Dongola, Sudan

We're starting to lose track of days.

Day 10 - 21 Jan - It rained overnight - a very rare occurrence here. Today is the Ferry from Aswan - we convoyed across the low dam, then back across the high dam, to get to the ferry terminal. Boarding for us was as unchaotic as could reasnably be hoped. After we were on (about 1230), there was truck after truck, loaded three times higher then the cab top, all unloaded by hand and every box hand-carried onto the ferry, that plus all the local travellers. Departure was four hours late, at 2000. That was a good thing because had we been on time, we would not have gone past Abu Simbal in daylight the next day.

Day 11 - 22 Jan - arrive Wadi Halfa at 1400 after a fairly relaxed ferry ride. Immigration and Customs formalities took a while. The building was bright and clean, people friendly, pace a whole lot more subdued than Egypt. Convoyed about 3 km to camp, getting there with about an hour till sunset. The support trucks have not made it - they were on a different barge - the ferry doesn't take vehicles. One vehicle was there - one that had come up from South Africa and they had arranged for a meal of beans and goat cheese to be brought in locally - it was quite tasty and we all got to bed in good time. Sunset is now about 1830 since there was another hour time change - we're now GMT/UTC +3.

Day 12 - 23 Jan - still no trucks - Lake Nasser was rough during our crossing and apparently when it's like that, the barges just pull in and stop. We get an extra day of rest. The atmosphere in town was just so very relaxed compared to Egypt. We once again had clear skies. We are told that the rain of two days ago is a matter of significant concern here since it damages the sundried brick. A local Nubian - chemical engineer by profession - he has studied in Germany and in Toronto - came to camp and gave us some Nubian history, then showed us his home. Back to camp - vehicles have arrived - the full moon rises, and we have an early start tomorrow - we have to make up the lost day.

Day 13 - 24 Jan - Mornings are about 10 deg. Afternoons mid-to-high twenties. Easy 70 km on good roads this morning. That all changed after lunch. The road was rock and sand and our speed dropped to barely double-digit. But we made it. We hardly saw anyone all day - lots of barren but beautiful desert scenery.

Day 14 - 25 Jan - The plan was 110 km. It took us almost 5 hours to cover the 60 km to the lunch stop. Deep sand in many places meant we did a lot of walking, even though our tire pressures are now quite low - Ursula was still pretty strong at lunch - Rae was dragging, but we decided to keep going, see how far we could get - we were sharing tail-end with another couple. Well Rae's bicycle made the decision. His front tire was flat after lunch - the last of the desert tires - failed at the base of the valve stem just like the other three. We took that as a sign and hopped on the truck for the rest of the trip to camp. Very slow travelling because the roads continued to be very bad. Camp was beside the Nile so we got a sponge bath.

Day 15 - 26 Jan - Another 110 km in even worse roads with lots more sand to push through. But the afternoon rest yesterday was a good thing and we did well till lunch. Afternoon was a bit of a struggle but we got in okay, not even the last ones. A lot of people are having difficulty with the rough roads and heat.

Day 16 - Today - 27 Jan - 86 km today to Dongola. The idea was to stick together as a loose group but that idea fell apart within the first few km. Ursula and Rae got separated so Ursula reported Rae missing. Rae in the meantime had gone back part way to look for Ursula and when he couldn't see anybody at all, he continued down the road where four other riders had gone and which most closely matched last night's instructions. Rae rode totally alone, in sight of no one, for about an hour before catching up on the four ahead. The police eventually 'found' Rae and the other four who were not officially missing, and they had them wait until the rest of the group caught up. Somehow, the main group was off on some much sandier road than the one intended, so Ursula had a few falls and less fun than Rae in the morning. The last 20 km was paved surface, really quite marvellous after the last four days. Caught a ferry across to Dongola and 3 more kilometres to camp in the town zoo. Looks like at one time it was a very nice place with playground for kids and a nice cafe-restaurant. It was all fallen pretty much into disuse. The only remaining zoo resident is a big tortoise that wanders the place at will - it's his. There is water so we all had baths in the red boxes and then got hosed down (warm water) so we're a bit cleaner. Okay - none of you know what a red box is - it is a plastic box that each rider uses on a daily basis to store camping equipment and clothing that is used on riding days - everything else stays in a 'permanent bag' which is on top of the truck under canvas until rest days. Tomorrow is a rest day.

No facility for working photos, so you'll have to wait till Khartoum for that.