We left mid morning because Doka is only 81 km away which shouldn’t take more than 5 hours to bicycle. We have to sleep in Doka because it is the only town between where we are in Gedaref and the border town of Metema in Ethiopia. We had heard that this whole border area is unstable as border areas often are in Africa and decided we shouldn’t camp. Much of the day we spent taking breaks at a number of different coffee shops and small cafes along the route. The road went to shit 20 km before Doka and we had to swerve all over the road to avoid giant pieces of pavement that were missing. At times the road looked like a half completed child’s puzzle. I felt even worse for the cars and minibuses that braved the road. They were unable to travel much faster than we could on bicycles. We arrived in the town of Doka around nightfall and checked into the camp we were staying at. It was basic but surrounded by a corrugated gated fence which made it worthwhile. We slept on cots under a straw roof and found Falafels for dinner and some snacks for the next morning.
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