If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion, and avoid the people, you might better stay home - James A. Michener

22 June 2019, petrol station to Ambriz, 29,23km
Hospedaria Martins 10,000Kz (R445)

Panga (machete) raised above his head, yelling mouth agape, a long-legged young man erupted from the church compound as we approached the gate, in determined pursuit of a ginger cat. Hard on his heels were 20 or 30 other young men and boys, all shouting, all with raised pangas or hoes, some laughing…
Entering Ambriz, we had chosen to take the road through town rather than the lakeside road. From this wide dirt thoroughfare we spotted a small white church half-hidden behind a white wall enclosing large grounds, and decided to pop in and take a look at it. Charl cycled the sandy approach, while I pushed my bike a little way behind him. I was curious when I saw him veer from the gate and stop near it instead of entering the compound. He had done so simply because he had seen the property was choc-a-bloc with people, seemingly tidying the overgrown church grounds and cemetery. A second or two later his decision proved to be fortuitous as the gateway was suddenly filled with fast-moving “armed” men.
Initially we thought for some reason they simply wanted to evict the cat, but their pursuit of it was too determined, too angry. Someone threw his panga at the cat, running for its life, but missed. The front-runner pursued the cat across an open area and down a narrow road between houses, and there we lost sight of them.
In less than a minute, the others lost interest and dispersed, but the incident was unsettling, not least because we could not know what it was about, and because it had raised our heart rates…
Many boys and men in Angola carry pangas, a tool used all too often as a weapon in the Rwanda genocide, which is what I think of when I see one. Charl thinks of two incidents from his childhood: the murder of Sister Aidan Quinlan in 1952, one of his earliest memories, and from 1963 the panga hacking death of a family in a caravan at Bashi Bridge. I have had to work hard to put aside my horror of the panga, to rely on what I know to be true: it is a useful farming implement, and those who carry one are simply hard-working people with no thought of doing me harm.
We spent an indifferent night, safe behind the petrol station shop and next to the noisy generator. Three staff members were on duty through the night, and one security guard with a semi-automatic. At midnight, someone turned off the generator for a period and we were thrown into welcome darkness and almost-silence, just infrequent passing vehicles and the odd customer disturbing us.
After 3-in-1 coffee and biscuits for breakfast, we were back on the bikes in all yesterday’s dirt for the short run to Ambriz. The road to Ambriz turns west off the EN100, putting the morning sun behind us and gold-lighting the stunning bushveld, all baobabs and euphorbia and thorn, green and impenetrable, with creepers climbing trees and bush.
Shortly after the church incident we came across the Ambriz fortress, constructed in 1858. We were not allowed to enter, or to photograph it from close by, but the army chap guarding the entrance said tourists can take photos from further down the road, which we did. He also pointed out the hospedaria, which unfortunately was closed until 14:00. It was only 09:45, so we had a long time to while away. We cycled the three or four main streets of the town, and found a restaurant that was open, though would serve food only from 12:30.
At 14:00 we were granted access to the hospedaria where we are the only guests. We were super excited to find that not only is the bathroom attractive (a rarity) and spotlessly clean (a rarity), but has hot water (a rarity) and smells good (a rarity). Unfortunately, our first flush sent used-loo water gushing over the seat and onto the floor, the result of a badly-placed loo freshener… Having washed the floor and moved the freshener, we are happily settled for two nights.

For today's route see below photos
For overview route, click on ROUTE tab above…