1st October 2013

Sudan

Dateline Nubian Desert, whatever that means!

Sudan has not been a disappointment. This is partly because we did not really have any expectations. There is not much here, it is quite flat and the first part up to Khartoum was quite green. On the drive up to Khartoum and beyond it got increasingly hot, I mean hot! Whilst in the city I asked someone how hot it gets, he replied clearly, “about 45˚C”. I looked at our outside temperature gauge and it said 45˚. An hour later, it was up to 52˚.

A friendly greeting

The reason that Sudan has been such a good experience is because everybody we have spoken to has been pleasant, welcoming and helpful, mostly no English is spoken but from time to time we have been approached by serious language   students who really want to practice their skills.

Internet coverage has been quite a headache. It has been impossible to send emails or to post our blogs. Even when we were able to post it was so slow we decided to halve it and send the later part when we could access better wifi. As I write, that second half has yet to go. The internet Caff that we found is run by an English speaking family who were good company, helpful and a mine of information. I think we both would have like to have spent more time with them.

While in Khartoum we stayed at the National Camping Residence, which seemed to serve as the University Camp accommodation for the vast African International University nearby.

Lifting weights for Sudan

We were placed on a sort of square with a stage at the end. There are also a lot of those ubiquitous plastic chairs laid out. It made us wonder what event was going to take place. It turned out to be the Sudan National Weightlifting finals also the selection for Olympic hopefuls.

I joked with this guy's team that they couldn't lift weights in pink. With a smile his simple answer was to take off his jacket and show me what he has!

I would never have thought I would attend such a ‘gruntfest’ but we were surrounded by the whole thing and with absolutely everyone coming up and enthusiastically and formally introducing themselves to us as we  set up camp.  We enjoyed the way that we were involved socially and by the phenomenal effort put in by the contestants, not to mention the joys and disappointments.

Dinner with the journos and judges

On the second day we were invited to share dinner with some of the judges who it turns out are some of the top Sudan sports journalists. The camp was very basic, the shower and toilet, we would describe as quite ‘fragrant’! However, we had a really nice time and everyone we met was so welcoming.

Leading sports journalists

Champions!

                                

As we set off again, I was really quite surprised and interested to find that there are a lot of old trucks and lorries in Sudan, but far and away most common are the 1960 vintage Austin K type and Bedford JO lorries that are nursed along I believed with some affection. These ‘old boys’ haul their huge payloads all over the country everything from sacks of grain to livestock. 

Vintage Bedford

Ageing Austin

An Ice cream van in the Nubian Desert ?  Must be a mirage!

I saw one truck carrying half a dozen camels. They appeared to be quite content but then camels usually do. They just sit there and wait for something interesting to happen.

After Khartoum, the land turns quickly to desert. We stopped for the night at a kind of motel at Begrawiya Oasis. This is just about 1km south of the Meroe Pyramids so we stopped for the night and in the morning we went see the Pyramids. 

The very beautiful Meroe Pyramids

They can be seen from the road and appear to be just a bunch of monuments. We cut across the desert and paid to go and take a closer look. I am so glad we did, they are quite beautiful. They are tombs for the local Royal families. Set amid some lovely dunes, there is a mix of fairly rough structures as well as some superb geometric shapes. Really worth the climb.  It is so beautiful.

Geometric forms 

such a memorial

After a couple of hours we continued through the desert. 

I just love driving here though it is unspeakably hot. As we cruise along the good roads it is necessary to have the window up as a scorching hot wind blows hard across our path. It is heavy going driving like this with the windows up. Ping really finds extreme heat a trial and this is as hot as we have ever experienced. The fans in the cab just blow hot air in your face.

The next night was difficult  as we had a recommended camp. Allegedly run by a Korean couple in a remote town we had to hunt for it in the dark dodging unmade roads and squeezing between houses, no street lights of course, well actually there were no streets as one might recognise. Anyway, with the aid of yet another very kind and English speaking man we located the place to find that our Koreans had bailed out and closed the place down. So we camped in what may kindly be described as a gas station, or possibly a building site. Trucks in and out all night oil drums being dragged around and donkeys braying, we were forced to sleep with the side door open in order to breathe. Surprisingly we both slept quite well.

As we started out the next day, we had been going for a while when we saw in front of us a couple of men riding cycles. They are Steve and Reza who are attempting to break the record for cycling from the Arctic Circle to Cape Town in 100 days. On this afternoon they had just ridden some 200 km and were distinctly worse for wear.  

The courageous Steve and Reza

It is unbelievably hot, 45° outside and a strong hot wind from the east so it blows across the road. We had to drive with the windows up because the heat of the wind is hardly bearable.  I have the utmost admiration for those hardy souls who attempt this journey on pushbikes. Even though there are quite a few of them what they do is just incredible. They will undertake a number of rides that we found difficult enough in our vehicle never mind using pedal power. What Steve and Reza are attempting is a step further. We feel quite proud to have made their acquaintance and really wish them every success. It is a truly remarkable thing to do.

Desert Scene

We carried on through the beautiful but barren desert, in extreme heat and we had set our sights on a place called Camp Louis which our GPS said it recognised.  We never found it; at least we don’t think we did!

After a long drive we went on a wild goose chase across rough terrain. Following vague directions on the GPS, as well as an array of tracks in the sand , eventually we landed on a flat rock on the bank of the Nile. The GPS coordinates must be a bit off, not only because there is nothing here, and the actual location the GPS gives is about 20 metres into the river. We have driven about a km off the road into the sandy desert; all we have found is a maze of other, disappointed tyre tracks which suggest we are not the first to find this.

Anyway, we decide to settle here for the night, particularly as Ping is really not up for more driving. The Nubian Desert on the bank of the Nile is idyllic in appearance, but for the fact that it is unbearably hot (45˚), there is a strong wind blowing fine dust everywhere and Ping is feeling distinctly unwell. Everything is hot to touch, all the drinking water is hot, the water from the tank is hot and our little fridge is working so hard to keep up.

Our visitor just leaving

As we  were driving in, we saw no one, we were all alone, not a soul for miles, at least though we were able to take advantage of the solitude………… Er, hold on………… some bloke has just come out from behind the van. Without any discreet cough or other kind of warning, this bloke appeared wearing turban and traditional costume. He greeted us, shook hands and asked for some water. We gave him a bottle of water. He thanked us, shook hands and walked off into the distance. Really scared the willies out of me!

Ping was really feeling the heat and was not feeling at all well at this time so we cooled her off as best we could, though our solar shower was almost too hot to use.

We went to sleep early not being at our best. In the morning we rose with the lark to find that the wind had died down, it was quite cool and the sun was rising over the Nile. It was really lovely!

Vulnerability

As we sped across the desert in the extreme heat and dust,   I realised that as long as we have plenty of water, and I do mean plenty, we are drinking gallons of the stuff, and as long as the van is running well, then we are just fine. However if that for any reason ceases to be the case then we are in real trouble.

We have just learnt on the BBC world service that a few hours earlier, along the exact route that we took as we left Khartoum, they had the worst civil disturbances that Sudan has known for a very long time. As we drove out of town on the main road to the airport we stopped to fill up with diesel. I was surprised to see that the price had increase by about 50%, and queues were starting to build, though at that time we were blissfully unaware that there was a problem. By lunchtime a police station and petrol stations were on fire and during that day alone 126 people were confirmed dead. The internet was shut down by the government. It must have been truly awful.

It is ironic that we were so cautious about not getting caught up in any trouble as we head north, when it all pops up behind us in a truly unexpected way. We laboured over our decisions to drive through Egypt and yet 5 minutes after we left the city, Khartoum was on fire.

The same can be said about our decision to drive through the dreaded Marsabit (Kenya) to Moyale (Ethiopia) road where reports of banditry and tribal conflicts were a real threat to our safety – we are still shocked and horrified at the bloodbath that took place in Nairobi just days after we left, this was a shopping centre that anyone of us could have frequented whilst in Nairobi.

I feel it is really important for us all to try to appreciate our own good fortune.

Minimum speed restriction, Nubian style

As we packed up and got ready to move on the wind started to get up and make the dust fly. So off we went on our way to our last stop in Sudan, Wadi Halfa

Wadi Halfa is the port for the Nile ferry that will take us up Lake Nasser to Aswan and Luxor. This promises to be quite an adventure as we have to send the van on a barge that departs on a different day to us. Everyone who has written about this describes having a severe case of the Heebie Jeebies at watching their vehicle bobbing down the Nile on an old barge.

Leaving the van

As it has turned out we made use of the services of a ‘fixer’ who, unlike so many of the people who make their living at ports and frontiers helping people through the procedures our chap, Mirzar was possibly the most helpful person in Sudan, a country where everyone is pretty helpful.

Mirzar , a study in black and white

This is what happens next. We have to get on a ship that will transport us down the Nile to the port of Aswan alongside the Aswan dam. This ageing ship carries only passengers and so our van will have to be loaded onto a barge that then is towed by the same route and we then collect it at the other end. However, this is Africa and although it might be reassuring for these two services operating to schedules that coincide. They don’t! Actually it would, I think, be exaggerating to say they operate to any kind of schedule.  

We met Mirzar as we entered the town of Wadi Halfa. He was riding his motorbike and we managed to recognise one another . Introductions over, he immediately started the paperwork off getting forms completed and stamped. It really turned out that Mirzar is a remarkable guy. Everyone in the town and the port knows him by name and he is very well respected. It was agreed that we should get the van onto the barge the next morning and then ourselves onto the passenger ferry in the evening. This was the best way to minimise delays in collecting our van, so it was arranged.   Then we were informed that there had been an incident on the barge and its cargo of rice had been contaminated with diesel fuel. This would take several days to salvage the cargo. Mirzar continued to run round the various offices and so on. We were now booked on the ferry and the next barge may, or may not be on Monday.

Staying outside Mirzar's lovely house

At Mirzar insistence, we spent the night in Wadi Halfa, camped outside his house. He let us use his toilet, shower and even his washing machine. Ping realised that we would have to turn the fridge off in the van, so we had a supper made of some of the goodies which we had been saving in the fridge. Sudan is a fairly straight down the line Muslim country, where no alcohol is allowed. However, it turned out that our dinner that night was bacon sandwiches and one last beer that had been overlooked in the back of the fridge. Almost perfect, until Mirzar called me in as he thought I might enjoy watching Wallace and Grommit and the Wererabbit on the telly. A great night!

The next day we had to finish the arrangements which meant taking the van down and leaving it in the customs yard cleared and ready to be loaded. We then spent the day kicking our heels until we could get on our boat. The time came and went and then suddenly, only two hours late we were able to board, and what a bear pit that was. As you push along with the rest of the crowd through a narrow doorway, someone took your ticket and your passport and threw them into a cardboard box lying on the floor, full of other passports. We were told that we would get them back at the end of the journey.

Writing this blog on the Nile

Mirzar had arranged with the skipper that as the boat will be crowded with people, we could, for a fee have a place on the deck in front of the bridge. And so we did. Having given the skipper a backhander for our place on his deck we were approached by his deputies for a ‘tip’.

Our ticket included a meal, and we were hungry by this time. Someone thoughtfully brought it to us! It was not of the quality you might get on a cruise but it was pretty good and gone all too quickly.

As the sun set we were on our way to Egypt.  In the ship's light there was a myriad of insects flying all around as well as bats circling. We took our sleeping bag with us and it did get a bit chilly at night.

On the way we encountered a fishing boat that had got its nets caught up in its rudder so our ship stopped to rescue them. The rescue was a matter of getting a line aboard, pulling them alongside and then handing them a big carving knife to cut the entangled net.

Then down to sleep, I had a surprisingly good night’s sleep despite being on a steel deck. Ping was not quite so rested, as she spent most of the night gazing at the stars.  We awoke the next morning to a beautiful sunrise in the hill on the banks.  We then had a breakfast of bread and peanut butter with honey which we had brought with us, very nice. Overall, the journey was not too bad at all.

There was a bit of a fly in the ointment when Ping slipped off her flip flops and was then told by one of the passengers that the wind had just taken one of her slippers out to sea. She had no other shoes with her.  Now, Ping is ever resourceful and had very soon found someone among the passengers who had a new pair that she was willing to sell her. We discovered later that we would have had real problems disembarking with only one shoe.

Moments later the wind took my beloved cap off and it was gone forever. I am really upset about this as I have had it for about ten years and it was a gift from my lovely daughter, Daisy. 

New shoes?

Shoe sales department

By the time we had docked we had still not been given our passports back. As everyone was leaving the ship, only then did they decide that we would need a visa (which we had known all along).  And so they started the process, the visas would cost $15 each so we produced 2x$20 and of course they had no change. We were kept waiting for an hour before we were told to go landside and queue up there. Eventually we were given our visas with no real problem but still no $10 change. I felt that we had already spent more than an hour as punishment for not saying ’keep the change’.

I felt like digging my heels in even though we were now dealing with different people. Eventually after much patting of pockets and denying it concerned them, we finally got $5 and the remainder in Egyptian pounds. 

We met with Kamal, who is the opposite number of Mirzar, to take us through the complexities of getting our van back in Egypt.  A lot of people feel that they should not need to use these people but in this part of the journey these guys are surprisingly professional and they know how to work the system. Importantly, Kamal picked us up at the port and drove us to our hotel which is a decent journey. 

So we are now settled in a pretty nice and not too expensive hotel in Aswan. Here we get to have a nice, and much needed rest, a bit of mild tourism and some air conditioning and wait patiently, and hopefully for our van to float its way down the Nile to join us.

Lots of love 
Ping and Noel

pingbow54@gmail.com
noelbow51@gmail.com