Out of Wadi Halfa

Sudan : Out of Wadi Halfa: Day 43 January 25th

We are delighted to have got out of Wadi Halfa after five days which was caused not by administration but by delay in unloading the totally impractical barge used for carrying four vehicles perched precariously, and one motorbike.  The discharge of these proved somewhat difficult, but we are now free!  The motorcyclist, Stephan, has now joined our “fleet”. Treatt I.T department may have noticed a reduction in the number of calls logged to the help desk from the Sudan this is because Stefan is an I.T administrator in Germany so we are all set whilst he accompanies us. Thanks to him we are now accessing a good map on our GPS so perhaps we will find ferries and the like rather more quickly.....

Camping on the banks of the Nile on our first night was scenic but sloping, leading to some nocturnal sliding.  The next day we spent two and one half hours looking for a ferry to cross to the medieval ruins of Old Dongola, but once we had reversed onto the “ro-ro” ferry, we were requested to show our permission to travel on this ferry.  Despite some strong remonstrations by Hugo, we ended up driving 25km each way to a government office and a police station for written permission.  We took the ferry eventually,( normal list price Sudanese £ 10), camped under palm trees (as normal) and visited the disappointing ruins the following day (after obtaining yet another permit from yet another police station and ticket office).  If Egypt is famous for bureaucracy, Sudan should be notorious!  The people, however, are charm incarnate!  Having located an unused piece of land 80’ x 15’ in a plantation of palm trees, we were approached by the owner who (much to our surprise in a Sharia governed  dry country) was somewhat inebriated.  It seems, much to Hugo’s pleasure, we had inadvertently located the supply source of the local alcohol brewed from dates.  The individual (probably named Mohammed!) disappeared to find a wise old gentleman of 65 who spoke perfect English and could discuss Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas and John Steinbeck (having also written two books in English, one on the abolition of slavery and the other one entitled “Mangled America”).   He explained that alcohol was a problem in the Sudan, and that contrary to our belief the Sudan had everything.  He also warned us of drunken youths, scorpions, snakes and mosquitoes. We were not sure which to be most concerned about.  He spent six months at Leeds University in 1965.  The fact that the British Government would have subsidised his English education, as well as the World Service, can only benefit travellers such as us!

We visited the Temple of Soleb built by the same individual who built one at Luxor. There was graffiti from the 1800s including the name Hanbury which amused us. ( Ru a relation ?)

 Today we had significant off road driving as we crossed some deserts as a result of us not wishing to pay the inflated price of 20 Sudanese pounds ($9 )for the return ferry journey, and more importantly  because we did not have a return permit !

We have been asked why does the UK no longer support education for foreigners as strongly?

Why is the signal of the Chinese Radio service more powerful than the BBC world service on short wave radio ?

Would English farmers be as welcoming as these Sudanese who have almost nothing apart from  the waters of the Nile for irrigation. 

For those who are interested we are still plagued by the local mosques {quitos} at all hours.

After breakfast it takes us about an hour to pack up and an hour to find the correct road despite being rather more proficient with the GPS which certainly did not show the majority of roads till we met Stefan. We are normally looking not for the brand new road built by the Chinese but the old road which will show us more interesting sites. The GPS acts as a guide to our general direction and during the last few days before we learnt how to use it, it showed us where we are in relationship to the Nile.  We normally look for somewhere to camp at around 15.30 as it can take an hour or two to locate a good place which meets a few of our strict criteria :no still water , no dust , no people living nearby and flat sleeping surfaces etc .We normally achieve a few of these. It is true to say that we are an enigma for the Sudanese people as not many people camp on their land but they are truly friendly. Not having Blackberry email access makes this part of the trip more real.