Past the half-way point

If we restart the Tour again after the two-week rest, we have half of the Tour behind us (as far as time is concerned). A good moment for an evaluation.
Has the Tour been what I have expected? Absolutely. Almost every day on the bike to ride 120 km, I enjoy it very much. Depending on the circumstances (wind-direction, road surface, temperature, relief) it’s easy or very hard. Behind every urve a new piece of Africa is revealed, and you meet new people.
The international group we are traveling with is a very pleasant one. We are on the road now for two months, everybody has found his own sub-group that he/she is comfortable with.
At the beginning of the Tour i was not sure whether i could do 120 km a day, 6 days in a row. It turns out that it's not a problem: even after the tough stages i recuperate fast enough to be ready for the next day.
The thing that is most besides my expectations, is the type of riders in the group. I had expected that those who have came for the challenge (can i ride the bike all the way from Cairo to Capetown?) would strongly outnumber those who have a more touristic approach: the want to see Africa. This is not the case. It does not bother me, but i had expected otherwise.
In short: i'm still very enthousiastic. The countdown will start in Arusha: 8 weeks to go from there until i see Helene, Guus and Lieke in Capetown.

The statistics:
Travelled distance: 4366 km
Hour on the bike: 192
Average speed: 22,7 km/h
Altitude meters: 19000
# flats: 8
EFI: still OK

Greetings from the southern hemisphere

After reaching the Ethiopian-Kenyan border we were bussed back to Addis Abeba in two days. From there the Tour-riders left to several destinations across Africa, like: Uganda, Lake Tanganyika, Lalibella, (Ethiopia), Rwanda, Arusha.
Together with a group of TdA-riders I traveled to Zanzibar, an island of the coast of Tanzania. We had to make a stop-over in Nairobi, and because of a delay we missed the flight to Zanzibar. Kenyan Airways offered us a night in a 5-star hotel in Nairobi, so we could travel on the next morning. Paradox: because we try to avoid Kenya, we had to spend the night in Nairobi.
We’re now in Zanzibar, a real seaside resort, with a lot of tourism. Normally a great place to be, but if your objective is to ride your bike from Cairo to Capetown, it somehow doesn’t feel right. I want to be on my bike, not lay on the beach.
Anyway, it is a good opportunity to let the body get some rest.