I said my goodbyes this morning and was feeling a bit better health wise. It's Ethiopian culture to see somebody off so Jonas kindly wheeled Nigel about 400m down the road to a cafe where we shared breakfast and had a coffee before I left. He said some very kind and encouraging things to me before I left which I appreciate a lot. Jonas really is a great guy with an excellent vision for STB. I have no doubt he will accomplish his goals despite the barriers he gets faced with everyday.
After breakfast we said our goodbye's and I wheeled down one of the main streets of Addis Ababa. It felt strange being back on Nigel but I was happy to get moving again, I'm not going to get to Lesotho by just telling people about it! The roads were busy for the first 3 hours and I had to get back into the acceptance of horns, stinking fumes, speeding lorries, narrow roads and close shaves. (The only type of shave I will be experiencing this ride may I add)
I cycled towards a few towns that sound like the first names of Finnish formula one drivers. To add to the famous Heiki, Kimi and Mika, I cycled towards Meki, Koka and Mojo. After Mojo the road got a lot quieter which I was thankful for. I could feel a headache brewing and it was probably due to dehydration and exhaust fumes.
As I cycled down towards the Rift Valley, the temperature noticeably increased and I decided to stop in Koka to work out the best place to search for a hotel. I felt strong but hadn't used the John yet so I was unsure how things were getting on on the inside. I made a decision to stop at Meki which was about 85 miles from my start point. I made it in good time and felt pretty comfortable, i wasn't going to jump around for joy though as the aches normally come the day after.
I had a good chat with two guys that work at the hotel whilst I was having some food at the restaurant. Isyass and Dagu were two very smiley chaps that would run around to my aid and help me with everything I needed. Whilst happily chatting away to the guys I had a first in my life, i owe this first to Beirdre as she kindly held onto some injera incase I got peckish later. As an amateur at caring for a beard it seems i must be more thorough with the clean up process in future, but its ok when you have good people like Isyass and Dagu to make you aware of the situation.
I appreciate somebody telling me I have food in my beard much more than just letting me walk around looking like Stig of the dump. I don't appreciate the smell from the toilet whilst I'm trying to eat however and I think this smell was up there in the top 3 of all the pits I've had the pleasure of visiting. It wasn't a smell for start, it was a taste and a feeling. A taste of fowl tingling on the tongue like licking a rusty battery and a feeling of burning to the eyes and nose hairs from the pure ammonia.
After food I went back to my room to take a lie down and pray that I wouldn't have to experience the toilet close up. There was a knock on the door and I opened it to find the hotel owner waving 100birr at me. I didn't have a clue what she was saying and I kept telling her that I have already paid for the room, I thought she wanted me to give her change for the 100 or something. We eventually found someone that could translate and worked out that for some reason Isyass thought I had no money so he told the manager and the lady was offering me 100 until tomorrow when I could get some more. I laughed and thanked her but declined her money, haven't a clue what we were talking about to make him think i needed money but yet again the people of Ethiopia have shown their generosity.
I closed my room door on another day. An air of tiredness was draped over me all of a sudden. I was happy with the day overall and just hoped the pills that the nurse had given would work their magic as my stomach was still going nuts. Tonight would probably give me a better idea but one thing was for sure, I did not want to visit the toilet!
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