To show how exhausted Debs was last night, she fell asleep shortly after dinner at about 8pm and didn't wake until just before 7am. I meanwhile had a bit of a fitful night; I have been having some trouble with my previously injured shoulder and just couldn't get comfortable. By 7:30am we were sitting waiting for breakfast, which when it arrived was cold, or at least mine was! When I mentioned that my breakfast chips and egg were cold, I thought that Debs had remained very quiet. It took just one look at her tucking in, to realise that her food was warm.
Leaving the guest-house we headed into the town for a not entirely successful shopping trip. We found some bread and supplies for the road ahead, but all of the ATMs were either out of money or wouldn't accept our cards. It is just as well that I have some cash or we would be struggling, hopefully wherever we stop for the night will accept dollars. To make our trip into town even more annoying, we couldn't find the right road out and ended up doing an unnecessary 6km detour almost back to where we started. That added to a very strong headwind meant that our supposed easy day was looking to be anything but.
With leaden legs and aching muscles we pushed on down the road. Yesterday's exertions were taking their toll and I was having a bad time of it. Having blocked the wind for most of yesterday and doing the same today, on top of a badly aching shoulder and neck, meant that I was in no mood for begging locals. Today I took the decision to put my head down and try to ignore everyone. Debs kept up the waving and shouts of hello where it was deserved, but there were once again too many 'give me money, pen, bike' demands from the locals. There is nothing more heart warming than a group of children singing 'mzungu, one dollar' as we pass!
Having just passed a small bridge and with traffic coming from both directions, Debs didn't see a pothole on the side of the road. She managed to stay on at the expense of blowing both front and rear inner-tubes, and bashing herself badly on the seat. She was a bit shaken up and in some amount of pain, which I have to admit I rather ignored, instead looking to see how much damage had been done to the bike. In my defence I figured that as she was still standing, she must be alright. Two buckled wheels and some broken spokes on the other hand would have been a much greater problem. Fortunately bike and rider were in pretty good shape though, all I had to do was replace both inner-tubes while surrounded by kids and being baked by the afternoon sun! I had the bike back together in double quick time and we were soon off to find a quiet lunch stop, which we found in the shade of a tree.
Back on the road and into the wind we pressed on towards Mua, stopping briefly at a river to watch the locals bathing and washing their clothes. A friendly guy came up for a chat and told us that we were only about 15 minutes away from the town and he was almost correct!
About 25 minutes later we turned off the main road towards the mission, which was up a fairly steep, dirt road. The mission was built at the beginning of the 20th century by the Catholic 'white fathers'. It has grown to include a school, hospital and the main reason for our visit, the 'Kungoni centre of culture and art'. With the hill negotiated, we arrived outside the administration building and Debs went to enquire about a room and whether we could have a look around the museum. The museum is closed on Sundays, so we had to go in now or we would miss the chance. Our first problem to solve was how to pay, as the rooms are quite expensive and we only just had enough money for the room and dinner. Seeing as it seems a very nice place we would really like to be here for another day to have a look good look round. Plus Debs is a bit sore from her earlier pothole related incident. The guy in the showroom seemed to think that we could arrange to pay in dollars, so fingers crossed we will be good for a couple of nights.
Unfortunately the guide to the museum had gone home early, so we were shown round by the showroom staff member, who tried his best to give us an insight into the history and culture of the native people. The museum is fascinating, it was just a shame that we hadn't arrived a bit earlier, so that we would have had more time. The highlight though had to be the room filled with 'gule wamkulu' masks, the largest collection of its type in the world, which due to their ceremonial importance photography is sadly prohibited.
Having had a look at the museum we headed off to the hostel to enquire about getting a room. Here we ran into a stumbling block when the staff member told us that they weren't supposed to let people pay in dollars. He agreed to chat to the administrator so we are assuming it will still be alright. Regardless of our payment issues we have been given the keys to a beautiful chalet. All of the rooms are themed along the lines of the carved mask outside. We are in the 'chinkhombe' (owl) room, which has many carved owl fixtures and related wall hangings. Outside, the rooms are surrounded by lovely gardens and a terrace overlooks the local river.
Dinner may have been beef stew which we have had countless times in Africa, but it was one of the tastiest we have had and the kitchen staff are really friendly.
Hopefully the peace and tranquillity of the area will translate to a good nights sleep. Tomorrow we plan to have a better look round the mission.
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