Today was a rough day.

Music and drinking went on in the hotel bar for most of the night — but it didn't keep me from initially falling asleep. It was the music, singing and cheering at 4:00am that wouldn't let me get back to sleep. It turned out to be an all-night wake taking place.

We were the first ones ready this morning for a change — David and Il were delayed as the town's water had stopped and they hadn't filtered any before bed like they usually do.

We had omelets, beignets and Nescafé again in town — my favourite morning food.

Then we hit the dirt road out of town. And boy was it rough: foot-deep ruts in places; washboard surfaces; rocks; loose dirt and gravel. The latter caused David to wipe out — fortunately he managed to land on his feet running. Gill wasn't so lucky: she took a tumble and scraped up her arm and hip. Fortunately Julius was with her and David and I caught up shortly with our First Aid Kits. We irrigated the wound, cleaned it best we could and patched her up. She took it very stolidly.

Sadly, the road would always badly deteriorate starting on the outskirts of the villages. Villages are always my favourite part as we get to look around and greet everyone. Unfortunately it's also very hazardous since that's when we need the most attention on the road in front of us!

David says:
In one section we passed a couple of groups carrying bundles of sticks on their heads. It looked like it was no short trip. If they are traveling long distances to collect fire wood it doesn't bode well for what remains of trees in the area.

Not too long into the morning Gill took a second fall and scraped up her knee and fingertips. Although the physical damage was relatively minor it was really hard on her psyche and she was very shaken up. After patching her up again (I'm glad I stocked the First Aid kit well) she recovered her nerves and actually cycled very strongly for the rest of the day.

Not so true for Yau, Julius' protege. He was bonking badly and walking his bike up the steeper hills, even though he had minimal gear. We gave him 1/4 of our water and a Powerbar and it seemed to help rejuvenate him.

We stopped in a village for a short rest and soft drinks. Meanwhile, most of the village kids crowded around outside to look at us and our bikes. The kids are much more open here — more likely to wave and run after us. And ask for money. (One asked for candy. I wish tourists wouldn't give gratuitous handouts. It's undignified and spoils relationships.)

I eventually began to loathe the roughness of the road: the washboard surface was the worst; by mid-way though the day every bump sent a jolt of pain through each of my forearms, which were busy taking the brunt of the impact my 20" wheels couldn't absorb.

We stopped in a second village for a break where a couple of photographers have a studio called "Photo Korea" of all things — seems to be a chain. Since Il is Korean they took her up to the studio to take a picture of her. I followed to make sure she was okay. Soon everybody in the village wanted a picture with her and bfore long I was dragged into the studio to pose with various people. I snuck out while they were busy again with Il!

By the end of the ride we were dirty, sore, tired and all out of water. We hit the paved road into Foumban and stopped for lunch by the road for our usual rice and bean affair. We were all looking forward to warm showers at the hotel and petitioned David to heed this criteria. (It's been only cold mountain water since Douala!) 

He couldn't find the hotel he knew from 20 years ago (and hasn't yet) and then settled on the first one he found. He described our rooms as "cleanish". Worse: no hot water. Or any water, except when drawn from a big drum down the hall: the town's water is off here, too. Facts be told, there's not even a sink in the wall anymore. They refill the drums in the hall 3 times a week which leads me to believe this town is often without running water.

Gill was debating the merits of trying to destroy Bicycle Africa. I went to my mental happy-place, sat on the floor and read up on wound management.

After some less-than-satisfying bucket bathing with cold water we regrouped and went to the Sultan's palace for a tour. It was interesting, but we were exhausted. We also saw 6 tourists there—more than the whole trip so far! (And one of them a white man. We stared.)

David says:
One of the impressive buildings in Foumban is the Sultan of Bamoun's palace. The Sultans changed their title from Fon when they converted to Islam around the beginning of the 20th century.

On the way back we walked through the huge, sprawling, busting biweekly market. Just about everything you could want was being sold — save perhaps contact lens solution.

Near our hotel we all stopped at a bakery for soft drinks since I was so thirsty. David went back to the hotel and the three of us stayed behind where we joked about his choice of lodgings and made general fun of him and his thriftiness. We decided to threaten a mutiny if we don't get better lodgings in Bafoussam: warm water or bust!

After having a good laugh at David's expense we went to a small restaurant suggested to David at the bakery that was crowded with locals. I had a massive plate of spaghetti noodles with a tomato sauce and managed to devour the whole thing in minutes. The Bicycle Africa diet: eat as much as you possibly can and still lose weight.

David says:
From our experiences there are no Starbucks, Burger Kings or Pizza Huts in Cameroon. In fact, when you want a bite to eat it is often best to try the whole in the wall type restaurants — because that is all there is. Don't be surprised if you get something as good as mom's home cooking because that is probably who is stirring the pot.

We went right back to the hotel while David hit the tiny Internet café. I was so exhausted that I could barely scrape up the energy to filter water (the drum is also almost empty) and write in my journal. Gill pretty much went right to bed and conked out.

Today was tough—especially on Gill. I hope the going gets easier for her sake... personally, I've been on these tours before and have somewhat different expectations. That is, I try not to have any! What can you really do when an entire town has no running water?

---