Everything quicksand

With the title a nod to this post, I decided to try a little experiment yesterday to show one of the fundamental truths about our life on the road. There. Are. No. Constants. Just a series of variables that deflect you one way or another. Some good stuff happens, some less good stuff happens. At some point, when the day ends everything is just variables still. Right up to and including your sleep. There’s no slouching in your sofa with a tea or G&T to let off steam. The sofa is a folding chair that you didn’t realise you just put on top of a load of ants and that tea doesn’t quite get made before it’s time to disappear into the tent because of the mosquitos.

The experiment I decided to try was just to log some of these variables and then post them at the end of the day. Unfortunately, one of the variables was internet access, or lack there of, so I am posting it today instead. It’s a sort of diary but it’s only intended to include the unpredictable bits that made up our day. Yesterday turned out to be a tad challenging in parts, but it was just a random day on the road. The following is just pasted in from the notes I took as stuff occurred, plus a picture or three where we took them…

• After packing up the tent we realise termites had eaten through parts of the footprint. Mostly just the bit covering Beck’s vestibule but will need fixing. Mostly, it made us worry about the future prospects for camping in the area

• Next level fruit flies here
• Sam covered himself in powdered milk due to a plaster on a cut on his thumb sustained during clearing camp last night
• Couple on a moped pass our camp spot after no-one else coming by in 15hrs of being there. Always a source of a little anxiety but they were friendly
• Tiny tiny ants have made their way into some of our drinking bottles. Extra protein?
• Lots of new birdsong / animal sounds
• Once on the road again, we recall some variables that have changed since our border crossing yesterday:
  • New language (Kriole + Portuguese…and some English spoken)
  • Blanco! (Instead of Toubab. Seems really friendly though with chants and kids waving)
  • Cavernous potholes (many more mopeds and bikes again)

• No tinned veg anywhere…
• Pungent sickly smell of rotting cashew apples
• Road’s mental due to construction of new road

• Cockled off (first time for ages) when waving to ‘Blanco! kids‘ - hurt foot / b0rked rear mudguard

• Sticky mud. Not quite peanut butter mud though.
• Lovely time at a cafe. Kids have different vibe. Much more chilled. Can just hang out. Cafe owners bemused by us paying a little for using their table, chairs and shade - as they had nowt to buy at the cafe
• Failed locating a camp spot (termites)
• Hotel instead. They won’t let us camp, so cheap room with fan
• Amazing weaver birds making a great cacophony as we reach hotel

• Enter room but is full of hundreds of insect wings - cleaner called
• Cold shower / shower bracket broken - normal
• Western toilet / bit of bog roll - win
• Beck won’t eat food at hotel due to food hygiene concerns
• We were told no electric (light / fan) in room until 7pm (finally came on after Beck went and had a word at gone 7.30pm)
• Couldn’t be bothered to cook but had tinned fish and some fresh tomatoes with wraps - in the dark / hot

• Set up tent on bed as didn’t register there was no mosquito net

• Beck struggling with heat (38°C/27°C overnight) I am too but it’s making Beck ratty today
• Foot graze effing painful but well looked after by nurse Beck
• No reception. Including satellite/Garmin to update mother. She’ll be worrying
• Hence this post couldn’t be posted as planned (post tomorrow)
• Beck photographed some moths

• Set up fan to blast into tent on bed but could be another sweaty night

Oh…and the punchline about the insect wings in the hotel room is that it might well be termites! 🤣