Day 156: Serti ­– Mayo Ndaga

Already March...

We slept quite well, the disco had stopped around nine. By the way: A prince is getting married (from whatever tribe) and the celebration continues somewhere else today. However, the church preacher is enthusiastically on duty from five in the morning.

We want to get as far as possible today. Before that there is another photo session with some volunteers from the park administration.

We have asphalt or good slopes up to Nguroye. Before Gembu it turns east and until Mayo Ndaga it gets very difficult for 30 km. 

When the dust you create overtakes you. When the local pedestrians are faster than us. If Becky's differential is the biggest problem. When the tires deform in ways you hardly thought possible. When every rock, every rut needs to be critically examined. When a military station without any infrastructure is the safest and most welcoming place to spend the night.

That means difficult. 

The route is a real challenge. It takes us nine hours to cover 155 km. But it is the only way to cross the border from Nigeria to Cameroon as an overlander.

The magical landscape and the incredibly friendly people here make it worth. 

However, we are back to round huts, goats, yams and cassava fields, petrol in bottles, and wheelbarrows as a means of transport – none of Nigeria's supposed wealth reaches these places in the far east.