease. The more aggressive and demanding the Ethiopians got regarding money, the tighter we held on to it!

The difficulty started when we tried to pay for our Kenyan Visa’s using Kenyan Shillings. To me it doesn’t seem a totally preposterous concept paying for a Kenyan visa, in Kenya, using the Kenyan currency! Well according to the border official I am living in a dream world and he proceeded to laugh out loud as he explained (as he unequivocally believed to be true) that no matter what country you went to in the world you could ONLY buy visas in US Dollars. We did try to explain that this was simply not the case and we even tried to show him the payment stamp from other visas in our passports but he was adamant that the answer was the US Dollar. We managed to muster enough emergency dollars to pay him and make it safely into Kenya. Once there however, our cycling came to an abrupt end! As we pushed our bikes up the hill we were informed by the local police that we were not allowed to cycle the first couple of hundred Kilometers from the boarder as they were completely ruled by bandits, and the government had no law or control over the area (it was this region that saw the majority of the bloodshed back in February). It all sounded a little melodramatic to me as he explained that even vehicles had to leave in convoy, but sure enough the next day the convoy assembled on the edge of town.

The main road between Kenya and Ethiopia! (Not our image)

In light of this we got onto a very old and tired looking blue bus with a Chelsea Football Club crest on its side and a couple of guards with large riffles joined us as a routine safety precaution. Just as we were preparing to leave two Japanese and a Finnish backpacker jumped on the bus and we headed off for another ridiculously long and bumpy journey. Along our 200km bus journey, we passed through numerous villages whereby the driver put his foot flat to the floor in a bid to get through as quickly as possible (and to not be shot at!!), maybe they weren’t being melodramatic after all!.

I have to admit that the drivers here in Kenya are some of the worst in the world, they make even the Nepalese look like fully qualified BSM driving instructors! So much so, that about 20km after we got off the bus the driver flew off the road (sorry dirt track) and rolled the bus over. We actually only found this out when we coincidently ran into the two Japanese and Finnish backpackers again in Nairobi some days later. They didn’t seem too badly hurt, and although we saw the vehicle in the ditch we never looked closely enough at it to realize it was our bus!

Next, we stayed with the Umoja Uaso Women’s Group, next to the Ngiro River in the Samburu region of Northern Kenya. Samburu women are among the most marginalized groups in Kenya. Development has been slow to reach the area and education is often not easily accessible. Furthermore, women have a low status in the community and are the last to receive the few resources available. Within this context, many women are subject to severe mistreatment by their husbands. Faced with continual abuse, these women opt to leave their husbands. Another example of the discrimination and ill-treatment that Samburu women have faced is the alleged rape of approximately 1,400 Samburu women during the 1980s and 1990s by British soldiers from training bases in the area. Many of these women were subsequently shunned by their husbands. Whether they leave their husbands or are abandoned by them, the women are left as sole providers for themselves and their children. In 1990, 15 women formed and registered the Umoja Uaso Women’s Group with the then Ministry of Culture, Heritage and Social Services to address these issues. They started by selling beadwork and other goods. After facing threats from men jealous of their success, the members decided to found a women-only village and reside together, thus providing collective security and cooperation. The group also dedicated itself to informing women about their rights, their health (for example, by encouraging pregnant Umoja residents to receive prenatal care), and helped them start income-generating activities, (one of which being the campsite in which we stayed). As the group’s members prospered, more and more women joined. UUWG now has 48 members, and continues to strive to achieve its goals.

Samburu Women (Not our image)

During our stay by the river, (in a part of Kenya that normally sees next to no rain), we were woken in the early hours of the morning by our tent gradually being engulfed in water. As the river had risen 2 metres in one night from the rainfall! The next major event was when our camera was stolen in Nairobi. Incidentally I’m glad to say that we have found a temporary solution at least and I now have a new camera to continue the journey with. I’m not sure how many of you have ever tried doing a police report in Kenya but its not quite as simple going to the police station and reporting the theft, Ohhh no. We were relatively lucky with our experience but its more a case of the police commissioner saying something along the lines of “What a terrible tragedy, why don’t you take me out for lunch and tell me all about it and I’ll think about giving you a report!” In any case the whole event was completely overshadowed by the phone call telling us that Katie had to fly back immediately.

The raging Ngiro River

For those of you who’s African geography is up to scratch who will know that the country I am about to cross into, Tanzania, is home to the ‘roof of Africa’, Mt. Kilimanjaro … here I come!

]]> http://www.primaljourney.com/archives/759/feed 5 http://www.primaljourney.com/archives/750 http://www.primaljourney.com/archives/750#comments Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:17:08 +0000 Tarka http://www.primaljourney.com/?p=750 Ok this will be the last post from me for a while, as Tarka’s daily adventures with Herbert are far more exciting than my DVD fest on the sofa as I rest and recuperate, but I thought I would just sum up my month in Africa.

In refection, looking back at the posts we have written over the last month, I think we were maybe holding back, writing only the positive elements of our journey in a bid to not come across as if we were moaning! We are after all doing these things by choice and are very fortunate to be able to do so.

So I will now elaborate slightly. In addition to the incredible beauty of the countries we past through and the friendliness and warmth of the people who befriended us, there was also a relentless hassle for money. This is partially to be expected and completely understandable. However from the moment we woke until the moment we went to sleep there would not be a single minute when the asking for money would ease. Which really takes away any enjoyment we would get out of each day. What irritated me most however, and where I had real sense of humour failure, was the ‘forced service’! Day in day out when we were doing menial daily tasks, such as pumping up Flashdance’s tyres, a local would come along and snatch the pump from my hand and would refuse to give it back despite me telling them that I was more than capable of pumping up my own tyre (even when I tried to forcefully take it back, I failed). He would pump up the tyre on our behalf and then demand payment! The first few times you pay, as many of the locals had very little income and at least they were trying to do something for their money, as apposed to just out rightly asking for handouts! However, I reached the point where I could not stand people taking or even touching my things without permission and trying to keep your cool was just exhausting! Even when we finally reached a place to stay at the end of a long day and we longed to shut the door for the first tiny bit of piece and quiet since 5am, we first had to pay off those stood in the doorway! …. as we experienced that they will stand there pleading far longer than my patience for need of sleep can last!!!

Despite my 5 previous visits to the continent, the above is something that I had never properly experienced, hence the ‘Tourist Bubble’! Mt first two visits were to South Africa, which although still has its problems, is a long way ahead of the rest of the continent and for that reason gives you a very different African encounter. I then in 2005, spent 4 months overlanding through Eastern and Southern Africa and it was an absolutely amazing experience. At the time I felt I was really ‘roughing it’ and experiencing the ‘real’ Africa, as my journey was a far cry from the luxury safari lodges and exquisite candlelight meals looking over a bustling water hole that we are tempted with on TV. It is only now that I realize how the overland truck only ever opened its doors when we arrived at a place designed to suite our needs as a tourist! Each campsite had a toilet block, shower block, bar, and western style food, and a large perimeter fence keeping real Africa at a distance!

For anyone who has not travelled to Africa and would like to in an enjoyable way as a holiday, then the ‘Tourist Bubble’ is there to provide you with such an experience. For outside the ‘bubble’ it is incredibly clear that “A foreign country is not designed to make YOU feel comfortable, it’s designed to make it’s own people feel comfortable!”

Despite the hassles and the dangers that cycling across Africa can present, I am gutted to be back home and would love to be back on the road with Tarka. Even on those days when you are pulling your hair out because you can’t communicate or people are trying to steal your possessions, it is when we are together, away on and adventure, that we feel most content with life!

Don’t you just love a cycling tan!!!