And that was a pretty easy day. I left Foundiougne just before 10 and it was lovely riding in the morning air of 28 degrees. As I left the town I crossed the large bridge which crosses the outer edge of the delta. Foundiougne is located on the edge of the Saloum Delta, which is a huge expanse of salt-flats and marshes that is fed by the sea. It’s very flat and it’s only when you leave the delta that the scenery changes to the Africa I’m now becoming familiar with.
I was heading for the Zebrabar, which is about 15 miles south of St Louis, and I intend to stay for two nights – because of the hot showers plus the lovely shade and cool air. The journey today was going to be around 185 miles, and should have taken about 4.5 hours, as it was, it took a bit longer.
You just can’t travel fast here because at every village you have to ride slow, so a relatively short journey does take time. About half way I arrived at Bambey where I was going to take a nice shortcut north but there was a diversion which meant about 20km over rough dirt roads. I just wasn’t in the mood for bumpy bits as it was just too hot and I was too tired for dirt roads so I jumped on the N3 which is a new toll-road. It was almost empty and a very easy ride to Theis, and best of all, it only cost around 50 pence…
After leaving the toll-road (between Dakar and Theis) I stopped outside Theis to cool down in the shade next to a petrol station. They had a shop with air conditioning inside, and it was such a pleasure to feel cool air and buy some cold drinks. After a rest and lots of fluids I carried on north, arriving at the Zebrabar just around 4pm. The 200 mile journey took around six hours, but there were two breaks, plus four police stops, and by the time I got to the campsite I was really tired – and ready for a long shower and a cold drink. Normally I don’t drink, except for the occasional malt whiskey, but this evening I really did feel like a cold beer – but only drank half as I’ve completely lost the taste for it, so cheered myself up with cold, fresh orange juice.
There is no news on Sierra Leone and apparently there is still no fuel in Guinea (except black market) so I’ve decided that in a few days time I’m going to head north again and cross the Diama border into Mauritania. After the border crossing there is a 17 mile stretch of dirt road I’ve got to navigate, which means I’m leaving early so I can make the most of it while it’s relatively cool. It’s not an easy road, very challenging, but hopefully on Sunday afternoon I will be in Nouakchott where it will be a bit cooler and I can rest easy.
I’m now about to enter the ‘twilight zone’ in terms of the internet. Non-residents are not allowed to buy sim cards in Mauritania so as soon as I cross the border and my AFRICELL signal goes, then it’ll be radio silence from me until I reach Morocco – or blag some Wi-Fi in-between.
For the moment, for anyone who’s been following and anyone I know – I send you my best wishes and I hope 2024 is going to be a great year for you.
