Update
The first order of the day was to buy petrol18TH Oct onward to Tanzania
The first order of the day was to buy petrol, we managed to each get 5 litres each at double the normal price at the side of the road,
To add insult to injury I lost three straight games of drafts in a row to the local champ while waiting for Omar. Unfortunately, unbeknown to me he had taken a tumble on the 32 km driveway from the Hot Springs to the main road and injured his leg (I had left a bit earlier).
"Part of the Driveway"
All in all a long day, about 450 km, most of which on a potholed road. We crossed the border into Tanzania amongst chaos.
A stop en route
One advantage of the bikes is that we can squeeze past most obstacles from potholes to police checkpoints to queues. We checked into a guesthouse on a coffee plantation. Needless to say the coffee was excellent and the room the best so far on the trip. See below.
Currently I am trying to average no more than 350 km per day which does not sound like a lot but can take up to 5/ 6 hours depending on the road conditions. Travelling through Zambia was easy, the people were really friendly and the roads once out of Lusaka quiet although at times the potholes were challenging. Some of them are larger than a car in diameter.
Baobab Valley
Tanzania, especially today is a lot harder to travel through, the roads are just as poor as in Zambia but there are a lot more busses and trucks as well as people on the road. Overtaking on a blind rise seems to be the norm for busses. Twice today I had to pull off the road.
One of many piles of charcoal for sale. I wonder how long the tree's will last?
To say nothing of the animals...
and the people everywhere
Tomorrow I hope to make Dar Es Salaam.