Our camp in Mbabane was small. The driveway was so tight the large gear trucks had a very difficult time making the turn in the driveway. I pitched my tent next to the swimming pool. The only place where there was a lot of grass.

It began to rain before dinner.We had no place for cover except under the doors of the geartrucks and the eves of the building where dinner was served.

Later that evening a group of young Africans came dressed in their traditional tribal clothing to give us a welcoming dance program. It was very nice to see the traditional dances and hear the songs again.

It rained all night. Alot of people signed up to take a bus to Durban,our scheduled layover city four days away. Many people had heard that the cyclone hitting Mozambique would cause many days of rain from Mbabane to Durban alone the route we would take. About sixty people ended up on that bus. I seriously thought about it, but I didn't want to take my big gear bag and I didn't have a smaller bag to just put in a few thing I would need for four days. I decided to stay with the Odyssey group.

It continued to rain off an on during the morning. It was a warm rain. I started out with my rain jacket on, but it soon became too warm to wear. Just after Beth Deroy and I left camp on our bikes the skies opened up and dumped rain. I thought, This is so ridiculous! I can't even see through my glasses!

But the rainstorm finished 30 minutes later. It rained off and on for most of the morning then cleared up for the afternoon.

This is the day when Bobbi Fisher ran into the fender of a car that turned in front of her as she came down a hill. She had no time to stop, only to turn her bike enough that she slid into the fender instead of hitting it straight on. She still was thrown onto the windshield of the car, then onto the ground. She was knocked out for a few minutes. A few other Odyssey bikers were just behind Bobbi, saw it happen, and helped her up. A local woman saw the accident happen. She came to the scene in her car and offered to take Bobbi to the hospital to have her examined. A TK&A support van came by soon and radioed Tim Kneeland, who came to the scene immediately.

We found out later that Bobbbi came out of that accident with minor bruises and no other injuries! The car was totaled--a dented front fender and a broken windshield.

Again, we were reminded to bicycle defensively. Always watch for the actions of the drivers on the road, never assume that a diver will stop for you. Be aware, be safe!

Later, that day Beth and I came to a city that we had to bicycle through. It began to rain again, so Beth and I stopped under an awning over the front of a store. While we waited for the end of the shower we started talking to a group of women who were looking at us with curiosity.Why not?! Here are two white women with bicycles!

They asked us what we are doing. We tell them we are a part of a group of 250 people who are bicycling around the world for one year. They are very impressed. They ask what we eat every day. They are concerned if we get enough food for our efforts.

As the rain storm stopped, Beth asked if she could take a picture of herself with the group of women. They were happy to have their picture taken and they all wanted a copy of the picture. So Beth collected all their names and addresses.

The countryside was green and rolling hills. It was quite steamy from the heat and the rain.

When it came to have lunch, Beth and I stopped at a bus shelter on the side of the road. It was made from brick and was quite nice. As we ate, very young school children came walking by. They were probably between the ages of 5 and 7 years old. We smiled at them and said hello. They shyly smiled back.

They walked on past us and we though they had gone on. But later we saw a shadow of a head come around the corner of the bus sheler, the children were hiding from us! Again we called out hello and smiled at the children. They were very cute!

Another Odyssey rider, Rip, stopped to say hi. He asked if he could take a picture of the children. Both Rip and Beth took pictures of the children and the Odyssey riders.