Dongola, Sudan - Rest Day
Glorious morning! Woke up in our empty zoo (that's right, we're sleeping in what used to be the Dongola zoo!) very early. By 7:00, just as it was getting light, left camp and walked into Dongola. The town was waking up. Guess what? My old Arabic from the days I used to live in Sudan is coming back, naturally. An amazing thing happened. After walking about half an hour, I came to a place where they were making donutty things (very delicious!) and tea. By this time, I was in a busy area, so I sat to drink a tea, have some donutty things, and watch the people. I pointed to the tea and smiled and said, "chai". No "please", no "may I have some", none of that because I couldn't. Just "chai". The man said, "b'laben?" Immediately, without thinking, I realized he was asking if I wanted milk. Just as immediately, without thinking, I answered, "b'laben, ma sukhar" (with milk, no sugar). I said it as though I'd said it 1,000 times before. Which, when I think about it, I may have said it 1,000 times, back when I used to live here. There used to be a tea lady that I used to drink tea from, at least once/day, sometimes more, and I always came with, "b'laben, ma sukhar". I stunned myself, though, when I said it just this morning, it was like a voice from the past. And I said it without even thinking.
Here is the best part. When I went to pay, he wouldn't let me. I said, "nothing?" He said, "nothing". Another customer had paid for me. THE SUDANESE ARE THE GREATEST! (Have I already mentioned that?)
Then I went back to camp, around 11:00, to get my bike and take it to a bike mechanic, and get my clothes, and find somebody to wash them. Guess what I found? All my fellow friends, washing their own clothes, and washing/oiling/tuning their own bikes!!! My God? I don't understand it. Why isn't everybody else as lazy as I am? This is a REST day. Also, by going off with my bike and clothes to find a clothes washer and a bike washer/tuner, it was so adventurous. Finding the bike place was a real adventure. Then, when I got there, trying to get across what I wanted done with the bike was even more adventure. The more I tried to explain, with my non-Arabic, and his non-English, the more locals gathered around. I said, "I don't just want it cleaned, I want it tuned. Like a car. Vroom, vroom!" That got everybody to saying, "vroom, vroom!" O.k., try again... Then, I was also hoping they might have tires and inner tubes the right size. You may remember, from a previous posting, that I am lacking in spare parts, and won't get more till Ethiopia. I've already had 3 flats, repaired them all, only have 2 patches left, and my inner tube is getting a little worse for wear. Well, trying to get tires and inner tubes was exciting (though, sad to say, unsuccessful). I had them grabbing tires from all over the place and trying them - too big, too small... All the onlookers, of course, giving their advice. Well, I assume, giving advice, talking enthusiastically at any rate. One kid ran off, and came back with another tire. Still no fit. Eventually, I gave up. At least, the bike's now being cleaned and re-oiled, and the clothes are being washed, while I wander about town having a grand time. I don't quite understand the non-laziness of our group. This whole bike thing, admittedly, may not have taken any less time than cleaning/tuning the bike myself, but it sure was a lot more adventurous. Doing it yourself is just ... work! Haha.
Guess what I saw in the middle of town, while coming over to this internet place? A camel! A camel in the middle of the desert, walking along in a caravan, you might expect that. But this is a town! Lots of cars and everything. And a camel! Got a picture of it.
Really sorry, but still not uploading photos. My dear brother tried to explain how to do it. Unfortunately, his first step was, "1.) Get the pictures out of the camera and onto the hard drive." I wasn't able to complete that step. Tried. I hooked my camera up to the USB port on this computer, turned it on, and looked at it. But nothing happened, it just sat there, looking pretty. I do promise, however, that I'm going to ask somebody at camp how to do it and upload lots of pictures at the next opportunity - which will be in 6 days, when we reach Khartoum. Come what may, you will see pictures when we reach Khartoum!!
Monday, January 29, 2007
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Sunday, 28th Jan, 2007
From Desert Camping to Dongola, Sudan
Rode in the truck today (yes, with Thor) to Dongola. Was an adventure. These guys are really independent, have spare parts for just about everything that can go wrong with a truck, and can fix everything. The other truck broke a spring so stopped to fix it, while we went on in our truck.
When we got to one village, shortly before the ferry across the Nile, we got majorly stuck in sand. David (a rider from South Africa) was also riding the truck today. So, David and Thor got out to unstick the truck from sand. I offerred help, but the men seemed to have it under control, so I wandered up the road. It was already noon and HOT, so I didn't wander far before finding shade in front of somebody's home. That was wonderful! First the mother came out and tried to insist that I come in for tea. But I kept thinking the truck was going to get going any minute, so said I must wait outside for the truck. So, she scampered inside and came back out with a mat and made me sit under her little tree that offerred a little bit of shade. We sat there for ... an Hour and a Half! That's how long it took Thor and David to unstick the truck from the sand! The woman could not speak any, any English, but we had a great time nonetheless. I kept pointing to things and saying "shnou?" which means "what" in Arabic, so she was telling me what things were in Arabic. Every time Thor and David started up the truck again and we thought it was coming, the mother would say "al hamdulillah!" and I'd say "yeeahhh!", but then the truck would stop again and we'd both look at each other and say "aaahhhhh" with discouraging sounds. This became a game. Eventually, I switched from "yeeeaaahhh!" to "al hamdulillah!" with her. Each time we'd say it together and laugh, and then the truck would die again and we'd sigh heavily and say "aaahhhh" and laugh again. We played many, many games of tic-tac-toe in the sand. Eventually, her children came home from school. One of them, riding a donkey (I kid you not). One of the little boys had a piece of paper from school with him. It was all in Arabic, but I could see it was from school - there was a picture of some books on it. The mother was reading it interestedly. Maybe some grades? Or school work? I don't know. So I asked if I could see it, and I scrutinized it and made very comprehending remarks, like "Uh-huh!" and "Interesting!" and this made them laugh, especially the little boy who was beside himself with giggles.
Eventually (an hour and a half later), the truck actually did come. The mother and I both cried out "al hamdulillah!" The truck stopped, Thor and David opened the back door for me and I crawled in, and as we were on our way, we gave each other big waves good bye.
The Sudanese are the greatest!
---------------- TODAY ---------------- TOTAL
Cycled ---------- 0 --------------------- 1,131 km (697 mi)
Sagged ---------- 72 km (45 mi) -------- 274.5 km (182.5 mi)
Total ------------ 72 km (45 mi) -------- 1,405.5 km (879.5 mi)
In saddle -------- 0
Ascended -------- 0
Rode in the truck today (yes, with Thor) to Dongola. Was an adventure. These guys are really independent, have spare parts for just about everything that can go wrong with a truck, and can fix everything. The other truck broke a spring so stopped to fix it, while we went on in our truck.
When we got to one village, shortly before the ferry across the Nile, we got majorly stuck in sand. David (a rider from South Africa) was also riding the truck today. So, David and Thor got out to unstick the truck from sand. I offerred help, but the men seemed to have it under control, so I wandered up the road. It was already noon and HOT, so I didn't wander far before finding shade in front of somebody's home. That was wonderful! First the mother came out and tried to insist that I come in for tea. But I kept thinking the truck was going to get going any minute, so said I must wait outside for the truck. So, she scampered inside and came back out with a mat and made me sit under her little tree that offerred a little bit of shade. We sat there for ... an Hour and a Half! That's how long it took Thor and David to unstick the truck from the sand! The woman could not speak any, any English, but we had a great time nonetheless. I kept pointing to things and saying "shnou?" which means "what" in Arabic, so she was telling me what things were in Arabic. Every time Thor and David started up the truck again and we thought it was coming, the mother would say "al hamdulillah!" and I'd say "yeeahhh!", but then the truck would stop again and we'd both look at each other and say "aaahhhhh" with discouraging sounds. This became a game. Eventually, I switched from "yeeeaaahhh!" to "al hamdulillah!" with her. Each time we'd say it together and laugh, and then the truck would die again and we'd sigh heavily and say "aaahhhh" and laugh again. We played many, many games of tic-tac-toe in the sand. Eventually, her children came home from school. One of them, riding a donkey (I kid you not). One of the little boys had a piece of paper from school with him. It was all in Arabic, but I could see it was from school - there was a picture of some books on it. The mother was reading it interestedly. Maybe some grades? Or school work? I don't know. So I asked if I could see it, and I scrutinized it and made very comprehending remarks, like "Uh-huh!" and "Interesting!" and this made them laugh, especially the little boy who was beside himself with giggles.
Eventually (an hour and a half later), the truck actually did come. The mother and I both cried out "al hamdulillah!" The truck stopped, Thor and David opened the back door for me and I crawled in, and as we were on our way, we gave each other big waves good bye.
The Sudanese are the greatest!
---------------- TODAY ---------------- TOTAL
Cycled ---------- 0 --------------------- 1,131 km (697 mi)
Sagged ---------- 72 km (45 mi) -------- 274.5 km (182.5 mi)
Total ------------ 72 km (45 mi) -------- 1,405.5 km (879.5 mi)
In saddle -------- 0
Ascended -------- 0
Saturday, 27th Jan, 2007
From Nile Camping to Desert Camping (near Faruq)
Good, exhausting day. These may seem like short distances - 50-60 miles - but think of the conditions. Sand, sand, sand, and corrugated stuff. And rocks. Not roads, just tracks. And hot, hot, hot.
Was hailed a hero :) when came rolling into camp at least 2 hours after the last person before me (and Jack who was riding sweep and heroically rode by my side the whole afternoon). Told people I was officially tired. These sandy, currogated roads are amazing. Had to get off the bike and push it through sand many times.
No donkey rides today, but a great day nonetheless. Sudan is the greatest and the people are superb! Got lost today in the town of Faruq. After going about in circles for a while, Jack kindly suggested that I sit while he scouts things out. Two nice, lovely-dressed women came over to find out what I was doing, sitting against a wall. I must have looked quite a sight. Already really tired. Dirty. Filthy. Felt like Pigpen from Peanuts, walking around in a cloud of dust. These ladies were really nice. Didn't speak any English, but managed to pantomime that they wanted me to eat and have tea with them. Actually, they said the word "chai", which means tea in Arabic. Tried to explain that I was waiting for my friend, but couldn't get that across, until ... Jack showd back up. Then they smiled greatly and said, "ooohhhh." You see a lot more women walking around in public places in Sudan than you do in Egypt. Also, I like the way they dress - bright colors.
------------------ TODAY ---------------- TOTAL
Cycled ------------ 90 km (56 mi) -------- 1,131 km (697 mi)
Sagged ------------ 0 --------------------- 202.5 km (137.5 mi)
Total -------------- 90 km (56 mi) -------- 1,333.5 km (834.5 mi)
In saddle ---------- 7 hrs 39 min ---------- 72 hrs 1 min
Ascended ---------- 1,150 feet ------------ 12,300 feet
Good, exhausting day. These may seem like short distances - 50-60 miles - but think of the conditions. Sand, sand, sand, and corrugated stuff. And rocks. Not roads, just tracks. And hot, hot, hot.
Was hailed a hero :) when came rolling into camp at least 2 hours after the last person before me (and Jack who was riding sweep and heroically rode by my side the whole afternoon). Told people I was officially tired. These sandy, currogated roads are amazing. Had to get off the bike and push it through sand many times.
No donkey rides today, but a great day nonetheless. Sudan is the greatest and the people are superb! Got lost today in the town of Faruq. After going about in circles for a while, Jack kindly suggested that I sit while he scouts things out. Two nice, lovely-dressed women came over to find out what I was doing, sitting against a wall. I must have looked quite a sight. Already really tired. Dirty. Filthy. Felt like Pigpen from Peanuts, walking around in a cloud of dust. These ladies were really nice. Didn't speak any English, but managed to pantomime that they wanted me to eat and have tea with them. Actually, they said the word "chai", which means tea in Arabic. Tried to explain that I was waiting for my friend, but couldn't get that across, until ... Jack showd back up. Then they smiled greatly and said, "ooohhhh." You see a lot more women walking around in public places in Sudan than you do in Egypt. Also, I like the way they dress - bright colors.
------------------ TODAY ---------------- TOTAL
Cycled ------------ 90 km (56 mi) -------- 1,131 km (697 mi)
Sagged ------------ 0 --------------------- 202.5 km (137.5 mi)
Total -------------- 90 km (56 mi) -------- 1,333.5 km (834.5 mi)
In saddle ---------- 7 hrs 39 min ---------- 72 hrs 1 min
Ascended ---------- 1,150 feet ------------ 12,300 feet
Friday, 26th Jan, 2007
From Desert Camping to Nile Camping (on shores of Nile)
I LOVE SUDAN! Sudan is the greatest! Sudanese people the most wonderful EVER! Great day, spectacular! In the morning hours, when it was still cool, I came across the first real village. Came over a hill, expecting more of currogated sand as the past 2 days, and what to my surprise - a village! Turns out the name of the village is Abri-mu-farka. Rolled into town and a little boy was peeping out the door of his compound. I smiled and called him over. Wanted his picture. He posed nicely for it and I showed it to him (on my digital camera). He started calling excitedly, telling me to "wait, wait." His father came outside and said "hello", then the father started calling excitedly as well. Finally, I realized why they were calling excitedly. The mother came out and guess what? She was the English school teacher of Abri-mu-farka. Spoke very nice English, talked to me a lot, asked what I was doing. Then her other son came out and she asked me to take his picture as well. In the end, she asked me to please mail the pictures to her when I can. I will try to do this, but the only address I have is:
English School Teacher
Abri-mu-farka
Sudan
Think it'll get there? I'll try. There can't be more than one English school teacher in that village.
Then, the whole day (morning) went on and on, with one great encounter after another. Passed many, many villages. The afternoon was blazing hot! Got lost after lunch. Ended up wandering through the desert for 45 minutes, looking for a road. When I was riding alongside somebody's vegetable patch, they tried to tell me I was far from the road. I tried to walk up a sand hill with my bike, but was struggling, so a young man came and helped me - pushed the bike right up that thing, nary a problem!
Then, rode and rode some more. Stopped often in, whenever, I could find shade. It was HOT. And then, the best part of the day happened! A ride on a donkey cart! Bike and all! Super neat! I saw these 2 ladies going my way, with a donkey cart. I was hot, tired, and dirty. I motioned to them, "Can I get up on that cart?" They smiled, laughed, giggled, and patted the cart. So up I hoisted myself, bike and all. We rode along for about 2 km, not very far, but enough for an adventure and break from cycling. The ladies were so friendly and so beautifully dressed. The women in Sudan do not wear the black outfits that they do in Egypt. They didn't speak a word of English, not a single word, not even "how are you" or "what is your name", but all smiles, smiles, smiles. And they taught me how to say donkey in Arabic - "hamar".
At the end of a long day, we camped by the Nile. Bath time in the river - aahhh! Feels good.
----------------- TODAY ---------------- TOTAL
Cycled ----------- 99 km (61.5 mi) ------- 1,041 km (641 mi)
Sagged ----------- 0 ---------------------- 202.5 km (137.5 mi)
Total ------------- 99 km (61.5 mi) ------- 1,243.5 km (778.5 mi)
In saddle --------- 7 hrs 58 min ----------- 64 hrs 22 min
Ascended --------- 980 feet --------------- 11,150 feet
I LOVE SUDAN! Sudan is the greatest! Sudanese people the most wonderful EVER! Great day, spectacular! In the morning hours, when it was still cool, I came across the first real village. Came over a hill, expecting more of currogated sand as the past 2 days, and what to my surprise - a village! Turns out the name of the village is Abri-mu-farka. Rolled into town and a little boy was peeping out the door of his compound. I smiled and called him over. Wanted his picture. He posed nicely for it and I showed it to him (on my digital camera). He started calling excitedly, telling me to "wait, wait." His father came outside and said "hello", then the father started calling excitedly as well. Finally, I realized why they were calling excitedly. The mother came out and guess what? She was the English school teacher of Abri-mu-farka. Spoke very nice English, talked to me a lot, asked what I was doing. Then her other son came out and she asked me to take his picture as well. In the end, she asked me to please mail the pictures to her when I can. I will try to do this, but the only address I have is:
English School Teacher
Abri-mu-farka
Sudan
Think it'll get there? I'll try. There can't be more than one English school teacher in that village.
Then, the whole day (morning) went on and on, with one great encounter after another. Passed many, many villages. The afternoon was blazing hot! Got lost after lunch. Ended up wandering through the desert for 45 minutes, looking for a road. When I was riding alongside somebody's vegetable patch, they tried to tell me I was far from the road. I tried to walk up a sand hill with my bike, but was struggling, so a young man came and helped me - pushed the bike right up that thing, nary a problem!
Then, rode and rode some more. Stopped often in, whenever, I could find shade. It was HOT. And then, the best part of the day happened! A ride on a donkey cart! Bike and all! Super neat! I saw these 2 ladies going my way, with a donkey cart. I was hot, tired, and dirty. I motioned to them, "Can I get up on that cart?" They smiled, laughed, giggled, and patted the cart. So up I hoisted myself, bike and all. We rode along for about 2 km, not very far, but enough for an adventure and break from cycling. The ladies were so friendly and so beautifully dressed. The women in Sudan do not wear the black outfits that they do in Egypt. They didn't speak a word of English, not a single word, not even "how are you" or "what is your name", but all smiles, smiles, smiles. And they taught me how to say donkey in Arabic - "hamar".
At the end of a long day, we camped by the Nile. Bath time in the river - aahhh! Feels good.
----------------- TODAY ---------------- TOTAL
Cycled ----------- 99 km (61.5 mi) ------- 1,041 km (641 mi)
Sagged ----------- 0 ---------------------- 202.5 km (137.5 mi)
Total ------------- 99 km (61.5 mi) ------- 1,243.5 km (778.5 mi)
In saddle --------- 7 hrs 58 min ----------- 64 hrs 22 min
Ascended --------- 980 feet --------------- 11,150 feet
Thursday, 25th Jan, 2007
From Desert Camping to Desert Camping
Thor is one of the African Roots guides. From South Africa. Nice guy. Really, really nice. But drives like a bat out of hell! I will try to wake up earlier tomorrow and get going earlier, so I don't have to ride in that truck! Yeek! Haha.
Another day of desert, almost no life. Passed one small village today. Very small. No cokes. No shops at all. Just a few dwellings. Stopped briefly in the middle of the road. The villagers all came out to greet me. Including women! One young girl (about 15-16 years?) asked me where my husband was. Too hard to explain, so I said he was up ahead.
That's it. Those were the only people we passed the whole day. Played backgammon at camp again, this time with Rory (another African Roots guide) and Abdil (our Sudanese tour guide).
Really funny thing happened at night. To realize how funny this is, you have to picture that we are in the middle of NOWHERE! Maybe 3 or 4 trucks passed the whole day. That's it. Well, we were all sitting around, having our camp dinner, when, out of nowhere, a yogurt truck came by! No kidding! You could see the pictures of yogurt on the side, so everybody was saying, "Wouldn't it be great if they stopped?" Then... the truck stopped, backed up, and pulled into our "camp site". The drivers were probably as incredulous to see us as we were to see them! They opened up their truck, gave us a few free yogurts, and then sold more to those who wanted it! They must have been on their way to Wadi Halfa. How hilarious. Like angels being dropped on us from nowhere.
--------------- TODAY ---------------- TOTAL
Cycled -------- 39.5 km (25 mi) -------- 942 km (579.5 mi)
Sagged -------- 47.5 km (29 mi) -------- 202.5 km (137.5 mi)
Total ---------- 87 km (54 mi) ---------- 1,144.5 km (717 mi)
In saddle ------ 4 hrs 16 min ------------ 56 hrs 24 min
Ascended ------ 920 feet ---------------- 10,170 feet
Thor is one of the African Roots guides. From South Africa. Nice guy. Really, really nice. But drives like a bat out of hell! I will try to wake up earlier tomorrow and get going earlier, so I don't have to ride in that truck! Yeek! Haha.
Another day of desert, almost no life. Passed one small village today. Very small. No cokes. No shops at all. Just a few dwellings. Stopped briefly in the middle of the road. The villagers all came out to greet me. Including women! One young girl (about 15-16 years?) asked me where my husband was. Too hard to explain, so I said he was up ahead.
That's it. Those were the only people we passed the whole day. Played backgammon at camp again, this time with Rory (another African Roots guide) and Abdil (our Sudanese tour guide).
Really funny thing happened at night. To realize how funny this is, you have to picture that we are in the middle of NOWHERE! Maybe 3 or 4 trucks passed the whole day. That's it. Well, we were all sitting around, having our camp dinner, when, out of nowhere, a yogurt truck came by! No kidding! You could see the pictures of yogurt on the side, so everybody was saying, "Wouldn't it be great if they stopped?" Then... the truck stopped, backed up, and pulled into our "camp site". The drivers were probably as incredulous to see us as we were to see them! They opened up their truck, gave us a few free yogurts, and then sold more to those who wanted it! They must have been on their way to Wadi Halfa. How hilarious. Like angels being dropped on us from nowhere.
--------------- TODAY ---------------- TOTAL
Cycled -------- 39.5 km (25 mi) -------- 942 km (579.5 mi)
Sagged -------- 47.5 km (29 mi) -------- 202.5 km (137.5 mi)
Total ---------- 87 km (54 mi) ---------- 1,144.5 km (717 mi)
In saddle ------ 4 hrs 16 min ------------ 56 hrs 24 min
Ascended ------ 920 feet ---------------- 10,170 feet
Wednesday, 24th Jan, 2007
From Wadi Halfa to Desert Camping
Yep, back to desert camping. But nothing in Egypt matched this. This is REALLY desert!
Sand, sand, sand. Beautiful desert. Hot. Hard riding on sand. Only fell once, but came to a stop several times in sand. Passed no villages, very little signs of life whatsoever. Only a few trucks passed the whole day. The drivers were always friendly but shocked, "What are you doing out here?" they'd ask. We really are in the middle of nowhere.
I was very tired and delighted when I reached camp (together with Duncan, Dean, Elaine, and Rachel, who all rode the last 20 km with me). Hard day for everybody. Almost everybody fell in the sand at least once.
Played a bit of backgammon at camp with Alice this evening. That was fun.
------------------ TODAY ---------------- TOTAL
Cycled ------------ 63 km (40 mi) --------- 902.5 km (554.5 mi)
Sagged ------------- 0 ---------------------- 165 km (108.5 mi)
Total -------------- 63 km (40 mi) --------- 1,067 km (663 mi)
In saddle ---------- 5 hrs 41 min ----------- 52 hrs 8 min
Ascended ---------- 1,008 feet ------------- 9,250 feet
Yep, back to desert camping. But nothing in Egypt matched this. This is REALLY desert!
Sand, sand, sand. Beautiful desert. Hot. Hard riding on sand. Only fell once, but came to a stop several times in sand. Passed no villages, very little signs of life whatsoever. Only a few trucks passed the whole day. The drivers were always friendly but shocked, "What are you doing out here?" they'd ask. We really are in the middle of nowhere.
I was very tired and delighted when I reached camp (together with Duncan, Dean, Elaine, and Rachel, who all rode the last 20 km with me). Hard day for everybody. Almost everybody fell in the sand at least once.
Played a bit of backgammon at camp with Alice this evening. That was fun.
------------------ TODAY ---------------- TOTAL
Cycled ------------ 63 km (40 mi) --------- 902.5 km (554.5 mi)
Sagged ------------- 0 ---------------------- 165 km (108.5 mi)
Total -------------- 63 km (40 mi) --------- 1,067 km (663 mi)
In saddle ---------- 5 hrs 41 min ----------- 52 hrs 8 min
Ascended ---------- 1,008 feet ------------- 9,250 feet
Tuesday, 23rd Jan, 2007
From Ferry Landing (Wadi Halfa, Sudan) to Campsite (outside Wadi Halfa)
Well, bye bye, lovely Egypt! We'll miss you! I won't forget my last big cycling day in Egypt, riding down to Aswan. The police with me the whole, entire way. Wouldn't let me out of their sight. "For my security." This is funny, because they didn't tail everybody like that. They tailed me because I was the last person and they wanted to ensure we all got into camp safely. It could have been a bit irritating, but in order not to let it get irritating, I just had to pretend that I was Lance Armstrong and they were my support crew. At my first coke break, I pulled over at a shop and bought a coke. The police pulled over and looked at me with puzzled looks on their faces and their arms held up in a, "what are you doing?" expression. I just said, "Sorry, coke break. I won't be long. If you're bored, you can move on." (Which made it a little difficult to pretend I was Lance Armstrong because I don't think he takes coke breaks, but that's o.k.) The police said, "No, no, we are with you." I just smiled and thought, "Great!" At my 2nd coke break of the day, I really was getting into this idea of thinking of them as my support crew, so I offered them cokes as well.
Suffice to say, we got through Egypt safely. Do you really think all that security was so necessary? I know I can be a bit naive sometimes, but everybody seemed so incredibly nice! Who would want to blow us up? Well, the terrorists, maybe, but I bet there aren't very many of them, if you think in terms of per capita.
Shady, on the last night in Egypt, gave me a very, very dear and nice little pendant that said "Leigh Anne" in hieroglyphics. Shady was our main Egyptian tour leader. How incredibly sweet. Nice fellow. I had gotten to know him because of getting in the bus sometimes, when I was tired of cycling.
Now... On to Sudan!
Wow! Can't believe we're here! The impenetrable Sudan! How exciting, to think that we will just be riding freely through this country. I never could have imagined such a thing. The African Roots tour group joined us here in Wadi Halfa. They'll be with us all the way to Cape Town. Guess what they brought with them? Power bars!! Yippeee!! We'll get 2 a day every day for the rest of the trip!
------------------- TODAY -------------- TOTAL
Cycled ------------ 6.5 km (4 mi) -------- 839.5 km (514.5 mi)
Sagged ----------- 0 ----------------------- 165 km (108.5 mi)
Total -------------- 6.5 km (4 mi) ---------- 1,004 km (623 mi)
In saddle ---------- 30 min ----------------- 46 hrs 27 min
Ascended ---------- 100 feet --------------- 8,242 feet
Well, bye bye, lovely Egypt! We'll miss you! I won't forget my last big cycling day in Egypt, riding down to Aswan. The police with me the whole, entire way. Wouldn't let me out of their sight. "For my security." This is funny, because they didn't tail everybody like that. They tailed me because I was the last person and they wanted to ensure we all got into camp safely. It could have been a bit irritating, but in order not to let it get irritating, I just had to pretend that I was Lance Armstrong and they were my support crew. At my first coke break, I pulled over at a shop and bought a coke. The police pulled over and looked at me with puzzled looks on their faces and their arms held up in a, "what are you doing?" expression. I just said, "Sorry, coke break. I won't be long. If you're bored, you can move on." (Which made it a little difficult to pretend I was Lance Armstrong because I don't think he takes coke breaks, but that's o.k.) The police said, "No, no, we are with you." I just smiled and thought, "Great!" At my 2nd coke break of the day, I really was getting into this idea of thinking of them as my support crew, so I offered them cokes as well.
Suffice to say, we got through Egypt safely. Do you really think all that security was so necessary? I know I can be a bit naive sometimes, but everybody seemed so incredibly nice! Who would want to blow us up? Well, the terrorists, maybe, but I bet there aren't very many of them, if you think in terms of per capita.
Shady, on the last night in Egypt, gave me a very, very dear and nice little pendant that said "Leigh Anne" in hieroglyphics. Shady was our main Egyptian tour leader. How incredibly sweet. Nice fellow. I had gotten to know him because of getting in the bus sometimes, when I was tired of cycling.
Now... On to Sudan!
Wow! Can't believe we're here! The impenetrable Sudan! How exciting, to think that we will just be riding freely through this country. I never could have imagined such a thing. The African Roots tour group joined us here in Wadi Halfa. They'll be with us all the way to Cape Town. Guess what they brought with them? Power bars!! Yippeee!! We'll get 2 a day every day for the rest of the trip!
------------------- TODAY -------------- TOTAL
Cycled ------------ 6.5 km (4 mi) -------- 839.5 km (514.5 mi)
Sagged ----------- 0 ----------------------- 165 km (108.5 mi)
Total -------------- 6.5 km (4 mi) ---------- 1,004 km (623 mi)
In saddle ---------- 30 min ----------------- 46 hrs 27 min
Ascended ---------- 100 feet --------------- 8,242 feet
Monday, 22nd Jan, 2007
From Aswan to Egypt/Sudan Ferry
We rode about 12 miles down to the ferry landing. The boat was lots of fun! I took a trillion pictures of the mobs of people loading the boat. It took about 7 hours to load. No kidding! For a long time, I was sitting on the upper deck, under the overhanging dinghy (for shade). Slowly, it became more and more crowded. People were looking for space to sit, so eventually, an Egyptian man sat next to me. He was very friendly, though we couldn't talk much. I kept snapping pictures, as the boat became more and more overloaded, then I'd show him the picture, and we had good chuckles together. That went on for hours. At one point, I thought to myself, "Chances are good that the boat won't sink. But if it does, guess we're all dead. Oh well." There was that cute little dinghy, which would have carried about 20 of us, but at that point, there were about 200 of us on board. So, everybody would've scrambled for the dinghy, making it sink too. Ha.
The boat trip was fun - an overnighter. We on the tour had cabins. This wasn't like a luxury cruise or anything. Each cabin had one bunkbed, attached to the wall, that's it. But it did make for a very nice night's sleep. The next morning, we woke up to see ... hmmm, forgot it's name ... but a really neat ancient temple and tomb site. The site is famous because, when they decided to build the damn, the whole site, which was over 3,000 years old, was going to be submerged by the rising lake. Archaologists and nifty people from all over the world came to the rescue. Within month, as the lake was rising, they had (in the nick of time, apparently), managed to carefully saw apart, and relocate the tombs and temple several hundred meters higher, so that they would be preserved and not drown. Abu Simbul! That's the name of the site.
-------------------- TODAY ---------------- TOTAL
Cycled -------------- 18 km (11.5 mi) ------- 833 km (510.5 mi)
Sagged ------------- 0 ---------------------- 165 km (108.5 mi)
Total --------------- 18 km (11.5 mi) -------- 998 km (619 mi)
In saddle ----------- 1 hr 10 min ------------ 45 hrs 57 min
Ascended ----------- 330 feet --------------- 8,142 feet
We rode about 12 miles down to the ferry landing. The boat was lots of fun! I took a trillion pictures of the mobs of people loading the boat. It took about 7 hours to load. No kidding! For a long time, I was sitting on the upper deck, under the overhanging dinghy (for shade). Slowly, it became more and more crowded. People were looking for space to sit, so eventually, an Egyptian man sat next to me. He was very friendly, though we couldn't talk much. I kept snapping pictures, as the boat became more and more overloaded, then I'd show him the picture, and we had good chuckles together. That went on for hours. At one point, I thought to myself, "Chances are good that the boat won't sink. But if it does, guess we're all dead. Oh well." There was that cute little dinghy, which would have carried about 20 of us, but at that point, there were about 200 of us on board. So, everybody would've scrambled for the dinghy, making it sink too. Ha.
The boat trip was fun - an overnighter. We on the tour had cabins. This wasn't like a luxury cruise or anything. Each cabin had one bunkbed, attached to the wall, that's it. But it did make for a very nice night's sleep. The next morning, we woke up to see ... hmmm, forgot it's name ... but a really neat ancient temple and tomb site. The site is famous because, when they decided to build the damn, the whole site, which was over 3,000 years old, was going to be submerged by the rising lake. Archaologists and nifty people from all over the world came to the rescue. Within month, as the lake was rising, they had (in the nick of time, apparently), managed to carefully saw apart, and relocate the tombs and temple several hundred meters higher, so that they would be preserved and not drown. Abu Simbul! That's the name of the site.
-------------------- TODAY ---------------- TOTAL
Cycled -------------- 18 km (11.5 mi) ------- 833 km (510.5 mi)
Sagged ------------- 0 ---------------------- 165 km (108.5 mi)
Total --------------- 18 km (11.5 mi) -------- 998 km (619 mi)
In saddle ----------- 1 hr 10 min ------------ 45 hrs 57 min
Ascended ----------- 330 feet --------------- 8,142 feet
Response to Sunday's Comments - 21st Jan, 2007
Thanks, everybody, for writing! I especially loved Mickedy's list of 30 different words for snow in Eskiman. It's just like in Uganda, where there are something like 30 different words for banana.
Oh, no, please don't correct me on that. I can just see all my Ugandan friends and scholars writing in with corrections - "actually, there are 58 different kinds of banana in Uganda." "In fact, there are 18 different kinds of bananas, and 42 more sub-species." Blah, blah. Anyway, point is, there are LOTS.
Wadi Halfa is not submerged in Lake Nassar. We landed at Wadi Halfa - point of entry into Sudan! However, a large part of land did get submerged, when they built a damn, making Lake Nassar rise up a whole lot.
Oh, no, please don't correct me on that. I can just see all my Ugandan friends and scholars writing in with corrections - "actually, there are 58 different kinds of banana in Uganda." "In fact, there are 18 different kinds of bananas, and 42 more sub-species." Blah, blah. Anyway, point is, there are LOTS.
Wadi Halfa is not submerged in Lake Nassar. We landed at Wadi Halfa - point of entry into Sudan! However, a large part of land did get submerged, when they built a damn, making Lake Nassar rise up a whole lot.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Sunday, 21st Jan, 2007
From Idfu to Aswan
I have two questions. Why do they call them fallukas, instead of sailboats? And, what is a cataract? If anybody knows the answers, please respond.
Sitting in a little cafe on the Nile as the sun is going down. Feeling good after the 70-mile ride today. What could be better than this? Oh, I know - 4 more months of this! Lots of fallukas out there on the river, which, as far as I can tell, are sailboats.
Oh. Forgot to mention. Saw a bona-fide caravan the other day, it was the day that we left the Red Sea and went through the hills. It comprised of 3 women in somewhat colorful clothing (more colorful than the black that I usually see women wearing), 1 camel, 2 donkeys, several goats, and 2 dogs. O.k., a mini-caravan. It was splendid! With the desert as a backdrop, as they walked along. I really, really wanted to stop and take a picture, but it seemed so invasive. So, I didn't. Maybe I should have. But a little further along the road, I saw 2 camels walking by themselves, so I took a picture of them. (Too bad you can't see any of these pictures - I really will figure out how to upload them at some point.)
Everything is more beautiful from a bike. I don't kow why that is, but it's a fact. A stretch of road today had Nile river on the right, and orange-brown rock walls on the left. Stunning! In a car, it would have been beautiful, but on a bike - stunning! This is why biking is so great. All your feelings are more intense. Take the most beautiful sight you've ever seen in all your life. Magnify the beauty by about 20. That's what it looks like from a bike. Don't know why, it's the same sight. Rode with Duncan (from New Zealand) today. He was riding sweep. Nice.
As I walked along the Nile this afternoon, many people approached and chatted. Some asked if I wanted an Egyptian husband - I got that in Idfu last night, too! But most just asked if I wanted a ride in a falluka. Also, I met Kooki, a 12-year-old Nubian kid in the cafe that I was sitting at by the river. Turns out he is the son of the owner. Really cute and nice kid! He was eating something and looked so happy! So I waved to him (not knowing, at that point, that he was the owner's kid). He waved me over. I shook my head a smiled and said, "No, no." But he kept insisting, kept waving me over, and holding up his food in offer. Finally, I went on over. Then, the owner came by and told me to join him and eat, that he was eating a Nubian specialty. So, I ate a little, while standing, but Kooki patted the seat next to him and said, "Sit! Sit!" with just the biggest smile ever. So, o.k., I sat, just for a short while. He couldn't really speak much English, but just the most charming kid ever, never stopped smiling and saying, "Eat!"
--------------- TODAY ------------------ TOTAL
Cycled -------- 115 km (71 mi) ----------- 815 km (499 mi)
Sagged -------- 0 ------------------------ 165 km (108.5 mi)
Total ---------- 115 km (71 mi) ---------- 980 km (607.5 mi)
In Saddle ------ 6 hrs 25 min ------------ 44 hrs 47 min
Ascended ------- 953 feet ---------------- 7,809 feet
I have two questions. Why do they call them fallukas, instead of sailboats? And, what is a cataract? If anybody knows the answers, please respond.
Sitting in a little cafe on the Nile as the sun is going down. Feeling good after the 70-mile ride today. What could be better than this? Oh, I know - 4 more months of this! Lots of fallukas out there on the river, which, as far as I can tell, are sailboats.
Oh. Forgot to mention. Saw a bona-fide caravan the other day, it was the day that we left the Red Sea and went through the hills. It comprised of 3 women in somewhat colorful clothing (more colorful than the black that I usually see women wearing), 1 camel, 2 donkeys, several goats, and 2 dogs. O.k., a mini-caravan. It was splendid! With the desert as a backdrop, as they walked along. I really, really wanted to stop and take a picture, but it seemed so invasive. So, I didn't. Maybe I should have. But a little further along the road, I saw 2 camels walking by themselves, so I took a picture of them. (Too bad you can't see any of these pictures - I really will figure out how to upload them at some point.)
Everything is more beautiful from a bike. I don't kow why that is, but it's a fact. A stretch of road today had Nile river on the right, and orange-brown rock walls on the left. Stunning! In a car, it would have been beautiful, but on a bike - stunning! This is why biking is so great. All your feelings are more intense. Take the most beautiful sight you've ever seen in all your life. Magnify the beauty by about 20. That's what it looks like from a bike. Don't know why, it's the same sight. Rode with Duncan (from New Zealand) today. He was riding sweep. Nice.
As I walked along the Nile this afternoon, many people approached and chatted. Some asked if I wanted an Egyptian husband - I got that in Idfu last night, too! But most just asked if I wanted a ride in a falluka. Also, I met Kooki, a 12-year-old Nubian kid in the cafe that I was sitting at by the river. Turns out he is the son of the owner. Really cute and nice kid! He was eating something and looked so happy! So I waved to him (not knowing, at that point, that he was the owner's kid). He waved me over. I shook my head a smiled and said, "No, no." But he kept insisting, kept waving me over, and holding up his food in offer. Finally, I went on over. Then, the owner came by and told me to join him and eat, that he was eating a Nubian specialty. So, I ate a little, while standing, but Kooki patted the seat next to him and said, "Sit! Sit!" with just the biggest smile ever. So, o.k., I sat, just for a short while. He couldn't really speak much English, but just the most charming kid ever, never stopped smiling and saying, "Eat!"
--------------- TODAY ------------------ TOTAL
Cycled -------- 115 km (71 mi) ----------- 815 km (499 mi)
Sagged -------- 0 ------------------------ 165 km (108.5 mi)
Total ---------- 115 km (71 mi) ---------- 980 km (607.5 mi)
In Saddle ------ 6 hrs 25 min ------------ 44 hrs 47 min
Ascended ------- 953 feet ---------------- 7,809 feet
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Saturday, 20th Jan, 2007
Luxor to Idfu
Guess what? The name of the queen who pretended to be a man, her name was ... hold on ... let me check ... Queen Hatshepsut. I'm reading a book called "The Last Camel Died at Noon". It's sort of a mystery, fiction, but I picked it out in Luxor because it takes place in this area and in Nubia area in Northern Sudan. Thought, "Maybe they will refer to something that I've seen and I'll get to say 'Hey! Neat!'" Sure enough, the plan worked. When they mentioned the name Queen Hatshepsut, I thought, that's the one! The queen with the architect lover, who pretended to be a man. And there is something famous about a place called Punt, too, but I can't remember what it is. Personally, it just reminds me of a football game.
Today was a very nice cycling day. After the day of rest yesterday, I felt very good. The sore butt syndrome is improving. I only had one major stop, it was in a little town that we passed after lunch. Chatted a bit with the local (men) who were smoking from their shishas. Two kids were very curious about me, but not in an annoying way. Since they were being nice and not saying "money, money", I decided to try playing cards with them. Unfortunately, they don't seem to play cards the same way as they do in Uganda, and we couldn't understand each other, so it didn't work out.
Other than the one stop, it was just nice because we passed interesting sites. There was a railroad track that we followed for a long time and several trains passed. I finally got my camera out in time to get a picture of the caboose of one, for OnDu's sake. Can't figure out how to load my pictures up here, but when I do, I'll show it. I also got a nice snap, at lunch, of me and our security guards - wearing their gowns, turbans, and guns strapped over their shoulders. What a sight! After lunch, I rode most of the day with Jack (from U.S.A.), who was (surprise, surprise) riding sweep today. It was nice peddling along with him. That guy recently took TWO YEARS and rode around the world! Very interesting, I'd love to do that.
Oh. The only other point of interest. At one point, a young man on a motorbike decided to get friendly with me. He rode along beside me, chatting away, mainly saying "What's your name?" because I don't think he knew how to say anything else. It was o.k., except that every time a car came by, he would swerve over into the shoulder, where I was riding, and I kept thinking we'd have an accident. I had just stopped my bike and was telling him, "Sorry, we really can't ride together," when Patrick (from South Africa) and a couple others from our group came along behind me and asked if I was o.k. I told them about the small "problem" and they were very nice and slowed way down (so as to go at my speed) and rode in between me and the motorcycle lad, for a long way, 5 miles or so. Finally, the motorocycle lad said "bye bye" and left and we all said, "bye!"
Very nice day. We are NOT desert camping! Instead, we are camping on a football stadium pitch on the shores of the Nile River, in this little town called Idfu. Tomorrow we reach Aswan, where we will board the boat for Sudan. I'm very excited about that.
-----------------TODAY ---------------TOTAL
Cycled---------- 118.5 km (72 mi) ------700 km (428 mi)
Sagged ---------- 0 --------------------- 165 km (103.5 mi)
Total ------------ 118.5 km (72 mi) ----- 865 km (531.5 mi)
In saddle -------- 6 hrs 2 min ----------- 38 hrs 50 min
Ascended -------- 612 feet -------------- 6,856 feet
Guess what? The name of the queen who pretended to be a man, her name was ... hold on ... let me check ... Queen Hatshepsut. I'm reading a book called "The Last Camel Died at Noon". It's sort of a mystery, fiction, but I picked it out in Luxor because it takes place in this area and in Nubia area in Northern Sudan. Thought, "Maybe they will refer to something that I've seen and I'll get to say 'Hey! Neat!'" Sure enough, the plan worked. When they mentioned the name Queen Hatshepsut, I thought, that's the one! The queen with the architect lover, who pretended to be a man. And there is something famous about a place called Punt, too, but I can't remember what it is. Personally, it just reminds me of a football game.
Today was a very nice cycling day. After the day of rest yesterday, I felt very good. The sore butt syndrome is improving. I only had one major stop, it was in a little town that we passed after lunch. Chatted a bit with the local (men) who were smoking from their shishas. Two kids were very curious about me, but not in an annoying way. Since they were being nice and not saying "money, money", I decided to try playing cards with them. Unfortunately, they don't seem to play cards the same way as they do in Uganda, and we couldn't understand each other, so it didn't work out.
Other than the one stop, it was just nice because we passed interesting sites. There was a railroad track that we followed for a long time and several trains passed. I finally got my camera out in time to get a picture of the caboose of one, for OnDu's sake. Can't figure out how to load my pictures up here, but when I do, I'll show it. I also got a nice snap, at lunch, of me and our security guards - wearing their gowns, turbans, and guns strapped over their shoulders. What a sight! After lunch, I rode most of the day with Jack (from U.S.A.), who was (surprise, surprise) riding sweep today. It was nice peddling along with him. That guy recently took TWO YEARS and rode around the world! Very interesting, I'd love to do that.
Oh. The only other point of interest. At one point, a young man on a motorbike decided to get friendly with me. He rode along beside me, chatting away, mainly saying "What's your name?" because I don't think he knew how to say anything else. It was o.k., except that every time a car came by, he would swerve over into the shoulder, where I was riding, and I kept thinking we'd have an accident. I had just stopped my bike and was telling him, "Sorry, we really can't ride together," when Patrick (from South Africa) and a couple others from our group came along behind me and asked if I was o.k. I told them about the small "problem" and they were very nice and slowed way down (so as to go at my speed) and rode in between me and the motorcycle lad, for a long way, 5 miles or so. Finally, the motorocycle lad said "bye bye" and left and we all said, "bye!"
Very nice day. We are NOT desert camping! Instead, we are camping on a football stadium pitch on the shores of the Nile River, in this little town called Idfu. Tomorrow we reach Aswan, where we will board the boat for Sudan. I'm very excited about that.
-----------------TODAY ---------------TOTAL
Cycled---------- 118.5 km (72 mi) ------700 km (428 mi)
Sagged ---------- 0 --------------------- 165 km (103.5 mi)
Total ------------ 118.5 km (72 mi) ----- 865 km (531.5 mi)
In saddle -------- 6 hrs 2 min ----------- 38 hrs 50 min
Ascended -------- 612 feet -------------- 6,856 feet
Friday, January 19, 2007
Friday, 19th Jan, 2007
Luxor - Rest Day
The curbs in Luxor are very big. Very big. Sometimes, when stepping from the road to the sidewalk, I have to put my hand on my knee and hoist up. A few times, I saw that smart shop owners put an extra little step in the curb, in front of their shop. Why do they need such big curbs, I wonder? Another thing of note about Luxor is that there is a McDonalds here. Can you believe it? O.k., sorry, but I ate at it. The only reason, in my defense, is that I wanted to be able to say that I've had a McBiggy (or whatever the burger was called) in Africa. Never thought that would happen. Well other than in South Africa, maybe, but I wouldn't know because I've never been further inside South Africa than the airport - another story complete with exciting things like jail time that most people know about and so I won't go into it here.
By the way, I felt very cultured in the McDonalds and I'll tell you why. (1) Out of the music speakers was playing Egyptian music. (2) Had a great view of an ancient temple ruin, across the road, I think it was called the Luxor Temple.
Alright, for those of you who would rather hear more about Luxor than the big curbs and the McDonald's, I did actually go see the Valley of the Kings today. There's a bunch of tombs there. Where kings were burried. Particularly Ramses II, Ramses IV, Ramses IX, and a few other kings named Ramses. Probably wouldn't have gone, but it was peer pressure that did it. Last night, one of our tour guides asked me, "Leigh Anne, are you going on the tour tomorrow, like everybody else?" Well, that "like everybody else" part did it. How could I *not* go? And be the odd ball out? So, I said, "Why yes! Of course! Who would miss such a thing?" What I thought was really cool was the thought of some excavators (I think there was a guy named Carter, and some Italians, and ... I don't know if there were any Egyptians involved) digging and poking around in all those hills of stone we saw and then, one day, all of a sudden, BANG! A big ol' tomb, complete with corridors and stairs, and carvings and hieroglyphics, and everything. That must've been cool. However, once I saw one, I'm sorry to be so uncultured as to say that I was ready to go back to Luxor and spend the rest of the day wondering around. But no, we had to see about 6-7 more of them. Apparently, there were something like 83 tombs discovered up there. Can you believe it? I might have my fact a little wrong there, because I'm not good at remembering information.
The main things I learned at the tombs were: (1) there were lots of them, (2) they were made around 1,100 to 1,300 B.C., (3) there was a woman who dressed up like a man because she was leader of Egypt but the leader of Egypt was supposed to be a man, and a whole temple was built in her honour (don't remember her name, nor the name of her lover who was also the architect of her temple), (4) a lot of the King's names were Ramses, (5) our guide's name was Mohammed, (6) you had to go through 12 gates to get to the afterlife and each gate had a God and you had to know the Gods and remember their names to get through the gate, and in one of the tombs, a prince who died at age 9 was buried and the art on the walls told the story of his father (a king, but don't remember if his name was Ramses) introducing the 9-year-old dead prince to all of the Gods so that he'll be able to get past the gates and into the after-life.
Those are the things I remember. That was neat.
Tomorrow we are back to cycling! Yeaahhhh!!
The curbs in Luxor are very big. Very big. Sometimes, when stepping from the road to the sidewalk, I have to put my hand on my knee and hoist up. A few times, I saw that smart shop owners put an extra little step in the curb, in front of their shop. Why do they need such big curbs, I wonder? Another thing of note about Luxor is that there is a McDonalds here. Can you believe it? O.k., sorry, but I ate at it. The only reason, in my defense, is that I wanted to be able to say that I've had a McBiggy (or whatever the burger was called) in Africa. Never thought that would happen. Well other than in South Africa, maybe, but I wouldn't know because I've never been further inside South Africa than the airport - another story complete with exciting things like jail time that most people know about and so I won't go into it here.
By the way, I felt very cultured in the McDonalds and I'll tell you why. (1) Out of the music speakers was playing Egyptian music. (2) Had a great view of an ancient temple ruin, across the road, I think it was called the Luxor Temple.
Alright, for those of you who would rather hear more about Luxor than the big curbs and the McDonald's, I did actually go see the Valley of the Kings today. There's a bunch of tombs there. Where kings were burried. Particularly Ramses II, Ramses IV, Ramses IX, and a few other kings named Ramses. Probably wouldn't have gone, but it was peer pressure that did it. Last night, one of our tour guides asked me, "Leigh Anne, are you going on the tour tomorrow, like everybody else?" Well, that "like everybody else" part did it. How could I *not* go? And be the odd ball out? So, I said, "Why yes! Of course! Who would miss such a thing?" What I thought was really cool was the thought of some excavators (I think there was a guy named Carter, and some Italians, and ... I don't know if there were any Egyptians involved) digging and poking around in all those hills of stone we saw and then, one day, all of a sudden, BANG! A big ol' tomb, complete with corridors and stairs, and carvings and hieroglyphics, and everything. That must've been cool. However, once I saw one, I'm sorry to be so uncultured as to say that I was ready to go back to Luxor and spend the rest of the day wondering around. But no, we had to see about 6-7 more of them. Apparently, there were something like 83 tombs discovered up there. Can you believe it? I might have my fact a little wrong there, because I'm not good at remembering information.
The main things I learned at the tombs were: (1) there were lots of them, (2) they were made around 1,100 to 1,300 B.C., (3) there was a woman who dressed up like a man because she was leader of Egypt but the leader of Egypt was supposed to be a man, and a whole temple was built in her honour (don't remember her name, nor the name of her lover who was also the architect of her temple), (4) a lot of the King's names were Ramses, (5) our guide's name was Mohammed, (6) you had to go through 12 gates to get to the afterlife and each gate had a God and you had to know the Gods and remember their names to get through the gate, and in one of the tombs, a prince who died at age 9 was buried and the art on the walls told the story of his father (a king, but don't remember if his name was Ramses) introducing the 9-year-old dead prince to all of the Gods so that he'll be able to get past the gates and into the after-life.
Those are the things I remember. That was neat.
Tomorrow we are back to cycling! Yeaahhhh!!
Thursday, 18th Jan, 2007
From Desert Camping to Luxor
Nice easy day. I wouldn't have sagged at all, but thought the day was going to be longer and I wanted to get into Luxor early to go to the bank. Knew the banks would be closed tomorrow (Friday). Well, got into Luxor at 12:00 p.m.! Very early! We headed out of the desert and hit the Nile River at a town called Qena. We then headed south, along the Nile. It was very nice. We were supposed to ride on the left (East?) side of the river (actually, just a canal next to the river). It was tarmac on that side. But there was also a lot of traffic on that side. So, at one of the numerous bridges, I crossed over. I rode on the other side for about 10 miles. Very slow going because not tarmacked, but much more interesting. Rode through little villages, donkeys and donkey carts, women cooking, kids playing, the whole nine yards. Yes, even women! One thing I've noticed in Egypt. You don't see a lot of women, out and about in public places. It's not unheard of, but you see many many more men than women. So, it was refreshing over there on "the other side of the river", to see all the friendly women saying "hello" and waving at me. They didn't actually say "hello", they said things like "sabah halkheer", but I knew what they meant because they smiled. Unfortunately, after about 10 miles, a police soldier at one of the bridges made me cross back over. "For my safety." The security police, while I guess it's nice to have them around, they are a nuisance. I thought it was safer where I was - less traffic. But couldn't argue. Back over the bridge to the noisy side of the river I went.
-------------------- TODAY --------------- TOTAL
Cycled ------------- 59 km (36 mi) -------- 581.5 km (356 mi)
Sagged------------- 19 km (12 mi) --------- 165 km (103.5 mi)
Total -------------- 78 km (48 mi) --------- 746.5 km (459 mi)
In saddle ---------- 3 hrs 10 min ----------- 32 hrs 48 min
Ascended ---------- 150 feet --------------- 6,244 feet
Nice easy day. I wouldn't have sagged at all, but thought the day was going to be longer and I wanted to get into Luxor early to go to the bank. Knew the banks would be closed tomorrow (Friday). Well, got into Luxor at 12:00 p.m.! Very early! We headed out of the desert and hit the Nile River at a town called Qena. We then headed south, along the Nile. It was very nice. We were supposed to ride on the left (East?) side of the river (actually, just a canal next to the river). It was tarmac on that side. But there was also a lot of traffic on that side. So, at one of the numerous bridges, I crossed over. I rode on the other side for about 10 miles. Very slow going because not tarmacked, but much more interesting. Rode through little villages, donkeys and donkey carts, women cooking, kids playing, the whole nine yards. Yes, even women! One thing I've noticed in Egypt. You don't see a lot of women, out and about in public places. It's not unheard of, but you see many many more men than women. So, it was refreshing over there on "the other side of the river", to see all the friendly women saying "hello" and waving at me. They didn't actually say "hello", they said things like "sabah halkheer", but I knew what they meant because they smiled. Unfortunately, after about 10 miles, a police soldier at one of the bridges made me cross back over. "For my safety." The security police, while I guess it's nice to have them around, they are a nuisance. I thought it was safer where I was - less traffic. But couldn't argue. Back over the bridge to the noisy side of the river I went.
-------------------- TODAY --------------- TOTAL
Cycled ------------- 59 km (36 mi) -------- 581.5 km (356 mi)
Sagged------------- 19 km (12 mi) --------- 165 km (103.5 mi)
Total -------------- 78 km (48 mi) --------- 746.5 km (459 mi)
In saddle ---------- 3 hrs 10 min ----------- 32 hrs 48 min
Ascended ---------- 150 feet --------------- 6,244 feet
Wednesday, 17th Jan, 2007
From Safago to Desert Camp
The Red Sea is not red. I spent a good part of the cycling day today wondering why it was called the Red Sea. My best theory was that after Moses opened it up and then closed it again, killing all those people, the dead people bled and made the sea bloody -- thus, the Red Sea. Only flaw with the theory is that I don't think people bleed when they drown. Alice (from S. Africa) at the lunch stop today suggested it was because of the stones around the sea, and when they touch water, they turn red.
I'm the slowest rider on the trip. That wouldn't bother me too much, except it means I can't ride with anybody because I'm too slow and they want to move on. That's o.k. The ride today was beautiful - climbed through the hills. My GPS is bullshitting me, by the way. I *know* we ascended more than 1,844 feet today. At one point, we were 2,200 feet above sea level, and we started at 0. Oh well. I'm going to keep recording what it says, even though we know it is biased low.
------------------- TODAY ---------------------TOTAL
Cycled ------------ 101 km (62 mi) ------------- 522.5 km (320 mi)
Sagged ----------- 39 km (24 mi) --------------- 146 km (91.5 mi)
Total ------------- 140 km (86 mi) -------------- 668.5 km (411.5 mi)
In saddle --------- 6 hrs 56 min ----------------- 29 hrs 38 min
Ascended --------- 1,844 feet ------------------- 6,094 feet
The Red Sea is not red. I spent a good part of the cycling day today wondering why it was called the Red Sea. My best theory was that after Moses opened it up and then closed it again, killing all those people, the dead people bled and made the sea bloody -- thus, the Red Sea. Only flaw with the theory is that I don't think people bleed when they drown. Alice (from S. Africa) at the lunch stop today suggested it was because of the stones around the sea, and when they touch water, they turn red.
I'm the slowest rider on the trip. That wouldn't bother me too much, except it means I can't ride with anybody because I'm too slow and they want to move on. That's o.k. The ride today was beautiful - climbed through the hills. My GPS is bullshitting me, by the way. I *know* we ascended more than 1,844 feet today. At one point, we were 2,200 feet above sea level, and we started at 0. Oh well. I'm going to keep recording what it says, even though we know it is biased low.
------------------- TODAY ---------------------TOTAL
Cycled ------------ 101 km (62 mi) ------------- 522.5 km (320 mi)
Sagged ----------- 39 km (24 mi) --------------- 146 km (91.5 mi)
Total ------------- 140 km (86 mi) -------------- 668.5 km (411.5 mi)
In saddle --------- 6 hrs 56 min ----------------- 29 hrs 38 min
Ascended --------- 1,844 feet ------------------- 6,094 feet
Tuesday, 16th Jan, 2007
From Desert Camping to Safaga
Safaga, Egypt. Remember that name. A great place. Shops, restaurants, people. O.k., a little touristy and camp, but never mind that. Gone are the days of sand, sand, nothing but sand. Well, at least for now. Those days will probably be revisited soon!
Great cycling day, or I should say "cycling morning". Even after 2 nice stops - one at a random resort (no, not El Gouna, grrrr), and one brief one in Harghada town, still made it here by 12:45. Last one in, as always, but record time for me nonetheless. The tailwinds were amazing - just pushed us all the way here. I rode the last 45 km or so with Shanny (from Toronto, Canada), who was riding sweep today. Nice to get to know the sweepers, tee hee.
Our camp spot is great - on the beach of a hotel grounds, Toublia Hotel. A few of us, including me, decided to take rooms in the hotel. With showers!! Hadn't properly bathed in 4 days, what with all that "desert camping"!
Everybody is just hanging out this afternoon. I decided to take a stroll through town. Discovered two things: (1) Those pipe-smoking men I saw yesterday? Nothing unusual about that. Those long pipe things that come up from the ground are everywhere! They are called shishas. (2) I like Egyptian food. I ate some in a very local restaurant about an hour ago. The owner was friendly and there were several other people, eating their bowls of whatever-it-was that we were served. It was delicious, though don't know what it was. Not cous cous. Spicey. Noodles and rice and fried onions and a mystery sauce and a few other things. Great! And cheap. Cost about 40 cents (2 Egyptian pounds).
By the way, it turns out that I wasn't the only one who stopped at the "coffee shop" with the smokers yesterday. I sat next to Gunther (from Belgium) at dinner last night and he told me that he stopped too!
By the way #2, I missed El Gouna resort today. Couldn't believe it! Not that I'm obsessing over it, but ... how could you miss a resort you've been looking forward to for 2 solid days? Oh well. Stopped at another one instead. Not the same. Not El Gouna. In fact, I'm not even going to dignify it with a name.
(Later at night, sitting in bed in my hotel room): Several people at dinner mentioned being "nervous" about tomorrow's ride. It's going to be 140 km, which might not be too bad, except that we head away from the Red Sea and the first 45 km are apparently going to be a never-ending climb up, up, up. I wouldn't be edgy at all, knowing I can do that, except one thing. My butt hurts. I'm seriously hoping the sores get better and not worse. Also, the left knee, the one I cracked and split about 6 months ago at Nalongo's place. It was finally almost healed, until I fell on it again, 2 days ago. Re-cracked it. Not a problem if I just don't touch it. Ever. Accidentally nudged it against the handle bar when I was starting up at one point today and it hurt a lot and I let out a yelp! Gotta remember - don't touch the Knee. And don't kneel on it in your tent either. And definitely don't fall on it again. But nervous about tomorrow's 45 km climb? Naahh, just excited.
------------------- TODAY ----------------- TOTAL
Cycled ------------ 101 km (62 mi) ---------- 421.5 km (258 mi)
Sagged ------------ 0 ------------------------- 107 km (67.5 mi)
Total -------------- 101 km (62 mi) ----------- 528.5 km (325.5 mi)
In saddle ---------- 5 hrs 3 min --------------- 22 hrs 42 min
Ascended ---------- 841 feet ------------------ 4,250 feet
Safaga, Egypt. Remember that name. A great place. Shops, restaurants, people. O.k., a little touristy and camp, but never mind that. Gone are the days of sand, sand, nothing but sand. Well, at least for now. Those days will probably be revisited soon!
Great cycling day, or I should say "cycling morning". Even after 2 nice stops - one at a random resort (no, not El Gouna, grrrr), and one brief one in Harghada town, still made it here by 12:45. Last one in, as always, but record time for me nonetheless. The tailwinds were amazing - just pushed us all the way here. I rode the last 45 km or so with Shanny (from Toronto, Canada), who was riding sweep today. Nice to get to know the sweepers, tee hee.
Our camp spot is great - on the beach of a hotel grounds, Toublia Hotel. A few of us, including me, decided to take rooms in the hotel. With showers!! Hadn't properly bathed in 4 days, what with all that "desert camping"!
Everybody is just hanging out this afternoon. I decided to take a stroll through town. Discovered two things: (1) Those pipe-smoking men I saw yesterday? Nothing unusual about that. Those long pipe things that come up from the ground are everywhere! They are called shishas. (2) I like Egyptian food. I ate some in a very local restaurant about an hour ago. The owner was friendly and there were several other people, eating their bowls of whatever-it-was that we were served. It was delicious, though don't know what it was. Not cous cous. Spicey. Noodles and rice and fried onions and a mystery sauce and a few other things. Great! And cheap. Cost about 40 cents (2 Egyptian pounds).
By the way, it turns out that I wasn't the only one who stopped at the "coffee shop" with the smokers yesterday. I sat next to Gunther (from Belgium) at dinner last night and he told me that he stopped too!
By the way #2, I missed El Gouna resort today. Couldn't believe it! Not that I'm obsessing over it, but ... how could you miss a resort you've been looking forward to for 2 solid days? Oh well. Stopped at another one instead. Not the same. Not El Gouna. In fact, I'm not even going to dignify it with a name.
(Later at night, sitting in bed in my hotel room): Several people at dinner mentioned being "nervous" about tomorrow's ride. It's going to be 140 km, which might not be too bad, except that we head away from the Red Sea and the first 45 km are apparently going to be a never-ending climb up, up, up. I wouldn't be edgy at all, knowing I can do that, except one thing. My butt hurts. I'm seriously hoping the sores get better and not worse. Also, the left knee, the one I cracked and split about 6 months ago at Nalongo's place. It was finally almost healed, until I fell on it again, 2 days ago. Re-cracked it. Not a problem if I just don't touch it. Ever. Accidentally nudged it against the handle bar when I was starting up at one point today and it hurt a lot and I let out a yelp! Gotta remember - don't touch the Knee. And don't kneel on it in your tent either. And definitely don't fall on it again. But nervous about tomorrow's 45 km climb? Naahh, just excited.
------------------- TODAY ----------------- TOTAL
Cycled ------------ 101 km (62 mi) ---------- 421.5 km (258 mi)
Sagged ------------ 0 ------------------------- 107 km (67.5 mi)
Total -------------- 101 km (62 mi) ----------- 528.5 km (325.5 mi)
In saddle ---------- 5 hrs 3 min --------------- 22 hrs 42 min
Ascended ---------- 841 feet ------------------ 4,250 feet
Monday, 15th Jan, 2007
From Desert Camping to ... (surprise!) Desert Camping
Wow! Day 3! Best day so far! Great day! Made a pact with myelf not to pass any more nice looking resorts without stopping. Of course, I couldn't keep to the pact unless I didn't cycle so far. Otherwise I'd be in after dark. Daylight hours is an issue, by the way. There's only 11 of them. Gets light at 6:30 a.m. and dark by 5:30 p.m. This is an issue if one wants to (a) ride lots, and (b) stop lots. Oh. And (c) is slow.
No problem though. Started my groove today, with the initiation of the Pact. One slight kink, though I didn't let it get under my skin, is that again there were no resorts! Haha. Got a lift with the bus up to the half-way point, so that with only half the day's cycling ahead of me, there'd be lots of time to soak in all those resorts! Got on the road, started peddling, and felt great. Within 15 minutes, however, Howard passed me! I couldn't believe it! Having started from camp about 2 hours earlier, he passed me after I was on the road 15 minutes! Great! We gave each other friendly waves and hellos.
So then I started looking for good rest opportunities. A beautiful resort would be optimal, but the lack of one didn't deter me. I managed, today on the road, to find 2 "coffee shops" of sorts. Stopped at both of them. They looked a bit like dives, but no problem. At the first one, a man in a turban was sitting outside. I hesitantly walked in and noted they had pepsi and potato chips for sale, along with some other unrecognizable things, so I bought both of the recognizable items. They were playing Egyptian music and I was the only customer, other than the turbaned man outside. The owner tried to chat with me. Our attempts at conversation were not very successful, but he did manage to teach me how to say "I am tired" in Arabic. It's "Ana taabana."
After some time, I mosied on my way. A few more of our folks passed me. "Hi, hi, everything fine? Yep! Great, see you later!" Then, after about 12 miles, I saw "coffee shop" #2! I slowed down and kind of peeped inside. A man came out and said, "Come in! Come in!" Well, who could pass up such an offer? Inside were 3 men and a kid. They were all smoking tobacco through a long pipe that went through coals and water and I'm not sure what else. I didn't quite get the mechanics of it. The tobacco was in there somewhere. Even the kid was smoking.
They were friendly, but nobody spoke a word of English. So I decided to try out, "Ana taabana." I wasn't really tired, but it was the only piece of conversation I knew. It did the trick. They laughed and started talking to each other excitedly. (At that point, I looked out the door and saw the racing peleton go by in a pack. "Wow! They're booking!" I thought.) Before leaving, one of them offered me a smoke, which I declined.
Now in camp. I told a few people that I stopped at every opportunity today. They said, "But there were no opportunities?" I laughed and said, "They're there! You gotta really want to find them!"
My plan tomorrow is to leave early and stop at El Gouna resort. I've been seeing it advertised since yesterday, when Rachel and I saw the 200 km to El Gouna sign. By my calculations, we shouldn't be more than 10-20 km from it now. Look forward to seeing it.
... Update. Just talked with Mohamed and Ahmed and one-whose-name-I've-forgotten. They are our Egyptian police security tonight. They've told me that El Gouna is about 25 km from here and "very nice." Great! What could be better than "very nice"? I'm calculating now. If I leave at 6:30 a.m., should be there by 8:00-8:30, just in time for tea or something.
-------------------- TODAY ---------------- TOTAL
Cycled ------------- 59 km (36 mi) --------- 320.5 km (196 mi)
Sagged ------------- 70 km (44 mi) --------- 107 km (67.5 mi)
Total -------------- 129 km (80 mi) --------- 426.5 km (263.5 mi)
In saddle ---------- 2 hrs 39 min ------------ 17 hrs 39 min
Ascended ---------- 509 feet ---------------- 3,409 feet
Wow! Day 3! Best day so far! Great day! Made a pact with myelf not to pass any more nice looking resorts without stopping. Of course, I couldn't keep to the pact unless I didn't cycle so far. Otherwise I'd be in after dark. Daylight hours is an issue, by the way. There's only 11 of them. Gets light at 6:30 a.m. and dark by 5:30 p.m. This is an issue if one wants to (a) ride lots, and (b) stop lots. Oh. And (c) is slow.
No problem though. Started my groove today, with the initiation of the Pact. One slight kink, though I didn't let it get under my skin, is that again there were no resorts! Haha. Got a lift with the bus up to the half-way point, so that with only half the day's cycling ahead of me, there'd be lots of time to soak in all those resorts! Got on the road, started peddling, and felt great. Within 15 minutes, however, Howard passed me! I couldn't believe it! Having started from camp about 2 hours earlier, he passed me after I was on the road 15 minutes! Great! We gave each other friendly waves and hellos.
So then I started looking for good rest opportunities. A beautiful resort would be optimal, but the lack of one didn't deter me. I managed, today on the road, to find 2 "coffee shops" of sorts. Stopped at both of them. They looked a bit like dives, but no problem. At the first one, a man in a turban was sitting outside. I hesitantly walked in and noted they had pepsi and potato chips for sale, along with some other unrecognizable things, so I bought both of the recognizable items. They were playing Egyptian music and I was the only customer, other than the turbaned man outside. The owner tried to chat with me. Our attempts at conversation were not very successful, but he did manage to teach me how to say "I am tired" in Arabic. It's "Ana taabana."
After some time, I mosied on my way. A few more of our folks passed me. "Hi, hi, everything fine? Yep! Great, see you later!" Then, after about 12 miles, I saw "coffee shop" #2! I slowed down and kind of peeped inside. A man came out and said, "Come in! Come in!" Well, who could pass up such an offer? Inside were 3 men and a kid. They were all smoking tobacco through a long pipe that went through coals and water and I'm not sure what else. I didn't quite get the mechanics of it. The tobacco was in there somewhere. Even the kid was smoking.
They were friendly, but nobody spoke a word of English. So I decided to try out, "Ana taabana." I wasn't really tired, but it was the only piece of conversation I knew. It did the trick. They laughed and started talking to each other excitedly. (At that point, I looked out the door and saw the racing peleton go by in a pack. "Wow! They're booking!" I thought.) Before leaving, one of them offered me a smoke, which I declined.
Now in camp. I told a few people that I stopped at every opportunity today. They said, "But there were no opportunities?" I laughed and said, "They're there! You gotta really want to find them!"
My plan tomorrow is to leave early and stop at El Gouna resort. I've been seeing it advertised since yesterday, when Rachel and I saw the 200 km to El Gouna sign. By my calculations, we shouldn't be more than 10-20 km from it now. Look forward to seeing it.
... Update. Just talked with Mohamed and Ahmed and one-whose-name-I've-forgotten. They are our Egyptian police security tonight. They've told me that El Gouna is about 25 km from here and "very nice." Great! What could be better than "very nice"? I'm calculating now. If I leave at 6:30 a.m., should be there by 8:00-8:30, just in time for tea or something.
-------------------- TODAY ---------------- TOTAL
Cycled ------------- 59 km (36 mi) --------- 320.5 km (196 mi)
Sagged ------------- 70 km (44 mi) --------- 107 km (67.5 mi)
Total -------------- 129 km (80 mi) --------- 426.5 km (263.5 mi)
In saddle ---------- 2 hrs 39 min ------------ 17 hrs 39 min
Ascended ---------- 509 feet ---------------- 3,409 feet
Sunday, 14th Jan, 2007
From Desert Camping to Desert Camping
Great day. Cycled down to the Red Sea. Awesome seeing the Red Sea. Just awesome. Didn't sleep a whole lot last night beause our Egyptian security police were having a campfire party in the middle of the tents. I guess they had to have it in the middle of the tents, rather than, say, 50 yards away, because they had to be near us for our security. That's fine - all part of the adventure. Sleep is over-rated anyway.
I rode this morning with Sarah from U.S.A. She's a nice woman. She's done some work with micro-credit loans and things in Kenya.
The morning was lovely. We passed many great-looking resorts, right on the Red Sea. Kept thinking I'd like to stop at one of them, but didn't have time. Decided to definitely make a stop after lunch. Well, after lunch, two things happened. (1) I bonked and could never recover. I became very, very tired. VERY tired. Fell over twice for no apparent reason. (2) Didn't see another resort. They came to an abrupt end at lunch and there was never another. For that matter, no stores or coffee shops either. Nothing. And believe me, I was looking. Just sand, sand, and more sand, with occasional beautiful views of the Sea. And views of mountains as well. No kidding. Egypt is not flat. (Everybody but me probably already knew that, so should probably stop making a big deal about it, huh? After all, there's Mt Sinai. Which I thought was someplace like Jordan or Israel, but probably shouldn't mention that either, huh?)
After about 40 km from lunch, however, and 2 falls, I was just beat. Couldn't go on. I was riding with Rachel (from Australia) who was riding sweep. Sweep means that you ride with the last person. So she called the bus to come pick me up. I didn't care. No pride. I felt great at the end of the day. Exhausted, but in a great way. My goal is to see lots of Africa, and to ride lots. In that order. I expect to ride more than 50% of the route, but that's all I can guarantee.
------------------- TODAY ----------------- TOTAL
Cycled-------------133 km (82 mi) ---------- 261.5 km (160 mi)
Sagged------------- 37 km (23.5 mi) --------- 37 km (23.5 mi)
Total -------------- 170 km (105.5 mi) ------- 297.5 km (183.5 mi)
In Saddle ---------- 7 hrs 30 min ------------- 15 hours
Ascended ---------- 724 feet ----------------- 2,900 feet
Great day. Cycled down to the Red Sea. Awesome seeing the Red Sea. Just awesome. Didn't sleep a whole lot last night beause our Egyptian security police were having a campfire party in the middle of the tents. I guess they had to have it in the middle of the tents, rather than, say, 50 yards away, because they had to be near us for our security. That's fine - all part of the adventure. Sleep is over-rated anyway.
I rode this morning with Sarah from U.S.A. She's a nice woman. She's done some work with micro-credit loans and things in Kenya.
The morning was lovely. We passed many great-looking resorts, right on the Red Sea. Kept thinking I'd like to stop at one of them, but didn't have time. Decided to definitely make a stop after lunch. Well, after lunch, two things happened. (1) I bonked and could never recover. I became very, very tired. VERY tired. Fell over twice for no apparent reason. (2) Didn't see another resort. They came to an abrupt end at lunch and there was never another. For that matter, no stores or coffee shops either. Nothing. And believe me, I was looking. Just sand, sand, and more sand, with occasional beautiful views of the Sea. And views of mountains as well. No kidding. Egypt is not flat. (Everybody but me probably already knew that, so should probably stop making a big deal about it, huh? After all, there's Mt Sinai. Which I thought was someplace like Jordan or Israel, but probably shouldn't mention that either, huh?)
After about 40 km from lunch, however, and 2 falls, I was just beat. Couldn't go on. I was riding with Rachel (from Australia) who was riding sweep. Sweep means that you ride with the last person. So she called the bus to come pick me up. I didn't care. No pride. I felt great at the end of the day. Exhausted, but in a great way. My goal is to see lots of Africa, and to ride lots. In that order. I expect to ride more than 50% of the route, but that's all I can guarantee.
------------------- TODAY ----------------- TOTAL
Cycled-------------133 km (82 mi) ---------- 261.5 km (160 mi)
Sagged------------- 37 km (23.5 mi) --------- 37 km (23.5 mi)
Total -------------- 170 km (105.5 mi) ------- 297.5 km (183.5 mi)
In Saddle ---------- 7 hrs 30 min ------------- 15 hours
Ascended ---------- 724 feet ----------------- 2,900 feet
Saturday, 13th Jan, 2007
From Cairo to Desert Camping.
Leaving Cairo, I had a feeling in my heart I can't explain. As we were being police escorted, first from the hotel to the pyramids, and then from the pyramids out of Cairo, I think it first hit me the magnitude of the whole thing. "Oh my God," I kept thinking, and getting a chill. We had to ride in convoy for about the first 40 km, until we were well outside of Cairo. It was kind of fun. We were riding in a 4-lane traffic highway! But the police were good at showing their toughness and putting on sirens when needed to keep the traffic over so that it didn't splatter us.
Once out of Cairo, we were free to continue at our own pace. It was a lovely day (a bit cold, but that was o.k., if you kept cycling) and the landscape was so ... Egyptian, I guess! Haha. I kept looking around and thinking, "Hey! Little pyraminds!" But then I'd think about it and realize it was just a bunch of rocks or neatly formed sand.
For the record, by the way, Egypt is not flat. It may be desert, but get flat out of the mind. We climbed a total of 2,176 feet. O.k., not exactly mountainous, but not flat!
At night, people were talking about all the months of preparation they'd done for this trip. I kept chuckling because my preparation began at 10:00 p.m., when I started packing, 7 hours before my flight was to leave at 5:00 a.m. Needless to say, I forgot a few things and I didn't have a few other things that were on Tour d'Afrique's "essential to be packed" list. Like spare inner tubes. I'd have brought some with me if I had them. Annett was at my house as I was packing. Her job was to hand me the Super every once in a while, when I asked for a sip of it. I was reading the "essential to be packed" list out loud and kept saying, "Don't have that. Don't have that. Nope, don't have that either." This really worried Annett, you could see her astonishment, so I laughed, suggested she take another sip of Super and said, "Don't worry. Everything'll be just fine." Though I am a bit worried, I must say, about the lack of spare inner tubes. On the plane, I started making a mental list of all the things I'd forgotten. This list included a few key items that I really wish I had, such as my WHO Yellow Card for vaccinations. We need that one to get into some of the coutries we'll pass through. For that matter, we needed it for Egypt, but after some delay, they ended up waving me through at the Cairo airport. A bit worried about that one but I'm hoping Patrick is going to scan it and send it, so I'll have it by the time we reach Sudan. Most of the forgotten items, however, like fingernail clippers and razor blades, are not so essential and can be bought en route. Oh. Also, forgot to call Beckie and give my regrets that I can't make her wedding, even though calling her was on my agenda. No problem. I'll do it in Luxor.
All in all, a great start and feeling tired and great after day 1!!
For those who like the stats, (as I would), here they are:
---------------TODAY ------------TOTAL
Cycled --------127.5 km -----------127.5 km
Sagged --------0 ------------------ 0
Total Dist. -----127.5 km -----------127.5 km
In saddle: ------7 hrs 30 min ------- 7 hrs 30 min
Ascended: ----- 2,176 feet ---------- 2,176 feet
Leaving Cairo, I had a feeling in my heart I can't explain. As we were being police escorted, first from the hotel to the pyramids, and then from the pyramids out of Cairo, I think it first hit me the magnitude of the whole thing. "Oh my God," I kept thinking, and getting a chill. We had to ride in convoy for about the first 40 km, until we were well outside of Cairo. It was kind of fun. We were riding in a 4-lane traffic highway! But the police were good at showing their toughness and putting on sirens when needed to keep the traffic over so that it didn't splatter us.
Once out of Cairo, we were free to continue at our own pace. It was a lovely day (a bit cold, but that was o.k., if you kept cycling) and the landscape was so ... Egyptian, I guess! Haha. I kept looking around and thinking, "Hey! Little pyraminds!" But then I'd think about it and realize it was just a bunch of rocks or neatly formed sand.
For the record, by the way, Egypt is not flat. It may be desert, but get flat out of the mind. We climbed a total of 2,176 feet. O.k., not exactly mountainous, but not flat!
At night, people were talking about all the months of preparation they'd done for this trip. I kept chuckling because my preparation began at 10:00 p.m., when I started packing, 7 hours before my flight was to leave at 5:00 a.m. Needless to say, I forgot a few things and I didn't have a few other things that were on Tour d'Afrique's "essential to be packed" list. Like spare inner tubes. I'd have brought some with me if I had them. Annett was at my house as I was packing. Her job was to hand me the Super every once in a while, when I asked for a sip of it. I was reading the "essential to be packed" list out loud and kept saying, "Don't have that. Don't have that. Nope, don't have that either." This really worried Annett, you could see her astonishment, so I laughed, suggested she take another sip of Super and said, "Don't worry. Everything'll be just fine." Though I am a bit worried, I must say, about the lack of spare inner tubes. On the plane, I started making a mental list of all the things I'd forgotten. This list included a few key items that I really wish I had, such as my WHO Yellow Card for vaccinations. We need that one to get into some of the coutries we'll pass through. For that matter, we needed it for Egypt, but after some delay, they ended up waving me through at the Cairo airport. A bit worried about that one but I'm hoping Patrick is going to scan it and send it, so I'll have it by the time we reach Sudan. Most of the forgotten items, however, like fingernail clippers and razor blades, are not so essential and can be bought en route. Oh. Also, forgot to call Beckie and give my regrets that I can't make her wedding, even though calling her was on my agenda. No problem. I'll do it in Luxor.
All in all, a great start and feeling tired and great after day 1!!
For those who like the stats, (as I would), here they are:
---------------TODAY ------------TOTAL
Cycled --------127.5 km -----------127.5 km
Sagged --------0 ------------------ 0
Total Dist. -----127.5 km -----------127.5 km
In saddle: ------7 hrs 30 min ------- 7 hrs 30 min
Ascended: ----- 2,176 feet ---------- 2,176 feet
Friday, 12th Jan, 2007
Wow, I'm excited. Somebody asked if I was nervous. Nervous about what? Just arrived Cairo. Staying in a nice hotel. Unfortunately, its late and I have to set up my bike, so won't see much of hotel grounds.
While getting some last-minute things in Cairo at night, my taxi driver took me to a tea and perfume shop to do internet. (Had to write to Patrick and ask him to go to my home, get my Yellow Card with proof of vaccination, scan it, and e-mail it to me - a whole other story, don't worry about it.) The owner of the tea and perfume shop, his name was Ahmed. What a charmer! He almost had me buying a bottle of perfume! Had to admit it smelled pretty darn nice. But then I imagined in breaking, getting all over my bike shorts and everything and ... what a mess. Had to say, "No, no, sorry," in the end.
What's this all about? What's all the fuss? I'm about to start a 12,000 km journey through Africa, on bike. I'm uploading the route. Here it is. There are, I think, 31 of us, of many nationalities. About half are seriously racing. The rest of us are touring. All of us are riding our bikes very far over the next four months. We start from Cairo tomorrow morning. We will arrive in Cape Town, South Africa on Saturday, 13th May. As for me? I hope to get in lots of cycling and lots of seeing and experiencing Africa the best way I know how - from a bike. I have no intention of being efi ("every f@k!!@ing inch"), but I'll ride a whole lot.
Just for reference, the official website of the Tour d'Afrique is: www.tourdafrique.com. At that website, you can find what others in the group have to say, and the fund raising. Please if anybody wants to write personal messages to me, use my .yahoo account. Don't use MRC as that one's hard to access.
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