DAY 31 SATURDAY 6th FEBRUARY 2010

I had a choice today, I could either just sit by the pool and do nothing or put on my bike gear and ride to the airport with the others. Surprisingly, I chose to go to the airport with the others. The other six riders were all crating up their bikes for them to be flown back to the UK. I was the only one stupid enough to consider riding mine back alone. In fairness, they all had to be back due to work commitments and I think one or two might have liked to ride back as well. My shoulder was still hurting a little from my crash so right up until the last moment I still had the option of joining them and flying back. However, I was determined to ride back as this had been my original plan and I had already decided to cut out the Mali element of my planned trip but I did not want to miss out on the solo ride.
The first thing all the other riders had to do was drain all the fuel out of their tanks and dispose of it. Now my true intentions of coming to the airport with them were revealed, as I had a massive fuel tank on my bike that luckily was just about empty, in fact the low fuel warning light had just come on as we turned into the airport buildings. Roger having the oldest bike, was the easiest to work on and with a few seconds he had his petrol tank off and was pouring all its contents into my tank. Next easiest was Glen with his 1150 model on which it was also easy to fully remove the tank. Glen had very cleverly brought with him an extra fitting for the fuel pipe which allowed the fuel to be drained easily. I had tried to syphon it from the tank but the vapours from unleaded fuel in the hot climate were more than I could stomach. Next came the task of draining the newer 1200 cc models and this got a bit more complicated. As with modern cars, all the detailed bits are well hidden away under plastic covers etc so it took a bit longer to get to the fuel tanks and fuel pumps. Using Glen's bit of piping they were able to use the fuel pumps to pump the fuel out of first Mikey's bike and then the others. In no time at all, I had my 41 litre tank brimmed to the top and there was still a substantial amount of fuel left over which I think they gave to the airport workers. The other guys then had to make sure their batteries were disconnected and taped up before the bikes could be put on pallet boards. I rode back to the hotel on my bike whilst the other got a taxi back from the airport.
Another afternoon playing tourist relaxing by the pool. This is not how adventure motorcycling is meant to be, lying by the pool in a 5* hotel with a waiter bringing regular supplies of cold beer but I could get used to it.
The evening meal was at the Calypso restaurant next door. It was right on the beach and naturally it specialised in fish dishes so that is what I had. Another fantastic meal which is doing nothing to help with my supposed diet on this holiday. Last time I spent some time in Africa I lost a lot of weight but on this trip I think I might have actually put on weight due to the numerous excellent meals we have enjoyed.