So today was fun, i did end up biking out to Kafori/Fungalimbi. I didnt actually make it out to kafori but instead went to Fungalimbi. So i left this morning around 740 and made it down to the river crossing by about 8. I had to ride around the market a little bit till i found the right road that took me down to the river crossing, but i found it once i was able to find the mosque. So i made decent time in getting to Tougé. I did it in about an hour and 15min. I wasn't trying to break any land speed records or anything, and it was a nice ride. When i get there i meet steve and his family as he's eating breakfast with them. His dad, the chief of the village is really nice and i think might have remembered me from when we stayed here on our visit. So its while im talking to steve that i find out that kevin roxy and him are going to Fungolimbi that day for the luma, which is the larger weekly market in the region. I say what the hell i was just going to go hang out with kevin and do whatever anyway. Of course Fungolimbi is on top of a 'mt', (Senegalese Mt) but whatever. So steve and I take of for Dimbli to meet up with Roxy and kevin, and run into kevin on the way. Roxy is teaching an english class or something so he was the only one coming. We still need to go to Dimbli to get the rd to Fungo and to talk to Roxy, so shoot off back the way kevin had been coming. We get there and get to see Roxy teaching her english class, i guess steve needed to get some paperwork from her for a scholarship they were giving to a girl in Fungo, as that was another reason they were going. After this we take off on a road that shoots past the post de santé in Dimbli where we had planted trees during our visit. The first mile i guess was a little rough going as it was pretty much sand. Im not really a big fan of sand for biking.But after thats its the normal crapy road im used to. About half a mile of this takes us to the start of the climb, and thats where we start walking. Now seeing as id just biked out from Kédougou and it was pretty damn steep on shitty rocky road i didn't feel like being a hard ass and since steve stopped first i was more then willing to follow his lead.
When we get to the top you can really see a lot of the surrounding country side. You can also see all around the ash from where the fires had been burning. Kevin had been saying that during the night you can look up at the mt side and see these fires burning on them. But once we get to the top we still have a ways to go, kinda along the ridge with some ups and downs. Its a great ride and great scenery. At one pt a troop of monkeys ran out in front of us which was pretty cool to see. But we eventually get to Fungo. I guess its about 1500ft. So its not really that high but for someone who's out of shape it was more then enough as the roads leave quite a lot to be desired. The school where we gave the scholarship was at the high pt of the town and must have been 1600ft or so and you could really see all around. I guess its right next to Guinea also. The hills we were looking at around us were probably Guinea and we saw some 'border patrol guards' chilling under a tree. It didn't look all that official or too particularly bothered, although they did stop one guy on a bike and ask where he was coming from while we were talking to them. I guess Steve knew them. We also got to talk to the Eaux et Foret agent for the region also which was cool. Eaux et Foret is the government agency in charge of trees and water resources. I guess they've really been promoting the controlled burns that have been going on around the country, and steve was talking to him about that and some other stuff.
The market was pretty neat as lots of the stuff was from Guinea and for the region was pretty big. I got a great corn onion and hot pepper sandwich there for my lunch as well as some bissap juice. While we were there we ran meet a couple of important people in the community, we hung out at the dr.'s house for a while and were treated/subjected to prison break. Now ive never watched that in the US and don't ever plan to but it seems really really bad. But they love it here i guess, as i had watched at a friend of my brothers house a couple days ago also. After watching that for a while i decided to head on back as ive got a ways to go and my heads throbbing a little bit telling me im not 100% better. We go back to the market to get some water and steve points out the other road the shoots you down to the Kafori road but cuts off about 10k and drops you out at Velingarra. Before i take off Kevin gives me his Site locator form to give to andy to take to Dakar when he goes this weekend.
So i take off on that road, its a nice ride for a little while, maybe 20min or so and then it starts to get really steep and really rocky. Well the ride was nice the whole way. The view was even better then coming up because there wasn't as much vegetation to block you line of site and it was even prettier. But holy shit was that road something else. If kevin hadn't told me hed come up it in the PC car during his install to meet and greet important notables in his region, i wouldn't have believed that anything short of a tank could get up it. Needless to say i was walking my bike down this section of the road as well. Ive never felt like id wanted my helmet more, i mean i was really glad i was wearing my helmet the whole time. But one i was passed the worst part of the descent i hopped back on my bike and finished the rest of the road peddling. Id have to say that this road was twice as pretty as the other road. Now that i think about it we could have been at the highest point in senegal, which would be kinda neat.
Once back on the road back to Kédougou, it was smooth sailing. I was pretty much able to cruise the rest of the way back. I felt great on the way back to Kédougou though. I was cranking along for quite a bit of the ride. The ride back in is a lot more friendly as there is more downhills to enjoy. But like i said i was in good spirits and was really enjoying my ride. I think if i can do this once a week or so ill be content, just so long as my lang comes along. But i make it to the ferry crossing which is kinda neat, its a one car ferry basically, that is attached to a wire that keeps it from floating down stream and a rope that is used to pull it across. So its man power that takes it across the river. Once back in the city proper i stop to get a coke and to buy some kola nuts and fruit for my host family. They really are not very nice but have caffeine in them or something so they give you a little buzz. I tried one and they really are pretty gross, but they are kinda status/respectful thing to give people.
So when i show up at my host families compound, and they cant believe that i went to Fungolimbi and came back in one day. To most people here in Gou, Fungo is like the top of everest is what steve told me. After seeing both the roads that lead up to it i can kinda understand why they think that. My host dad is working on my door and loves the kola nuts i gave him. They bring out my lunch from that day which they had saved for me and i wolf it down, which prob wasn't the best idea as i kinda felt comatose after that. But since my feet and legs were red/brown to the extreme and i was kinda pooped i felt a shower and a nap were in order.
So i listened to the radio a little bit after my nap and shower, so i guess the price of oil has dropped a shit ton and a list of BNP members got leaked. Good times. I have the Economist and Time from the day after the election which is cool, reading about that was pretty cool seeing the breakdown of how the election was won. When i went back to my host families compound for dinner everyone was hanging out like usual. After i had made the rounds saying hello to people, one of my little brothers came up to me with a badly made paper airplane. So i decided id make a nice one for him. Well that went over really well. I had every kid in the compound thrusting sheets of used paper at me wanting paper airplanes. It was really funny. I guess theyd never seen one before and everyone wanted one. So i spent the rest of the evening making them and then eating dinner which i wasnt really too hungry for as id stuffed myself at lunch when id gotten back.
So a recurring event that happens every night during the week here at the Diallo household is Au Coeur du Pêche. Its this Brazilian soap opera that is dubbed into french and played every weeknight. I highly recommend that you have a look at it, its possibly one of the worst things ive ever seen. I mean its really funny but only because its soooo bad. While it is pretty bad, the dubbed french i think is helping with my french comprehension which is good. And its french french which is nice cause its easier to understand then senegalese french. So like i said this is a big event, I counted 25 people around the TV last night. Its truly amazing. So once this was over i leave to go get some sleep.
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