Day 112
Sleeping location: Desert 17.56N 31.14E, Sudan
Distance (km today/total): 97 / 8912
Estimated climb (m today/total): 200 / 60600
First cloud since day: 106
Day in three words: The M40 corridor
The morning was surprisingly cold and I had to put a jumper on for first time in ages. There was a cafe a short hop away so we went there for breakfast, making sure to actually order this time, again by walking into the kitchen area and pointing at things. I was accidentally a little overzealous with my pointing and a lot of food came, but there was a resident family of cats to give some of the spare meat to. A man warned us of the dangerous roads to Khartoum but I assured him that it was a doddle compared to south London. As usual most people were lovely; we are slowly falling for Sudan, there are no epic sights but the vibe is really friendly and relaxed.
The cycling was frustrating for most of the day due to a combination of more road bumps and a nagging cross/headwind. Much of this stretch was heading east or southeast and the northeast wind, which is helpful when we head the usual southwards, became our nemesis. This also caused trucks coming the other way to hit us with an almighty blast of air and sand, which is annoying bordering on dangerous. The terrain was the usual semi desert/scrubland, with the addition today of numerous kites (the birds). With the kites, trucks and wind it was like cycling in the M40 corridor, but with more sand and camels.
Mid morning coffee was taken at a place with a cat who was obsessed with my feet and their various aromas. Perhaps he has some kind of mental disorder. For lunch we made a brief diversion off the main road to the river and a shady spot under a big bridge. Whilst we were there several people drove down and used the river water to wash their cars. A couple of the tuk tuks had signs advertising “DVD” for some reason, although one youth hadn’t got the message and his said “VD” instead. Towards the end of the day we entered a more populated area and got a few stones chucked our way by some groups of kids, although they seemed to be for attention rather than to actually hit us. I stopped at a clay jar station to fill up all my water bottles and got a little audience who seemed fascinated by everything I did.
Right at the end of the day we turned right (Tailwind again! Hurrah!) away from the Nile, which we have been following at least loosely since Cairo over 2000km ago. Here it makes a very big, very wiggly wiggle so we are taking the direct road across the desert to Khartoum. It’s likely that this section will be pretty empty but we know there are enough places to get food and water thanks to ioverlander*. A few km down this road we spotted an area with some nice big dunes so we found a spot in there. There were snake tracks literally across the patch we wanted to sleep on so we used the tent again. For sunset the first cloud in Sudan (for us, but maybe ever) arrived to make it especially beautiful. We made a surprisingly good tuna and “feta”** salad for dinner, then watched a big fussy beetle thoroughly examine, then decide against eating, our lettuce trimmings. Who does he think he is, he lives in the bloody desert.
*App where people travelling overland can add useful information on cafes, fuel stations, good camping spots etc. It is very useful.
**Comes out of the packet as a paste and one of the main ingredients is palm oil. The dairy has been atrocious since Turkey and we are both desperate for some decent butter.
Distance (km today/total): 97 / 8912
Estimated climb (m today/total): 200 / 60600
First cloud since day: 106
Day in three words: The M40 corridor
The morning was surprisingly cold and I had to put a jumper on for first time in ages. There was a cafe a short hop away so we went there for breakfast, making sure to actually order this time, again by walking into the kitchen area and pointing at things. I was accidentally a little overzealous with my pointing and a lot of food came, but there was a resident family of cats to give some of the spare meat to. A man warned us of the dangerous roads to Khartoum but I assured him that it was a doddle compared to south London. As usual most people were lovely; we are slowly falling for Sudan, there are no epic sights but the vibe is really friendly and relaxed.
The cycling was frustrating for most of the day due to a combination of more road bumps and a nagging cross/headwind. Much of this stretch was heading east or southeast and the northeast wind, which is helpful when we head the usual southwards, became our nemesis. This also caused trucks coming the other way to hit us with an almighty blast of air and sand, which is annoying bordering on dangerous. The terrain was the usual semi desert/scrubland, with the addition today of numerous kites (the birds). With the kites, trucks and wind it was like cycling in the M40 corridor, but with more sand and camels.
Mid morning coffee was taken at a place with a cat who was obsessed with my feet and their various aromas. Perhaps he has some kind of mental disorder. For lunch we made a brief diversion off the main road to the river and a shady spot under a big bridge. Whilst we were there several people drove down and used the river water to wash their cars. A couple of the tuk tuks had signs advertising “DVD” for some reason, although one youth hadn’t got the message and his said “VD” instead. Towards the end of the day we entered a more populated area and got a few stones chucked our way by some groups of kids, although they seemed to be for attention rather than to actually hit us. I stopped at a clay jar station to fill up all my water bottles and got a little audience who seemed fascinated by everything I did.
Right at the end of the day we turned right (Tailwind again! Hurrah!) away from the Nile, which we have been following at least loosely since Cairo over 2000km ago. Here it makes a very big, very wiggly wiggle so we are taking the direct road across the desert to Khartoum. It’s likely that this section will be pretty empty but we know there are enough places to get food and water thanks to ioverlander*. A few km down this road we spotted an area with some nice big dunes so we found a spot in there. There were snake tracks literally across the patch we wanted to sleep on so we used the tent again. For sunset the first cloud in Sudan (for us, but maybe ever) arrived to make it especially beautiful. We made a surprisingly good tuna and “feta”** salad for dinner, then watched a big fussy beetle thoroughly examine, then decide against eating, our lettuce trimmings. Who does he think he is, he lives in the bloody desert.
*App where people travelling overland can add useful information on cafes, fuel stations, good camping spots etc. It is very useful.
**Comes out of the packet as a paste and one of the main ingredients is palm oil. The dairy has been atrocious since Turkey and we are both desperate for some decent butter.
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