30-year-old Wiebke Lühmann is on the biggest trip of her life so far on her gravel bike with straight handlebars: a cycle tour to South Africa. A lot has happened since the last report on Wiebke's trip. High time for an update.
Wiebke Lühmann's journey so far to read up on
It was hot and humid in Senegal
Senegal was the first country south of the Sahara after Mauritania. "The border was very exciting because it became much greener in one go and the Sahara was gone," reports Wiebke Lühmann. There was a lot more wildlife - birds and lots of warthogs. It was also really hot and humid in Senegal for the first time - the Wahoo showed 45 degrees Celsius. On the bike, Wiebke felt the warm wind on her face and the tarmac heated up by the sun. That's why Wiebke cycled through quickly with just one short stop at a mangrove reforestation project in the Saloum Delta.
Gambia
We travelled from Senegal to The Gambia with just one or two overnight stays with a German-Gambian couple in the capital. Crossing the Gambia River on a pirogue was one of the biggest adventures so far. The Gambia is the smallest country on the African mainland, so the distance Wiebke had to cover there was correspondingly short.
Immer Richtung Süden
The most varied country on the trip so far
This was followed by Guinea-Bissau. Up to this point, this was the most varied country on the journey from Freiburg to Cape Town. Guinea-Bissau only gained independence in 1973, before that the country was a colony of Portugal and the official language is Portuguese. This was an advantage for Wiebke, as she was able to communicate well with her knowledge of Spanish. One highlight was that Wiebke saw wild chimpanzees for the first time in her life. In large national parks, efforts are made to preserve biodiversity. In many places, much of the wildlife has already died out and is or has been hunted.
Wiebke Lühmann waited in Guinea-Bissau for her visa for Guinea - together with Julien Soleil, her travelling companion - more on this later. The two met in the Sahara. The visas took a few days to arrive, but the two travelling companions made good use of the time. They went on an excursion to the island of Bubaque. "The island was fantastically beautiful," Wiebke remembers. There is some infrastructure with hotels and restaurants, but there are also beaches that are undeveloped and where nobody lives. "We camped wild one night and had the whole beach to ourselves. We saw dolphins in the water," she says.
There were 40 exhausting kilometres between leaving and entering the country
With our visas in our pockets, we travelled on to Guinea. "The border crossing was super exhausting and took a lot of energy," recalls the cycle traveller. It was over gravel, through the jungle, where there was no mobile phone reception for two days. There were 40 kilometres of strenuous gravel between the borders (exit and entry). "We felt a bit lost and had to plan well and take plenty of food with us," Wiebke reports in a voice message and goes on to say that they had to be prepared for long waiting times and inconvenience. Fortunately, everything went well apart from two minor falls.
Bureaucracy was the order of the day in Guinea's capital Conakry. Wiebke and Julien took care of the visas for Cote d'Ivoire and Liberia. Wiebke did not feel comfortable in this city. "The city wasn't nice at all, I think it was the worst city on the trip". And yet she had to spend several days here because of the visas and also because of parcels she was waiting for with spare parts and more. There was no electricity during the day, there was a lot of misery. She had to pay bribes to receive her parcels.
Sierra Leone
Once everything was done, we travelled as quickly as possible to Sierra Leone. English is the official language here. That was of course practical for communication. What's more, many of the roads here were newly built and the travelling duo made rapid progress. Looking back, Wiebke reports that they felt good here - much better than before in Guinea.
Through the rainforest in Liberia
And then came Liberia, which was super exhausting again. Wiebke and Julien opted for a 500-kilometre route through the jungle. There was hardly any reception there, there was no hotel. If there was a place to stop for refreshments, the food was far too spicy for Wiebke and Julien. There was no chance of getting full. So self-catering was the order of the day.
In Liberia, we only lived on pasta and tuna
In addition to the exhausting journey through the muddy rainforest, the time was also very emotionally draining. The people they met along the way told them that they were not doing well, that they were not getting any support, that they felt forgotten by the state, even on the road.
On her 30th birthday, Wiebke had the worst time on her journey so far. She was stuck in the rainforest with little reception, travelling together was ... let's say difficult and the overall situation was emotionally stressful and upsetting.
Relief in Cote d'Ivoire
"I was so relieved when we arrived in Cote d'Ivoire" - you can hear Wiebke's relief. There were hotels and restaurants again and the roads were much better. There was also a reunion here: a reunion with Fabienne Engel, who had travelled to Abidjan to produce video footage for the planned film - and to hug her friend Wiebke. Fabienne was there for almost 10 days. "It was almost as if home was coming to me, which felt good and calmed my homesickness a little," says Wiebke. The time together flew by, characterised by many intense conversations, lots of emotions and plenty of discoveries.
Change
Cote d'Ivoire has brought a lot of change for Wiebke.
1. time to say goodbye
Wiebke Lühmann met Julien Soleil in the Sahara. First they met, then they met again and then they were travelling together. Julien was supposed to return home from Dakar. Instead, he decided, not without his grandmother's consent, to accompany Wiebke for a little while longer on her journey. Together they travelled through Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia to Cote d'Ivoire. In Abidjan, it was time to say goodbye.
2. from Panniers to arse rocket
The arrival and departure of friend Fabienne also meant a change of equipment. Wiebke has now switched from the two saddlebags in the back to her beloved Ortlieb arse rocket. Laptop, hiking boots and more travelled home with Fabienne.
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What does Wiebke have with her and where does she stow it on her bike, at least until she switches to other bags? She has published a video on this topic on YouTube:
And this is what the new setup looks like, with which Wiebke Lühmann now feels much more agile and comfortable.
It goes on alone
After saying goodbye to Julien and Fabienne, Wiebke is travelling alone again. She misses the time together, her homesickness is growing. At the same time, she has already travelled more than half the distance from Freiburg im Breisgau to Cape Town. Wiebke is delighted when she meets other cycle travellers.
Detours?
Plans are made in the mind. Is this diversions worth it? Or this diversions? Can this or that be integrated into the itinerary? The podcast by Lael Wilcox, who is currently attempting to set a new world record for a round-the-world bike ride without a support team, also inspires these thoughts. In 2018, Scotland's Jenny Graham set the record - 124 days. Lael Wilcox wants to do it in 110 days. In her podcast "Lael rides around the world", she reports daily on her tour. She also explains that she has planned one or two highlights into her route instead of following the fastest route because it is a "once in a lifetime possibility".
Ghana
In Ghana, Wiebke was a guest of GiZ employees who live and work for German development cooperation in West Africa. Just like Fabienne's visit, it felt like being at home. She was able to immerse herself in the European luxury of the expats. So her cycle tour took her from "island to island".
Togo
In Togo, Wiebke stayed with the ambassador's permanent representative, who lives on the ambassador's campus. Wiebke has taken it easy over the last few weeks. She has been longing for a break and peace and quiet and reports how good it has done her to allow this to happen.
Surprise!
Wiebke's route is open, but her destination is certain: Cape Town. She wants to celebrate Christmas with her family again. For now, she is looking forward to no longer travelling alone, because Julien is coming back and will continue to accompany her. "I've convinced him that it's better together," she says.
Wiebke is very happy! Only his bike hasn't arrived. Excitement, because the visa for Togo is about to expire. The plan is to cycle through Nigeria, Cameroon and Congo together. All three are somewhat unstable countries. This is how Wiebke describes the situation: "Nigeria has been very critical in terms of the security situation for many years, so you have to be particularly careful there. I'm very glad that I don't have to drive alone."
Sandra Schuberth
Editor
