Who would hVe expected it to rain in Sudan, after all everything is so dry. It did not only rain during the evening, it stormed, and so hard that I thought i would be blown away with my tent! I left my clothes and boots outside, on my bike, and was expediting the worst with regards to them being wet. However, with the nature of the dry weather in Sudan, it did not take them long to dry, and by the time we hit the road, almost everything, except my boots, are bone dry. The road to Gedaref, os approximately 100 km and lovely tar. By the time we get there, it is starting to get hot,so we decide to stop for some lunch. We find a local eating place near the main bus station, and enjoy some really amazing Sudanese cuisine. Then it is back on the bike towards Wad Medani. He'll, what a nightmare ride. The temperature got so hot that, together with all my biking gear, I thought I was going to die! I guess having a black helmet, in this heat, does not make things easier either. Just put it this was, riding at noon through Sudan was not a very bright idea. Eventually, we arrive it Wad Medani towards the late afternoon. The problem with Sudan is that,there is almost NO tourist infrastructure here so, finding a hotel is bad enough, let alone a campsite! We proceed to try find the hotels mentioned in our travel guide and those on our GPS which, would have been fine if I was not wearing all my biking gear and, it was not 45 degrees in the shade! So eventually, after asking a number of locals and, after driving around town, we find a hotel which is nothing more than a dump. The stinch in the rooms was just too overpowering and even thou they had aircon, the 100 pounds they wanted was a little too hefty. So,we decided to head out of town and see if we could simply bush camp in the desert. The only problem was that, the road now followed the blue Nile so, the chances of finding a solitary spot, with no people, was almost impossible. Eventually, we managed to spot a lovely patch of green grass next to a tree, behind what appeared to be a truckers stop/restaurant. We asked the owner if he minded if we pitch our tents on his patch of grass and he was more than willing,and would not want any payment for it.once again, a sign of how hospitable the Sudanese are as people. We pitched our tent right next to a deep well which, they use to pump water to irrigate their fields. It was interesting sight to see how the entire system worked, the kind of stuff you have heard about for years in books and seen on TV for which you finally seeing in real life. Tents pitched, and showers taken, we decide to support our hosts restaurant and coffee shop for dinner. We are once again treated to some lovely Sudanese food and hospitality, and we finish the night off smoking a shisha pipe.
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| Day 76, 2011/07/16 |
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