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