It was quite windy on the beach when I went to sleep last night but I woke up to the sound of calm shores. I was up nice and early as the sun wasn't messing around today so I got packed up and headed off into the next village to find something to eat. Thankfully the next village wasn't far and I arrived at a dark local hang out that was absolutely infested with flies.
It was the only place cooking food and my body needed feeding so I just had to ignore the flies and scoff the two doughnuts and two chapattis down and be on my way. Little did I know then, that that was not going to be the last time i experienced an annoying fly situation.
I was kindly walked back onto the main road that would take me all the way to my proposed destination of Bagamojo. The road started well and it didn't seem hotter than yesterday, any hotter than yesterday and the trees would've spontaneously combusted! I was pleasantly surprised with the road, I could find a decent smooth path, it took some weaving but I could maintain momentum so the first hour or so was pretty productive.
Then things changed. Despite my very vague map telling me that the road I was on should be in better condition than the roads yesterday, I found myself with the most unforgiving of trails. Compared to yesterday the good was better but the bad was much much worse and in some areas it was quicker and safer to get off and push. This really took it out of me. In situations like this, time drags along with your legs and you're teetering on the edge of doing something you'll regret, like chucking your shoe into the sea. You won't know why you did it, you'll just chuck it and then you'll be left in an even worse mood than one started and with one dusty sock.
I kept strong and both shoes remained on my feet but this was certainly a huge test for myself and Nigel. Africa seems to be taking its tole and breaking more and more things. I've now managed to break both original water bottle holders, how does that happen? They're just sat there holding a bottle, they shouldn't break! More worryingly was my handlebar bag that not only had a broken clip from my collarbone crash, so I was keeping it attached to my handlebars with string, but the zip had also come completely unstitched. The sewing kit would have to be coming out for that and also for my bag that kept my stove in that had split. The string holding my handlebar bag then later snapped so that had to be fixed aswell.
I found myself cycling through an area that I would associate with typical Africa. Cool trees, mud track, long grass, I started to think to myself that this was like a real National Park and there could be some animals banging around. I lifted my head higher and focused my eyes on the distance. I was right! I saw gazelle, water bucks some other big deer-like things and then a family of warthogs came popping out of the bush in front of me. Flippin' heck! I thought, I could be in Lion territory here! It turns out I was very much in Lion territory and there were also Elephants and Rhinos in that park. I had the Jurassic park quote of "stay out of the long grass" stuck in my head all day but at least it took my mind off of how painfully slow and bumpy the road was.
I was later told as its rainy season, the nature is a lot more overgrown and therefore its harder to spot the animals but they were definately there and thankfully weren't keen on eating a hairy toothpick. After the park the road got even worse, along with my mood and to make things even more annoying, the flies made a very VERY unwelcome return. I don't know if it's Beirdre attracting them or if they just enjoy being the most annoying living species on the planet (just ahead of Jedward) but for a good hour I had between 1 and 5 flies constantly on my face at any one time. They just would not leave! I couldn't cycle fast enough to get rid of them and they almost caused multiple accidents. During this horrible phase of the day I could've been mistaken for having Tourette's and its fair to say I really was not enjoying myself.
The road seemed to be never ending, I would get to one crest or corner and there would be another 300m and i'd think, ok just get to that corner and see what's there. I've lost count how many times this happened. Asking distances was pointless and so was getting annoyed. It was so so hard. The Italian family drove past me and kindly gave me a bottle of water. They were heading to the same campsite as I had intended and I took their distance estimation a bit more seriously than the local's. 15km, ok, come on Harding you can do this. It will all be worth it when you get there.
After 10km I eventually got back onto tarmac. That joy lasted 2 minutes until I hit roadworks and was diverted back onto a dust track. Where is this place?!! The last bit went on forever and poor directions took me pointlessly down shoddy back roads until I eventually found Travellers lodge. It wasn't as good as Vagabond but still very nice, pricey for me but in a lovely location so I coughed up the money to camp.
I was more exhausted than yesterday but with that came a greater satisfaction. Travellers lodge was set just off the beach and surrounded by palm trees. There were alot more people staying in the cabins but I was the only one camping so picked a good spot away from the sprinklers by the pathway that led down to the beach. This prompted a few people to stop and chat which was nice. I had just been in the wilderness for the last two days and it had honestly felt like it!
I treated myself to a burger and then returned back to the oven aka my tent. Two long hard days, around 120miles of off road torture over 14 hours on and off the saddle. Was it worth it? Always. Just having that short experience at Vagabond Lodge opened my eyes to a new place that very few people have ever seen. Natural beauty that isn't easy to find, even in a 4WD! I was pleased with my off-road decision despite its trials, another experience I will never forget.
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