Desert Coloured Sand
‘My name is Jenna. I have been sobre for 5 days. I just keep cycling through the desert, sometimes I see dead camels.’ This was tonights dinner time conversation. Sudan is still continuing to impress. We have had three cycling days, one bus day, and one rest day. What I thought was going to be ‘monotonous and boring desert’ actually provided a very interesting day, with plenty to see. So far the desert has been much more entertaining that the Egyptian desert. Today we had 143km to ride, and after the rest day I was a bit nervous. We have 3 days of 140-150km, and then one 85km day to take us to Khartoum. There was a very enjoyable tail wind for the first 130km! Leaving Dongola was very cold, for the first time in over a week I regretted not sleeping on my bed as the ground was making me cold. I delayed putting my bag on the truck for as long as possible, so I could hold onto my down jacket until we were ready to go. Hitting the road at about 6.30 we crusied through the early morning streets. It is really nice riding through these towns/cities early in the morning as they have a sleepy feel to them, people are out, and going about their normal routines and you are free to observe without providing much of a distraction. There is something quite calming and insightful about leaving the towns at this time of day, not to mention alot easier and safer when on a bike! Steph and I remarked that we felt we were forgetting something as we left camp, but really there is not alot you can forget when you pack everything into a bag everyday. I assumed it was because i wasn’t wearing a backpack for the extra layers I have been wearing in Egypt. Twenty five minutes into the ride, just as we turned onto the main highway South I realised I had forgotten something - my passport copy, and my photo taking permit. They were in my backpack from visiting the Sudanese pyramids yesterday. Alistair and I joked about not being able to take any pictures for the day, and having to keep my head down. Then the police waved us down… A tall well built man dressed in a white uniform, with a hat and badge was standing at the side of the road. He stepped onto the road and waved the seven of us into the hard shoulder. There was some confusion as to what he was wanting. Lesa, assuming it was a police check point, started to pull out and wave around her documents. I was cringing and, Alistair was telling her not to offer anything unless asked. He lined us all up along the road, and then called his friend over. A less well dressed, shorter and slighter man, definitely a minor rather than major player. He pulled his phone from his pocket. Maurice then started trying to say something to him before Alistair, again, managed to quieten him with, ‘Don’t encourage him, comply and let’s get this over with’. The man in white handed his phone to his friend and came to stand with us…for a picture! Suddenly it was all clear, and I was much relieved. Numerous pictures were taken, somewhat hurried as we were all a bit concerned it may turn official at any point. We took our leave without any delay or invitation, every bit on edge. Sudanese people have been very friendly and welcoming so far. The females were strictly warned by Tallis to keep covered up out of respect. I have no long or non tight shorts to wear on the bike, but carry my bargain Luxor scarf on the bike to wear as a skirt when we stop at any shops. I also make sure I have my shoulders covered while cycling. There is an aversion to photo taking among the majority of the population. The need to ask permission before taking any photos is paramount: - Marty, Maurice and Anton came across a blacksmith in Dongola yesterday. They asked to take a picture and the man consented. Pictures taken, all happy, they continued their walk up the street. A man in blue appeared, with a security card and was very irrate about them having taken a picture. He was telling them to go to the security office. They had done nothing wrong, the blacksmith wasn’t concerned, but they needed to make an exit promptly. They waved down a tuktuk and hopped in. The security card guy told the tuktuk driver to take them to the security office - as he started up they jumped ship. There was a phone store nearby, which they had been in before, so I understand they legged it to the phone shop to hideout in there. They sent a Watsapp message ‘Urgent assistance required at the Zain store.’ Tallis the tour leader and our Sudanese fixer both received the message and headed to the store. Our Sudanese fixer got there first. There was much conversation in Arabic. Turns out the gentleman in blue is known to them, and can be a bit of a trouble maker aka village idiot. No trip to the security office needed. But no action or words spoken to blue tshirt guy either!
- Three days ago, on our cycle to Dongola. Maurice stopped in a small town called El Beer (I think he was with Trixie, although not sure), and was taking a jaunt down some streets, as Maurice does, when a police man turned up and was quite aggressive in his manner. He demanded to see his passport and picture permit. Maurice, like me, only carries a copy of his passport on his bike and so produced this. The gentleman was unimpressed, and took off with it at a very fast pace. The pair had to follow them on this bikes. The ended up in this dark room, with the policeman looking for a photocopier, which was non existent, At some point the man found a phone and took a picture of the document. They returned to the street, with the man looking for more support. A man who they had been taking selfies with turned up and told them it was a closed town, no tourists allowed and they really needed to get back on the main road. They made their exit while the man was distracted! Both stories have made me a little wary of where I go and what I do! I have certainly taken less pictures, and asked before taking them…about 60% of people say no when you ask if you can take a picture of them. Mainly the older ones. Back to the desert cycle. There always seems to be something to look at here. Initially there was farmland, crops and even a big irrigator, as we left Dongola. It was nice to see some green fields - not extensive, maybe a couple of hectares lining the road for about 10km. Then the rocky desert began, slightly reddish/grey. There were settlements/concrete buildings every 10km or so. Pretty small, and not appearing to harbour much of a population. We often passed pairs of people just waiting at the side of the road also, usually by a km marker/mosque/settlement. I assume they were waiting for buses. They usually would wave and reciprocate a hello. One man was standing in the middle of the lane waving a bottle of juice - I assume trying to sell them. I dropped off the group to take some layers off and spent most of the morning cycling by myself. It was such an enjoyable ride, and the conditions were perfect for solo cycling, I was almost disappointed when I caught up with ‘the Party Bus’ (that is Jenna, Alistair and David, along with Steph and Karen) who had stopped to fix a puncture. Alistair’s Schwalbe tyres had failed!
An inch long screw was lodged deeply in the centre of the tyre. Anyone who rides Schwalbe Marathon’s will know how difficult they are to get on and off! Alistair as a special lever tool type thing to get it back on, much more efficient! I carried on by myself after lunch. Generally the wind continued to come from behind, although the road turned a bit more generating a cross wind and at the very end a head wind. The scenery was also different after lunch. It was more sandy desert - with desert coloured sand…’the colour that you imagine a desert to be’ (thanks Jenna). I passed a few camel trains, the odd dead camel, but now mostly live and in groups, herded by people on foot, with sticks. The traffic has become alot less cyclist tolerant. There are four main vehicles on the road: - Small smart car type things which generally give you space when they overtake, and appear to be personal vehicles but often carry multiple passengers. - Cattle/cargo trucks which are very brightly coloured, often have musical horns, Will beep and move over to give you space, slow down marginally. - Minibuses which carry about 15 people. I think these operate as local shuttles/buses. Not scheduled, you wait by the road and when it passes it will pick you up. Usually have bags/furniture/nondescript items tied to the roof. Drive fast, and aggressively, generally give you space when they overtake. But they will overtake when you’re coming the other direction. - Coaches. These stop for no one and nothing. The beep at you, to tell you to get out the way and then pass you with no space and no at breakneck speed. Assumed to be long distance bus service/intercity. Such vehicles make cycling more nerve racking. I am cycling on the line, and pull as far over as possible when anything is anticipated. It;s hard to make the call between
falling off the road into the deep hardcore that the tarmac merges abruptly into, or risking the vehicle from behind. No casualties so far. There is also a continent of Toyato flat decks - one of which kept leap frogging me, with two camels sitting on the deck! Made it to the infamous ‘Dead Camel Camp’ by 1.30 - named appropriately. It was a well timed arrival as I was just starting to feel the sun through the wind.
The routine for the moment is to arrive, sit and have a drink/soup, pitch tent, set up solar panel to recharge battery pack, wet wipe wash and get changed (important for hygiene and prevention of saddle sores) and then free time until 5pm when rider briefing and dinner fills the hour until darkness. Most people are in bed by 8pm latest! Today it was so windy that it took multiple people to pitch a tent, at least one extra person was required to hold the thing so it didn't blow away!
There was a canal by Dead Camel Camp however it wasn’t very appealing for a swim, with algae floating along and deep claylike mud. I gave it a miss, although David, Rich and Jenna looked pretty refreshed after their dip. This evening at dinner our Sudanese fixer, Allam, started telling us about Sudan. It was really interesting have a somewhat brief inside view: their opinion of Americans has gone up since the sanctions were lifted (previously they were very negative); school is free for primary but secondary need to buy their owns books etc, further study is self funded; literacy rates are about 40% (in Arabic); they start learning English at secondary school; agriculture is the biggest employer…The Chinese have funded the tarseal which we are enjoying, albeit ‘cheap Chinese tarmac’ which has become rough and corrugated in sections - presumably because it was not built on properly prepared foundations. Their investment was so as they could access the minerals - Gold, Cobalt and Manganese, I think
.Another 143km through the desert tomorrow. We are all praying for tailwind, a headwind of the strength of todays wind would certainly hinder sprites and progress! Directions are pretty straight forward - one roundabout at km which we go straight over. Hopefully tonight and tomorrow morning won’t be as cold, will try and start off with less layers on the bike so i have less to carry too.
