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fed once a day (supposedly, it's a tourist attraction.) This small village had been designed
for future growth with wide boulevards, lots of open space, large buildings (including one
of Africa's largest mosques) and was dotted with artificial lakes. It was in fact the pres-
ident's dream to have the capital move to Yamoussoukro. Even though it was named the
political and administrative capital in March of 1983, transfer of government functions oc-
curred much later.
I returned to my room ready to take a nap when I heard my name being called. It
was Erik and he was looking for me. He told me about the adventures he had in repairing
his rear wheel and that the bike was finally good enough to ride. He settled into my room
and went on his own for dinner. By 7:15 p.m., I prepared for an early departure the next
morning and fell asleep as I wrote in my journal.
I was ready to leave by 5:30 a.m. when I heard the church bells ring. I decided to
start my day with mass and then a quick breakfast. Erik had already left by the time I re-
turned, so I quickly gathered my things and started my day's cycle. After about 80 kilo-
metres, I found Erik on the side of the road repairing his bike (his spokes were the issue). I
waited forhimandthenwecycled together fortherestoftheafternoon. Withonly27kilo-
metres to go, we took a break at a small shop. We bought a couple of Cokes and cakes and
chatted with the owner. In the middle of our conversation, the owner got up and proceeded
to give us a pitcher of orange juice, hot popcorn and sliced pineapple. Eventually we left
after 5:00 p.m. with a handshake and a big thank-you.
We turned off the main road and headed up to the Catholic mission in Nidouci. We
met the man in charge of the church who told us that the priest lived 8 kilometres away.
Not really in the mood for more cycling, the man escorted us to a hotel and then gave me
5oo CFA to pay for the room. I declined it immediately but he was so animate in refusing
me to return it that I was afraid I was insulting him. So with great reluctance, I accepted
his money. Our room turned out to be 600 CFA so I went back to the man and asked him
for another 100 CFA….just kidding. The room was spacious and clean and even had a fan.
Needless to say, I slept quite comfortably. Old One-Gear proved to be a charm again for
this day I did a total of 144 kilometres without a hitch.
We started rather early the next morning after a great breakfast of eggs, oatmeal
and coffee. We quickly found the motorway to Abidjan and our pace was excellent mainly
due to the flatness of the terrain. The exotic sounds of the animals were pure entertainment
but what I saw next sickened me. In the distance off to the side of the road, I noticed large
tracts of old-growth forests that were clear-cut. As we cycled throughout the morning, nu-
merouslogtruckspassedmecarryingonlyonetreetrunk'smid-section. Thesetrunkswere
so enormous in diameter and length that they would over hang on each side of the trailer.
I was later told that one log would fetch tens of thousands of US dollars. So attempts at
regulating their cutting were up against stiff resistance…and that resistance was the gov-
ernment itself.
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