Thunder's Road - Calum's Road 2010

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Unusual airhead spare part to be carrying, Roger?

So what is it then Roger, looks like a bit of plastic waste pipe? :nenau
 
25-1-10

No man's land - Mauritanian border

No going back now, we'd all made the decision to continue the trip and cross in to Mauritania, the barrier at the was raised and we were waived in to no man's land between the disputed Western Sahara and Mauirtania which also happened to be surrounded by a bloody big mine field.

We'd all read different reports on this bit and were unfortunately aware of the deaths of some German riders the year before who had strayed off the crossing and hit a mine so it's fair to say we were pretty nervous (well I was I can tell you.

First thing that strikes you is "where the hell do I go?" there are no signs anywhere you just drop off the tarmac on to track and are faced with a number of junctions with local guides pointing directions.

We headed off playing follow the leader, soon it became apparent we were going the wrong way as we came over the brow of a hill and found Glenn had had an off in deep sand. :augie

Looking across to the right we could see a truck and cars crossing on a rock piste and rather decided to retrace our route out of the sand and follow their route (which was the recommendation of the local guides who were following us close by) applying the logic of " you can't plant mines on rock, sands another thing!" :D

Mike had a drop as well on the way out of the sand but once on the rock track we actually started to enjoy the experience, hence loads of pictures.

Here's a few.

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We arrived at the Mauri border, joined the queue and passed the time talking bollox, people watching, taking pictures and sweating in the sun! Well some of us did. :D

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We took the mandatory me and my bike in a mine field pictures :D

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and admired some of the traffic coming the other way

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As we approached the police check point we put cameras and valuables out of site, apparently officials were prone to asking for such things as a gift. :blast

It was a long process, African time at it's best and we were starting to be concerned about where we would spend the night as we had just cleared the police checks still had to change money and sort insurance before we could even approach customs ( even with the help of a local fixer this was not going to be fast :blast).

We spotted some tents behind the money changers office and went to investigate, turned out you could rent a tent for up to seven people, they did food and water, would lock the gates at night to secure the bikes, were cheap and would save us an 80 mile round trip down to our intended accommodation. Happy day! :bounce1

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We would be sleeping beside the police station but not through customs and with the situation in Mauri felt pretty secure, it also meant we could park the bikes and ditch the gear while we sorted out our paperwork. Brilliant.

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Food arrived

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Food disappeared

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As it was a dry camp and we had no booze we had an early night. I fell asleep to the scratching of pens in journals, it was like detention at school with the sound of lines being written. :D

TBC :thumb
 
Lovin' the pictures in no-mans land :thumb2

Did you take shed loads of piccies or are these all from the 'collective'?

Andres
 
Lovin' the pictures in no-mans land :thumb2

Did you take shed loads of piccies or are these all from the 'collective'?

Andres

I took shed loads of piccies but for this report I'm using pictures from some members of the collective as well, with their permission of course. mind you not all of the pictures taken, although it's tempting, these are only a small proportion :D

General tip, if I'm in it I did'nt take it cause I'm not familiar with using a timer :augie :D
 
:D26-1-10

Nouakchott

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Waking about 6 in the morning some of us ended up enjoying a light pollution free sky after a comfortable nights sleep and a decent meal supplied by our hosts.

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Bikes were all safe and secure behind the locked gates and right beside our tent.

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The sun came up, which was nice. :D

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and with it our host appeared to open the gates so we could push the bikes out on to the road.

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About 8am the customs guy appeared out of his office and opened the barrier for the day, as we'd been cleared through customs the previous night we were able to ride straight through and head south.

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Our unexpected stay at the border had saved us a 40 odd mile ride in the dark ( not recommended at the best of times) down the peninsula to Nouadhibou and another 40 miles back to the main road so we were well ahead on the time front even at the expense of not having breakfast which was not available. :blast

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With the FCO "do not travel" directive in place we were conscious that until we reached the capital we were riding with no travel insurance so had decided to ride with minimum stops, mainly for fuel and food where available.

There was not much to see on the road, apart from some tent and the odd camel, but we still stopped for pictures. :D

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before heading off to do the food and petrol bit

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At the point we had our first meeting with the locals (excluding the officials and people at the border of course ) and did not know what to expect as we had heard and read so many negative reports. We need not have worried, friendly, polite and curious to what we were doing there. One moment that stays with me is walking back from the shop to the cafe with Mike. A woman in her 50's approached him (it's his boyish charm that attracts the ladies :D) welcomed him to her country and thanked him for visiting it. Made us think about things I can tell you.

Tanks and stomachs filled we headed off again on the final leg to the capital, well apart from the obligatory picture stop of course. :augie

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Mike posed for a sponsors shot

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Gert photographed his helmet

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and Dave was relieved to stop

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earlier he'd passed water into John's helmet! :eek:

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Back on the road we covered the final leg of the day into the Mauri capital, now this was an experience it was like no capital most of us had seen before, we ended up entering it from the south side and riding through areas were the tarmac just disappeared under deep sand at the junctions making turning a nightmare. Dave had an off turning left at one such junction with traffic bearing down on him. He managed to get the bike upright by himself safely though, amazing what a dose of adrenaline can do!

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As it became more apparent we were lost we reverted to our adventure routes and got a taxi to lead us to a hotel. Hardcore or what? :D

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We checked out the options for accommodation at this hotel and others nearby. Western hotels are limited and this one had security guards on duty 24/7 in the car park and locked gates unlike others where we would have had to park the bikes on the street. We negotiated a discount on the initial rate we were given, it was pricey but secure and in the circumstances we decided to go with it. Only real downside, it was dry, no bar! :tears

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Checked in and changed we started checking on the bikes, Those who cleaned their air filters found we had picked up some sand from the ride through the desert, in one case about half a pound of the stuff. :eek:

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As the fettling continued we were approached by a guy in UK Police uniform with some pips on the shoulder (those with guilty consciences made ready to leg it :D ) who looked me straight in the eye (well through his sunglasses), grinned and said " How's it going? Didn't expect to see you!"

Now as he talked I was franticly trying to work out where he knew me from, and using the conversation to look for clues rather than flat out asking " Who are you?"

He told us he was on secondment from the UK working for the King of Morocco's office as a security liaison and attending a conference in the city and gave us his opinion of the situation and lots of advice on what we should do. Basically get out asap, tust no one and don't give any details of our itinerary to any one. We took his advice and told him nothing! :D

I'd come to the point of realising I did not know him personally and coe to the conclusion he knew us from UKGSER so asked the question, "are you a Tosser?" look on his face made it clear he nothing about the site so I hastily explained what I meant and why I had asked. Thankfully he saw the funny side of the situation, wished us well with a firm and hearty handshake and finished off by recommending us to a nearby restaurant ("cross the road, 50 meters down on the right there's a tatty looking wooden door you'd normally walk straight past, go through that" ) which was secure for tourists had great food and most important of all, a bar!!! :jager

Someone up there was definitely looking after us. :bounce1

Fettling finished we hit the pool and checked the time with one of the staff who told us we were an hour ahead of our watches. Oh well another timezone, watches set we talked bollox before heading for our rooms to have a nap and get ready for the evening meal. Yup hardcore!

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TBC :thumb
 
26-1-10

We met in the hotel reception at 8 and headed off to find the tatty wooden door that our new police chum had recommended. Easy to find being exactly where he had told us, pretty low key with basic signs outside to indicate what it was.

Inside was a covered area with a sand floor and a reed roof which lead to a solid metal gate. There was a sign on the wall indicating it was a restaurant and the opening hours (8 till late) so we knocked on the door for a while until someone came t let us in.

The restaurant itself was pretty special, a sand floor under a tented area with a bar in the middle, surrounding tables, large windows so you could see the kitchen, we were impressed. Well apart from the fact it was deserted and even the staff seemed unprepared for customers.

We settled into a corner and a waitress took our drinks order, then another drinks order, and another. Food it seemed would take a while.

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We sat and talked bollox, it was a hard life but someone had to do it! :D

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I played with Andres's imaginary Stylophone which he'd left on the table in Algeceris.

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When the menu arrived we made our choices, everyone found something they liked, we had an excellent meal and the drink continued to flow.

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The restaurant had been livening up as the night progressed with customers arriving regularly. The owner arrived and came over to check we were ok and offer us a complimentary drink which was nice. He was a French guy and passed on his business card for future reference.

After a final night cap we staggered back to the hotel and got our heads down for the night, a stressful day finished in as a very relaxed one, which was nice!

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One moment that stays with me is walking back from the shop to the cafe with Mike a woman in her 50's approached him... welcomed him to her country and thanked him for visiting it. Made us think about things I can tell you.

It's great to hear stories like that :thumb2
 
:

I'd come to the point of realising I did not know him personally and coe to the conclusion he knew us from UKGSER so asked the question, "are you a Tosser?"

TBC :thumb

Wahahahhaahha... that moment i will take with me to my grave... Hilarious!!! Imagine asking a high ranking British Police officer if he was a 'tosser' :blast - his face was a picture... Roger's face was a picture with the policeman's reaction :)

Happy days! Brilliant!! Thanks for that one Roger :)
 
27-1-10

Senegal - St Louis

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Up early to watch the sun rise as I wanted to do some research on the best way to get out of the city using the feed from my Spot Tracker,Google Earth and the wi-fi connection in the hotel room. Ain't technology wonderful :augie

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Headed down for breakfast about 7.30 to find a virtually empty breakfast room with a flustered waiter still setting up the tables. Couldn't understand what was going on as we'd talked about having breakfast at 7 when service was due to start yet the place was distinctly lacking in Tossers.

The answer to this and our problems at the restaurant the previous evening we fond out later. The guy who had told us the time at the pool the previous day had got it wrong, we were not an hour ahead as we thought, Mauri was on GMT :blast

So we had plenty of time to pack our bags and the bikes before heading off to fill the tanks for the day ahead.

Dave was totally relaxed waiting for the off.

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We called in at a petrol station at the junction with the main road south, did the fuel thing watched the local traffic, it appeared the concept of an MOT had not reached this part of the world. :eek:

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When it came to dealing with their peers Mauri drivers worked on an anything goes basis, giving way at a junction seemed to be a sign of weakness, but when they saw us coming people stopped to let us out, gave way on roundabouts and couldn't have been more helpful. This was not we had expected from Mauritania.

Out of the city we were heading down the main road towards Rosso, not to cross into Senegal there as any advice we had been given was it was a corrupt hell hole but to Djama which involved cutting across country on piste and tracks.

Aberdeen Angus had been down to Dakar a few weeks earlier and mentioned a new road being constructed to Djama some 45kms north of Rosso, so we headed off and didn't pull over until we found a likely suspect.

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More friendly locals confirmed we were in the right place

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We headed off on the new road, well road under construction to go on the piste to Djama :D

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Lots of construction traffic was about, coming over a hill Mike was faced by a lorry coming the other way in the center of the road which was not going to move over, he moved to the side, hit a patch of soft sand and went down. Not hurt and minimal damage thank goodness but those who witnessed it said it was spectacular!

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Further on I lost site of Dave behind another lorry and pulled over. When he appeared he'd had to stop as he had the rear wheel mud deflector ripped off in a patch of loose dirt, the noise scared the life out of him, he thought the rear drive had gone. :eek:

The other were waiting for us further along, we took the opportunity to stretch legs, feel relieved and take some pictures.

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TBC :thumb
 
Good job you were all on TKC's ... some of that tarmac was quite dusty in places!
 
Good job you were all on TKC's ... some of that tarmac was quite dusty in places!

27-1-10

Indeed, the tourances most of us had used for Europe would not have been up for this "road" in its current condition, as we got further on we joined the piste track and the dust increased.

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not to mention the pot holes, but no one was stopping to take pictures of those. :eek:

As we approached Djama and entered the national park the temperature was climbing, when we stopped for a break the temperature was in the mid 40s.

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The locals were as always interested in what we were doing

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On the final leg the track beside the piste looked better than the piste itself so some of us dropped down on to it. John got caught in a patch of sand and went down, luckily no damage to bike and rider.

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As we prepared to leave Mauritania Dave added a Calum's Road sticker to the front of one of the booths.

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and overbalanced on the bike just inside no mans land reaching for his sun glasses which he had left on his roll bag. :blast

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The Mauri officials came over to see if he was ok and if we needed assistance, fortunately we were able to sort things out with our own medical kits.

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We had mixed emotions about leaving Mauritania so quickly, the people were friendly and glad to see us yet with the kidnapping situation we could not wait to get out of the place as soon as possible and into Senegal. As we approached the barrier at the end of the bridge leading to the Senegalese police check and customs post we had out first experience of Senegalese corruption. The guy at the barrier wanted €70 to let us through! :eek:

We refused and told him we had no euro. He dropped his price to €40 straight off, we told him we had not got it but offered our remaining Mauri currency, he refused, and the stand off began.

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We spoke to the policeman in his office, he wasn't interested and told us to sort things out. Barrier man got cross, padlocked the barrier and walked off. We blocked the bridge and settled down to wait. :augie

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After an hour word came from the police checkpoint, we either cleared to bridge or we would be sent back to Mauitania :blast We had a whip round of our remaining currencies cause of course we did not have any euro :rolleyes: and finally got through for about £30. Welcome to Senegal. Well we were not there yet, we still had police and customs.

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While Sid took the collectives paperwork to the appropriate officials we settled down to wait

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We chatted with other travellers

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journals were updated

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until we finally got through,after sun set! :blast

As we headed down the road to St Louis and our intended destination the Zebrabar avoiding cows, donkeys, pot holes and the occasional local on the pitch black road we got pulled over at a police checkpoint. Papers were checked and it appeared we were missing a receipt on our entry documentation which would require a fine. On our way again we got 3 miles down the road before being stopped at yet another check point, this time asked to produce our insurance which we all had sorted out thankfully. Finding this was in order the official suggested we might like to make a contribution to the Chief of Police's beer fund. Welcome to Senegal!

Eventually we made it to St Louis made the odd u turn and realised we were again lost so stopping at a petrol station on a major junction we looked at the options and decided on the solution. TAXI! !!!

Our guide took us the 15 to 20 kms out to the Zebrabar, bummed a cigarette for his tip and watched with interest as we tried to find the entrance. The place looked deserted and for a moment we thought it was closed due to lack of business with the Mauri situation. :blast

Eventually we found one of the staff, sorted out rooms and accommodation, ditched our gear, grabbed a cold beer and talked bollox, mainly about the welcome we had received to Senegal. :(

Some of the other travelers we had met at the border arrived to check in, a mixture of German and Dutch out to explore Africa.

Glen managed to find something to eat by raiding the fridges in the kitchen and knocking up a pasta based concoction which really hit the spot.

Tired, beered and fed we headed off to bed, it had been a long day.

TBC
 
Well done Mike and Bhud

Good to hear you could string a few sentences together on the radio this morning :clap :clap

Good interview, did you go anywhere nice? :D
 
28th and 29th January 2010

Zebrabar Senegal

Knowing we were going to take a couple of days off before heading into The Gambia and the ride up river to Calum's Road any one with a modicum of sense would have taken the opportunity to have a lie in. I was up at 6 to see where exactly we had ended up as having arrived in the dark and found our accommodation by torch light I'd no idea what was beyond the door. Opening it I found out. We were 15 feet from the beach! :bow

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Dave emerged from our hut and saw the view for the first time

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We went off to find who else was about and explore the facilities

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Gert had decided to go for the camping option and pitched close by. As we approached he emerged from the "Gert Yurt", it wasn't a Yurt but the "Gert Geodesic Dome Tent" just didn't have the same ring to it! :rolleyes:

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Breakfast was served for the early risers :bounce1

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after which we climbed up to the observation platform to do some observationing, the view was stunning.

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Walking down to the lower terrace we met the others who were having breakfast, sorted out some beer and decided to arrange a river boat to take us up to St Louis to change money and have a walk about. While we waited we talked bollox

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before heading to the beach to meet the boat.

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Dave spotted something

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the beach was covered with crabs, hundreds of them

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Dave showed us one of his crabs! :eek:

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at which point thankfully the river boat arrived

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The boatman was very nice, he even stopped at one point to bail out the water which was gradually rising as we went up the river. How kind! :D

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Glen was very happy as we approached our destination :D

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We went ashore right in the centre of St Louis, Jerome K Jerome's literary classic came to mind :augie

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TBC :thumb
 
We went ashore right in the centre of St Louis, Jerome K Jerome's literary classic came to mind


Bagsy, three men in a boat :D
 
28-1-10 (continued)

Having negotiated the rocks on the shore, various items which will not be mentioned and climbed over a wall we set off to explore St Louis and get some currency changed.

First thing we encountered were goats, lots of them

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some were very photogenic though. :D

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The French colonial influence could be seen in the buildings

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if not in the vehicles, Citroen, eat your heart out

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As we looked for a bank and an ATM we picked up a few of the local street traders, our attempts to blend in had been totally unsuccessful and from this point onwards we came under their constant attention. :blast

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Gert and I had negotiated for 3 pairs of casual pants and a tee shirt, Sid got in on the act and looked for pants for himself, Glen just stood there grinning, he had survived the river boat and was incredibly happy. :D

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As the sun got hotter and the touts put the word out to their friends there were adventurers in town we adjourned to a local hostelry for some refreshment. :jager

They had vodka, I was nearly as happy as Glen! :bounce1

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Outside the world went by

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and the touts waited

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we tucked in to spam and brie paninis, a local speciality it seems. :D

A guy in the bar took us to a local wholesalers and we purchased some supplies for the evening, Smirnoff, wine and Rhum. Rhum is like Rum but a quarter of the price, it promised to be a long night!

Grabbing some local taxis we headed back to Zebrabar.

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Back at ZB , showered and changed we enjoyed our purchases, had an excellent meal and watched the sun go down.

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As the evening wore on and the drink was consumed, Gert and I discovered we had a common interest in music, thanks to my Ipod and Bhud's portable speaker the wonders of Abba boomed across Zebrabar, complete with Tosser accompaniment!

Not leaving it there we moved on to Puccini, our rendition of Sono andati? from La Boheme was only faulted by forgetting who was taking the part of Rodolfo and who was Mimi! :blast

We went to bed eventually, this adventuring was tiring! :jager
 


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