Sudan

by Kathy

19th - 29th October (Metema - Gedaref - Khartoum - Meroe - Korti - Dongola - Abri - Halfa)

As we plied the road from Gondor to Metema I found myself entertaining unexpected butterflies in my stomach. I don't think I'd felt nervous approaching a country since, I dunno, some Silly-Stan in previous years, so it caught me off guard.



This was an irrational fear. I knew this because all travellers' tales of crossing Sudan regale its warm hospitality proving the highlight of every overlander's trip. I also knew it was irrational because my 'ratio-meter', Mr A F Butcher, sat beside me is only capable of measured responses to any given situation. Some things warrant feelings of fear (1) or not (0), and was clearly current ly set at 0.




Still, in saying that, the Sudanese embassies in Pretoria and Addis had made it pretty clear that they didn't like strangers around those there parts. And Sudan, previous state sponsor of terrorism and former axis of evil shortlist contender is not the greatest friend of the US and, by transferrence, the UK. This had been confirmed by the US national seen running from the Addis embassy in floods of tears. With all this in mind, how on earth would they receive us at the border?



Turns out with a nice cup of mint tea and an offer of a bed for the night to rest. The border staff were most concerned at Alex's post-Kitfo health, and so we sat at the border, drinking tea, discussing Alex, and moving on to education, politics and local infrastructure. These discussions were punctuated by the occasional stamp or perusing of papers and offers of more tea.



We sipped our tea with some post-Ethiopia suspicion. Indeed Alex opted to reject his tea outright behind the immigration building. But as the minutes ticked by we realised there was no catch. It was as if we were being hosted rather than processed; a border first. After 2 hours we prised ourselves away and finally drove off. Really, that's all you need in Sudan - time and tea.



Arriving in the first major town was equally as straightforward. A friendly motorcyclist guided us to the bank of our choice, where a friendly policeman took over the assistance. As Alex went to change money I nervously guarded the vehicle, but people merely smiled or greeted me as they went on with their day. I felt like we'd been released from some kind of siege.



As I sat there was a minor collision of a car and a minibus right in front of our Landi. I ducked down behind the wheel, waiting for the fireworks to start, but they never came. The policeman intervenced, helping the drivers negotiate, with no raised voices or tempers in sight. Everything was resolved in such a relaxed way, before Alex had had a chance to say 'Change Dollar?'.



And so the scene was set for the transit through Sudan. There was desert, driving, time and tea. Khartoum's red tape misery was offset by a loverly stay with a friend's friend Stephanie, working for IOM, who gave us the lowdown on their work in southern Sudan and more.



Northwards to the Nile, with more tea, but pyramids and ancient temples added to the mix. We learnt the true meaning of 'furtouk' (sp??), which entails being welcomed for tea and refreshments, in the villages along the way. A typical encounter may look like:



Step 1: Invited for tea through hand gestures. Tea is served, smiles exchanged

Step 2: Names, origins and marital status established through much gesturing in the absence of common language. This included audit of people present and their relationship to the home owner

Step 3: Opinions canvassed o global figures such as Barack, Bush, Brown, Blair and Beckham, and other celebrities brought to you by the letter 'B'. Opinions registered using the 'Thumbs Up/Down' mechanism e.g.



Barack = 'Thumbs Up' + smiling face

Bush = 'Thumbs Down' + sad face



Kathy & Alex abstain from any voting on Al-Bashir



Step 4: Complicated ranking system of above celebrities using hand gestures and stick in sand

Step 5: Petition of thanks and extrication



These exchanges were often as hilarious as awkward to all involved and really made the long journeys shorter. We were once asked if we thought Sudan was dangerous we laughed tea through our noses.



In saying that, Sudan's leadership is, of course, appalling, prolonging localised conflicts in the south for political gain. This topic never came up in our trip and, in any case information is tightly controlled. In the north of Sudan Al-Bashir's government is rated pretty highly (read 'Thumbs Up') as many African leaders because 1. he's been in power for a long time 2. he's built roads. By these criteria Stalin and Mao also start looking a little rosier. Anyway, it certainly wasn't the time or the place to discuss...



And enjoy Bashir's roads we did, losing the tar only in the very northern section of the Nile. This was the very highlight of the trip, as we spent 3 days weaving the 400km through villages, low on fuel and money. En route the local road contractors even took us under their wing during a tyre change, putting us up at 2 of their guesthouses along the way. Words couldn't describe the joy of a hot shower and wonderful home cooking. We came to Sudan expecting the worst food and found some of the best.



So we arrived at Halfa with 4 litres of fuel in the tank and 0.50c in our wallet. We got our ferry tickets, parked Andi on a barge and set off for Egypt.