Whither will my path yet lead me? This path is stupid, it goes in spirals, perhaps in circles, but whichever way it goes, I will follow it. - Hermann Hesse

19 December 2019, Bo to Taiama, 51.5km
Taiama Guest House 50,000LLE (R73)

It was a pleasant 55km run on good tar through green hills to Taiama. Taiama itself sits a little distance from the main road, but at the intersection are clustered a scatterling of shops and workshops and bars and restaurants. We lunched in a tin shack on rice and cassava leaves with dried fish. A young woman served her pre-prepared simple meal there, her customers seated on wooden benches at a wooden table. Beneath the table, pecked a small hen. Cassava leaves, apparently “a rich source of protein, minerals, and vitamins”, also contain a substance that produces cyanide and must be properly cooked and detoxified before eating.
The guest house, about 500m from the intersection, seems to be owned by the local government. It was a pleasant surprise. An airy building with a breeze cooling the wide passage. After careful discussion with our hostess, we picked a room with two windows, one facing north and one east. Although there was a fan in the room, we were told that there was no power and that they would only switch on the generator if another guest arrived. Proprietors are very conscious of the exact cost of fuel to run a generator and for exactly how long it can be run before they begin to make a loss. As the ceiling seemed actually to be insulated, an incredible rarity in cheap guest houses*, and as there was a breeze coming in both windows, we were not too concerned. After a picnic dinner of boiled eggs on sweet bread, we took a lamp into the room to read by. Soon thereafter, however, some guests arrived and the generator was turned on and with it the fan. Less pleasant, was the fact that the guests set up their laptop in the lapa (open-sided, thatch-roofed seating area) outside our window, and there at full volume proceeded to watch an endless religious soap opera, ham-acted and hugely annoying to be subjected to. It was 11pm before someone from the guest house came and shut them down, long past our 9pm bedtime.
*Most buildings in Africa are badly designed, badly built and badly maintained. In last night’s Bo guest house, a hole had been hacked into the tile backsplash behind the basin tap so that the tap could be opened. As there was no running water, the hack-job was moot.
I have been wearing the same cycle shirt since leaving home on January 25 when we began our warm-up ride for our Africa trip. For nearly 11 months it has withstood copious sweat and endless sun. But just recently it decided “no more” and has begun to tear if I even look at it funny. Both side seams are ripped open to the underarm seam, both shoulder seams are torn, and there are three or four holes back and front. I am planning to find a replacement in Freetown, if it lasts that long. Charl is of the opinion that I will be down to the collar only before then!
Were amused leaving Bo to see the “HB Fanshion (sic) Boutique” advertising a “skart” (sic). Great hand-painted advertising, though.

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