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
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