Our 11th and final rest day was November 10, 2023. I slept very well in our little bungalow. We had the inner door open all night – the outer door is a screen that lets in the wind and the sound of the waves. We had breakfast at the bar, bread and omelet. I helped Jan with a computer project, to make sure he has his big 180 km ride from two days ago recorded on Strava. Otherwise, it didn’t happen!
In the late morning, 16 of us took a guided boat ride in the Senegal River. We filled the small boat. We headed up river a bit, with talks about the National Park and the ecosystem. We came back down and landed on the other side. We could walk a short way across the sand to the Atlantic Ocean. I immediately went swimming with Wytze, Kris and Michael. The water felt great and it was really fun body surfing and playing in the water.
I loved the crabs and we saw jellyfish and lots of birds. After we got back Wytze, Daniel and I called Andrew and had a good video chat. Then we went to see about lunch. They had one meat choice, plus vegetarian lasagna. We had large beers while waiting, then more beer with lunch. When I finished, Beau called from Kyoto and I had a great call with him, although my phone dropped the connection a few times. After a nap I sat out on the rocks by the river and chatted with Katie for half an hour too.
In the evening everyone came to the bar for dinner and the owner entertained us playing his guitar and singing. He was great, singing songs like Hotel California with a German accent. Dinner was really fun, lots of beers, so relaxing. We talked about what was our favorite/least favorite camp and it was surprising how many different answers there were. We’ve been through a lot together, and it’s about to end, but we still have two more days to ride.
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