Its all about the milkshakes...

Finally we are here in the amazingly modern Windhoek, where you can get literally anything that you want or need. I am sitting in a massive shopping mall with clothes stores, restaurants, sports and camping stores, banks etc. Okay it may sound weird that I am so excited about Windhoek but it is such a relief to be here. The last 5 days have been the toughest so far on the tour. Each day has been made harder by the previous day, legs are aching, clothes are we, stomachs are rumbling. We have covered over 500miles in 5 days and it has been relentless. Botswana gave us its best shot and we made it through. I feel disappointed though because we didn’t actually see Botswana and the weather was just dreadful which made the riding so much more grueling. In camp we had continuous thunder storms for about 3days, my tent got semi-flooded on two occasions. The second time there was a river running through the front section of my tent. It has just been unbelievable with the weather, it has been so cold and wet and now we are baking in the warm Namibian sunshine. The hardest part of the 5 day section was the ride from Windoek airport in Windhoek. After 4 tiring days we had no energy left and the wind just kept hitting us unforgiving as we tried to climb the rolling hills in windhoek. It was a battle every kilometer, we stopped so many times in the searing heat and the speeding traffic (so far Namibian drivers have been fairly ruthless).
Without a doubt it was definitely worth it, even though I am completely wiped and exhausted, we only have 14 riding days left until Cape Town! Last night we had a really nice farewell meal for Viv and Gerry the two british sectional riders from Manchester. I had a Zebra steak which was super tasty.

Anyway, in reference to the title, it is all about the milkshakes. Since Lilongwe where we first had a taste of the cold fattening dairy concoction, it has soon become the drink of choice when available. Steers does a very good milkshake but it has recently been trumped by Wimpy, which does a really good milkshake. Two days ago we stopped in a town called Gobabis, 30miles from camp and all the riders were there drinking milkshake. So after riding this I am going to get a milkshake and something to eat (quick side note: buffet breakfasts are the best thing ever).

Namibia is becoming more beautiful each day, I can’t wait to get on the dirt in the Namib desert which should be a real challenge. There is only on border left to cross and everyone is getting very excited about the finishing line.

Hope everyone is well at home and I will see you soon.

Jacob