Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Alphonsus came by my room to chat which helped me pass the time. At 7:15, before I
walked to the police station, I thanked Alphonsus and his wife for their kindness.
As I walked over to the station, what really struck me was how beautiful Loubomo
was. It was extremely clean with lots of shady trees and well-maintained homes. I arrived
at the station and waited until 8:00 a.m. to get my passport. Finally, with the passport in
hand, I returned to retrieve my bike. There was a crowd around my bicycle and then the
town hobo came up to me and asked me for some money. I pitied him when the people
started to laugh at him so I gave him 100 CFA and saw him run to the bar.
Aftersayingaurevoirtothecrowd,Ibeganmydayofcycling.SinceitwasSunday,
IbegantolookforachurchsoIcouldattendmorningmass.ThefirstvillageIpassedhada
service but it started too late. I continued onward and when I arrived in Moukondo at 9:15
a.m., I asked a villager what time the mass started. When he told me it started in only 15
minutes, I decided to stop and attend mass. With permission, I placed my bike in a nearby
hutandsatatthebackofthechapel.Aftertheservice,thecatechistgavemesomemangoes
and I took their photo.
I said good-bye to the congregation for I was eager to tackle the 80 kilometres I
still had to complete. Even though the views were stunning, my attention was focused on
the treacherous road. The constant bumping up and down on the rippled road surface had
itseffectonme.Theconstantmotiontransferredfromthefrontwheeltomyarmsandonto
my neck. It was really stressing me out to the point where I was yelling at every little thing
from the inquisitive little insects to the road itself. I was not sure what was driving me for-
ward but I managed to push on even though I simply wanted to quit cycling.
Duringthistime,threeDutchmotorcycliststravelledtowardmeandcametoastop.
Theyturnedofftheirenginesandwesharedafewanecdotes.Theyseemedtobefascinated
with my bike and all the gear and insisted on taking my picture. They kindly asked me if I
needed anything like food or water but I declined saying that I was fine. We bid each other
a safe journey and with a rev in their engines, they sped off. Bastards. I must admit that
it was a timely break and the conversation helped to quell the tension in my neck and my
emotional state. Before I “sped” off, I looked at my map to see my progress and was quite
Search WWH ::
Custom Search