Today was long and tiring. We left the campground at about 8:15 and went into town to get breakfast at a patisserie recommended by Lonely Planet. It was closed (or maybe just commandeered by the US military) so we went into a nearby restaurant instead. Just parking our cars involves at least 10 minutes of negotiation with the guardian to figure out how much it will cost to watch them. After breakfast Witt went outside with an old Tuareg man (Witt thinks he was Tuareg based on his blue robes) to see his wares displayed on a cloth on the ground. He had lots of antique looking items including jewelry, coins (Witt bought one that said "British West Africa" on it and was minted in 1952), leather goods, etc. Witt bought a sword that was obviously well used with it's leather scabbard dried, cracked, and torn.

We headed out of town on the dirt road leading to the border with Niger. The road was corrugated and it took us until mid afternoon to reach the border post on the Mali side. First was customs for the carnet, then the police shack to have our passports stamped. While waiting for our passports we met a man from Nigeria named Migel who was on his way home from trying out for the Libian football team. He had been arrested in Libya for leaving his hotel without his passport and deported. Because he was traveling with a letter from his embassy in lieu of a passport (the Libians had thrown him out without allowing him to retrieve it) customs formalities took longer than usual and his bus left without him. We agreed to give him a lift to the next town. On the way Graham and Connie got stuck in some deep sand ruts and we did a quick recovery operation using Rafiki to pull him out. As usual a crowd of locals gathered while we extracted the car. Even while busy connecting tow straps, etc, the kids constantly repeat, "Donnes moi un cadeaux!" It's difficult to keep our cool at times and we are all becoming weary of the constant pestering. Migel, clearly frustrated, was trying to get the locals to help push the car. They were more interested in watching than helping, and Migel shouted, "I'm stuck in your f**king country and if you won't help me get out then get out of the way!" When we finally dropped him at his bus he gave us a Catholic holy card for good luck. We got our carnets stamped at customs (customs on both sides of the border was fairly efficient with only one half-hearted attempt to extract a bogus tax) and thought we were home free. No such luck, as Niger has toll roads. We soon came to a toll station where we were first asked to pay 11,000 CFA for tolls all the way to Agadez. We said no, we're not going to Agadez and the price dropped to 2000 CFA to Niamey. We paid and they gave us receipts totaling 1100 CFA. We complained and they gave us two more receipts to Niamey (so now we had two per vehicle). Tired and hungry we gave up and drove on in search of a camp site. We pulled off the road after dark, made a quick (but good) dinner and went to sleep.

Having arrived at our campsite after dark and not knowing how close we were to a village we got up early and headed for Niamey. We arrived at the only campground in town at about 10:30 and after checking in went to the Chad embassy which closes at noon. We were led into an air conditioned office where a very polite man helped us fill out visa applications. We paid the 15,000 CFA each and were issued visas on the spot. We were pleasantly surprised after Lonely Planet's report of widely varying prices and arbitrary refusals.

Next we went to the internet cafe where Witt received a message from a fellow traveler with whom we have been trying to meet up for the journey to Chad. He reported some recent fighting at the Niger/Chad border as well as banditry on the Lake Chad route and problems with officials in Cameroon. Their group had decided to go to Ghana and ship their vehicles to South Africa. Meanwhile Graham replaced another damaged shock on the front of his car. The problem seems to be that a valve on the shock is rubbing against the inside of the shock tower and eventually causing it to break off. Graham has an after market suspension system from Safari Gard, and Graham was frustrated that their installation instructions did not indicate that the valve covers should be removed for proper operation. Graham found that removing the valve cover increases the clearance by 5mm, which he hopes will be sufficient to eliminate the problem. Unfortunately this required removal and re-installation of both front shocks. Over dinner at the campground we discussed the reports from Chad and decided to check with a couple of embassies in town tomorrow to try to get more information. We will be very disappointed if our route is closed, as the only alternative involves going through Nigeria (which we had hoped to avoid).

Apparently our campground is a popular night spot for locals. The music didn't stop until late and we seem to be surrounded by mosques and so got to listen to multiple overlapping calls to prayer at six o'clock in the morning.

We went to a nearby pastry shop and enjoyed some delicious goodies for breakfast before heading to the French embassy, which is where the report from the other traveler came from. The man there told that there were unspecified bad things happening in Chad at the moment and that we should go to the French consulate across town for more information. The US embassy was nearby so we stopped there next. In comparison with the Chad embassy, the American compound is a fortress, with metal detectors and security escorts within the building. The staff told us that Chad was dangerous and that we should wait to see the RSO (some sort of security officer). In the end, Jen and Witt waited 1.5 hours for the RSO to show up while Graham and Connie went to the French consulate (who knew nothing, as it turned out). Tired of waiting, Witt and Jen made an appointment to see the Consul at 2pm. We went and had some lunch and then hit the internet cafe. While there we saw some news reports that cleared things up a bit. Apparently the Chad government yesterday carried out an attack on the GSPC in the northern Tibesti region of Chad. The GSPC is the group responsible for taking 32 European tourists hostage in Algeria last April. The CNN report said that the US had congratulated Chad on it's "aggressive stance against terrorism." For once US foreign policy has helped us. Feeling better about the situation we went back to the US embassy where we met with Richard, the very helpful Vice Consul there. He had printed out the report for us and didn't think there should be any risks out of the ordinary on the route we intended to take. He turned out to be a CU graduate and we asked if there was an alumni club in Niameny. He asked us to say hi to his friends at the embassy in N'djamena and wished us a good trip. Knowing that we now had a 6-7 day, 2000km drive to the next large city, we went to the local supermarket to stock up on essentials (Gin and beer, mostly). We bought a bottle of locally made Gin for about $3.50, as anything imported is very expensive. We'll see how that goes. We decided to go out to a nice restaurant, as we wouldn't have that option for a few days, and very much enjoyed Le Shanghai in town.

No Entry!!!

The morning found Witt under the influence of some recalcitrant food, and not feeling too well. We packed up camp and hit the road at 8:15. The road we were on is very good almost all the way to Maradi, except for the enormous speed bumps that every village likes to put out. Each speed bump has an associated group of onlookers no doubt hoping to see someone break. We did see one overturned truck on the road in the morning.

At about 11:30 Connie mentioned that something was thumping on the floor board on her side of the car. Stopping to check it out revealed that the shock tower had ripped free of the spring mount and was gaily flapping in the breeze. After a quick check of the other side Graham discovered that it had come loose as well. Seems blowing a shock on each side had spread enough oil around to allow the bolts on the shock towers to loosen. Graham secured the flapping shock tower with a ratchet strap (not duct tape) and decided that it might be wise to turn around and head back. He had seen a wrecked Defender 110 pick up beside the road the previous day that had its suspension on it, and thought that the shock towers might be available. So we all turned around and headed back the way we had come. After about 10km, Graham changed his mind and we turned around again. His intent this time was to find a welding shop to try to get the shock towers fixed. As it turns out, the very next town has a welding hut on the main road. Graham stopped and started negotiations concerning the repair.

Witt was still feeling the worse for food, so he and Jen went down the road to find some shade to wait in. Meanwhile, back at the welding hut, the guys were busily fabricating new pieces for the shock towers. They did a fantastic job, bending some 3/4 inch strap steel the hard way and welding it in place. The welder was a scary affair, with lots of exposed wires. At one point the handset wire touched the wheel of the car and welded itself there! After an hour and a half, the repair was complete, and the guys asked for 2000CFA ($4) for their trouble. Graham gave them 5000CFA ($10) for their excellent, fast work, and everyone was happy.

We drove out of town, had a quick bite of lunch and then hit the road again. By 5pm we had reached Maradi and we went into town to fill up with fuel. Having done that, we found a nice tree off the road out of town to camp under. Since Witt was still feeling poorly, we had soup and rice and Connie made slaw with some more cabbage. Graham removed all the nuts on the shock towers and replaced them with red loctite, hoping that will keep them from coming loose again. Witt and Jen's car has nylocks on the shock towers, but we don't know if they were put there by Land Rover or the Canadian military.

Witt woke up feeling better this morning, and after a breakfast of cereal we headed for Zinder, which is our last certain supply of good fuel from a real fuel station until we reach N'Djaména, 1200km to the east. Since we don't have the range to make the entire distance with a reserve, we will fill our tanks and jerry cans and plan to get fuel along the way where we can. Zinder feels a bit like Gao, a long way from anywhere. We got the impression that not many tourists come through here and most foreigners are Peace Corps volunteers or work for an aid organization.

While gassing up in Zinder the usual crowd of touts and beggars arrived, although somehow here the beggars looked more desparate than elsewhere. I (Witt) got out a 100 CFA coin to give to a woman pushing a boy in a wheel chair. The whole group of about 10 moved toward me when they saw the coin and I backed off and put the coin back in my pocket, indicating that I couldn't give something to everyone (I just didn't have enough coins.) A man standing nearby indicated that I could give something to everyone there. I retreated to the other side of the car and fished a 500 CFA note out of my wallet which I gave to the man. The people seems happy about this and moved away, which assured me that they would get the money I gave. Next we pulled into a bank parking lot to change some money, but it had closed for lunch already (everything in West Africa seems to close between about noon and 3:30 every day). The parking lot was secluded and there was a water tap so we decided to fill our water containers.

Graham and Connie found a school with a slow internet connection to check and see if they could find any waypoints for the route around Lake Chad. Unfortunately they couldnit find any. After buying bread we headed out of town toward Nguigmi, the last stop before we enter Chad. We are noticing that the further from the beaten track we get the more genuinely friendly the people seem. The police checkpoints have all gone smoothly with no requests for gifts. Most of the police officers are surprised to learn that we are Americans (at least most of us). Occasionally when looking at the place of birth on Witt's passport (California) someone will grin and say, "Schwarzenegger!" Jen gets "Jennifer Lopez" frequently. We made camp at about 5:30 and were surprised by a Housa man who rode up to us (quietly) on a horse. He spoke no French but laughed a lot, so we laughed too. We indicated that we intended to sleep here, and he smiled and laughed some more. Soon he was on his way, chuckling to himself as he went. Graham dove under the cars with some wrenches and found a loose panhard rod and rear shock mount bolts on his car and tightened the drive shafts on Rafiki (Witt and Jenis car). Jen and Witt made dinner and after cleaning up we crawled into our tents for the evening.

The wind flapping our tents about woke us up early this morning and we were on the road by 7:30. We passed Goure at about 8:30, and were surprised to see lots of kids of all ages very well dressed and apparently headed for school. The road to Goure consisted of patches of tarmac with potholes alternating with corrugated gravel. After Goure the tarmac was more consistent but with sand dunes encroaching onto the road. About 50km outside Goure Graham stopped to check out a noise from his car and found that one of the shock towers had broken loose again. It seems that when the suspension bottoms out, it bottoms against the end of the shockis travel, not with the axle against the frame. That sends the entire force of the impact up through the shock tower, which is not designed for that sort of load. Frustrated, Graham once again rigged up a ratchet strap to hold things together and we carried on. At one point we came across a broken down truck, which inconveniently had broken down at a point where a large dune had blown across the road. This meant we had to air down our tires to drive around the truck on the soft sand to the right.

We found another welding shop along the side of the road in the afternoon, and the shock tower was repaired again for 2000CFA ($4). Graham is busy thinking of ways to correct the problem that is causing the shock towers to break (while quietly cursing Safari Gard), and in the meantime is driving so as not to bottom out the front suspension. Witt and Jen are happy with this arrangement, as it means they can actually keep up with Graham and Connie!

This afternoon we passed a Dutch couple on bicycles (check out their trip at www.dirkensaskiaopdefiets.com) and stopped to chat. They had been riding for four months and had started in southern Spain, covering almost exactly the same route we had, including the ore train route to Choum, except that they had ridden on the train. They had been through Atar and had battled the same headwind we had had since Nouakchott. We got the bottle of water we keep in the refrigerator and gave it to them, since they looked even hotter and sweatier than we were. Both of them are tri-athletes at home. They should kick butt on the bike leg when they get back. We arrived in Diffa at about 330 and pulled into the only fuel station in town. The tanks were empty, but they were selling diesel out of barrels, and after taking a whiff of it to verify it really was diesel (or at least something that smelled like diesel) we had them fill our tanks. We had a little fun with the digital camera and headed off down a very poor road toward Nguigmi. A small kid (maybe three or four) threw a rock that hit Graham and Connie's car. They turned around and drove back and scared the pants off the little bugger by threatening to run him over. By the look on his face we don't think he'll be throwing rocks at any more cars. When we got to camp, Graham and Connie set up their awning and we all took showers that were much appreciated.