Hi dear readers,

Yes, I am home in the metropole of Bost and its a good feeling.

Although on Monday I was still riding in the heat to the brewery and yesterday I did already some shopping at AH since I certainly needed a haring, pindakaas and stroop wafels + ingredients for my favourite Indonesian dishes and all within 18 hours from eachother.

So I was allowed to parc the bike in the brewery where they emptied a container for me which, of course, I appreciate enormously.  If you parc it somewhere and still have your doubts about its safety it is a source for sleepless nights. 

What would I do without it on this trip ?   The bike is the axle where it all turns around so I have to treat it like a baby with utmost care.

For that reason I went this morning to my HD dealer in Geel ( 60 km from here ) to tell tham that the bike had performed to utmost satisfaction and about the ailments with the broken plate and loose windscreen.  Also I had questions about how to clean the special K&N airfilter, oil change in the bush  and the making of the skidplate for underneath ( anti stone protection for the sump and oiltank ).

Bought 4 liters of HD engine oil , 20W50. To  be take nto Addis and change the oil before taking off.

Already its better to do that while still in the brewery for when something goes wrong or in need for a tool or something else.    Safer than doimg it in the bush.

Normally one changes the oil at 8000km but now after 5300 km it looks like tar because of the hard conditions it went through, so better to change it now.  The wheather ahead is going to be hot in Kenia, Uganda and Rwanda so I am cautious about it.

My time here till 2nd march is filled with usual activities like everyday shopping, cooking, going to the dentist,new  reading glasses,  meeting friends and family but on top of that my birthday on the 21st, Linda’s 60 th  birthday on the 26 and the awaiting of the birth of Linda’s granddaugther due for around the 15th Feb.

From the 2nd  of March till 16th Linda and I will tour Ethiopia in the northern part.  Doing both N and S is too much for 12 days.  May be we also visit Harar,  the old walled city with the hyenas in the streets at night.  

I have requested a travel bureau in Addis to put an itinerary together for those 12 days and it will come end of this week.  Curious to see what they will propose.

Linda flies back on the 17th march early morning and I will go to the bike to do the service , load up and do my first leg to Asela at only 160 km from Addis.     Will tell why once I go.

The next part of the trip is to Rwanda from where I will,,again, go home for a good 2 weeks.  Its only approxx 3000 km but it will be the wet part.

When you do Africa from North to South you will always meet the Tropical Conversion Zone wich is the rainbelt that goes up and down Africa with the changing seasons.   It is approxx 1000 km in width from N to S  and the lenght is the width of Africa from W to East or in reverse.

It goes up from below the equator from  approx March to October and down to under the equator  from approx Oct to March.

It now starts to move from Southern Africa ( = SA, Zim, Zambia, Angola) up to DRC, Tanzania , Rwanda, Uganda, Kenia, Ethiopia.

Thus ,I go south from Ethiopia in mid March to Kenia, Uganda and Rwanda and I will meet the rain belt , TCZ, in those countries.  In general the rains fall in the afternoon so I will adjust the daytrips to early morning  till around 2 pm.  Enough anyway .   The roads might not be  so good with those rains .

After my next stop in Rwanda and going back on the road to Tanzania on the 1st May the TCZ has moved so far up that Tanzania will be dry again.  Same for the whole of Southern Africa  that will enjoy winter from that moment.   The riding will than move to midday to avoid the cold mornings and the  riding in the dark after 5pm.

During the 4 weeks that I crossed Egypt, Sudan and half Ethiopia I had my dark moments due to difficult conditions like the horrible accommodation in the dirty lakandas but I went on by saying , Paul, this is what you wanted so you got it now and have to deal with all you meet.   I did and got where I wanted to be, in fact, 10 days earlier than expected.

But now that it’s all behind me you start to remember the pleasant moments and forget about the difficult ones and that’ s good.   Keep up the morale for the next challenge.

Sjaak Lucassen ( www.sjaaklucassen.nl ) told me that problems do not exist on such a trip, only challenges.   Look what he did and is planning for next. 

As stated before the blogs will now reduce to very low levels till 18th March.  May be one per week for the Sundaymorning when Linda is still asleep and  I have collected the pistolekes from the bakery and have time left befor e the late breakfast.

Yes, regarding Linda.  The weekend after I left she went to see one of her sisters in Antwerp and stayed  overnight cause I was not there to keep her warm anyway.

As usual at home she went for her 10 km run in the morning but , of course, in unknown terrain.

At one moment she got stuck in a large rope hidden in fallen leaves and fell hitting her elbow on the hard surface.   In the beginning she thought it was not so bad but the next day she had a big operation here in Tienen to rebuild her arm with steel plates and half a hardware store in srews.  

That store earns good money on her since last year she had the same thing with her collarbone that broke in pieces after falling with the course bike and now has 13 SS screws.  You can see the heads from outside.

During my trip she never told me about it which I must appreciate since I do not know what I would have done.  It was also during my darkest moments in the South of Egypt so I , possibly, would have gone home and than you do not know what will you do next.  Go back or call it off.

So, I am  now grateful she did not mention.   Of course, other super good people helped her where and when they  could so she was in good hands.   Thanks for that !!

Till next readings.