The Haboob

The last few days riding from Dongola to Khartoum have been a real experience in changeable weather. On our first day, cycling 140km, the temperatures peaked at 42°C, melting something within our SLR camera, which has decided it is no longer for this world. In fact, the temperature in that part of Sudan was so hot, we stayed in a camp we named ‘Dead Camel Camp’, as every 50m there was a camel carcass in the sand.

The morbid 'Dead Camel Camp'

The following day, 143km, the wind started to pick up providing an increasing tailwind which we were grateful for. However, once we reached camp, it was gusting 50-60km/h and seemingly bringing half the Sahara desert with it. We soon found ourselves in what the locals call a ‘haboob’, or sandstorm, with no visibility and sand finding its way into every orifice. We hoped it would die down but it only got worse; for dinner we had a small helping of rice with our sand. Trying to erect our tent in that weather was also a major test in physical and mental power – the Crystal Maze would have been proud.

The following morning, the Haboob still had not cleared so we set off on our bikes (149km), which by now were so full of sand they were incapable of changing gear, with about 20m of visibility and a healthy wind, sometimes behind, sometimes across us. It was bizarre cycling in this weather – as we cycled and matched the wind speed, everything became eerily quiet, like after a heavy snowfall, with streams of sand whisping across the tarmac. It was quite becalming and we averaged over 40km/h at the same time!

By the afternoon, it began to clear, and by camp the temperature was in the low 30s, we were no longer being exfoliated as we sat in our chairs, and it was absolutely lovely. Overnight, the temperature plummeted and when we woke the next morning, everyone was digging out the thermals, jumpers and jackets; quite a contrast. Now in Khartoum, it is a very pleasant 30°C, and we are enjoying a nice day off, out of the desert. Six more riding days to Ethiopia, where the desert ends and the mountain ranges begin!

No Flies on Us ...

Actually, loads and loads of flies on us. 

 I think that this would be considered a plague.  Having arrived in Wadi Halfa we headed through the desert and towards the Nile.  With the water comes the curse of the flies, which are intent on constantly swatting themselves against us.

They are enough to make you scream, getting in your ears and eyes.  The second your lycra is down they cling on to our legs – something they probably regret once they get stuck inside our shorts.

One of the riders, Tijis was particularly attractive to them: 

Despite the heat and the wind, being on the bike is actually better as the flies just can’t keep up. The Sudanese deal with this issue by covering their faces in hair nets

 

We are now trying to use fire to keep them away, but the local support crew seem to think that plastic bottles and flip flops make for good fuel…

Bikes and Boats

We have now left Egypt and arrived in Sudan, taking the ferry from Aswan to Wadi Halfa across Lake Nasser. Lake Nasser is a manmade lake created by the Aswan Dam, a hugely controversial project in the 60s that increased the cultivatable land beside the Nile by 15% through controlled flooding. It also provides around 15% of Egypt’s power. However, in order to create the dam and the lake, a number of habituated areas had to be flooded, most famously Abu Simbel, an ancient Egyptian tomb which was cut out piece by piece and relocated higher up. Imagine that happening in the UK – no nimbyism allowed here…

Abu Simbel

We were told to expect the worst from the ferry in terms of people and cargo, with strangers shuffling up to you during the night to try and share your pillow and petty theft. Once we got on, we set up a tarpaulin to shade ourselves from the sun and managed to carve out a pretty good den.  Next we prepared to wait.  Over the following six hours the ferry was rammed with more people and more stuff.   As the ferry only goes once a week, it seems it is used as a bit of a trading route - an enterprising man that set up next to us appeared to have carried on box load after box load of TV remotes which he began dealing in.

At dusk we set off, shunning our cabin to sleep on deck with the stars for a ceiling.  Having made use of their Mecca Ap to find out which direction to pray in, our fellow passengers also settled down and the night passed relatively peacefully with no amorous strangers in sight.   Trying to get around was a real adventure and you had to resign yourself to kicking people accidentally as you navigated over and under various obstacles.

Once we arrived we waited on the boat for 5 hours to fill out immigration forms in triplicate with little variation between questions that were then interrogated. The Irish chaps on the trip were even asked if they were acquaintances of Gerry Adams…

An innovative bed for the night

Having been discussed and promised for at least ten years, work is underway to build a new road linking Kartoum to Aswan. This is supposedly nearly ready to open and will bypass the need for a ferry - a move which the Sudanese port town, Wadi Halfa, is strongly resisting as the arrival of the weekly ferry provides its raison d’etre.  A shame for future travellers missing out on this experience.

End of the Pharaohs

It seems amazing that tomorrow (the 21^st) we will be leaving Egypt, on a ferry across Lake Nasser from Aswan to Wadi Haifa in Sudan (a necessity given the road network). We will have been in Egypt for two weeks, with 8 days of cycling covering 1,000km. 

It has been a varied experience, and perhaps not what we were expecting. The people we have met on the road have largely been lovely and we have had many shouts of “Welcome to Egypt!” as we have cycled along. The Egyptians we have met at the tourist spots have generally been out to get as many Egyptian pounds out of us as possible, perhaps driven by the enormous drop in tourism caused by the recent political instability. Overall, we will leave with a very positive view of the welcoming attitude of Egyptian people, not least given to us by the 6 Egyptian cyclists who have accompanied our group for this stretch.  It has been interesting as we have headed further south, we have seen a growing number of Nubian people (historically a land that was spread over modern day Southern Egypt and Northern Sudan), with a language of their own and much darker skin, and we will meet more Nubians as we head into Sudan. 

Changing a tyre

Children mobbing James

As mentioned in our last post, the scenery has been fascinating – the land closest to the Nile delta (generally within a couple of kilometres either side) has been so lush and rich in vegetation, swarming with people and donkey carts full of sugar cane. Any further than this from the Nile, it has been desert as far as the eye can see, with the odd village but far fewer people. With the river passing through several other countries, securing its continued flow into Egypt is of the utmost criticality and with a potential dam in Ethiopia in the near future, one that is high on the political agenda. 

Contrasts of scenery

 

Politically, we have seen very little evidence of the turmoil of recent years. We have generally spoken with more liberal, affluent Egyptians, all of whom denounce Morsi (the Muslim Brotherhood seem to have been elected entirely by the more rural Egyptians who have benefited from the services that the network has provided over the years to their communities) and some of whom camped out in Tahrir Square and speak with great excitement about that experience. However, as the Muslim Brotherhood have largely been in prison over previous years, they have very little experience of governing and so the process for Egypt to become a smoothly functioning economy seems a little way off. 

As expected, the history of Egypt will always be a huge pull and the incredible achievements of the ancient Egyptians are phenomenal. The pyramids, sphinx, temples and statues that litter the landscape are testament to this, although by the end we were a little ‘over templed’, perhaps as our main focus has been the cycling, rather than the sightseeing. 

How we felt after the 117th statue!

More alert!

Sudan awaits – a far more sparsely populated country, with fewer tourists, so will make for a very interesting contrast. We cannot wait.