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A rare bit of luxury
Entry 9 of 25 | show all | print this entry |
I knew I had a long ride yesterday, but I was so tired that I didn't pack the night before, and went to bed at 8:30 - therefore only left around 6:30 - It made for a tough day, as once again I got to Tamale at the jinx time of around 1:20 pm - hot, hot, hot and then some.
I forgot to say, but ever since Hohoe there have been a large number of people with bicycles - one of the unfortunate side effects of this is that every now and again one of the locals will think it's a really good idea to join you on your journey - this can be OK, but I prefer to bike by myself, especially if its hot and / or I'm working hard - today, however, with the good roads I was joined on 4 separate occasions for about 10km apiece, which got a bit trying towards the end. The worst part is that being heavily loaded if you see someone coming after you you don't really have a chance of out-sprinting them, so you just have to grin and bear it. I haven't quite got to the point of being rude and asking to be left alone though.
Again stopped at the first chop bar I came to for a beer, and then was offered some food, which I agreed to - pepper fish and banku (mielie meal, for those who've been to Southern Africa) - really really tasty, and an absolute bargain at 8000 Cedis! About 2:30 set off into town and got a room at T.I.C.C.S - it turned out to be only 20,000 Cedis more for a room with air conditioning, so for the first time so far I gave in and got A/C - hope it doesn't spoil me!
Woke up around 7 - had breakfast in the restaurant - quite civilized really, with bread, peanut butter, jam, egg, coffee, sausages etc. Then, feeling quite disoriented I went back to sleep around 8:30 until noon - woke up with a dose of the squits, a mild headache, and feeling a bit disoriented - theoretically the first signs of malaria (noticed any signs that I'm a bit sensitive - all right then - paranoid - about this subject?) but no fever or anything, so maybe it's just the dry air and the a/c.
(Incidentally, I've been having a bit of a struggle getting decent breakfasts - reputably it should be possible to get ommelettes at street stalls, but either I've been a bit leery about the sort of places that might do this or I've been a bit too early. Anyway - most days it's been bread and bananas, or just bread, with some water to wash it down. I might try for some jam today, but it's a bit heavy to carry glass jars around. On the other hand lunch / dinners are great, as the food in Ghana is really tasty / spicy, although Fufu isn't really my cup of tea, and and I haven't even thought about trying Kenkey. Still - the meat stews, fried rice etc. are very nice.)
I think I'm going to stay here for an extra day, as my legs are still a bit wobbly, and I want to refuel for the next session. Also, I have to make a decision about whether to press North straight away, try and get to Mali / Timbuktu etc. in early January when its reputedly a bit cooler - or whether to do as I originally intended, and spend a bit more time cutting across through Mole national park to the West of the country, and then up to Bobo-Dialassou (spelling?) and on to Ouagadougou. I can get to Timbuktu easily enough, but the question then is will I be able to make it back via Gao in time to get back to Ouaga by January 24 to fly back to NZ for 2 weeks for my sister's wedding.
Bit torn really, as up till now I've been on a bit of a mission to get some miles on, iron out any niggles with the bike, and acclimatise to the heat, but now that things are settling down it's a bit of a shame to start in a new country again so soon. We'll see.
Where I stayed:
T.I.C.C.S
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