Having said a slightly sad farewell this morning to all of the great people we have met, we set off up the dirt road. The temperature and humidity were through the roof this morning, not a good day to be tackling what turned out to be a very hilly route.
Things certainly improved after the first 2km when we got to the tarmac, but it was certainly a struggle in the heat. Often the shorter days turn out to be more difficult than the longer ones. It is very easy to dismiss them as an easy ride and to be honest we weren't really prepared for the day ahead.
While stopped at a small supermarket, we met a guy who had been camped beside us at Buccaneers. He offered us a lift most of the way to East London, which was nice of him, but we politely refused. By that point we were halfway there, plus there was no point in arriving too early.
Hills aside, the remainder of the journey was pretty uneventful. The road we had been on was quite narrow which made riding in the traffic a little unnerving. More so for Debs, when she was forced to head for the verge when a van came past and gave her no space at all. The same driver then beeped his horn and waved at me, you have to wonder what is going through some people's heads!
At a little after midday we arrived outside Buffalo backpackers and got checked in. Debs then tried to phone the people who would be looking after our bikes while we are away for Christmas. Having tried unsuccessfully, we headed out for lunch to a nearby pub and sports bar. The food was very good and of a suitably cyclist sized portion. By the time we had eaten it all and washed it down with a couple of beers it was all we could do to make it back to the hostel for a rest. Luckily Debs had managed to get through to Serene who would be looking after our gear and she had kindly offered to come and pick it all up. Neither of us really fancied heading out again today anyway.
Rather than hanging around the hostel all evening, we had arranged to join Christine and Jesse at a nearby art gallery. Dragging ourselves out we were picked up at about 7pm and proceeded to have a fantastically peculiar evening. Christine and the wonderfully bonkers Jesse are great.
It is not every evening that you get to make and wear an ivy crown; read the part of Puck in a scene from 'A Midsummer Nights Dream'; play with sparklers; thankfully not burn the tree down that Chinese lantern crashed into; listen to some poetry; drink plenty of free wine and watch a grown man do a fairy dance!
Occasionally life takes a brilliant yet surreal turn!
That sounds like a good party. We love the laurel leaves.
ReplyDeleteLove from Mum and Dad.