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21/06/2026 – Outskirts of Yaoundé
So, I’ve now been waiting here for a few days. My parts should arrive on Wednesday, and I’m hopeful that the bike will be up and running again by Friday. At last, I should be able to get back on the road.
In the meantime, I’m keeping myself busy as best I can. My mood is a bit like the weather here: slightly grey. But overall, I’m doing fine.
Having access to a kitchen has allowed me to rediscover one of life’s simple pleasures: cooking proper fried eggs! In Africa, it’s actually quite difficult to get eggs—whether fried or as an omelette—that aren’t, let’s say, very well done. Yesterday, I even tried making soft-boiled eggs. They were just a few seconds short of perfection.
So, for now… I wait.
I’ve also taken the opportunity to redesign the banner on my website. The previous one was getting a little old (already 10 years!), and, more importantly, it had been created using a photo of me taken back in 2004. 😊
I made several attempts using AI. In the end, I decided to stay very close to the original design. It simply works better, especially when viewed on a mobile phone.
I’ve also given up on going to Kinshasa. It’s simply too expensive. I would have needed to take a round-trip bus, pay for a multiple-entry Congo visa, and then obtain a new visa to re-enter Cameroon.
As a result, I’ve probably lost my DRC visa… but this is Africa, after all. I’ll see what happens when the time comes.
Meanwhile, I’ve been following the progress of another Canadian motorcyclist who is currently travelling through Nigeria. She’s been on the road for several years… with her dog. She should reach Yaoundé by the end of the week.
When she tells me about all the visa troubles she’s had over the past few months, I consider myself fairly lucky. Her Cameroonian e-visa was rejected three or four times before finally being approved… except they put 2027 instead of 2026 on it. She then went to the consulate, only to be told that she had to submit a new application… and pay again. Considering that this visa is one of the most expensive in Africa, that’s a significant amount of money.
If they keep doing things this way, they’re going to kill tourism in their country. (And once again, there’s no need to tell me how difficult it is for Africans to obtain a Schengen visa. I’ve been married twice to foreign women, including a Senegalese woman, so I’m well aware of the issue.) But here we’re talking about tourism, and therefore about potential revenue for the country. Sometimes it feels like a perfect example of shooting yourself in the foot.
I’m not saying this is true everywhere. But for countries such as Guinea and Cameroon, which in my opinion have genuine tourism potential, it’s a real shame.
So that’s the latest news. As you’ve probably guessed… I’m waiting.
I must admit I’m starting to get a little fed up with these recurring problems. For someone who has always hated anything mechanical, I’m certainly getting my fill of it…
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