Day 302 / 67

Date: 8 February 2023
Sleeping location: Field 17.5150S 32.8672E, Zimbabwe
Distance (km today/total/total Part 2): 77 / 18666 / 3829
Estimated climb (m today/total/total Part 2): 900 / 160000 / 42000
Keenan and: Kevin*
Day in three words: Señor Puff’s revenge

*https://thekenanandkel.fandom.com/wiki/Who_loves_orange_soda%3F

With no fear of being discovered and no storms in the night I slept pretty well, then had a leisurely pack up so the sun could dry the dew off all my stuff. I continued on the dirt road, which was in decent nick; progress was slow and occasionally bumpy but serene. Not long into the morning I came across mine clearance team at work. This is some serious stuff, they had stretchers, body armour and blast shields, but they were a friendly bunch. One lady saw me taking a picture of the sign and then asked me to take a picture of her posing with her metal detector, which I loved because it’s great #content.  

After 40km was a big river where the bridge across was allegedly out. I was unsure of how I was going to navigate this, but thankfully they had put a new bridge in for my arrival and I was allowed to cycle across, even though it wasn't really open yet. A good thing, as there was no way I could have crossed it without vehicular assistance. On the other side I stopped for a rest and some snacks, and finally vanquished Señor Puff at the fourth attempt. The dust he left behind was mind-altering stuff. 

From here the road degenerated a lot, becoming a much more loose mixture of sand and rock. There were frequent steep-sloped river valleys which I had to carefully manoeuvre down to then push back up from. Speeds above 10kph were almost nonexistent. All this work in the sun, without the breeze generated by moving, was hot hot hot. Mid afternoon I took a rest under a tree to filter some more water as I'd gone through most of my 4 litres (plus 1.5l of gratefully received cold 7up in the only village). A guy on a bike with a puncture appeared and asked if he could use some sandpaper or a file to repair it. I was happy to help but this backfired when a) my suncream went everywhere upon opening my bar bag, b) he continued to play his terrible music through his tinny phone whilst working, ruining the peace and quiet.

Towards the end of the day I went on a hunt for water so I could camp. Some locals pointed me towards a nearby village which had a borehole pump. In the shop there I was so thirsty and excited to see 2l of cold "Flash" orange soda on sale for $1 that I bought it, before realising that this was far too much orange soda. 

I was pointed to the borehole where I pumped out some water into a big bucket, for transfer into my water bag. A drunk man appeared and insisted that he help pour the water into my bag, even though he did an absolutely terrible job of it. He then saw me splash some water onto myself and insisted that he poured the rest of the bucket over my head, which was actually really welcome. After setting off with my water a girl ran after me to bring the tote bag full of mangoes that I’d forgotten to repack. Zimbabweans seem pretty nice so far. 

 

All day there had been endless wild camp spots but now that I had water there were way more houses and people around. I carried on away from the village but still couldn't find anywhere hidden enough, so eventually I gave up and asked a family if I could camp in the field beside their house. They didn't speak English so this had to be down with sign language for sleep (hands together next to head) and tent (hands in v shape over head). They were fine with it and just left me to my own devices, which was perfect. Since finishing off Señor Puff I had done 36km in six hours; that man has powers beyond our comprehension. I had the same dinner as the previous day and slinked into bed early. It's getting cooler as I climb (by now I was up around 800m, having started from Tete at 150m), thank goodness, but I'm still desperate for a shower and my shoes and socks are probably classed as some kind of hate crime at this point.