My first week in East Africa now completed, and I found circumnavigating Mt. Kenya quite an experience, crossing the equator twice, once back into the Northern Hamisphere on the east side of the mountain and back into the Southern hemisphere on the west side. For most of the route, the mountain is obstructed from view…
Bamako BMX Fun and Skills This child shows his Bamako BMX fun and skills during my time in in Bamako, Mali I came across this talented child with a worn out BMX and no shoes or decent pedals displaying some outstanding skills on his BMX. The brakes didn’t work, the headset was loose and the…
After an enjoyable relaxing week at my warmshowers host Giel (pronounced heel) and Wies (pronounced Vees) in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, it was time to get the flight to Nairobi in Kenya. Ouagadougou had been a surprise, more modern than other West African towns I’d visited and development going on in many areas. There is a…
Two countries I didn’t envisage seeing when I set out from the UK was Mali and Burkina Faso. Like nearly every other cycle tourist in West Africa, I was going to follow the coastal route through many of the smaller West African countries. Guinea Conakry, Sierria Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast etc. Ebola and its repercussions…
On 22nd September the route I’m taking should change significantly. Months before I left the UK and not long after the initial outbreak of Ebola I was aware that this could cause problems for my original route. In previous outbreaks borders have closed and this outbreak continues to grow with the understandable restrictions on travel…
After riding through most of The Gambia, I thought there wouldn’t be that much more to see in this small country. I continue to be drip fed surprises and new things as the travel continues. It’s always a highlight to see animals in the wild not seen before, like a troop of baboons, a mongoose…
While staying with Cherno and the cycling club, we were able to catch up on some things like washing clothes, bike repairs and taking time to see the beach at Gunjur. Cherno and his wife fed us well with African food, rice with fish, black porridge (rice with sugar and groundnut) and Cherno’s wife’s famous…
After a lovely week resting at 7 Palava, it was time to get going again. Another cyclist from Belgium Wouter arrived a couple of days before and he was planning on heading further into Africa. Wouter had been in contact for a while after being told by a Moroccan Gendarmerie checkpoint that there were cyclists…
After spending over two months on the road to reach Senegal, I thought it maybe time to allow myself a proper bit of R&R. The Campsite Camping 7 Palava near St Louis I had read about on more than one travellers blog. After spending some time in St Louis after crossing the border from Mauritania…
If I were to be asked to sum up Mauritania in five words from my experience up to Nouakchott they would have been: 1. Desert 2. City 3. Iron Ore 4. Railway Line 5. Sand The country is mainly desert. After receiving my Senegalese visa I was able to leave Nouakchott and continue on the…
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Riding into the Sahara during summer isn’t something most cycle tourists do, most go through either before or after (I’d originally planned before). Luckily the route you take which starts in Morocco, follows the coastal route for much if the Moroccan part which helps to keep temperatures at a manageable heat. Throughout the crossing the…
The Youth Hostel Cloud 9 I stayed in (yes I know I’m not a youth, oldies are allowed as well!) was great. It was my first stay in such a place and I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. Cloud 9 is situated right in the heart of the Medina, near to everything…
The workaway week in Rabat with Ana and Salah at their school near the Barakas in Rabat was an experience I never thought I’d have in a million years. Only a couple of months ago living in the UK with a comfortable job and taking lots of things that we in the UK take for…
Ive arrived in Morocco, exciting, a new country and a continent I have never been to before, Africa. Its a lot different to Europe. Arriving and entry was easy, buy ferry ticket, pre-register entry to Morocco on the ferry, clear immigration and cycle into Morocco. It was quite an eventful day, I woke up and…
14th June, my Birthday. Woke up on the beach at Calarbardina the night after Spain got beaten in their world cup opening game. Renas gave me a birthday present, one of his cotton shirts that he’d not worn much with long sleeves. I had no shirts with long sleeves to protect my arms from the…