Day 106
Sleeping location: The Nubian, Wadi Halfa, Sudan
Distance (km today/total): 79 / 8285
Estimated climb (m today/total): 100 / 59200
Banknotes received: approx 500
Day in three words: Hey there Sudan
We were up very early for the boat, which allowed us to see a beautiful sunset over the water and the temples. There were already tourists there at 6am and I dread to think what it’s like once all the tour groups arrive from Aswan. At the boat there was of course loads of waiting, but this was good as it allowed us to meet Alberto and Javi from Madrid. They are cycling Cairo to Cape, but Alberto had been hit by a moped (whilst walking, not cycling) just south of Cairo so they had taken the bus south whilst he healed. They went ahead to the border on the bus but we kept bumping into them throughout the day.
The boat ride was chaotic but beautiful. Lake Nasser is huge and because it’s unnatural it has loads of strange lumps sticking out of the water. One was white instead of the usual brown, and on coming closer we saw that it was the designated Bird Island; thousands of cormorants nested on the lower reaches and hundreds of pelicans got the prime spots up high. I will leave you to figure out why it was white. After disembarking there was a gorgeous stretch between the lake and the desert, with a thin stripe of green in the middle where a handful of people were trying to eke out a living. An enormous cloud of pelicans flew overhead at a distance and were visible for about half an hour.
The border was the usual Egyptian chaos, plus the standard removal of money from the foreigners, for one last time. We each had to pay 260 (£13) “transit fee” which was almost certainly just made up on the spot. The Spaniards paid 150. There was a longish wait for our passports to be stamped out, but the chaos potentially helped as the border guard didn’t notice (or care) that we had technically overstayed our visa by a day. When we arrived at the Sudan side of the border it was closed and there was a confused crowd (including A&J) hanging around outside the gates. When it did open, about 20 minutes later, it was only for some of us and only for a limited time. I almost didn't make it as it’s difficult to push a bike and eat a sandwich at the same time. Initial impressions of Sudan were peculiar: the entry form told us that “life is better without drugs” and the customs inspection officer was oddly, almost concerningly, upbeat.
Immediately we were beset by people offering to change money. The Sudanese pound is weak so there’s a black market, and it isn’t on international banking networks so we can’t use the ATMs, so all our spending needs to be done with cash brought into the country. I had USD but Rebecca had Egyptian money, which she needed to exchange quickly as it would become less valuable the further away from Egypt she got. At the border she got 5000 SP and I got 4000, but apparently the largest common note is the 50 (worth about 50p), so we both ended up with a pretty thick wedge weighing us down on the cycle to the first town, Wadi Halfa. Thankfully there was a powerful tailwind which sped us through the 30km in about an hour.
In WH we had to register with the police as “aliens” but the office was closed for the day so we decided to stay overnight. Rebecca made the decision to change the rest of her money at this point and ended up with about 20000 SP, which equates to a stack of notes literally 10cm thick. We had dinner at a place recommended by A&J, which judging by the sign may have contained camel meat, but was tasty nonetheless. It also only cost 150 and made us worry that we have too much money. So far Sudanese people seem very nice, they are very friendly and helpful but way less forward than Egyptians. The extremely cheap hotel that A&J were staying at was full so we had to settle for a merely very cheap one. It was basic and had strange beds made of string, but like I said, very cheap.
Distance (km today/total): 79 / 8285
Estimated climb (m today/total): 100 / 59200
Banknotes received: approx 500
Day in three words: Hey there Sudan
We were up very early for the boat, which allowed us to see a beautiful sunset over the water and the temples. There were already tourists there at 6am and I dread to think what it’s like once all the tour groups arrive from Aswan. At the boat there was of course loads of waiting, but this was good as it allowed us to meet Alberto and Javi from Madrid. They are cycling Cairo to Cape, but Alberto had been hit by a moped (whilst walking, not cycling) just south of Cairo so they had taken the bus south whilst he healed. They went ahead to the border on the bus but we kept bumping into them throughout the day.
The boat ride was chaotic but beautiful. Lake Nasser is huge and because it’s unnatural it has loads of strange lumps sticking out of the water. One was white instead of the usual brown, and on coming closer we saw that it was the designated Bird Island; thousands of cormorants nested on the lower reaches and hundreds of pelicans got the prime spots up high. I will leave you to figure out why it was white. After disembarking there was a gorgeous stretch between the lake and the desert, with a thin stripe of green in the middle where a handful of people were trying to eke out a living. An enormous cloud of pelicans flew overhead at a distance and were visible for about half an hour.
The border was the usual Egyptian chaos, plus the standard removal of money from the foreigners, for one last time. We each had to pay 260 (£13) “transit fee” which was almost certainly just made up on the spot. The Spaniards paid 150. There was a longish wait for our passports to be stamped out, but the chaos potentially helped as the border guard didn’t notice (or care) that we had technically overstayed our visa by a day. When we arrived at the Sudan side of the border it was closed and there was a confused crowd (including A&J) hanging around outside the gates. When it did open, about 20 minutes later, it was only for some of us and only for a limited time. I almost didn't make it as it’s difficult to push a bike and eat a sandwich at the same time. Initial impressions of Sudan were peculiar: the entry form told us that “life is better without drugs” and the customs inspection officer was oddly, almost concerningly, upbeat.
Immediately we were beset by people offering to change money. The Sudanese pound is weak so there’s a black market, and it isn’t on international banking networks so we can’t use the ATMs, so all our spending needs to be done with cash brought into the country. I had USD but Rebecca had Egyptian money, which she needed to exchange quickly as it would become less valuable the further away from Egypt she got. At the border she got 5000 SP and I got 4000, but apparently the largest common note is the 50 (worth about 50p), so we both ended up with a pretty thick wedge weighing us down on the cycle to the first town, Wadi Halfa. Thankfully there was a powerful tailwind which sped us through the 30km in about an hour.
In WH we had to register with the police as “aliens” but the office was closed for the day so we decided to stay overnight. Rebecca made the decision to change the rest of her money at this point and ended up with about 20000 SP, which equates to a stack of notes literally 10cm thick. We had dinner at a place recommended by A&J, which judging by the sign may have contained camel meat, but was tasty nonetheless. It also only cost 150 and made us worry that we have too much money. So far Sudanese people seem very nice, they are very friendly and helpful but way less forward than Egyptians. The extremely cheap hotel that A&J were staying at was full so we had to settle for a merely very cheap one. It was basic and had strange beds made of string, but like I said, very cheap.
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