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Sunday 13th March After spending some time with Stephan and Fritzi, we made our way to Midhat's office. There was no way we were going to cycle that day so we weren't going to rush anything. Midhat had kindly fixed the puncture that had appeared the night before, and after some final checks we were ready to leave. We still felt really frustrated in taking Midhat's wheel, and although he didn't want us to, we promised to arrange for a new one to be sent out to him as soon as we could. Leaving Khartoum wasn't so easy but we eventually managed to find a taxi that would take us to the main gate of the city. A policeman at the checkpoint we were dropped off at hailed a Toyota pick-up for us. It already seemed full with the family that were in it, but somehow we were wedged in, with the bike in the back and were on our way. Five minutes into the journey conversation turned to money and in particular how much we were to pay for the journey. They wanted 50 dinars for what would cost 4 dinars by public transport. He refused to stop, trying to bring the price down to 30 dinars but there was no way we were paying that much. Eventually, he let us go, apologising (insincerely) as if there was no way he could charge us less. At the next police block we walked to, we met some men who recognised us from 2 days before. We explained our dilemma and they got us a place on a bus which had been stopped. We had originally not wanted to take a bus as the bike could get easily damaged on the roof but by this point we just wanted to get the journey over with. One of the policemen kindly paid for our tickets so again in Sudan we had a free journey. The bus was quite slow, stopping everywhere but as the village got closer, we started to get more excited about getting back to the family who had made us feel so comfortable. It wasn't long before we were sat eating stew, drinking orange squash and chatting with the family as if we'd lived there for years. Everyone was so happy to see us and vice-versa. They told us to treat this as our home and them as our family. It was so nice being back in a house where we could have long chats, laugh with everyone and where even the women can take the mickey out of Kate. Sumeya gave Kate a small bottle of perfume and one of his daughters gave her hair bobbles to support her dwindling collection! As we were very tired, they happily let us have a wash from the bucket and a sleep until early evening. Not long after we awoke, Tahib brought us more tea and some donuts and before long we had his and Hasebo's extended family and lots of children chatting and laughing with us. Doria and Armani wanted to put henna on Kate's hands and feet the next morning and it was really hard not to give in to Hasebo's persuasion to stay another day. We really would have loved to have spent more time there but we knew time was slipping a little and we were not sure how many more delays the wheel might cause so we had to leave the next day. They let us have an early night, and we slept soundly, comfortable in the familiar surroundings. Monday 14th March After some sweet white tea and donuts, we said our final sad farewells to the family. They had been so incredibly kind and hospitable and we could say so typically Sudanese. From here to Wad Medani it was another 70km along the very busy dangerous road. We stopped halfway between Hana Hissa and Wad Medani for a Pepsi in a roadside café. They refused to let us pay. We reached the town at about lunchtime and after asking for directions found the main souq/bus station, where there was a host of cheap eateries all clamouring for our custom. We stopped in the one for very good food but it was so hot and busy that we felt we couldn't rest there. We decided to push on and see what we could find on the road out of town. We turned east towards Gedaref heading straight into a strong headwind. We crossed over the Nile for the last time, knowing that we had over 200km of mere nothingness ahead of us. We came across a little shai house and stopped for our afternoon rest. It wasn't the most pleasant place to spend any time and some of the people made us feel uncomfortable. Paul also began to feel very low. We were both tired and it was getting close to the end. After a few hours of clocking watching and Pepsi drinking we were pretty relieved to leave, only to find ourselves fighting against the wind again and briefly being engulfed in a small but ferocious sandstorm. The road turned a little bit south again and the going got a bit easier. We stopped at some water jars at the side of the road to restock. Whilst we were there we were approached by a man from Gedaref who almost demanded that we stay in his house when we arrived. The problem was, that he seemed too pushy and made us feel very uncomfortable. We took his telephone number to placate him but had no intention of ringing it. Not long after we came across a garage where we could get another cold drink. We sat there quite tired chatting to the locals when a bus pulled up and guess who was on it. 'Pushy' man was here again, but miraculously we managed to avoid talking to him. We made a hasty exit and kept on riding until the sun started to set. We stopped outside a very small village on the side of the road and got talking to some of the men there. When we asked there seemed to be no problem sleeping in the village. In fact, they seemed really pleased to have white folk for the night. We were shown to a small house with 2 beds by a man called Memkin. Immediately we were served with food and shai. The 2 beds were then taken outside so that we could have a cooler night's sleep, and they arranged for some water and a tray for us to have a hamman or shower. It was really refreshing to wash all over. It was a pleasant evening sitting on the beds, talking with half the villagers. Everyone was naturally curious and wanted to say hello. In every village we go to, you can always guarantee that there is someone who will speak good English. With there being no electricity in the village the whole village went to bed soon after it went dark, allowing us an early night. Tuesday 15th March 5220.9 miles, El Fau, Sudan They went to bed with the sun and arose with the sun, and so like us everyone was up early. After some tea and biscuits, courtesy of our hosts, we were back on the even windier road again. There was a police checkpoint after about 20km where we again had to register. After shai and a toilet stop we were on our way again, turning ever more northwards into the wind. We struggled to make progress against the elements, rarely making anything above 10 or 11km/hour. There were also lots of trucks, buffeting us dangerously as they went past. At around midday, we struggled through the small town of El Fau, and pulled into one of the numerous truck stops at the other end. When we arrived here, we were exhausted with low morale, and so felt particularly sensitive to the staring, whispering and giggling. It didn't make for a great start, but after some food and a shai (which they didn't let us pay for) followed by a cold Pepsi, we started to feel a bit more at ease. Paul is still feeling really low about the road ahead and Kate is finding it really difficult to encourage him. This road is such a tough prospect at the best of times but having the misery prolonged by 2 days of sorting out a broken wheel have made it all a bit too much so close to the end. . . . The road proved too much for Paul. We started out again from El Fau, struggling into the wind and the still intense heat. It was obvious how hard Paul was finding it as even when the wind dropped, he failed to push his speed far into double figures, and with every km the road turned further north into the wind. Paul had had enough, and we stopped at the roadside for some water, biscuits and to talk about our options. Kate still really wanted to continue cycling but knowing how bad it had become for Paul, she willingly agreed to try to hitch the last 140km to Gedaref. We were in luck, as the first vehicle we tried stopped for us. The driver of the Land rover pick-up was a very nice man named Khalifa who agreed to drive us the last stretch, and even bought us drinks on the way. Sitting in the back of the pick-up, as we drove the monotonous last miles of tarmac, was at least for Paul, a ride far more enjoyable than the prospect of having to pedal at all. Facilities were sparse on the road and the scenery became less and less interesting. He dropped us in the centre of town outside a hotel and after refusing our offers of money, gave us his business card and drove off. This hotel turned out to be almost western and very expensive so obviously not an option for us! We pedalled into the souq and found ourselves a reasonable room with a fan at the Amir Hotel. Whilst Paul was sussing out the rooms, Kate had found herself surrounded by scores of locals, particularly interested in her because she spoke a little Arabic. They demanded information on our trip, our bikes and our baggage and their contents. As you can imagine, Kate was a little relieved when Paul came to the rescue. As we were checking in, we heard familiar voices - Stephan and Fritzi had just arrived by bus and had found themselves in the next room to us in the same hotel. We were going to have to stop meeting like this! Gedaref initially seemed a strange town. We were immediately located by the local 'train spotters', (guys whose hobby it is to meet people from as many countries as possible and have a photograph with them, ticking them off as if they were a species of bird!) Gamar and Awad. Paul somehow found himself agreeing to breakfast at Gamar's house the next day. Awad, on the other hand, insisted on joining us, uninvited, for dinner, making what would have been a relaxed evening into an awkward one. Just to placate him we all agreed to visit his house the next evening to meet his family. He was particularly interested in the 2 of us as Sam, Chris and Julien had already forewarned him of our approach. How wonderful and kind they were - we wonder what Julien made of spending a night at this man's house! Wednesday 16th March Wednesday morning Kate was not feeling so good … it was that time of the month again, so Paul went to Gamar's house alone. It was actually quite pleasant and they were able to have reasonably decent and interesting conversations, even if Bob Marley seemed to be his main source of inspiration! Food came quite late and so Paul's breakfast engagement lasted until almost 1 o'clock. He saw no other member of the family and actually had to ask to meet them before he went home. We find this so unusual in a country where family is so important. That evening's dinner at Awad's was far less of an enjoyable occasion. He had a lovely family which he seemed ashamed of, and once he had shown us his photos of other tourists, he seemed barely interested in us. It appeared to be more of a hardship for him to have us and he just treated tourists like trophies to be photographed and then left. We didn't really receive the amazing hospitality he had promised us. He is a very strange man and not typical of the Sudanese. He took us briefly to his brother's house before we finally managed to persuade him to take us back to the hotel where we could feel relaxed again. Although we had planned to stay another day, we told him we were leaving the next morning so that we could avoid any more awkward evenings. Thursday 17th March 5230.3 miles, Gedaref, Sudan This morning we had a relatively early start, so that we could miss the heat and have a walk around the souq. We had a pleasant shai and breakfast on the street before taking a leisurely stroll through the back streets of the busy market. Like most of the middle eastern souqs, there was a wonderful array of colours, sounds and smells and just like the rest of the Sudan, everyone was smiling and happy to se us. People must have found us white folk strange wandering around but always greeted us with kindness and respect. As the temperature rose and we all started becoming sweaty we traipsed back to our hotel for an afternoon rest, and so here we are writing our diary. Although we've really enjoyed our time in Sudan, meeting the people and seeing the different landscapes, one thing we certainly won't miss is the oppressive heat, which after a month has started to get a bit much. For our last evening meal in Gedaref we went to a restaurant in the local mini-bus station and tucked into some excellent fuul with cheese and salad, followed by sugared donuts as a wee treat. So far that day we had been successful in avoiding the dreaded Awad but unfortunately on our return, who should be waiting outside our hotel but le monsieur. We were in no mood for any nonsense so made our abrupt excuses and scarpered inside. We did need our beauty sleep as we had planned to get up at 5.30 the next morning. Friday 18th March Even with this early start, we didn't get onto the road till 7.00 but this was probably just as well as we needed to ask for directions a number of times as we wound our way up through the town to find the dirt road south to Gallabat. Despite the main central road being badly corrugated we were lucky in finding smoother side sections which were quite fast and almost fun! After a quick shai stop in a teahouse run by a very old lady with 'asbestos fingers', we plodded on and had done about 45km when we found a roadside stop for lunch. Getting closer to Ethiopia we had hoped to start gaining height but the midday heat was still too much and we had an uncomfortable few hours trying to find some rest. The restaurant there did serve delicious fuul though - two in as many days - wow. Who said we were getting bored with fuul! In the afternoon, the road didn't get much better and to top it all off we were frustrated by Kate and Fritzi's well-timed punctures (no sexist comments please!), which were both difficult to find and mend. Luckily the last 15km of road had been resurfaced and were smooth running and we relatively sped to the village of Dokka. After speaking to the police we cycled into town in search of some shai and a place to rest. Although we knew there were no hotels in Dokka we were fairly certain on finding a café where we would find someone who would know where we could sleep. We soon got chatting to some very friendly Egyptian workmen who quickly introduced us to Abu Rachman, a young man from the village. He was very keen to have us stay in his home for the night so we followed him through the streets to his seemingly wealthy family's compound. They had a car, a donkey, a calf, their own latrine and lots of space. Beds were soon brought out and we were served food and tea. As we were eating we were introduced to family and friends. It was a pleasant meeting but what we expected to be short turned into a long and exhausting night. It was the first time in Sudan that we found ourselves hinting to be left alone, (it's not that we were ungrateful for the hospitality but normally the hosts we've met have been completely aware of our need for rest after a day's bike ride!) and it was a late night for us - 11pm! Saturday 19th March They served us tea the next morning before showing us the road which got steadily worse as the morning went on. During the morning we found little chance for rest or shelter and so we were very hot and sweaty by the time we came across a huge souq in the middle of nowhere, but where we could find a semi-decent restaurant. The land was very dry there and there was very little shade to be had under the restaurant's temporary shelter. We did, however, provide entertainment for all the children who were happy to stand quietly at a distance, curiously watching us fix our punctures (Kate and Fritzi again!) and eat our food. (Our 3rd fuul in the row was definitely not as good as the previous 2!). It was amusing to watch the game being played between the restaurant owner and the children. Disconcertingly he would get out a length of hose pipe and whip any child's unfortunate behind if they happened to get too close, at which the boys would run off giggling and screaming only to furtively return - what fun!? It was very hot when we left but the afternoon seemed to pass relatively quickly. We started to see a change in landscape with a few more trees and we could hear birdsong again - something we had been missing since Egypt. There was just one big hill before we descended into the dry river valley that was the border between Sudan and Ethiopia. Anywhere else on the road - blink and you would miss Gallabat it is so small, but it was here that we had to go through all our exit formalities before entering our next and final country. There were 3 offices to visit - registration, customs and immigration. This is a bureaucratic nightmare, as you had to fill out the same forms in each office, with the only change being that immigration gave you an exit stamp at the end. The border crossing itself, which was due to close at nightfall, was just a small bridge which we were propelled across into the Ethiopian border town of Metema. This was all done in such a rush that we never felt we had time to say goodbye to what had become one of our favourite countries. The Ethiopian passport control set off the road in a tiny little hut was very friendly and efficient. We'd heard rumours that customs here were particularly thorough when searching bags but our luck was holding out as the officer had already gone home so we were ushered through unchallenged. We were now in Ethiopia. Throughout this whole process we had been 'guided' by 2 Ethiopian lads whose apparent only intention was to provide us with an exchange service. When we reached our grubby and seedy-looking hotel we exchanged the last of our Sudanese dinars and euros (at a very poor rate) only for them to demand more money for their unrequested guiding service. Obviously we had no intention of paying but this was, sadly, the worst possible introduction to Ethiopia, especially after being in Sudan where it's a way of life to help people for no personal gain. This is disappointingly quite common in Ethiopia where young people attach themselves to you, offer no useful service and expect money in return. Metema itself is also not a great introduction to Ethiopia. Certain Arabs, restricted by the prohibition in Sudan, take advantage of the no-visa requirement in Metema, and come across for some hard drinking and to sample the ladies of easy virtue. Our hotel seemed to be where most of this activity took place so we were not surprised when we had a hot noisy raucous night. Finding sleep was not easy, especially with the unwanted visitor of a rat during the night. Our delightful guest decided to chew a nice but neat hole in one of Paul's front panniers and only stopped its raid once we'd blocked the hole in the wall with rocks! Love Kate and Paul x
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Challoner's, Fasiledes, Amersham, Buckinghamshire