Friday 20 February 2015

February 2nd - Desert Camp, Sudan - 88 km


Last night we changed our tires to ones more suitable for off-road and sand.  We were to follow a desert road/track across the desert on our way to the Ethiopian border which we should cross in a couple of days.  It is hard to believe that we will soon be finished with Sudan (and I'm still EFI but I think the hard part for me will be Ethiopia).  It continues to be terrifically hot (+45°C in the sun and a mere 40°C in the shade).  The road was mainly corrugated and where it wasn't, it was loose sand and your tires would sink and if you were lucky you could fishtail through it or at the very least manage to unclip before going down.  My average speed was very slow. There were many falls.


We made coke/water stops at every opportunity and sat under a large shady tree within 5 km of camp to cool off and get some energy back. This evening after we set up our tents, we went to the Nile channel to bathe in the muddy water.  It is amazing what we now consider 'clean'.  This was a very tough day and tomorrow will be the same.  People in the villages are very interested in us and have no problem crowding us and staring.



Below is a photo of an overloaded truck carrying men; it appears that the men and women don't commonly travel together,  as you will see many truck loaded with men and the odd one loaded with women.



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