Port Loko to Balamui - Day 228

Date: April 3rd, 2010
Distance: 63km
Country: Sierra Leone
Song of the Day: Future Says Run - Tonic

Left Port Loko this morning. They were disappointingly without any breakfast foods. Even the ginger juice from the night before was gone. Annoying. They did at least have bread so I could have that with peanut butter. Oh, and I got a couple of mangoes too. They weren't very good though. The ones from Kabala really were something special.

Not much to report on the road though. More dirt and gravel. Lots of dust. Nothing too steep though. There is also a new highway and an old one. I can't tell which is which. Neither seems better than the other. They keep crossing over each other as well. Just two paths braided through the bush.

I did stop at one town for lunch and ended up eating way too much. I had something called "gossi-gossi" in Fula. This is rice pourage with mayonnaise, sugar and yogurt. It sounds pretty gross, but was really good. I also had some spaghetti, which turned out to be too much. Oh, and the packets of frozen yogurt didn't help. Still, I was quite happy after that.

From there it was actually shorter than I expected to Kambia. I almost stopped there, but someone told me it was 30km to the border. Yesh. Tomorrow was going to be a long enough day without an extra 30km to the border. I guess that wasn't really true though. I did another 8km to the border. Found a nice guesthouse to stay at and got my shower. All before the sunset as well.

After the shower I started talking with, Simon, the guy who owns the guesthouse. Telling him all about my journey and the countries I have passed through. Also about what it is like in different parts of America. It was a lot of fun. He even invited me to eat with him and his wife. I couldn't refuse that. They were having rice with a spicy sauce and okra. I know a couple of people out there reading this who would probably enjoy it a lot. I thought it was wonderful.

After dinner Simon's brother showed up. I guess he is a long-haul truck driver from Ghana. He was dropping off stuff in Sierra Leone and heading back to Ghana. He is using basically the same route as I will, through Mali and Burkina Faso. Avoiding Liberia and Cote D'Ivoir. It feels good to know that truck drivers are taking the longer/safer route just like me. Simon asked him if he could take me as well. Actually, they were thinking of taking me all the way to Mali, but I don't want to go that far. I will go as far as Coyah or Kindia. I know, more cheating. Still, it is all a different experience. So we shall see how that all goes.

-Dravis