To travel is worth any cost or sacrifice - Elizabeth Gilbert

26 April 2019, Wewelsburg Camping to Otjiwarongo, 89,5km
Out of Africa Guest House N$375

Today was a tuck-your-chin-in-and-endure day. A day on which you ask in despair: “Who’s idea was this?” On which you wonder: “What the hell?”
When you begin the day with tired legs and aching hands, it does not augur well… When you know you have 90km to do, with no accommodation alternatives between your start point and end point… When you know you have to climb almost 60km, and that even during the subsequent downward trend there are ups aplenty… When you know almost immediately that this is more than you can manage… When the distance markers tick by in slow motion, and no matter how many times you recalculate, your bed is still too far away to bear…
By the 20km mark, I was faint with fatigue. Usually Charl and I manage to cycle within sight of each other. Today he disappeared almost immediately over the horizon, while I felt as though I was cycling through treacle on a gentle incline. When I finally caught up with him, we discovered I had a puncture in my back tyre. Perhaps it happened just as I reached him; perhaps it had been a slow leak and I had been cycling on a soft tyre, which would account for the slowness. But I could not speed up even after we had replaced the tube. My bike had been making an odd squeak all morning; perhaps a problem with the spokes or the ball bearings…
Whether bike or body fatigue or a combination of both, I was miserable all day, grateful for Charl’s forbearance - he could probably have reached Otjiwarongo three hours earlier than we did without me holding him back. On two occasions I had to lay both bike and body down on the verge, so dizzy was I.
Had someone stopped to offer us a lift, I doubt I would have had the fortitude to say no; but I remained stubborn enough not to ask for help. And so we limped into town around 11 hours after leaving Wewelsburg.
I cannot explain how thrilled we were that our guest house was at the southern end of town and easy to find. The owner, Elke, came out to greet us, saying she had seen us on the road on her way back from a shopping expedition to Windhoek. She could see how shattered we both were, and hungry, and when we asked about nearby dinner options, she proposed we order a meal from her hotel two blocks away. She brought us a menu, placed our order, and shortly after we had showered we had delivered to our room two meals, Coke and Hunter’s Gold. Elke even brought us ice in glasses. Such bliss.
On a day like this, even my photos are drab. We saw lots of warthog again, and farmers burning dead wood in barrels, making charcoal. Not even six charming travellers encountered at a picnic spot cheering me in cheered me up. The three couples, all with military backgrounds, from South Africa, Switzerland and Sweden, have been meeting since the 1980s to travel together. An inspiring tale of friendship across the years and long distances.

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