Chanlize to Mkata - Day 337

Date: July 21st, 2010
Distance: 112km
Country: Tanzania
Song of the Day: Caribou - The Pixies

Woke up, felt like crap. Ten minutes, and two trips to the bathroom later, I got the idea that I might be having more digestive issues. Still, I did get one the road somehow. I am not actually sure how I made it so far today because I didn't have anything to eat besides two pieces of bread for breakfast. The beautiful landscape and a coke every 15km probably helped.

There were a couple of times I wanted to call it quits. It just seemed to happen in the middle of nowhere. Plus, I kept asking how far the next town is, which is as stupid as a woman asking a man which shoes she should wear. Even if they give you and answer you know that answer isn't going to be close to right.

The sun ended up setting on me before I could get to town. The people I passed said it was just 4 kilometers away. I figured I could do that before it got too dark. I saw a set of three cell towers. That is usually a good sign of a town. That turned out to be 8 kilometers away. When I got there, I could see only half a dozen shacks. This was not a town and there was nowhere to stay. At the bottom of the next hill was a police checkpoint. I asked them how far to the next town. They told me it was 1 kilometer. Turns out it was 10. They were off by an order of magnitude. So frustrating.

In town, I still didn't have an appetite. I just wanted some soup. No meat, just the broth. I had seen it advertised at a few restaurants along the roads here, so I went on a hunt for that. I did find a lady selling some at the local market. What I got tasted more like cow bath water than beef soup. So disgusting I couldn't finish it. I had two rolls and went to bed.

-Dravis