Sudan

Sudan is a friendly country. We misjudged them after the experience on the barge. We heard that as we approached the border of Sudan, a politician was killed and they were extra alert after that.

After all the foreigners were reunited with their vehicles we left to get our passports stamped at Customs. It was quite an interesting group of people from all over the world. We were the only ones from the African continent. Communication was difficult as there were quite a few language barriers. For a moment I felt what it would have been like to build the tower of Babylon. Asking for sugar was difficult! The foreigners consisted mostly of Germans, Italians, Swiss, French and Netherlanders. We all sat down for lunch together and afterwards we decided on a town where we will all meet up again.  

The port entrance

Convoy of foreigners

The Table of Babylon

We decided to travel together with our Swiss friends, Marko and Daniella. To us the safety was only the second benefit to the good food and chocolates! Daniella's Land Rover had everything, from a multi-fuel stove to a Christmas tree! And they were good cooks too! We lived off tinned food while traveling. The Swiss made better food in the back of their vehicle than most fully equipped restaurants!  And this in the middle of a desert with no other sound or light or people. We traveled together for almost 2 weeks.

We camped in deserts and next to the Nile. Most places were very isolated and we did not see anyone. We always left enough sunlight to pitch camp and have enough light to enjoy the surroundings. And when it got dark we had a couple of curious jackals that came very close to investigate.

Daniella and Marko were both Swiss pilots. Driving..ffff.. in Africa.. Our nights were filled with laughter and star-gazing like Ive never seen before. Marko taught me about the stars and showed me the shapes and formations that we walk under every night, but rarely see.. The next few days we camped in the most beautiful isolated spots and we used a ferry to get across most rivers. And when we found a small town with a place that provides local food, we tried it. Ok, some times we only looked and opened a tin of food.

We were meeting the other travelers in 2 days at a town called Dongola. It was extremely hot, 49'C. Everyone had to find a way to get there as our Gps's only gave a spot on the screen to show where it is, and nothing in-between. We would be driving and then there is a river or a mountain in the way. Finding a way around it some times meant a 50km drive off course and getting lost in the small towns and farms.. We even found small villages that has never seen a white man before. It took us 2 days to get to a town 250km away. Meeting up with the foreigners at Dongola turned out very funny. Some found easy routes, others struggled like us, some people were still lost and some were at the next town, missing Dongola! 

After Dongola everyone split up to see different places. We drove a short distance with our Swiss friends and then we went our separate ways. It was quiet without our friends. As we crossed the next desert the sand turned to powder like coffee creamer. Where dust usually came up and fell behind us, it now came up from the front tires straight up and were making clouds that open and close in front of the windscreen. The next moment our Gps were so confused it thought we were in South Africa! ..Durban.. Recalculating.. Cape Town.. REcalculating.. And we were in the middle of Sudan. Now we were trying to stay in the direction we were traveling. Barely able to see through the dust, lost and unable to stop. If we stopped we might get stuck and we have no one else to pull us out! Best is to keep our momentum going untill the Gps figures out where we are! The next moment there was an opening in the dust and I saw a trench where someone else got stuck, right in front of us. No space around, only way is through. I gave a panicky yell "hold on"! The Landy nose-dived into the hole, then the nose went up into the air, the bonnet with the spare wheel on opening, and with the back hitting the bottom of the trench. As the front wheels came down, the bonnet slammed closed, and then it was a balancing act to keep the Landy from rolling over. As everything returned to normal the Gps also got its bearings in place and we were on route again.