Sort of. We're in Gondar, Ethiopia now, finding it slightly eery that there are other white people who aren't part of our group around. It'z supposedly on the tourist trail because of the existence of a castle (I'm not planning on seeing it today but may tomorrow). We're camped in the grounds of one of the highest hotels in the town (by altitude) and the campsite isn't exactly flat. My grand plan to sleep in this morning was thwarted by this fact - sleeping on an incline isn't the most comfortable experience.

The dinner truck has had a bit of SNAFU, the perfect way to end a seriously hard week on both the riders and the staff. The brake apparently failed as they were descending one of the moderately steep slopes we've encountered on our way through Ethiopia so far. Ferdi, one of the South African drivers who was driving at time, stuck the engine in a low gear to slow the truck down (the truck was full of bags, bikes and people). They finally came to a stop on a gravelly section of road near the bottom but this had blown a hole in the side of the engine as one of the rods blew. (That's as technical as I'll attempt to go...) Supposedly that engine is now a write-off and the staff are in contingency planning mode. This may mean another rest day (which my legs will most certainly appreciate) in Gondar.

The food and drink here is divine, compared to the fairly similar fool (kidney beans) and falafels we've been feasting on previously. Ethiopian food is almost curry-like and spicy too. A lot of riders apparently get ill at this time and I can definitely feel my plumbing shifting a little (hopefully not in an illness-inducing way). Last night we went to a fairly popular restaurant called the Golden Gate restaurant (IIRC) and I managed to find my favourite liquor - Amarula!

The weather is nice and cool here too, it's past noon here and I'm in no danger of overheating as I have been on the previous few rest days. There are tonnes of people everywhere in Ethiopia - I'm fairly safe when walking by myself but when I'm with any of the other riders (who are white and therefore look more touristy), we are surrounded by local teenagers within seconds. Even when you're out in the 'countryside', kids will appear out of nowhere from fields and trees surrounding the road.

Anyway, it's time now to get a shave and buy some energy loaded food for the next riding week!