This morning I kept my word and returned to the old lady for breakfast. The breakfast menu is normally slightly different but if you're lucky, you can find someone cooking up rice. My choice this morning was chicken soup or chapatti or both. I went for just 2 chapattis and I grabbed a doughnut at the shop next door where I also got my morning stock of water.
I had a bad feeling about the day for some reason. It wasn't the chapatti, or last night's beef thankfully (been farting with confidence for the whole of 2014!!) I didn't feel good about the road, which wasn't like me. I'm normally borderline idiotic/pure idiotic about things I do around motor vehicles. I blamed it on the weather, it was the first cold and windy morning that I've had in ages and maybe it just messed with me a little.
I rolled tentatively onto the road just after 8 which meant if I wanted to and if things went well, I could really clear some mileage today. The wind was pretty strong and thankfully it was on my back. Combining this factor with the huge downhill that I started the day with and you've got yourself a very productive morning. The road was patchwork and potholed but I managed to survive a few close shaves and maintain momentum. I mentioned yesterday that I've been seeing green and blue for a few days now. I didn't realise this is a lyric in U2's "Beautiful Day" song till it rang in my ears today. It was a beautiful day indeed and as the day progressed, even though my cycle section never returned, the traffic volume decreased and I could pedal with a little more ease.
The day continued to get better and better and in the first 3.5 hours I had already covered 60miles! I stopped at my initially planned final destination for lunch and it really wasn't a place I wanted to stay so I decided to carry on. I hadn't realised until after lunch that I had forgotten to put suntan lotion on and the wind had masked the morning's hot sun. I retuned back to Nigel and I could really feel the burn. I was annoyed, and the suncream only made it feel worse. I wasn't going to let sunburnt arms hinder my progress so I got the long sleeve tshirt out (also black) and got on with things.
I was merrily raking in the miles when I saw a "ride for their lives" first. The last few days I have seen quite alot of snakes, all ranging in lengths and thicknesses from a regular HB pencil to King Kong's middle finger, but all were dead. Today I saw my first live one and it wasn't a wee tiddler to break me in gently, oooh no. It was the length of a hockey stick and as thick as a decent Cumberland but I certainly wasn't going to stop and see if I could cut it up and cook it! If I had seen it first then I would've been the first one to hide in the long grass but thankfully he was just as scared as I was so he bolted before I could poo myself, I did let out a little wee though.
I don't know whether my pace quickened even more after that but I looked down at my tachometer and the first 85 miles had flown by. Unfortunately I couldn't say the same for the next 15 miles which ended up taking 2 hours. I must've hit the wall or thought I was there before I was, as things really dragged. Hills seemed harder to climb and even the weather turned against me with a slight headwind and light drizzle.
I knew I was coming very close to the border and this would probably be my last full day in Tanzania. I had absolutely destroyed the last 4 days and covered 380 miles. I enjoyed the last bit of Tanzanian scenery which was a quarry with an amazing downhill with my name on it. I sat up on the saddle, Nigel was buzzing away and Beirdre was like Kate Winslet standing on the rails of the Titanic. I took a huge deep breathe before beginning the down slope. With no traffic around, I took up position in the middle of my lane to get a decent view of everything around me. I looked down and saw a lizard about 6 inches long taking in the surroundings also, unfortunately, he had his back to me. I kept my line as the lizard saw me and panicked. He went left initially then for some reason changed his mind and went right, the next thing I know I experienced another first for "a ride for their lives." It's a horrible feeling if you hit anything in a car but on a bike you can feel the vibration up through the bike and into your body. I didn't dare look back, I just hope it was his tail that i bumped over and he can still live on, would've been a pretty meaty tail though!
As I entered the town of Uyole I saw my first sign for Malawi. 103km was definately doable in a day even with the uphill areas that overlooked the town. I was exhausted but extremely satisfied. I had leapfrogged a few days on my very tight schedule and had found a nice clean hotel to relax in before tomorrow's push for the border. It was a bit more expensive than previous hotels/campsites but I thought I deserved the treat even if I had ended the day a reptile murderer.
Here's to Tanzania, arguably the best country on my ride so far. The last few days from Mikumi National Park to Uyole have certainly been the best for scenery and if I get the chance in the future, I will definately return. Asante sana Tanzania.
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