Day 112 - Weds 20 Jan - 11,011 km, Ankpa, Nigeria

Hammering after the Sightsavers vehicle today as they showed me the way to the ferry below the substantial rivers Niger and Benue confluence, I ploughed straight into a pothole and had a front tyre blowout! Providing another street side spectacle, I carried out repairs, then took a boat across the Niger and started along a red earthen road towards Ankpa, motivated by the prospect of further Sightsavers hospitality and watching the Spurs v Liverpool game! Hit by Saharan winds, that have been clouding the air and hilly landscape with dust, my agonisingly slow pace, took me to the brink of an irretrievable bust up with Bertha. Determined to make it with night closing in, I got to the 0 km marker post, only to find I had bypassed the town and had to take a hairy ride back in the dark. Asking for directions proved impossible as people ran from me in fear when I appeared out of the night! I can’t blame them, as I’d react similarly to the appearance of such a repulsive ginger-bearded apparition. After all my efforts, it was devastating to discover the Gunners rather than Spurs game is being shown on the box, but at least I’ve got a roof over my head, courtesy of Sightsavers, even if my faulty plug did just give me a hefty shock!

Sightsavers deserve your support, they do fantastic work throughout the developing world, especially in Africa, working with partners to eliminate avoidable blindness and to promote equality of opportunity for disabled peoples, see more on www.sightsavers.org