Guinea - The Lions on the Road: Cycling London to Cape Town - page 122

a delayed reaction. I thought it was funny and started to laugh. Perhaps he was the official
whistle man and just woke up to realize he neglected his duty.
We soon were on our way and by 6:30 p.m. we arrived in Faranah. After finding a
placetostay,wewenttothemarketfordinner.Thenextmorning,beingSunday,ItoldErik
that I wanted to go to mass before I left. He was interested in attending the service as well.
Afterabreakfastofriceandpeanutsauce,wewenttotheservice.IreallywishedthatIhad
a tape-recorder for the choral music was so spiritually uplifting and awe inspiring. I could
have stayed all day just listening to the richness of the four-part harmonies.
After the service we returned to our place to prepare for departure. Because we left
late, we only managed a half day of cycling and stopped in Banian. There, we stayed with
the local government official in his beautiful home. We had dinner with our host and ate
cow's stomach, a cucumber salad, and a lot of sweet coffee with bread. After a stroll in the
quaint little village, we hit the sack.
The next morning we took a picture outside his thatched home. We thanked our
host and then headed to Kissidougou. Since the road really began to narrow, we decided
not to cycle beside each other but in a line. I didn't mind when Erik shot ahead for, no of-
fencetoErikbutIlikedthesilence.IcameacrossasmallvillageschoolandsmiledwhenI
heard the school bell being tolled. It reminded me of Little House on the Prairie on televi-
sion…notsurewhybutperhapsitwasbecausetheteacherusedahandheldbelltosummon
the village children to this small rural school. Anyway, I met up with Erik20 minutes later
surrounded by villagers. When I arrived, it seemed that the children's excitement exploded
for perhaps it was the first time they saw not just one 'porto' on a bicycle but two within
20 minutes. Since there was a political meeting going on, I was limited on the number of
pictures that I was able to take. So, I took one picture of Erik surrounded by the locals.