Take On Africa

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A small selection of photos of Djenne’s, in Mali, mud mosque and scenes from the Monday market.

The mosque, the largest of it’s kind in Mali, was built in 1907 and the outer walls, which wash away with every rainy season, are re-rendered each year in a huge event in which the whole village takes part.
The [...]

A few photos from the cycle from Kouroussa in Guinea, where we ended the boat trip, heading northeast into Mali for Bamako and then on to Djenne.

Mali is famous for it’s music but I haven’t heard much and haven’t tried to find it.  I’ve been singing my own song and I’d have to say it’not very soulful.
Having had a bout of literary diarrhoea after two weeks of paddling a pirogue down rapids and through shallow waters, I am now suffering, in [...]

Below are three photographs showing all the gear and equipment I arrived in Africa with on my bike.
I have since got rid of the MSR stove and fuel bottle as I had problems with this and I forgot the bike helmet in Bissau (although I never actually strapped it on my head before then anyway).
Regarding [...]

Leaving Freetown
We had arrived in Freetown on the bustling streets of Kissy Road in the East End lined with stalls selling everything from second-hand shoes to fake Sony radios; and had navigated our way through the commercial district centred around the towering cotton tree, down along Congo Road and across the poor shanty district of [...]

And finally….the final part of the journey, from No Man’s Land to Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown.
Noises in the Night
Camped in No Man’s Land, I woke numerous times in the night to a rattling sound coming from underneath the tent, which seemed to come from the left of my head one moment and then further to [...]

This second part of the journey from Labe to Freetown, takes me from Kindia to the border with Sierra Leone, where I camped the night in No Man’s Land.
The final part of the journey, from the border to Freetown, I’ll post in a third update.
Sorry it’s taking so long – there are too many distractions [...]

This is the first of two updates about the journey from Labe in Guinea to Freetown in Sierra Leone. This part takes me as far as Kindia, where I had a short rest before continuing across the border.
Leaving Labe
We left Labe late in the afternoon having gorged on a cheap lunch of rice and a [...]

I’ve been on the road now for 6 months (I can hardly believe it!), so I thought it was time for a little update in numbers.
Total distance cycled: 9219 km
Days since leaving UK: 178
Countries visited: 10
Longest distance cycled in a day: 178 km (in Western Sahara)
Average daily distance: 52 km (incl. rest days)
Average daily distance: [...]

The ride from Labe through the heart of the Fouta Djalon hills towards Kindia in the south of Guinea was simply stunning. The photos don’t really do the place justice unfortunately, but perhaps they give an idea of what it was like. The journey took longer than expected, primarily because one day we ended up [...]