Lèo to Gallo – Day 22 (85 km)

Kaitlin Says:

A haiku:

Mon derrière pleure;
No more chaffing, hills, or sun;
Bon, Ça va aller.

An update:
We woke up bright and early Wednesday morning at the Maison de les Femme in Lèo. We were well rested and revitalized from the magical tofu brochettes we had for dinner the night before (Props to Hugo). That’s right…tofu in Burkina Faso. I was tempted to stay in tofu land forever (or until the end of my service) but the TOUR MUST GO ON. So we packed our bags and the car and prepared to go to our next destination…Gallo.

Yesterday was the longest day yet (125 km… ewww) so 85 km was going to be a piece of cake (cake… yummm). We back tracked the last 35km we did yesterday. Despite the same road conditions…it was much easier when it was not noon and therefore not 492 degrees out. However we did pass a dead dog in the middle of the road which was disturbing and sad (R.I.P. Pup). So after the first 45km we stopped in Tare to meet Lauren’s counterpart. It was a brief salutation. In fact he came and went before I even caught up with everyone there. So I arrived upon a shack with orange juice in a bag and beer and liquor and ice cubes. The juice was gone and I was in more of a Gatorade mood than taking shots of whiskey mood. However I put the ice cubes in my water and that was nice.

We then continued on another 20km and then stopped for an early lunch in Sapouy. We ate some rice and/ or spaghetti and stocked up on groceries. Then kept it moving.

We finally arrived in Katie’s village, Gallo. Some town officials greeted us and some small children helped us unload the car and carry our bags inside. We then skipped over to the school where they gave us a proper welcome (or “Well come” as they spell it in Gallo) with a bunch of members from the community.

They also gave us free, cold water!!! After introductions and presentations we went back to Katie’s to shower and read the latest gossip magazines from America.

We finished the night off with some delicious salad, spaghetti, and chicken. After biking all day I have found that after dinner it is very easy to fall asleep in just moments.

It has been concluded that Peace Corps probably single handedly keeps REI in business with their bug huts and therma-rests. So I finished my chicken, climbed into my bug hut, blew up my therma-rest and laid my achy body down to sleep. That night I dreamt of tofu.

Tomorrow's the last day!!!