The Road to Bansang- Andy's trip to the Gambia on a Honda C90

Just looked through today's post and pictures  you doing a grand job Paula . Andy's adventure sure looks amazing and some really nice scenery , Andy must be in his glory Paula , i know its hard work but its so worth it , must be ride of his life

Eric

Good thoughts Paula
Sounds like they are into the more challenging parts now,
Main thing every one is safe.

Last night at a "Place unknown" they ate camel meat on skewers (I have no idea what Jill had) - apparantly it tasted like beef       :!:

Keep up the good work Paula very good reading , seems it is a lot harder then you relies must be hard on them , all i can say to them all keep going your doing a fab job and we all behind you .

Eric and Jacki.

Received the following text at 07.30am today (Saturday).

"Up at 6am, no bacon being cooked today despite being told there would be.  Just muesli on offer even though that could not be found at first. Things getting lost due to packing and unpacking in pitch dark. Sunglasses have blown away.  Everything covered in sad and dust.  No coffee stops today - must press on. Very very windy."

It sounds like hell on earth to me    

Despite the strong gale blowing Andy said he did have a reasonable sleep.  

They have covered 240 miles today - much of it like yesterday - one straight road with desert as far as the eye can see.  It is still very windy but one bit he said was more interesting - a bit like riding through a quarry with dunes and stones on either side.

They did encounter a little bit of rain but no need for waterproofs as it soon passed.  The gortex overjacket was needed though to guard against cold!  :shock: 

He is finding the LS2 helmet very comfortable - thank you Gavin.

And - wait for it - they stopped for lunch at a service station - they had omlette in bread and coffee - WOW!   

They are wild camping tonight about 100 miles from the Mauritania border.  They have pitched their tents and cooked chilli for tea all in the light rather than pitch dark.  Andy definitely sounded a little more cheery tonight.

They are on some cliffs overlooking a beach and the scenery is just amazing - photos to look forward to I am sure.

When they reach Mauritania it appears that they are not allowed to use mobile phones - assuming that still applies we will not have any more news for a few days.  I may get a call or a text tomorrow while they wait to cross the border but nothing after that. 

I am amazed that, not expecting any photos until a least Senegal, I look at my e-mails earlier today to find photos mailed from the Sahara desert. Just shows you cannot hide anywhere these days - the internet will find you!

There are so many I have had to pick a selection - although there are still loads - I hope you wont get bored looking at desert......

I know it is hard for them all - long hard days, wild camping, long straight roads, strong gales, sand blowing across you, being dirty and dusty, very few breaks and if they had the luxury of sandwhiches they would have had sand in them!

However, when I look through the photos I see the plus side of the trip - the ocean, the sunset, the sunrise, the desert and the fact that they are seeing all this on little C90s.

Yes, I know I am sitting at my computer in my comfy home; and no, I would not want to join them, but what an experience.

The Sahara desert - at least there is no chance of a housng estate of "stunning new homes" popping up there - or is there - surely not.............?

They were wild camping last night right by the sea and apparantly Jon went swimming and it was quite warm. 
Tonight they are on a campsite with ready erected tents - must be Haven!

Hi Paula sounds like they having a hard time . The pictures are amazing you doing a brill job keeping us up to date with whats happening and all the pictures , just brill to read and see every day look forward to the next report , Eric and Jacki .

Keep it up Paula what a journey ,Andys cooking looks yummy.

Nothing to report today, however, I found the paragraph below interesting.

I am putting my ride report on Andy's BMW GS Forum - these are the guys who started the entire Scoots thing in 2005.  The founder of that first trip is one chap whose forum name in Fanum (real name Bill) and he responded to my remark:-

The Sahara desert - at least there is no chance of a housng estate of "stunning new homes" popping up there - or is there - surely not.............?

as follows:-

Guess what....they WILL see some new housing estates down there soon.

They were all layed out and built a good few years back, with the sole purpose of enabling the Moroccan government 'prove' to the UN that they had a population down there in the disputed area....They apparently moved quite a lot of people in , giving them large (by poor Moroccan standards) incentives to 'live' there just to make up the numbers
They'll also see dozens of partially completed mini-towns, where all the streets, power supply and lamp posts are all laid out in a nice grid fashion, but the only buildings up are the empty ones that front the road.....again, part of the 'bullshit town' exercise for political reasons.

It's also why there is a surprisingly good phone and internet reception in that region.......It's bizarre, but at points, you can stand on sand and see nothing but sand from horizon to horizon 360 degrees around you, then you notice that you have 5 bars up on your phone

The petrol down there is also subsidised to the extreme, an attempt to attract vehicles and people through.....it's absolutely shit quality though (My scoot couldn't even run on it and I had to switch to a spare until we got to Senegal and were able to get some clean stuff)  


 

It seems there is a problem with Andy's SIM card at the moment - so I will need to get on to the provider tomorrow.  I did have a text from Steve's phone and it read:-

"Sorry have not been able to call, Sim card on phone will not work, will try to call tomorrow from Senegal.  All OK here but my back is agony.  Jill has given me some Ibruprofen to see if it helps.  If you need to contact me use this number - it is Steve's"

I have no idea what he has done to his back - he is not supposed to take Ibruprofen (being type 1 diabetic) so it must be very painful.  I just hope it is not caused by Dennis pushing so hard to get to Bansang for this "party" - they do appear to be making very good time but at what cost............................?

I have spent this evening painting two bedside tables and polishing brass and copper to take my mind off it.  The large glass of wine helps as well of course - Yes I know it is only Tuesday!

Hopefully I will have some more news tomorrow and perhaps even some photos.

I do not have very much information as it seems Andy's phone is not well at all.  I have contacted Travel Talk and they were supposed to be texting some instructions to Dennis' phone - I have no idea if that happened or not.   

They are at the Zebrabar in Senegal, where I believe they should have wi fi but so far no photos or details of the journey.
I will update you as soon as I am able. 

Hi Paula you deserve the wine you done so much at home and keeping us all informed of Andy's trip.  sounds like your decorating going well, well done .

Hope Andy's back okay and you manage to chat to him , if you do let me know hes okay and tell him me and Jacki thinking of him.

All the best ,

Eric and Jacki

It seems that Andy's SIM is very poorly - well actually dead, and so he is dependant on borrowing a phone from one of the others until he gets into The Gambia - there he will get a local SIM.

He did call tonight on Steve's phone - thank you to Steve.  Today they have covered 170 miles and are safely ensconced at the Zebrabar.  http://www.zebrabar.net/   

They are staying there for two nights and so will get to go to St Louis tomorrow - sadly the water taxi has been taken out of use due to a couple of fatal accidents - they will have to travel by ordinary taxi - not quite the same.   

Steve's bike has been rattling more and more and today he was only doing about 35mph as it was so bad.  The problem with that; is little Chubby rattles even more between 35 and 40mph!  Finally they noticed that the swinging arm bolt had fallen off - fortunately, Andy had one about his person and so job done, Steve said it is like riding a totally different bike   

I am not surprised that all the little bikes have developed rattles - even the good road surfaces are akin to travelling along on a continuous washboard.  No wonder Andy's back is painful.  He also has numbness in both thumbs - the worrying thing is that the feeling does not come back even overnight.  

On Sunday - day 16 - 3 November - they crossed into Mauritania - the border formalities took nearly 4 hours.  They covered 130 miles of hot, mainly featureless landscape.  Only the occasional golden sand dune popping up broke the tedium. Chubby is now starting to use a bit of oil.  I still do have a bit of a problem with the way these bikes are being treated and wondering what state they will be in on arrival.
Yet another spectacular sunset was the cabaret for that evening - the night spent on a campsite somewhere in Mauritania.

Monday - 4 November - Andy's son, Sam's 21st birthday - 180 miles covered - getting through Mauritania without incident - that can only be a good thing.  Wild camping tonight - I know not where and I suspect neither did Andy. :!: 

Tuesday 5 November - day 18 - still riding through Mauritania - wild camping again tonight.

The bikes have had their second oil change and after all that sand I suspect a couple of air filters have been replaced. 

Today - Wednesday 6 November - day 19 -  they crossed the border into Senegal.  The Border Guard invited them all to share lunch with him - everyone declined - thinking the food would be dodgy - but Andy accepted his hospitality and had
a delicious lunch of Fish Yassa with rice and potatoes.
 
[*]Yassa: Now popular amongst other West African countries, Yassa is either chicken or fish that is first marinated with spices, and then simmered in a pan with onion, garlic, mustard, and lemon juice. 

Andy also managed to get a photo of the Guard - even though photographs are strictly forbidden at Border Crossings this gentleman was very happy to pose for a picture.

For those of you who may be interested, the link below takes you to some information about St louis and also a map which shows both Louga and Diourbel.  These places mark the onward route towards The Gambia.  On Friday night they hope to be wild camping just north of Diourbel. Heading into The Gambia at Farafenni on Saturday.

http://www.africanworldheritagesites.org/cultural-places/european-colonial-influences/island-of-saint-louis.html

They do not have wi fi at the Zebrabar but should have it in St Louis tomorrow.  I am therefore expecting a deluge of photos to arrive on e-mails.  So brace yourselves!

Meanwhile I have painting to do plus lots of house work - I have to think about getting everywhere cleaned up after all the parties and wild living while I have been home alone.    
 
  

There is another Andrew on the trip and he has been awarded this prestigous prize for his actions at the border crossing from Western Sahara (Morocco) into Mauritania.

They had all sucessfully negotiated the land mine filled 'No Man's Land' and had almost crossed into Mauritania, when Andrew discovered that he had lost his jacket containing all his papers, money, phone etc.  

It had been on his bike when he entered No Man's Land.  It had clearly fallen off his bike on the way through.  Everyone else had taken the same line but Andrew had gone a slightly different line, which is why nobody else saw said jacket detach itself from the bike.

Anyway - Steve - volunteered to go back with him and look for the missing item which by now could have been squirrelled away by some unscrupulous person who realised the value of the pocket contents.  They did find the jacket on the ground all in tact and successfully negotiated their way back through the land mines.   

Disaster overted.   

Chris has since nominated Andrew for the aforesaid award and this has been unanimously agreed by the rest of the group.

Additional information - this is the one and the same person who held them all up in Madrid - remember that story from way back :?: :!:

Hi Paula lovely reports , sounds like the little bikes are suffering , really hope Andy is not over doing it . Hows the decorating going ???
Me and Jacki would like to pop over one evening to see you let us know the best day for you .

Eric and Jacki.

Today they have not ridden the bikes and they went off to St Louis - Andy referred to it as "a bit of a dump" so disappointing after all the build up about it.
 
He did manage to send me some photos but I think he sent more than I have got - the trouble is I cannot even text him and he will not have internet again until The Gambia.
 
The photos I have got appear to be through Mauritania and crossing into Senegal as there is one of the very nice Border Guard who gave him lunch.
































































Well that's it folks for now - will update again as soon as I have any news.

Some amazing pictures , what a journey , hope all well Andy can not wait to hear all about the trip.

Stay safe, Eric and Jacki .

I have just checked my in box and, lo and Behold, there is an e-mail with some more photos attached.  There is no message or title and so I guess that the internet is not brilliant.  They had no electricity until 6pm!

I am assuming that these follow on from the last ones and relate to the journey through Senegal.




















































































No sunset in this lot:!: :?:

Andy did say that he had given one of his Teds away to a little girl who was absolutely beautiful and I think this may be her. I have zoomed in on the photo and, although it is difficult to see - I think that is a Ted's head in the top of her bag.

Andy also said that the girl's family tried to sell her to him.........................