Khartoum

After 1,900km on the road and three weeks in the tent we have found ourselves in a remarkable bubble of luxury in Khartoum. We've been kindly hosted by Alyson and Ayman who we were put in touch with by a friend. Through talking to them about the economics and politics of Sudan we feel much more informed about the country we observe from the road.

The separation of South Sudan has had important consequences for both the North and the South, but, not unsurprisingly, one of the main points of contention that remains is oil. The South has the oil, but the pipeline to transport it to the outside world runs through the North. The separation agreement between the two failed to include a decision on the transit fees by which this would take place. The North now demands fees which the South considers too high, and they have responded by turning off the taps on the oil supply. In such a situation, both sides lose out and no-one profits from the oil. Consequently, inflation is high (currently around 50%), and everyone pays the price for that. It makes more sense to us now why hotels want payment in dollars, in hard cash.

Also during our stay, we were put in touch with intrepid explorers Tim and Sharon who are cycling 'North to North' (from the top of Norway, via Cape Town and Chile to Alaska). They have been unfortunately waylayed in Khartoum for some time after Tim had his bike stolen - a devastating occurrence for a touring cyclist. However, with a new bike apparently days away, the pair were very upbeat and it was great to chat with them and hear their stories from the road. As unsupported travelers they carry a lot more weight on their bikes than us, so when our legs are burning in the Ethiopian mountains, we will think of them a few days behind us. An inspiring couple, we wish them luck on the rest of their journey.

Tim and Sharon

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As we pedal along, we try to explain what we are doing to the people we meet - they are staggered that we have cycled from the nearest town, let alone Cairo, and there is little point saying we are cycling to Cape Town as they simply don't believe us! Within Sudan, we have been telling them we are cycling to Khartoum - it will be nice from tomorrow to start saying Addis Ababa.