We left Meru this morning at 7am. The road from Isiolo to Marsabit is the first stretch of the “hell road” although we were delighted to discover that the Chinese have been busy here too with their road building and as a result the first 120km of a total of 250km was new smooth beautiful tar. The infamous road between Isiolo and Moyale will, fortunately and unfortunately be completely tarred within the next 18 months and the Cape to Cairo trip will thereafter be able to be done entirely on tar.
The road has lived up to its reputation thus far although tomorrow will prove to be slightly more challenging as the road from here (Marsabit) to Moyale is supposedly worse than what we encountered today. Although we have come through today unscathed and without punctures, it has not been without its war wounds. At one point, I stopped because the bike felt strange only to discover that one of my panniers had rattled off. Fortunately this only resulted in a round trip of about 6 kilometres where I found it miraculously lying in the middle of the road. I say miraculously, because in this part of the world, any object left lying around invariably disappears quickly!!
We are spending the night at “Henry the Swiss” which is apparently the best place to stay in Town!
Thank you Hu Jintao.
The end of the tar…Let the games begin.
Where I found my pannier lying in the middle of the road.
Even the wildlife has started to become a little more “North African”!
Katie on the good part of the road.
Massey and the middle mannetjie.
Katies war wound of the day.
Dale navigating the road.
Our SUPER LUXE accommodation for the night at Henry the Swiss.
Interior shot…reminds me of Boswell Wilkie circus!
Andrew DJ
July 29, 2010 at 7:42 am
Rui, I’m sorry to hear that your panties fell off. May I suggest that you wear boxer shorts for the remainder of the trip.