Senegal - The Lions on the Road: Cycling London to Cape Town - page 86

the rest of the family entered the home…his grandparents, aunts, uncles, nephews...about
17 people in all. They handed me a 6-month-old baby to hold until it pissed on me. They
thought that was the funniest thing they ever saw. We played cards and I taught them Snap
and Go Fish. There was a party happening! When I started to nod off, the son asked me if
I was tired and I said yes, a little. With that, everyone immediately stopped and bid me a
good night. Then the silence grew heavy as I passed out. Welcome to Senegal!!!
The humidity was high as I slept. When I awoke I was sweating. I quietly packed
my bike and as the family awoke we had a small breakfast of sweet tea. I took a picture of
the family next to their home. The above photograph is one of my favourites. If you look
closely, you will see Ousmane wearing a red t-shirt that reads, “I shot J.R.” (This was from
the TV show Dallas back in the 1970s.)
The cycling was slow en route to St. Louis. However, the scenery made it more en-
joyable. Both sides of the road were lined with trees and next to them were acres of rice
paddies. It was peaceful and quite beautiful. Seventeen kilometres from St. Louis, I came
upon a family resting under a tree. As I was about to cycle by, they shouted for me to join
them.Istoppedandintroducedmyself.Wechattedforanhouraswesippedhotsweettea.I
bidthemfarewellandleisurelymademywaytowardthecity.JustbeforeIarrived,another
familyinvitedmetotea,whichIaccepted. Istayedforanhourwiththemandtheyalsofed
me too! Since I had only 3 kilometres left, I was in no rush.