The border town on Ndende, Gabon is a small one of maybe 2 thousand people, situated on a junction and our arrival was smooth as the only hotel is behind the only petrol station. Easy peezy! Alas no chance of changing money again, so the 'Bank of Migo' is in full swing, good lad! For some reason there's a demand for €s but non for $'s.
The tarmac road finished 35 miles after Lambarene and it's piste in it's place, albeit so far in very good condition but we've been assured that just over the border the roads get really bad, my rear suspension is 'bottoming out' constantly and is really bothering me. I attempted to take it off and crank up the spring but the bottom pintle is jammed and no amount of hammering is freeing it! I'll have to go to a mechanic shop in Brazzaville and see if he can free it without damaging the bike. The stock suspension when it arrives, I'll need to change the spring for the stronger one I have and see if it lasts till South Africa.

In the town centre there's a prayer session in full swing with singing, dancing and a lot of 'hallelujahs' going on so I returned to the hotel to find a chimpanzee being the centre of attention. I had a hold and it was a cute thing but boy did it stink or was that me? Also a guy with a strange hat who kept on popping up, wierd.

The weather is also changing for the worse, dark clouds are hovering and the evening is giving me a good lightening show. Hopefully the rains will not start again until the bad roads have finished but just my luck, there'll be loads of rain, the roads will turn to mud and my suspension is knackered, not to mention my 'Touratech' panniers are falling apart!

But then again, as I'm writing this it's started to piss down, the lightening show is even better, I'm listening to Led Zeppelins 'Kashmir' on the MP3 with a fresh beer in my hand, a full pack of cigarettes and am in Africa. Can life get any better?