A nice night for camping, though it did get quite chilly – i’ve been using my sleeping bag more than I expected I would so far on this trip! Being under the palms was nice when it was sunny, but when half asleep trying to get my tent down not so great because I kept stabbing myself in the back with the fronds.
We had to wait a while before it was light enough to set off, then make our way back out to the road for the route-proper to begin.
To begin with the road was in good condition and continued as yesterday on a gentle overall descent. There was some breeze behind us which also helped to keep things moving along nicely through some surprisingly green-looking countryside, before things reverted to the arid look that we’re becoming used to.
From there we began to climb out of the valley which we’d been in since yesterday afternoon, before switching over to the next.
Lunch was in a great spot up near the highest point of the days climbing with great views into the valleys below. From lunch the wind was gone and it was only the descent into the town of Tan Tan that kept things relatively cool – it was over 30 by the time I got down there. At lunch we’d been told there were camels just before the town. Wasn’t quite expecting this however:
As I’d been coming down into the town we could see across the other side of the valley where the road climb back onto a plateau on the other side – it’s kind of hard to see in the photo, but if you look in the centre you can see the white tower on the top – it looked like it was going to be a tough climb and it didn’t disappoint – particularly as it hit 37 degrees as I was making my way up!
Part way up there was a great sign to keep things interesting – over time we’re headed to all of these places!
From the top of the climb it should have been a great run down to the sea again, however the sea breeze had something to say about that, coming straight in off the sea and meaning that even on the descent I had to keep pedalling hard to maintain a reasonable speed.
Turning right at the ugly fish statue roundabout (see the pictures below) and the wind was now behind me again, as it had been in the morning which really helped to move things along with my speed back up over 30km/h for that last stretch.
In to camp and we’re up on the cliff above the sea, though there is a path down, I’m not tempted and have opted for the ‘bottle shower’ – we’re allowed 2 x 750 drink bottles of water to wash with when we’re in camps without a water supply – not a lot after a hot and sweaty day in the saddle (though more than we got on the Silk Route where it was baby-wipes only).
I’ e said before how good the drivers are, and for the most part that’s been true today as well, though i did have to get off the road i a hurry a couple of times when oncoming trucks were overtaking each other – the road isn’t actually wide enough for that, so both the overtaken, and the overtaking have a wheel off the pavement anyway, so there’s simply nowhere for a cyclist but in the ditch!
Fortunately for me on both occasions they were heading towards me, so I could see it coming and get out of the way safely. One of the other riders, Peter, wasn’t so lucky – he could see the oncoming truck, but also hear one approaching from behind – by the time he realised there was nothing to do but head for the ditch he ended up going over his handlebars – he survived with a few scrapes, but his front wheel was destroyed in the process. He’s currently trying to arrange for one of the riders who will join us in Dakla in about 8 days time to bring one with him so he can get back on the road – in the mean time his tour is on hold!
I got yesterday’s blog post done, but even with my laptop plugged into my solar panel battery it’s going flat quicker than I can get this finished, and as we only get a couple of hours of sun each afternoon, at most, to charge things I’m going to have to stop and finish it either when I get more sun and power, or on the rest day!
View from my tent
Forgot to take a photo, so here’s a view of the whole camp – my tent is way over on the right hand side, pretty much out of view.
Selfie of the day
I was expecting wandering camels! Still, these are pretty cool.
You and us both 🙂
I like em too.
Fabulous scenery, apart from the ugly-fish-statue, which puts me in mind of Rakaia! Keep a good eye and ear out for those trucks. They sound scary!