I sleep bad and wake up after 4 hours. Mosquitoes in the tent and loads of small ants. Apparently I accidently scratched a hole in the tent when moving it. I moved it a few feet, with bags inside just before nightfall to get under a roof to protect it from rain.
I don't get more sleep so I get up at 4 am. I get ready for today's big climb. I am just about to leave when I see the flat tyre.
So I get it fixed and now it is already 5.30. I go for breakfast in the village and when I am just finnished the Rumanian cyclist from yesterday night comes roling.
This guy is special. He is big like a bear and he is cycling Kairo to Cape Town. He is afraid of fisch, dead or alive, he has a fobia. So as we cycle and some locals come walking with some small fisch he cycles to the other side of the road. :) He also tells me he only has one meal per day and he can go on cycling for three days without food sometimes...:)
( http://www.bikeinafrica.com/) I can not go more then three hours without food.
We see some small monkeys and it is nice to talk to him. But he has a knee injury so when we reach the climb we split up. He goes slow sitting down on the lowest gear and I go faster standing up. I go about a dussin bends and I start to get a great view over the coast. Then I hear the roars of a truck climbing. I go a few more steep bends when it caches up with me. It goes slow but that is perfect. So I sign to the driver that I will hold on and he is nodding happily.
I love the strange relationship with truckdrivers in Africa. They always wave and do a thumbs up or blink to greet you, some hunk the horn which is less apprechated by us cyclist, but it is nice. If they are going your way, many ask if you want a ride, even with the bicycle. It is nice, we are like the most uneaqual friends in a djungle of vehicles.
So I catch this ride, hanging on with one hand and concentrating on going as safe as possible. It is a bit challenging after a while and I have to be really careful, not to get myself tripped on by this elephant of a truck. We role, up, up and up. It is a great help. A long climb really. We meet a giant baboon, the size of a 14 year old kid. I am greatful he gets a litle scared when he sees me, because he seems used to the truck itself which pass him really close by. But when the monkey sees me he takes a jump to the side.
When we are allmost at the top I see my friends from this Overland company from yesterday. They are coming with the truck behind.
They take pictures and wave. I hope they read this and send me some. Now I have a few more hills to go before it starts to be more equally up and down and a more flat landscape. The landscape is hilly on both sides and I also follow a river which really is wide since it now has started to rain and it seems to rain more ahead.
I stop for some cookies and ask them about an orphanage. There is a school close by with a dussin orphants in.
So the cookie man helps me to buy all school material they have and I deliver it, about 10 USD and another 60 which he promisses to buy more for, I trust him on this because there were many teachers around when I give him the money. So another donation done, to Bale fp School.
I go on again and I see beautiful birds orange ones and yellow. I also see this creature far away from rivers or lakes.
I spot it a couple of times so it is apparently a landkrabba. It rains heavily and it gets time for lunch. I ask in a village for something to eat like rice. O rice, hmm...yes 10 km that way. So I go on for a half hour and ask again, the exact same answer for four times!! Yes this is Africa. Sometimes it is far to go to find something like rice and also people have no sence of distances. I get my late lunch and then it clears up. I have done good, over 90 km before lunch. It is all good me and the bike. Though I keep on hearing a sound from the backweel from the spokes...hmm...
I go the last distance and I finish my day early in Mzuzu, in the hostel Joy's place. Wow it is really joy. It is like a home.
Prices are fare and they have latte and carrot cake. I get two lattes and I have all four deserts on the menu before dinner. It is great and also a group of fun travelers here to talk to. I could stay a week if it was not for the bad internet connection.
