Debs was asleep by 8pm while I found out that the bar in fact did sell beers! I only had one though and soon joined Debs in the tent. The other groups of people on Safari had taken up all the tables and chairs and none of them seemed that chatty. Thankfully Debs felt much better this morning, so hopefully the worst is behind her.
Leaving the camp-site behind we made a brief stop to buy some onions and bananas and then rejoined the main road. Having been in the hills for most of our time in East Africa, today's road was surprisingly flat, plus the road having been recently laid was smooth tarmac.
Riding along the boundaries of two national parks meant that there was always the possibility of spotting wildlife and today we encountered a troop of baboons. We watched from a safe distance of course, we had no wish of riding up the road with irate primates hanging from our bikes, they are heavy enough already! Eventually they all crossed the road and we continued on our way.
The greetings we have received along the road have been a bit of mixed bag. Today however most of the villages we passed through seemed to be really friendly. An elderly Masai man was especially funny when he realised he was about to wave his machete at us and had to hastily move it to his other hand before returning our waves and greetings! Everyone in the Tanzanian villages seems to ride a bicycle and we received many rings of bells and thumbs up as we rode along. Fortunately we didn't have a repeat of yesterday's stone throwing incident.
All of the waves and greetings were very welcome when the wind got up and we had to fight our way along the road into a strong headwind. The headwind never abated and to make the ride more difficult, when we were only 10km from Babati some fool went and put a mountain in the way; bloody plate tectonics! Despite our aching leg muscles we made it up the hills buoyed on by lots of school children who ran or, when it got really steep, walked along beside us.
Unlike the rest of our journey, where people have been generally happy to have their photo taken, East Africa seems to be very different. When I got my camera out and asked the kids if I could take a photo, they all ran off until I put the camera away.
Later on I encountered some teenagers who all thought that I should give them money for taking photos. Even when it was of Debs coming up the road or of the surrounding scenery.
It is making documenting our travels a bit more difficult than we have previously encountered. It certainly doesn't seem to be a cultural thing, just another way of begging. Most of the people who approach you after watching you take a photo of something quite innocuous to demand money are clearly just idiots.
Eventually with tired limbs we arrived in Babati and after a bit of help we found Kahembe's guest-house. We have our first room of part two on the road and it seems pretty good and the staff are certainly friendly enough. Having got unpacked, we went for a late lunch and had an enormous plate full of chicken and chips each. Around the bus station the town is pretty bustling, so we should be able to pick up the supplies we need for the road ahead.
It looks like for the next 250km we say goodbye to tarmac roads. Carrying food and water is going to be more important than before, especially as we are back in the mountains for a while.
Depending on how we feel in the morning we may have a day off. It is going to be several days before we reach the next city of Dodoma.
Road Bike is one of the most popular activity in Zion, this activity is more fun and excitement.
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