14 january

ARRIVAL IN ABUJIAR

In the morning I leave at six, but first I greet the nuns who have pampered me for a few days, in these days I have also met Donato, a Comboni priest who has lived in Togo for years, all great people, admirable for the work they do. I start with the goal of reaching the border between Ghana and Ivory Coast, then see you. The first seven kilometers are a bit sandy, easy but you have to go slowly, there is a lot of fog and it’s easy to make mistakes. I arrive early in Lome, a lot of traffic and in a moment I am on the border. In half an hour I hurry and enter Ghana. The roads are very beautiful, only along the road a continuous of villages and towns with bumps that almost force you to stop. I pass by the ocean several times, fantastic, you would like to take a bath, but there is no time. It is very hot and I try to drink as much as possible. I just stop to get gas and drink. At half past four I’m on the border with the Ivory Coast. I decide to enter knowing that if I want to go to Abujian, I will have to travel at least a couple of hours at night. The road is very beautiful and there is no traffic. I arrive in Abujian around half past eight. I stop in a distributor and a very nice girl makes me call Sister Giuseppina, my contact in Abijan. Traffic is intense. I decide to be accompanied by a taxi from across the city where I have an appointment with the nun. Around nine we arrive and luckily we find ourselves immediately. I follow his car and after a few minutes we arrive at the mission. I take a quick shower and then I eat something, I am very tired but I want to speak with Sister Giuseppina on the road I have to do after the Ivory Coast. She also confirms that the best way is to go up to Mali and cross it to get to Senegal. The roads of Sierra Leone and Liberia, at least the ones I should do, according to the story of a boy who got off the bike a week ago are impractical with my times. I decide to spend the night and decide tomorrow.

mappa