Take On Africa

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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: [...]

3 weeks, 4 countries, 7 boat rides, 1200km cycled.
There have been good days and bad days, the best days and worst ones. At times it’s been tough and tiring, and yes there have even been tears. At times it’s been thrilling and exciting, and I’ve thought I must be the luckiest person alive. All times [...]

Since my last update in Nouakchott, where I signed off at the point of disembarkation of the iron-ore train with decision to take a bush-taxi to Atar in the depths of the Mauritanian desert rather than cycle the 120km piste, so much has happened I don’t quite know where to begin or what to write [...]

This is Africa
After spending the best part of a week travelling through the desolate desert, arriving in Nouadhibou was an assault on the senses…. it felt like we had finally arrived in Africa: battered cars weaving down the dusty roads, swerving now and then to avoid an overloaded, donkey-pulled, rickety, wooden cart; the drivers beeping [...]

Day 1 – Slow start
Not even half a day in reality. By the time we’d had breakfast, packed our panniers, checked emails and then carried the bikes down the narrow stairs of the hotel it was nearing the end of the morning. We had decided to cycle the twenty-or-so kilometres to El Marsa port where [...]

Gateway to the Sahara
Guelmim, the ‘gateway to the Sahara’ as it is known, which hints at it’s former importance as a trading post on the caravan routes of old, had few distractions for a solo cyclist like myself. I spent little more than 24 hours in town and fairly evenly divided this time between sleeping, [...]

Climbing the argan tree
The landscape from Essaouira to Agadir was dominated by the Argan tree, which is indigenous to this region and similar to the olive tree. I passed the occasional shepherd by his flock of goats, who seem to find the fruit a plentiful delicacy.
The goats could be seen not only reaching up on [...]

Yes, you’ve guessed correctly, it’s another anecdote involving food. I’m gathering quite a collection of these, but for now, I’ll just share the latest fruit fiasco.
I spent a couple of days cycling from Tiznit to Guelmim recently – Two small towns in southern Morocco, which have little to entice tourists who aren’t on a journey [...]