Wednesday, 25th April 2007

To: Tukuyu

If any of my old TDA friends are reading this, they may remember the fun riding day from Mbeya to just past the Malawian border. Remember all that downhill cruising?

So, here I was, going the other direction. It's o.k., since I'd been stressed out about getting to the border on time the first time, so I hadn't even ridden - I'd taken a bus. Now, here I was, riding it, but in the opposite direction! Let's just say that there was a lot of climbing. Climbed, all day long, and made it half-way to Mbeya. Slept at the wonderful Landmark Hotel in Tukuyu, and had fun chatting with some people over at a recommended nightclub, about 200 meters from the hotel.

But I'll start from the beginning. I woke up early and went to the border and discovered that the man at the Malawi exit control knew me and I knew him. How? He'd been playing pool with me last night! So, we chatted a bit and he waved me through and told me he hoped I'd come back soon.

Then ... climb, climb, climb ... no reprieve ... until ... the pig place! I don't even know what the name of this little village was, but I pulled over when I saw activity and pulled into this ... place. I don't even know how to describe it, so I'll post 2 pictures that I hope will help. Let's just say that I knew very few people who would actually dare to eat at this place. But took a seat on a little bench with a wobbly table of sorts, ordered a soda and some pig and had a grand ol' time. I love street food and I think I'm lucky because my stomach is a bit tough, so I rarely get sick. I think it might stem from my mom's motto when we were young and camping that "a little dirt or ashes in the stew is good for you, so don't complain." It is good for you! It toughens up your stomach! Haha.

So, well, I ordered some pig and they wacked it off the hog (shown in photos) and grilled it. Mmmm, delicious! I shared some with the lady in this second photo, and the boy in the photo is a secondary student who asked me to send him his picture, so I'll have to try to do that.

After 30 or 45 minutes, however, alas, I moved on. Climbed and climbed, slowly, until it started to drizzle and then started to rain fairly hard ... just as I was lucky enough to be entering the town limits of the town of Shirika! I darted my eyes around quickly, trying to see a nice little place to go hole up for a bit and wait for the rain to stop. But as I was darting my eyes, the rain started coming down harder, so I finally just dashed over to a bench on a porch, outside a teansy little shop. It wasn't the greatest spot to hole up, but it was dry because of the overhang. It soon became very crowded on my little bench as others had the same idea of sitting there to get out of the rain. That was o.k. We all had a common purpose and there was a feeling of comraderie as we tried to stay dry. Eventually, the rain let up a bit, and some people started wandering back out. That's when I took this photo, looking out from my little spot in front of the shop - in Shirika.

When I thought the rain may have stopped long enough for me to make it to Tukuyu, I took off. Only rode about 1/2 km, however, and was only on the outskirts of town, when it started raining again. Determined not to ride in the rain, I pulled over, this time at a nice place with tables and chairs. Stayed there for a good 2 hours, and was making jokes with the other customers that I was NOT going out in that rain! If it didn't stop raining, well then, I'd just sleep right there! (There was a lodge attached to the place where I had now taken refuge.)

About 5:30, it did stop raining, so I left. Only had about 10 km to go to get to Tukuyu, but those 10 km took me nearly an hour - climbed. In fact, I don't think it was ever flat or downhill the entire day. (O.k., it may have been flat as I rode through Shirika.)

Got to Tukuyu and went to the Landmark Hotel, which had been recommended to me. It was quite nice and cost 20,000 shillings (about $18). In the evening, wandered over to a nearby nightclub and chatted with some local people, which was fun.

------------------- TODAY --------------- TOTAL
Cycled ------------ 47 km (29 mi) --------- 4,715 km (2,952 mi)
Lift ---------------- 0 ---------------------- 2,660 km (1,768 mi)
Total -------------- 47 km (29 mi) --------- 7,375 km (4,720 mi)
In Saddle ---------- 5 hours 15 min -------- 315 hours 56 min
Ascended ---------- 3,113 feet ------------- 85,215 feet