entering Sudan

 3 Jan

Day started beautifully again, riding along the canal, flat roads, great weather and lunch on the bank of the Nile.

'Lunch' stop is usually after half the riding distance and, on a short day as today was, we were there just after 9. All day long there were exited kids waving at the side of the road. But, at one stage, some of these little buggers were trying to steal Squeaky of my bike. They pulled my handle bar and caused me to fall. My friendly 'hellos' turned into 'f... offs' for a while after that. Unfortunately I hurt myself in the fall and will have to take the truck tomorrow. Squeaky will move into a bag for a while.

24 Jan

Arrived at camp site @ 9 am. Camp was in the grounds of the Aswan Youth Hostel which is in quite a sad state compared to the standards we left behind a week ago. There was running water and showers and that's exceptional now. We spent the day in Aswan, shopping for the upcoming 2 day ferry ride to Sudan and dining at the Nile. We almost felt like proper tourists.

25 Jan

A short ride over the dam wall of Lake Nasser and some bureaucratic hassles until we could carry our bikes and stuff onto the ferry. Now the truly African experience starts. There were only cabins available for half of us. The rest are camping on deck. (Allocation of cabins was done based on age though :-)). We'll be on the water until lunch time tomorrow and can catch up on some sleep. Hopefully we will see Abu Simbel tomorrow morning when we go past.

27 Jan

Northern Sudan must be one of the emptiest places in the world. But it is beautiful; and it is a cycling paradise. The roads which were corrugated at best last year have all been paved. They are mainly flat and there is no traffic. Our camp is just a 5 min stroll from the Nile. We went down for a swim to be greeted by some locals with an AK47. They were watching for crocodiles they said....we swam anyway

28 Jan

Just a word about the condition of the troops after almost 2 weeks of life in the saddle. Almost everybody is suffering from some pain, ache, or illness - be it flu or tummy bugs, knee or bum issues. One guy rode the whole distance of 150 kms yesterday standing up because he could not sit on his saddle. We were told that this was going to be a journey where the body breaks down and rebuilds itself - so far we are still in the early phase. I am not doing too badly. Am still recovering from that knee injury but improving rapidly.

29 & 30 Jan

Our 2nd rest day is at Dongola which is supposedly the capital of northern Sudan. There is not much here but a soukh (traditional market) and lots of dubious looking eating stalls. On the days prior to the rest days we only ride a relatively short distance so we arrive around noon (100 kms is considered short these days :-)).

The official tour camp site is the deserted Dongola zoo. Colourful tents and lycra clad people inside and the local kids pressing their noses onto the gate to get a good look. Some of us however formed the EFH club. H stands for hotel - I'll explain the rest at a later stage. We moved into the only one we could find. Its scuffy and has only one shower per floor (while the zoo has only a hose) and airconditioning!!! Its 40+++ outside. On the non cycling days we are not being fed by our tour crew (who have a well deserved day off too) but we are free to roam the streets in search for local cuisine. Yesterday evening I had a meat dish with an unpronouncable name and a texture and taste I have never encountered before. The shop owner swore it was beef - but I am not convinced.