After cycling 19.000km from Belgium to the start gate of kilimanjaro I “parked” my bike again and started climbing up the mountain. At the gate itself I had a group of friends waiting for me to join me on this climb.
my friends waiting for me at the Machame gate
To climb Kilimanjaro you need permits, guides and porters. It is not possible (permission wise) to climb it completely on your own. That’s why I teamed up with Wild Tanzania to organise a group myself instead of joining one. We made up a group with friends to join. Therefore this was a special climb, it is a non technical climb that only needs a good physical stamina and acclimatisation so everybody was welcome to join.
It took us 6 days to reach the summit, slowly going up the slopes of this beautiful mountain. In fact, it seems more like a mountain range while passing many different climate zones. The key part is to go up very slowly and it was just a fun climb with this group of people. Telling jokes and enjoying the scenery wile walking up. As it is not my first time at extreme altitude, the climb itself was not very difficult to me. Just the presence of the group made it a special experience.
By the 20th of September I finally reached the 4th mountain of the Secutec Seven Summits! A very special moment again, especially the last hour or so. Like the previous summits, I relived many moments and efforts to just get there: handbiking from Belgium to the south of Spain for weeks with Frank. Then crossing the Strait of Gibraltar by Kayak onto the African continent. From there I cycled another 17.000km through west, central and east Africa for many months to finally arrive at the foot of this mountain. It was an amazing experience to get there and I’m very impressed by this huge continent.
It makes me very grateful for all the people who helped me achieve this goal again! A very special thanks to Secutec who help me achieve my dream to become the first person ever to do this. And thank you to all of you who support me in any way, by joining me, sending me messages or anything else. It is already such a fantastic ride en I’m up for so much more!
After the rest in the Mutinondo wilderness camp I had new physical and mental energy to cycle the last part to Kilimanjaro. Determined that I would make it in time, I planned a route with some detours to visit some beautiful places along the way.
Beach time
Taking a turn off the main road to Tanzania I find a more relaxed road going straight up North. Because of Covid, the small border I’m heading to is closed. Locals tell me pedestrians and cyclists can cross anyway so I’m taking the risk. Pretty soon I end up cycling the 500 km near the border. There I take another road in the direction of Kalambo falls. A pretty, but rough ride takes me to this amazing place. The waterfalls are about 235m high and it’s quite remote. After a refreshing pause I continue descending down to lake Tanganyika. It’s one of the biggest freshwater lakes in the world and definitely worth the visit. The only painful part is that the descent is pretty long on a rough gravel road. Already feeling the pain for the uphill the next day…
The final crossing
My rest day at the lake helped me to get up the hill again, but it hurt a lot. Pushing hard to get up the steep hill with many loose rocks. I found most energy out of the fact that I would cross the final border in Africa and will be entering Tanzania! The border is a very relaxed one, and they only ask a quick test for covid to enter. Soon I’m stamped in and then I meet a group of cyclists. They cycled from Zimbabwe to Uganda for charity and are now driving back with the support cars. It’s really nice to meet them and they give me some good tips for the road. As well as some of their snacks (thank you so much) and a mosquito net for my head. That’s mainly to protect me from the tsetse flies that I will encounter later. I find a really nice place to camp not far from the border and the next days I’m heading to Katavi national park, one of the few you’re allowed to cycle through.
Attack of the flies
Before cycling through the national park, people warned me about dangerous animals there, especially lions. They told me to cycle on the warmest moments of the day, that’s when the animals are the least active. It’s only 60km on a bad (constant washboard) gravel road so I’m not too worried about all of that. Another warning where the tsetse flies, they are extremely terrible there. Especially when you’re cycling. They follow moving objects an just want to suck your blood. Insect repellent is not very effective for these little bastards. They get very active on the warmest moments and they made the drive a hell!
Followed by a swarm of those blood sucking vampires I’m swearing myself through the park, occasionally spotting some wildlife. Sometimes I’m finding the courage to take my camera, but only to start hitting myself non stop. This means no stopping at all, not even for drinking or eating. At the end of the day, getting out of the park I’m completely exhausted. Mainly because of a lack of fuel. But when I cross the bridge and I see all the hippos and crocodile in the river I’ve forgotten about those terrible flies. The next day was rest day and I went for a game drive. Not being attacked as frequently by those flies was a luxury and gave me the opportunity to take more pictures.
The final push
As I’m getting closer to Arusha it feels that my body needs some descent rest. I promised myself 5 days of rest before climbing which I’m looking forward to. From the Congo-Zambian border the main wind direction was against me, sometimes more, sometimes less. It became very frustrating to push every day and I was getting really sick of it. Slowly I made my progress, still enjoying the views and experiences of the road. I take it easy and try not to get frustrated about it. Which after a while really helps and while having fun, I’m making progress. After some days I finally arrive near Arusha. Instead of pushing through and finding a hotel I look for a nice place to camp one last night somewhere alone.
It’s a great time to realize what I’ve done, cycled and kayaked 19.000km from Belgium to Kilimanjaro. What an experience that was! I love enjoying the stars before getting back to the city where I will wait my friends to climb together. Here in Arusha now I’m taking some well deserved rest in Onsea house and the 11th of September I will go up Mount Meru with Ben and Nuno. We’ll be back down the 13th. The next day I will cycle half a day to Moshi where the other friends will arrive to climb Kilimanjaro with me. The 16th I’ll cycle to the Moshi gate where the others will start the climb with me and I’ll leave the bike to climb up. Can’t wait to get going in the mountains and especially climb the 4th mountain of the Secutec Seven Summits!
water pumps are always a great stop in Africa!
Camping inside this building
Last camp spot before arusha
last sunset before entering Arusha
Special thanks to my sponsors who make this adventure possible!
After a day of rest in Kananga I left to find slightly better road conditions. The whole drive to Lubumbashi took me another 2 weeks to complete with a few good roads, and many terrible ones to push the bike. Despite the bad road conditions I had a really great ride in this country.
Diamond towns
From Kananga I head to Mbuji Mayi, another diamond city in the heart of Congo. But before reaching it, I stop by lake Mukamba where I read there’s a catholic mission with some nice rooms to rest. The road itself is better and I have to walk only about 10 percent of the drive to Mbuji Mayi. One of the bridges broke and the locals made one out of bamboo to cross it. This means no cars or trucks passing by that can’t destroy the road that much. After a great rest at the lake I’m off to the next city. Mbuji Mayi is a very loud city and everyone screams at me while entering. Not in a bad way, just trying to get my attention. It is annoying to do that while trying to avoid potholes, passing cars and motorcycles. Very soon I find a place to sleep and prepare for the next day.
crossing the bamboo bridge
pushing the bike again
Keep rolling
From Mbuji Mayi to Mwene Ditu I find an asphalt road, not perfect but good enough for cycling and that day I can make some good distance. When it’s almost getting dark I’m trying to find a place to sleep, but then a guy on a motorcycle starts to follow me. It happens quite a lot (in many parts of the world) that people do that and mainly they do it out of interest. We start to talk a bit but I’d prefer him to leave so I can find a nice place to camp in the forest. He tells me there is a police barrier further up. Because he’s worried about me so continues to follow me. In the end it’s very nice and he drops me off at a secure place then continues to his house. In all these parts there are less checkpoints but when there are, they are very nice to me. Just doing their job, being friendly and not trying to persuade me to pay. Even on one occasion the DGM (much feared immigration) asked money, I explain them what I’m doing and they get me a free drink!
They didn’t let me go, I had to eat!
DGM wanting to pose with me, being happy I’m visiting their country
Ups and downs
My hopes where high after the asphalt road but that didn’t last long. The conditions got very bad again with several stretches of pushing the bike for hours. Sometimes I feel strong, other times I’m exhausted, pushing the bike. Sand everywhere, pain, itch, a dry mouth, pedals hitting my shins, blisters, it’s a struggle… But all the amazing kind people I meet, make up for that. Sometimes I’m not cycling alone. I meet several people who are travelling for a week or more to the next town, just to buy dry fish and head back to their village to sell it. All on these old steel bikes. Their stories touch me and I’m happy we can share this experience. They’re pushing their heavy loads in the sand. It’s a great lesson of humility, I’m not doing something extraordinary, these people do! And with a smile.
That’s what I like about travelling by bike, being able to meet people from all kind of places, not just going from city to city but everywhere in between. This way I understand their life a little bit better and just makes me respect them more.
As the villages are getting further apart I’m camping in the wild regularly as well. Not only because there is nothing, also because it gives me some privacy. Being in a village is nice but after a while I want to be able to sit alone without 30 people watching everything I do.
Back on track
The road mainly follows the old railroad that is still operational, but I think I only once saw a train. They are not very frequent, neither fast. The same goes for the trucks, they are overloaded with stuff and lots of people on top. Crazy to see and when they pass me I get covered in a cloud of dust and fumes. Many times I pass them the next day because the truck is stuck, had an accident or broke down and they’re working on it. My whole trip from Kinshasa to Lubumbashi took me about 25 days, most trucks do about the same time on that…
It all starts to get difficult, and I’m really looking forward to some rest. Therefore I’m pushing it more to reach Lubumbashi where I promised myself some rest days. The last 200km are asphalt again, but this is the only time I feared for my life in Congo. The trucks and traffic, connecting Kolwezi with Lubumbashi, are just extremely dangerous. I see many cars and trucks in the side of the road, completely destroyed after horrific crashes. Most don’t care if you’re there. They will overtake another car or truck and if you as a cyclist don’t get out of the way, you’re in bad luck… Even from the back that happens and having the mirror on my handlebars saves my life many times.
Looking back
After all, I had a really good experience here in the DRC. I read and heard many stories of corruption, dangerous places and people. Out of my experience it’s different. Yes there’s corruption but not very different than in another African country. The problem is mainly focused at the locals I’m afraid, having to pay police to be able to transport some goods on their bicycle, which is really sad… People in general where amazing and kind, except for a few, but you have those everywhere in the world. I learned a lot and this country will have a long lasting effect on me, I will have to process what I’ve seen and experienced here for a while.
Congo exceeded my expectations a lot and I’m happy to have cycled here, thank you for that!
Thank you very much to my sponsors who make this project possible.
As I was preparing to cycle through the Democratic Republic of the Congo I read different blogs on how people crossed this huge country overland. I got a mixed feeling about it (excitement, fear, …) and when talking to my friend Tracy who lives in Kinshasa, she said “you either love it or hate it”. For the first part I can tell you, it’s really hard, but it’s worth it!
Leaving the big city
The first challenge was escaping the city of Kinshasa, one of the biggest cities of Africa and easily compared to Lagos, Nigeria. After having cycled here I can say it’s not exactly the same. Because of the stories here of people being robbed and such I was on high guard (just like in Lagos). But the feeling the city itself gave me was okay, I didn’t fear for my life being run over by crazy drivers. To my surprise I get out of town quite easily and once passed the airport I’m continuing the N1.
The countryside
Once out of town everything calms down a bit. There is still a good asphalted road, but less traffic. It takes me up and down, to another plateau giving me a cooler climate. Cooler at night, the daytime I’m still cycling in 30°-35°C temperatures. People around are screaming at me, but in a good way. I was afraid that maybe corona would’ve impacted the view on travellers here, but I never noticed that. It is still very intense and people are really enthusiastic, which can be experienced like threatening. My time in Nigeria learnt me that the enthusiasm comes from a very sincere kindness.
at the catholic mission
almost daily eating a pineapple, never alone!
long stretch of boring road…
Authorities
Mainly I sleep at farms, villages or catholic missions at the side of the road. Occasionally at a police barrier. I read many bad things about authorities here and was afraid that corruption would bring me into tight spots. Especially the DGM (Immigration) has a bad reputation. I must say, until now I didn’t encounter many difficulties. At least not different than any other country. If I was asked for money, they would just ask after my registration was done in a very polite way. They mainly ask for something to drink (about 40 cents).
With the village chief
Until I reach Tshikapa. A feared city on my list and it became some reality. The nice DGM officers took me to the main office. Where I was treated in a good way and just interrogated by 3 different people, taking a lot of time. Then I could go, but I had to pass by the Intelligence service too, for my safety. The police in the city stopped us and being quite aggressive to me and the DGM officer. Trying to intimidate us. After some discussion we could go. At the intelligence there was another long time of waiting, interrogation and registering. At the end the wanted 50 dollars for that service. We got into a discussion about it as they didn’t want to hand me any official proof that I would pay… I really hate these kind of situations and in the end it took me more than 4 hours to get away from all the hassle.
Still, most of the checkpoints and officials I go to are nice and friendly and are doing a good job. It just takes time and patience but they take their job seriously and feel responsible for me passing through in safety. And I understand that for them it’s not obvious for someone to be cycling a bicycle to Tanzania just for fun, while he could easily pay for a flight there. Even in one village I asked the police if I could sleep there, they slept in front of my tent to protect me (no money asked)!
with the DGM
morning with the police
End of the road
After about 1000 km of asphalt road it stops quite abruptly and there is ar “road” that I can follow. Mainly it’s sand, making it impossible to ride my bike. The only way is pushing the bike for very long stretches and suffering in the heat. Sometimes there is a possibility to cycle but not for long. Going through the villages helps but then I get chased by all the screaming children ( in a nice way). After a couple of days I arrive in Kananga, the capital of the Kasai-Central province. I’m really enjoying this drive through the country. It’s very hard, but worth it.
terrible sand!
kids chasing me
Thank you very much to my sponsors who make this project possible.
The 29th of June I started cycling from Dolisie to the border of the DRC. The ride was great, mainly small gravel roads into the hills to the border. I passed several checkpoints (police, army,…) and then nearing the border I got stopped by Immigration. They wrote down all my details and I was free to go on. Until about 10 minutes later the officer comes back on a motorcycle. He called his boss in Dolisie and told me I had to go back. They put me on a truck that dangerously drove me back. The next day the colonel came to visit me in the city, still hoping he would allow me to cross. There was no discussion possible, I had to get permission in Brazzaville.
happy to be cycling again!
Plan C
That day I left, disappointed, to Brazzaville. Some years ago there was a whole new road constructed, asphalt all the way to the city. During my ride on it I neared the border a couple of times and asked there as well, without success… In a meanwhile I contacted some people at the embassy and found some connections that are willing to help me get it sorted out. The ride itself to Brazzaville was great. Sleeping in the villages I meet on the road, the people being all so friendly and welcoming! I’m feeling good and it’s the dry season. This means it is not as warm and humid as last time I was here. It’s making my nights a whole lot better as it cools down at night. I’m still drinking about 6 litres of water a day though.
the long good road to Brazzaville
The new road is great, but makes a huge detour around the city. This is definitely a lot faster by car, but as I’m cycling it was just some extra km’s. As I arrived in Brazzaville, I’m having some obligatory rest to get everything done. I hope to be in Kinshasa soon so I can continue this adventure. The real one is about to start: cycling the DRC, which I’m very excited about!
Thank you very much to my sponsors who make this project possible.
After my last attempt to row the ocean to Miami I decided to finish off my human powered to Kilimanjaro. Last year I had to hurry back from the Republic of Congo as borders where closing with the beginning of the pandemic. My bike stayed at the Swiss Consul for that time. The 25th of June I flew out to the Republic of Congo again, to pick up my bike and continue cycling.
Nice to see you again!
Arriving here is strange because I’ve left it with a very big unknown when I would come back and what would’ve changed by then. Most is back to a kind of normal here, except the usual like wearing masks, pcr test for border crossings etc. Another concern I had is that my bike, which was one year in a warm humid climate, would be rusted or some parts wouldn’t function well. Luckily it didn’t, although I had to replace something which was already broken and that took me a long time. Next was to unpack the bike from the box and get everything set!
curious about the damage inside
reasonably happy
happy and ready to go!
The new route
My original plan was to cycle from here South to Angola, I heard it’s an amazing country to cycle so it was on my list. Sadly their borders are still closed off because of covid, there’s another route which is more demanding (and rewarding?). Tomorrow I will start to cycle from Dolisie (if my covid test is negative tonight) south towards a small border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, so there’s 2 “Congo’s”, confusing I know). I hope to be able to enter there and pass to Matadi and further to Kinshasa. There I’ll visit some friends, recover and prepare for the next leg. Then it’s cycling South-East to Lubumbashi and from there into Zambia. This part in the DRC will be the most demanding one according to others who travelled there by motorcycle and car. It consists of mainly dirt and sandy roads which means pushing the bike. For some of them it took 3 weeks to cover a distance of 2000 km with a motorised vehicle. I hope it will be okay by bicycle but I’m prepared for some good adventure time!
The not so accurate route, I’m estimating to add up to 1000 km because maps doesn’t know about road conditions
Cooling down
After the DRC I’ll be cycling from Zambia into Tanzania over (probably) mainly asphalt roads. I hope to arrive in Machame (the base of Kilimanjaro) by the 10th of September. Then I’ll have a couple of days rest before my friends arrive and we can start the climb together.
As usual keep following here or follow me on the map where I am in the next couple of months.
Thank you very much to my sponsors who make theseSecutec Seven Summits possible.
After my relaxing stop with Mathias in Yaounde I was ready for another push towards the south. The Belgian stay was amazing (beer and fries!) and gave me a good time to mentally and physically recover. I got my visas for the next countries (Gabon and DRC) and was ready to go to Kilimanjaro!
rest stop
From chaos to tranquility
Every big city is chaotic to cycle though, Yaounde wasn’t very different. After a day I reached the Gabon border and I noticed an even more relaxed atmosphere. Crossing the border was easy, except they didn’t have any documents there. I had to cycle 30km to the next village and by the time I was there, the immigration closed. I had to stay for one night in a hotel and the next day they gave me a stamp so I could continue my journey in the tranquil Gabon.
natural cooling down places
Abandoned in the middle of nowhere???
Good company
The cycling was a bit hilly and the people are still very friendly, as usual saying hello everywhere I pass by. There’s less and less people but that’s okay, not too many cars either so I could enjoy cycling through the rainforest a lot! At the end of a day of cycling, in Oyem, I saw a cyclist and a backpacker on the side of the road. Birgit and Jonathan met each other the day before and we decided to camp together for the night. They’re going North, I’m going South. A perfect opportunity to exchange experiences and information about the route and roads coming up.
Jonathan and Birgit
Coffee time!
Company!
From forrest to savanna
Gabon is a really nice country to be cycling in. There are not many cars and mostly I saw trucks transporting big trees. Mainly these are Chinese companies exporting wood, the roads are obviously really good here.
perfect road and cooling down spot
One day Birgit sends me that the borders are closed in Gabon, at least all land borders. She was stuck there for 2 days before they let her out and into Cameroon. Because of the news I’m getting more and more stressed but still try to enjoy the change in landscape. After cycling through the beautiful rainforest I’m entering the savannah.
In these parts of Africa you see bushmeat everywhere. Almost every village I pas by I see barrels with dead animals hang around to be sold. It can be anything from lizards to gazelles and even monkeys. A very strange image to see this hanging at the side of the road. I don’t like it, but on the other hand it’s their source of income/food. The saddest part is that because of deforestation and poaching some of the species like chimpanzees and gorillas are endangered. In Yaounde (Cameroon), I visited a sanctuary to learn a bit more about their work. If you are around, it’s worth to visit the Mefou Primate Sanctuary.
Bushmeat
Bushmeat
The savanna is a very beautiful and flat part with high grass which makes my progress much easier. The downside is that it gets really hot out there. The humidity and the sun at the equator give me a hard time when cycling trough the Savana. There’s no shadow from the rainforest to protect me. While cycling, it feels every moment a lion or elephant can pop up! But the only thing I see is some elephant dung and footprints.
The equator!
no escaping the sun
the road to Congo
chilling out
Corona heat
Exiting Gabon was a bit stressful because I was afraid they wouldn’t allow me out, or allow me into Congo. They checked my fever twice, asked some questions, called around and after a couple of hours I could depart Gabon. On the other hand, entry in Congo was very easy. A very small village and the officials didn’t seem to care about anything.
my first camping spot in Congo
One of my “hotel” rooms
with shower and toilet
I was supposed to pass different checkpoints, but none of them cared and said it was all fine. I didn’t mind and just got stamped in and was ready to go. The scenery was really beautiful and I continued my way to Dolisie, my first city in Congo. The first part was still pretty hard because of the burning sun. The dusty road through the savanna didn’t allow me to take some breaks from the sun. After 3 days and just 30 km before Dolisie the road was asphalt again and was just perfect until Pointe-Noire, an industrial city with some oil drills offshore. When I entered different people shouted at me: “corona!!” even 2 hotels didn’t allow me to stay there…
road to congo
stuck in the mud
Closing time
The day after my arrival in Pointe-Noire I heard the news about the borders getting closed. I called many people to get their opinion and I decided to stay and try to get back to Belgium. As soon as possible booked a flight back home, like many advised me to do. A day later the government suddenly shuts down their airspace so my flight got cancelled. I really wanted to prevent to be stuck there in Congo, sadly that didn’t work as planned. Luckily I met a German couple (Quirin and Lara) who are travelling by van. We decided to stay together and rent a house for the time we’re trapped here. That way I wasn’t alone being stuck and made things a bit more bearable. The Swiss consul helped us a lot. I got in touch with the Belgian consul and embassies to see if they could help me out.
Lara and Quirin’s van
The whole situation was hard and confusing. It’s stressful, but I realise it’s very stressful for most people. I’m very happy my sponsors, friends and family called me regularly to check if I’m fine. It’s a perfect moment to appreciate that I’m surrounded by extremely wonderful people.
The great escape
After being stuck in Pointe-Noire for 2 weeks I got an email from the Belgian embassy. They said that there might be a chance I could fly out from Kinshasa. This is another country, there are 2 Congo’s. I had to get to Brazzaville that same day. With great luck I still find a place on the last domestic flight. The next day the confinement starts and all transportation is blocked. Our embassy was negotiating hard with authorities of both Congo’s (Brazzaville and Kinshasa). Brazzaville and Kinshasa are both the capitals and are separated by the Congo river, there is no bridge. They finally got a permission to pick me up by boat from the embassy and bring me to Kinshasa airport. Since the borders are closed this was not easy to negotiate. From Kinshasa there was a repatriation flight back to Belgium.
ready and packed
to the rescue
the fast boat to Kinshasa
back home
After being 6 months and 14.000km away from home it is strange to be back. On one hand I’m happy and feel more relaxed because of the situation here is more comfortable. On the other hand I’m disappointed that I have to pause this adventure. I’m completely aware that this was the best decision and there’s nothing to blame me. Normally when I come back to Belgium I can see my friends and family, drink a beer and have fun. Now I can’t even hug or kiss my girlfriend, very strange times….
Very thankful to my sponsors who support me to get this project done and supported me to get back to safety!
After my visit to the monastery with its waterfalls and the Solar Sisters I was a bit reluctant to leave this beautiful and quiet place. But, the Eastern part of Nigeria was promising with quieter roads and the prospect of getting in the mountains gave me some energy to continue.
Royal visits
The road took me more up North with some headwinds. Combined with the slightly hilly regions it got more difficult and realised I was still near the Sahara. Therefore the winds blow mostly from the North and some kind of fog seemed to be there most of the day: Sahara dust!
Kids working hard here
notice the fog in the background
One day I was cycling and a car stops and comes to talk to me. He introduces himself as being the King of one of the Kingdoms I will cycle through. He invites me to come over to talk and have some food, and so I do. A great surprise to be visiting His Royal Highness Dauda Haruna Umaru Tiisintai of the Suntai Chiefdom. He gives me food, we chat and then I continue my journey. Just before I leave he tells me to visit other Kings on my way. One of the other kings died recently but I can still sleep in his lodge because some servants are still there. The next day I visit His royal highness Alk. Zubairu Hamman Gabda Muhammadu Sambo of the Gashake Kingdom. I get to sleep on one of his domains and he takes great care of me. I get to see his horse and when leaving to go up into the mountains he offers me some money for the road, which I can’t refuse!
Up to the hill
The Mambilla plateau is the last obstacle before Cameroon. It takes me up to 1800 m on a steep (most of the part is 10% average) and winding road. I’m very happy this section is asphalted and I get into my climbing rhythm again. The climb is hard but beautiful and many people cheer me on the way up.
going up!
sunset on the mambilla plateau
Once on the plateau, the climbing isn’t over. It’s a constant up and down and in Gembu I decide to take the road to Dorofi. That’s a small smuggling route with mainly dirt tracks. Absolutely stunning scenery and I get a feeling of being in the Alps. It’s a tough road with many steep parts, downhill isn’t relaxing and going up takes tons of effort. One hill I need to get off the bike and push. There a guy stops his motorcycle and helps me push it, very grateful because it was not an easy task! The atmosphere is really relaxed and people waving and greeting in every village.
steep hill ahead!
Great help from this guy
Borderline intimidation
Once in the border town of Dorofi I try to find a safe place to sleep. It is the border zone with Cameroon and because of the conflicts this is a “red zone”. They bring me to a bar with some “rooms” where I can sleep safely. A couple of hours later the army and an immigration officer come to me. The immigration officer is really angry and says I have a big problem. I try to ask why but don’t really get an answer. I try not be impressed, which is hard when these guys are standing around with their guns. Then the army officer takes me in the bar and explains me that it is not safe to sleep.
road to Dorofi
Sunset on the Mambilla plateau
It feels that they’re trying to confuse me and get a “good cop, bad cop” story on me. I stay calm and the immigration officer wants to see my passport. When he sees my passport it seems I even have a bigger problem. There is something wrong with the stamp they gave me when entering (one of the numbers was wrong he said, while everything was correct and legal). I’m sure I did nothing illegal and tell him that if the migration officer gave me the wrong stamp when entering, he should call him and not put the responsibility on me. Then he told me they could bring me to Gembu, with my response “no problem sir, I’ll just have to call my embassy from there”.
Cooling down
Things seem to calm down and then the military officer starts to talk to the people in the bar and around: “you can not just host these guys, white people here! They can be spies, or anything else. If you go to Europe the police does the same things,…” and many more lies about people and a place they know nothing about. They try to scare people and then take me to the immigration office (in Dorofi).
There they tell me that all is fine. That being after my threat of calling the embassy and showing some recommendation letter of a friend of a very well known organisation. Then they start talking that if anything would happen to me they will burn down the bar! That seems completely crazy to me and we discuss the options while they try to confuse me. He explains me there’s something wrong with the stamp and that he is just helping me in case the Cameroon immigration will say something about that! A big lie off course, like the Cameroon immigration will know what Nigerian entry stamp would be correct…
It’s a nightmare!
They try to scare me more and tell me I shouldn’t sleep there. They say that the bar is dangerous and I have to sleep in the immigration office so the army can protect me. I don’t have much choice and I go for my bicycle and cycle in the middle of the night to their office, with armed escort.
That night I slept extremely bad, I sleep in the immigration officer’s room on my mattress. He is in his bed sleeping with his machine gun next to him. In the middle of the night he wakes up screaming with his gun! I wake up, he shouts something and falls asleep again. Seemed like a bad dream he had but it didn’t make me feel very comfortable.
In the morning I set off to the border with Cameroon, thinking how disgusting it was as a last experience in the otherwise beautiful country! Hoping Cameroon will be better again…. Besides this incident I really liked Nigeria and its people. It is an impressive country and the things that scared me the most was traffic. I actually never felt unsafe, but on the other hand I never camped in the wild here just for my safety…
New hope
I enter Cameroon easily, although it’s a demanding track again, especially after a night like that! Once I reach customs I can change some money and explain my story there. The officer there offers me to buy water for me and I set off into Cameroon. It feels different, people it’s less crowded, less chaotic and more relaxed, but it’s still not easy to cycle. It goes up and down and I feel getting exhausted!
The dusty road past Mayo Darlé
Camping at a church in Cameroon
Every day I feel very tired and I’m looking forward to Yaoundé. Matthias lives there and will host me. He was in Belgium some days before and will bring some goodies that my mum and my girlfriend arranged to get to him (thank you so much you all!!! I enjoyed the candy, letters, beer,….). What a teamwork and I’m looking forward to the small gifts (including my spare credit card which got damaged) and definitely to some rest, food and social contact! I feel very drained both physically and mentally and then I realise I went quite hard the past weeks. Covering 5200km in 6 weeks from Dakar was a real rush, especially to get in time in Nigeria for my visa!
Thanks to my sponsors to make this project possible, give them a thumbs up!
After a rest day in Lagos I left the chaotic city with some caution. The general advice of foreign affairs is negative. The risk of getting robbed or kidnapped is high in this country and therefore I’m taking some safety measures. I’m not wild camping and not cycling during the night. I made a strict plan on where to sleep and limit the amount of km’s so I won’t get surprised by anything.
City hopping
Safety
From Lagos I immediately head east and since I’m trying to keep up to my plan I cycle on the big roads. This is not very nice and almost up to 20 times a day I pass by police/army/??? checkpoints. Mostly these guys are heavily armed with machine guns, making me feel so very safe… Sometimes they are armed with sticks and golf clubs and I wonder if some of them are official or not? Most of the checkpoints I just have a small chat with mostly the same results:
What are you doing? Where are you going?
I’m cycling from Belgium to Tanzania, I covered about 11.000km so far
NO! Thats’s not true, you’re lying! It’s impossible
Yes I am, I can prove you, showing the map and trying to convince them I’m not a spy or anything (seriously, some of them are convinced I am)
What ??? That is unbelievable (with lots and lots of expression and intonation in their voices) !!!!
Then we laugh and chat and I continue. Actually a fun distraction for them and me.
meeting some nice guys along the road
But about 2 – 5 times a day some checkpoints ask me money/present/”water”… Some of them are trying to intimidate me by asking what’s in the bags, tapping it with their stick or gun. I’m not letting that happen and every time I politely tell them I don’t do that, or that “I have water in my bottle, thank you!”. I sometimes think about how people warn me for armed criminals trying to rob me, doesn’t seem very different than those guys. This is sad because people on the street don’t seem to take them seriously and it gives a bad name to the many really nice people I meet.
Many times on the street people just shout at me “white guy!” or “Chinese” or many different things. That’s in the whole of Africa already and I don’t mind, most of the time it’s just for fun and I just wave at them. Occasionally I stop to have a conversation. Most of them actually never spoke to a white man before and some kids even come and touch my skin and my hair.
Road safety
Cycling the bigger roads is not great at all! Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa and like most countries, they love cars. People drive like crazy and I’m very often scared for my life while cycling here. A couple of times a truck just forces me off the road, if I wouldn’t do that they would just hit me. That pisses me off and results in a lot of yelling and swearing at the truck…
Irritation
After a couple of days I get sick of it, I just have enough of it and having a hard time. I feel isolated and lonely in this big chaotic country. Luckily I still meet nice people along the road, but when cycling and at night, I feel alone. It’s a struggle every day: corrupt police, crazy truck drivers, terribly bad exhaust fumes irritating my eyes and lungs,… I’m getting to a point I want to just stop…
These trucks make me irritated!!
That’s dust and smog on my face…
I see the light!
On the road I meet Chris again, the Swiss guy who’s going to South Africa on a motorcycle. This is a relief and great distraction. We decide to meet up near Enugu. We both read that there’s a Christian monastery (the first one in Nigeria) with some waterfalls and decide to head up there. The best choice I made! This place is a haven of peace and quiet: no busy traffic, no shouting people everywhere, no corruption,… There even is a waterfall nearby and we decide to take a rest day there and visit that.
Chris
wading through the river
the waterfall!
Solar sisters
On my rest day I decide to visit solar sisters. That’s an organisation that invests in woman’s rural communities with sustainable products (like solar panels) in Africa. Excuse me the copy/paste from heir website but I think they explain it best:
Solar Sister believes women are a key part of the solution to the clean energy challenge. This is why we invest in women’s enterprise in off-grid communities. We see the opportunity to empower women and to reach those who aren’t reached by business-as-usual energy models. Centering local women in a rapidly growing clean energy sector is essential to eradicating poverty and achieving sustainable solutions to climate change and a host of development issues.
Solar sisters!
They took me to one of these communities where they had a meeting. It was a great experience to see how they all support each other and where bonding and helping each other like real sisters. In a very African way they had this meeting: starting and ending with their song that actually is quite catchy. I’m very thankful to have visited this project and will do so in Tanzania. If you want to know more please visit their website and make a donation today! I will, like some other previous project I visited, raise funds by giving presentations for this cause!
Thanks to my sponsors to make this project possible, give them a thumbs up!
After Ivory coast I followed the coastal roads towards Nigeria. A welcoming change with more facilities but on the downside more chaotic traffic.
Coastal cruisin’
After my visit at SOS forêts in Abidjan I had set off towards Ghana. It is a bit strange to suddenly start talking English to people again. Ghana is (like most countries) very welcoming to me and when I’m cycling by lot’s of people are waving at this strange white guy on a bicycle. Because of the flat roads and pretty decent quality I’m able to make good progress and after a couple of days I arrive in Accra. The weather is getting pretty humid and warm here. Especially in the mornings everything is wet when I wake up in a big cloud. This is not helping with my moods when waking up and trying to pack a wet tent.
Country hopping
From Accra I get to Togo. There a corrupt officer tries to trick me asking 5000CFA (around 7,5 euros) more for a transit visa. I look at the visa stamp and indicates the right price. When I ask him why it is more he tells some lame excuse and I stand my ground. Luckily he gives it back without too much hassle and I’m free to go. His “helper” still comes after me and asks me some money which I politely refuse. When giving in to that I will make it much harder for others to cross and helping to support corruption, no thanks. This border crossing is easily forgotten by the very welcoming people of Togo, too bad I’m leaving the same day to enter Benin. I had heard that I could easily get a Congolese visa in Cotonou and when arriving it seems true. In 30 minutes I got my visa and I can catch up in a guesthouse with other overlanders. There I meet a Spanish couple who have just crossed Nigeria and a Swiss guy who will cross it with his motorcycle.
Nigeria
Nigeria has a bad reputation in the news. When I read other traveller’s stories I hear many good things about the country and its population. Still, with some worries I head off to Nigeria and aiming for the biggest city of this country. A massive city with 18 million inhabitants and chaotic traffic. When entering Nigeria I have very warm welcomes, the only difference here are the many (up to 20 or more) police, army, … checkpoints. Mostly I have a good time with these guys and they are just interested in what I’m doing. Their reactions are great as well, mostly extremely surprised about what I’ve done or will be doing, with lot’s, lot’s of expression in their faces and language!
Chaos
One thing is true, Lagos is chaos! Lot’s of traffic, bad roads and people screaming everywhere. The reason they scream at me is mainly out of interest but I can imagine that it can feel quite intimidating at first. The traffic is dangerous but the way I felt it cities like Bangkok where more dangerous. The roads are bigger and better making the cars drive much faster. In here there were so many traffic jams that I was usually faster than the cars. In here you have to have eyes everywhere! I have a mirror on my handlebars and look at it regularly. At the same time I have to look sideways for cars merging in and in front of me. This to avoid potholes or motorcycles, small cars or even police driving in the wrong direction. then you quickly have to look in your mirror if nobody is about to catch you in, then to the front again, assess the situation very fast en hope to avoid the guy driving in the wrong direction. At the same time people are shouting at you (out of friendliness) to get your attention or encourage you. I’m very happy I already have a life full of cycling experience in BMX, Mountainbike and road racing, I can use those skills here.
Rest
I rushed to Nigeria because my visa was about to expire and I reached my goal. Here in Lagos I took 2 rest days. The first day I arranged my Cameroonian visa which was fairly easy and a same day process. The next day I met up with the cycling community for a bike ride in Lagos. This is a very well organised group of cycling enthousiasts and I’m the only one with a touring bike. All others have race bikes and when I hear that the ride will be 70km I start to have second thoughts. Yet we leave in the darkness (early morning ride) and I’m riding in group C. It’s not easy to follow these guys on my bike and I feel that this isn’t going to be a rest day after all. After a couple of hours we get back to the main spot and I’m ready for a second breakfast. That’s the good thing about a big city, food everywhere! Good to get eating and get some energy for the next days here. This ride was well organised, I think with all groups combined we were 40-50 riders and group C about 20 riders. We even had a car escort during the whole way which was a good experience to cycle in this city (broke my phone, no pictures 😓).
Planning
I’ve used the rest here to plan for the next weeks ahead and I feel ready. I’m taking things a bit slower from now on. I’m way ahead of schedule now. They gave me enough days to stay in Nigeria at the border which I’m very happy about. I can explore more of this country with enough time and no pressure. Looking forward to that!
Thanks to my sponsors this project is possible, give them a thumbs up!
After the holidays in Dakar I started cycling with new energy. Both mentally and physically I was ready for a challenge to get in time in Nigeria!
Bye bye
I start cycling again in Tambacounda where I left my bike and fast enough I make my way out of Senegal. The stamping out proces is easy, but still quite some distance to the actual border. This means I will have to continue to entry Guinee in the same day. I don’t take the big asfalted way but a more quiet sand/dirt road which follows just next to a national park. I see many animals along the road and the cycling is just beautiful here! A bit later I reach Guinee and I immediately get a very welcoming feeling in the country. The first village I pass by I ask if I could pitch the tent there. It is a very basic place, with not much resources, but they insist on sharing their dinner with me and I have a great time here. They tell me they used to hear lions roar sometimes but that disappeared a couple of years ago.
Into the hills
The inland of Guinee has quite some hills and the roads take me to the Fouta Djallon region. This is a beautiful area inland of Guinee where the climate gives somewhat “cooler” and drier temperatures. Everywhere I’m cycling people are very warm and welcoming. After a while my arms hurt more than my legs from waving to all those people. I just love the mountains and this whole section gives me great views. The rest in Dakar gave me good energy as I’m still good to cover the daily distances. After a couple of days the legs start to hurt, but the beauty of everything here (nature, people, wildlife,…) totally makes up for that! I meet some other travellers on the road and this helps in making me not feel too lonely, which is a normal feeling after the great time in Dakar. The regular phone calls from friends and family help as well off course! (thankyou)
Coffee and borders
After about a week of cycling I get near the border with Liberia (I stay in Guinee). There I take a route which is a shortcut in distance, but would take about the same amount of time as the normal one (route de cafe/coffee route). No asfalt here but a dirt road taking me between coffee and cacao plantations. There I meet 2 French girls cycling to Benin. But as I’m trying to get many km’s done, we only camp together for the night and then I’m off on my own. Too bad I’m rushing a bit but as I have this goal now but I have to go on and maybe come back one day. I’m still enjoying this to the fullest and cycle on along the Liberian border towards the border with Ivory Coast.
Full speed
The border crossing to Ivory Coast was fairly easy and every time I tell my story to people, they don’t believe me. They are extremely surprised that I’m cycling from Belgium around the world. It creates funny reactions and all kinds of questions. I then receive many good lucks and cheers while I’m setting off again . I just love how people are open and warm in these regions and not even once I feel threatened or scared. In Ivory Coast the hills getting smaller and I can get my distances done with less effort. At the same time it’s getting warmer, but more facilities along the road. I am even able to buy a cold drink from time to time, what a luxury! For water I mainly use the pumps on the side of the road, mostly installed by NGO’s. These are very reliable water sources and always a very social moment for the people around.
Peage
In Ivory Coast I take the road to the Capital city Yamoussoukro. Things get more easy here with better roads, more shops and food. Once I pass by the city there is a big highway (peage) taking me all the way to Abidjan. The road itself feels much safer to cycle, there is more place for the cars and trucks. There aren’t too many of them either and by cycling on the emergency lane it actually feels good cycling here! Soon I enter Abidjan and this city is all chaos. One of the reasons I pass by this city is that I want to visit SOS Forêts, a local NGO fighting to save the forests in Ivory coast. From here in Abidjan I’ll enter Ghana, get to Togo, Benin and reach Nigeria just in time before my visa expires.
SOS
As in many countries I see the same happening here in Ivory Coast: deforestation. Lot’s of forest and wildlife is disappearing and SOS forêts is a local NGO trying to slow down and reverse this. In Abidjan (at the botanical garden of the university) I went to meet the president and other workers in the ngo. This project is already running since 1996. In 1992 Dr. Wadja Agnankou received the Goldman prize for his work to protect the mangroves in West Africa. As a result of this they founded this organisation that is still trying hard to limit the los of the forests here. I had the honour of meeting them and to see how they work. If you would like to know more about their work (I will get more into detail about it in a following post) please visit http://www.sosforets.ci/
If any of you would like to help out in this great organisation, don’t hesitate to contact me. In Belgium I’m giving regular presentations for organisations or companies. The money I get with it goes to such initiatives and my next presentation I will definitely try to raise them some funds. There are other ways to help them out! If you have some equipment laying around that is in your way and you would like to donate, contact me (or them straight away). Equipment meaning: tents, binoculars, camping gear, gps, drone,…. Thank you.
I want to give a big thanks to my sponsors who make this project possible!!
It’s been a great couple of weeks. Meeting up with friends and my girlfriend in Dakar and spend Christmas and New year’s together gave me a great new boost to continue the next push to Kilimanjaro!
Not quite the holiday
When I arrived in Dakar, after greeting my friends, I immediately started my visa hunt. The first one for Guinee Conakry went really well. I was able to get that the same day.
After that I went down to the Embassy of Ivory Coast. Because things went so easy I expected the same here. I was wrong. Without getting too personal about the embassy, I was immediately rejected (I had done research and even called them before). They said I couldn’t apply here. When I got out and told my story (it is not possible to get my visa in Belgium because I’m cycling) the guard said that a letter from the Belgian embassy might help.
Finding help
Having done that (thank you Embassy of Belgium in Dakar for the help!) and getting back they refused my application once more. I had to be a resident of Senegal. Amdel, a Senegalese friend told me that it might be possible and fairly easy to obtain. He took great care of me and helped me out getting to the right people to get me my certificate of residence from the city hall.
Happy, not for long…
As soon as I got that I went straight to the embassy and they refused me again. I needed some other documents of proof… Now it was obvious, there was no easy way to get it here. I was already starting to make different plans to get to other cities and apply there. The thing is that I have visas for Ghana and Nigeria already and I don’t want them to expire so I don’t want to make too big detours.
An hour after I get out of the embassy I receive an email from the embassy of Ivory Coast in Brussels. I had mailed them regarding my issue and they understood my case. They told that if I would send it with DHL they could, exceptionally, grant me a visa. So I did.
More help on the way
I sent my passport the 31th of December which they received the 2nd of January. At 10 am they mailed me my passport was ready for pick up. My brother (Peter) cycles to the embassy to pick it up. About an hour later good friends of mine (Willy and Doris) go to my brother and bring it to their cousin (Yves), who’s wife works for Brussels Airlines. Their daughter (Ellen) drops it off at the airport and one of the crew members (Valerie) takes it on the next flight. There she drops it in the hotel outside of Dakar. Then a friend of Luca (Camille) passes by and picks up my passport and brings it to where we are. All just took a couple of days and it is amazing how all those people worked together to get my passport here in time!!!
Gratitude
I’m very grateful to all those who helped in getting my passport in time so I don’t need to rush too much to get in time at the border with Ghana. Thank you very much Luca, Amdel, Frederic, Katrien, Yves, Ellen, Valerie, Peter, Willy, Doris and Camille for the transport, translation and/or writing letters to get this one done. Thank you very much Inge (my girlfriend) for being so patient along my side during this whole process.
Holiday!
Beside all this visa stress I had an amazing time in Dakar. It’s not always easy to be so long away from home and especially travelling alone. These past 2 weeks have given me great mental and physical energy again. We have been visiting many places in and around Dakar and had a great variation between relaxing, party, surf and train a bit. I had so much fun that it is with sadness I see them all leave and lot’s of mixed feelings to be going my own way again. Thank you guys for all the fun and patience, I’ll be remembering this on the harder moments of the next episode!
happy new year!
Sene Surf
As part of this project I try to visit individuals, organisations or businesses trying to create a better world for everybody. In Dakar I visited a local restaurant/bar/ organisation that is trying to keep the beaches clean. They are the only ones in the area trying to actively do that. The restaurant is a pioneer in Dakar because it’s the only waste free project in Dakar. The garbage that they find, or gets in is getting recycled. One of the issues in Dakar is that they don’t get lot’s of support from the local government.
They already invited all different mayors to visit them so they can explain the necessity of the plastic pollution. They never got any response and therefore they believe that it has to come from the people itself. They try and convince other businesses in the are to do the same and definitely limit their single use plastics. They regularly clean up the beach and have a paying service (private company) that is in charge of waste management (recycling and garbage collecting). If you go to Dakar, definitely visit these motivated guys! If you want to help please visit their website www.senesurfdk.com or contact me (veyt.jelle@gmail.com).
Many thanks to the sponsors who make this all possible!!!
After cycling out of Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, I made great progress towards the Senegalese border. I arrived just in time for the holiday season to start and meet up with my friends in Dakar!
The last desert days
I was quite eager getting out of the boring desert after my rest day in Nouakchott. The landscape was starting to shift very subtle towards the end of my trip in Mauritania and I started to see bushes, grass and an occasional tree! It’s great to start seeing this green landscape again and as I get closer to the Senegalese border I get off the main road into the Diawling national park. Mainly to avoid a river crossing where I couldn’t cross the border human powered. In this park there’s more “green” and more animals to see and I feel relieved to be entering Senegal!
Another country!
Crossing the border here is fairly easy and I enter my 6th country on the way to Kilimanjaro! Senegal is greener and offers immediately different sights. There’s more people around with more villages so I don’t need to carry so much water anymore. I stick to the plan of heading to the east of Senegal. It gets really hot here during the daytime, mainly because there’s nog cooling effect from the nearby ocean. I try to keep up with at least 150km a day because I want to get in time in Dakar. I feel like I could use some rest and I want to see my friends, I’ve been alone on the road for some weeks now. The 29th as well my girlfriend will arrive to spend some holidays together. I’m looking forward to all that, except for the visa runs around Dakar..
After getting into the east of Senegal, I’m now in Dakar for 2 weeks, the rest will do me good! Happy holidays you all!
Many thanks to the sponsors who make this all possible!!!
Steven and I left Agadir on the same day, only 2 different paths. According to plan, I leave south towards the Sahara desert and Steven goes back to Belgium. It is with mixed feelings because it’s fun cycling with friends but the desert is calling…
Tiznit what you think e!
Guelmin is seen as the gateway to the Sahara desert and I can’t wait to get there. I imagine great sand dunes, long stretches of road and perfect tailwinds. The road from Agadir takes me to Tiznit (in Flemish this would mean “it’s not”). A very long boring road with a calm headwind, but it seems like going on forever. After a while I start looking at my data and see it’s slightly going uphill, we call that vals plat (false flat), or tiznit wa ge denkt e!
The what?
After a couple of days I arrive in Guelmin, where I expected all the dunes and burning sun! Not at all, it was cold, windy and raining… I couldn’t believe it but while cycling on I had to wear a full rain suit and that lasted about 2 days which drained quite some energy, especially because I was too stubborn to stop and wait for the wind to change. I pushed against the wind like a mad man and found the wind slightly changing directing after 2 – 3 days. What a relief!
Rain in the desert??
…blowing in the wind
With the wind changing direction I could enjoy the desert to its fullest! The never ending landscapes are incredibly beautiful and with the wind in the right direction I make great progress. I sleep in all kinds of places from roadside hotels, to abandoned buildings and off course, the favourite my tent. One of the issues a bit deeper in the desert is that by entering the Western Sahara territory, more and more army and police checkpoints are coming. It’s not that bad and all for my safety, but when you decide to wild camp and they see you, they’re too concerned and ask you to camp at their station. One time I had to and there was a French couple in their van. I could join them eating French (it’s actually Belgian) fries, life’s good!
Ghost town
When I got closer to the border I see an abandoned village and an army vehicle. I ask if I could sleep somewhere and they show me a nice house (at least it was one day). I can take my mattress and sleep on the floor, but that’s great because I don’t have to pitch my tent which gets very humid at night. The army is there because they’re de-mining the area. Good to know because they tell me there are quite some in certain areas, that’s a reminder of not going off tracks too far when looking for a spot to camp.
The real des(s)ert
In general, cycling the Sahara is not that physical demanding. There is a maximum of 100km without finding anything in this area. The real challenge is the mental game. From previous experiences (and I was looking forward to that) I knew that I had to go until I get sick of it. Then you have to go on! Push it further, that’s the real des(s)ert. You are mentally tired and just want to get out of there. And then I entered Mauritania…
The beautiful desert
Mauritania has been really kind (the people, like everywhere) but has been very hard on me as well. When I just entered I had a very hard headwind and was able to finish off my last 20km in 2hrs. There I stayed in at an “auberge” (not really) who gave me shelter and food. The next day I thought the wind would be from a better direction but it stayed an extremely annoying side/headwind which took lots of energy.
I was able to cover 90km for 10hrs of cycling! But suffered quite hard. Because of the high winds I had to cover my entire face and still got sand everywhere and was sick of it all! I didn’t think I could go on for long until the first car stops and asks if I’m alright (the wind had pushed me in the side several times). I said I’m fine and they gave me water. Just that gesture of a bottle of water gave me the mental strength and energy to continue for another couple of hours! The next days the winds dropped again and I could find the energy of cycling to Nouakchott (the capital). Oh yeah, and I had some diarrhoea which weakened me more on those extra windy days (the irony..).
The first stop
The plan is to head down towards Senegal tomorrow and continue another 750km to Tambacounda (Senegal). There I’ll take a break. I will go to Dakar and arrange the visas for the next countries. Visit my friend Luca to spend the holidays with some other Belgian friends and my girlfriend will come over for new year as well. Looking forward to that!!
Thanks to the sponsors who make this all possible!!!
The weather and wind cleared after our departure in Rabat which gave us a great boost towards the High Atlas. This beautiful mountain range had us amazed throughout the ride!
Bye bye sea you again
Getting out of Rabat was an easy ride and we followed the ocean for a while. Just before Casablanca we turned towards Marrakech. The first days land inward weren’t very appealing so we took the opportunity to cycle get cover some distance. Pretty soon we saw the mountains coming up and getting closer to Marrakech the landscape turned into beautiful sights!
enjoying the view
City hopping
We reached Marrakech and decided not to spend too much time there. We where a bit afraid of this crowded city, mainly because cyclists and big crowded cities aren’t a very good combination. To my great surprise we managed quite well to cycle through, some roads even had bicycle lanes! Once outside the city we got a much clearer view of the magnificent Atlas mountain range and Mt Toubkal (4165m).
Toubkal!
Getting high
The whole area is extremely beautiful and I’m glad to follow Steven’s (https://20angles.com/) idea of cycling the High Atlas. We decide to cycle the Tizi n’ Test pass up to 2100m. It slowly takes us higher and higher following a river. This makes it a very long climb but never very steep sections so we can maintain a good pace. Steven has intestinal problems (that’s a clean word for bad diarrhoea) which gives him a hard (get it?) time on the bicycle. Still he manages to continue and after a complete day of cycling we make it to the top of the mountain pass just before dark. We decide to stay in Augerge la haute vue for some well deserved rest and great food.
going up
just before sunset!
made it up!
Going down
After a great night and breakfast we start our long descent. We get treated with amazing views from the other side of the atlas range. After about 30km of winding corners we come into a whole new landscape. An almost straight road takes us gently and very easy to the Atlantic ocean again. In Agadir Steven will go back to Belgium, we had a great 2 weeks cycling here but now I’ll be on my own to be crossing the Sahara desert to Senegal!
small peloton
leaving the Atlas behind us
Plastic soup
Yesterday I visited the Surfrider Maroc foundation. An organisation that tries to educate, inform and clean up the area from pollution. It is a small team of great people who are working hard to make people aware of this problem. They are going to schools and companies to explain about the situation and how they can help. They organise beach clean ups in the area and make art with the found trash. To find out more about their project and goals please visit http://www.surfridermaroc.com/ you can easily make a donation through their website! One of their current projects is to make a competition between schools to make art of “garbage” and the winning school would be able to expose it at a roundabout or entrance of the city. (still trying to find support from authorities to do that).
One of the things I discovered on projects like this is that they need support from the local government to be allowed to talk in schools. This is a big difference in Belgium because a school can decide this more or less independent. The same goes for my friend Wahyu in Indonesia and it is not easy to convince the right people to get this permission. Luckily here in Agadir, they have a partnership with the government since a couple of years now. This creating the opportunity to go to schools and educate the children about their cause. As I see in Morocco people are quite receptive about the ideas they’re spreading and about the environment. I hope they can keep up the great work and will be able to spread their word!
Kilimanjaro
It might seem early but the climb for Kilimanjaro is fixed. Together with Wild Tanzania we’re organising an expedition and anyone who wants can join on this trip! The climb will start the 23 of June until the 2nd of July and is open for all who want to climb with me. Contact me at Veyt.jelle@gmail.com or check out the following link if you’re interested. I’m partnering up with them mainly because they have an engagement in their trips that respect the environment and the people working for them.
Thanks to the sponsors who make this all possible!!!
The first week of cycling is almost over and we’re up for a rest day in Rabat. The capital city of Morocco is not too busy compared to Marrakesh or Casablanca. Steven is working on the road so we need some time with a stable internet connection.
Africa!
Headwinds
Once arrived in Ceuta we cycle to the beach where I landed with my kayak 6 weeks before. From there the trip really starts and I’m up for 7 months of cycling. Crossing the border into Morocco was really easy going and soon we’re in a new country! These first days have been quite tough because of the weather. It has been a very beautiful ride so far, but the headwinds are killing us from time to time. The day before yesterday we covered about 150km into a 4-5 bft headwind. That took us about 12 ours for that distance. The good news is that from tomorrow on the wind will calm down and change direction.
Planning
On this restday we take some time to relax and recover. We’re planning now to leave the Atlantic behind us and go and cycle trough the Atlas. The next days we’ll be heading to Marrakesh and go cycle a bit through the Atlas range. I’m visiting an environmental project in every country so in Agadir I’m planning to visit the Surfrider Foundation Maroc. Hope to tell you more about their initiative in the near future.
Kilimanjaro!
It might seem early but the climb for Kilimanjaro is fixed. Together with Wild Tanzania we’re organising an expedition and anyone who wants can join on this trip! The climb will start the 23 of June until the 2nd of July and is open for all who want to climb with me. Contact me at Veyt.jelle@gmail.com or check out the following link if you’re interested. I’m partnering up with them mainly because they have an engagement in their trips that respect the environment and the people working for them.
Thanks to the sponsors who make this all possible!!!
