Baye fall religion

After saying goodbye to the people from the Thiagar rice company who helped me, I finish the last 4 km of piste to find the asphalt again in Rosso Senegal. It is the town facing Rosso Mauritania, and where the main traffic between the 2 countries happens, as trucks are forbidden to cross at Diama. But since there is an official Expresso shop in Richard Toll, 10 kilometers further, I will wait until there to get it with the parameters and instructions, which will save me time.

For the time being, since I am close to the border post, I pay a visit to see if there is as much trouble as it is often described. But to my surprise, there is not too much hassle. One boat is coming from Mauritania and people are waiting with SIM cards and currency exchange. A bit further, other smaller boats do the shuttle with fruits. The road is bordered with the usual sights: workers in rice field, people spreading fertilizers, families in wooden huts, topless ladies bathing in the irrigation canals, a baby varan, vendors of stuff, … until I spot a huge factory.

The sugar company owned by a French billionaire resident of Switzerland is one of the biggest companies in Senegal. The whole area around Richard Toll is a landscape of dried sugar canes. I break another spoke in the city, quickly changed, realize that the Expresso office no longer exists, have a quick lunch of thieboudienne fish and rice, the flagship dish of Senegal , and head for more piste.

The piste goes well until Mbane, although I have to cycle on the side to avoid the nightmare of the corrugated iron.

Serigne touba praying on water

But after Mbane, as I was told, the quality drops. There are sandy areas. There are no cars passing this way, the predominant mean of transport is the donkey cart. I stop at a village when the sun is about to set. I was instructed to always ask the permission of the chief of the village before camping, so I am directed to his house.