Day 126
Sleeping location: 10km south of May Cadera, Ethiopia (probably)
Distance (km today/total): 92 / 9866
Estimated climb (m today/total): 200 / 62600
Border formalities: a mere 45 minutes
Distance (km today/total): 92 / 9866
Estimated climb (m today/total): 200 / 62600
Border formalities: a mere 45 minutes
Day in three words: Bye bye Sudan?
As expected/hoped it was very peaceful in the night and we slept pretty well. After brekkie we set off along a dirt track that wasn’t on any of my maps and according to komoot was sometimes actually in the lake. It was also very nice and peaceful, with lots of birds and lizards and mysterious rustlings in the undergrowth. After 10km this led to a village and back onto the planned route. However the “asphalt” “road” was in fact a bone shaking rocky track, so bad that we often rode on the small dirt tracks to the side of it. Along here I was stopped by a random guy on a motorbike who demanded to see my passport and look thoroughly at the contents of one of my panniers (but only one). When Rebecca pulled up he sweetened and soon we were allowed to go. I have no idea why he did this, other than as a power trip. As a counterpoint to this, some nice men in a pickup truck stopped and gave me some nice cold water and the offer of a lift.
After 15km of shaking the road did turn to asphalt and progress became a lot smoother. The road was very empty and quiet, through grassland and seemingly unmanaged fields with the odd tree about. There was some nice bird life about, and at one point we went past some kind of turf war between these medium sized red birds and a big group of kites. There were no cafes so we stopped in a field for a rest under a shady tree, and filled our bottles up at a checkpoint where the available water was clean but for some reason full of bees. At the checkpoint they also went through the same passport and pannier examination as before.
About 10km before the border there was a collection of buildings in the middle of nowhere. We stopped for food, which turned out to be injera, the Ethiopian staple. It is a big semi-fermented pancake with stuff on, that you tear and eat with your hands. This one came with salad and some wet spicy stuff. The injera had quite a strong fermented taste and was ok, but I’m not sure I’m looking forward to another month of it. Whilst wandering around I got some more Ethiopian vibes, experiencing my first “farenji” and my first “you” from some kids*. We set off and immediately realised that this WAS the border, even though it was nowhere near the border on our maps. The formalities were pretty quick and we were done within 45 minutes. On the Ethiopian side we weren’t actually stamped in and they told us we had to go to the town of Himora to do it, which thankfully was on our route. There was a laughably half-arsed attempt at some extortion, which involved the customs guy saying something about a penalty because it was forbidden to ride bicycles in Ethiopia, me saying I didn’t believe him, and him saying OK we could go.
We set off into what may have been Sudan or Ethiopia, which was immediately more beautiful than before. The land seemed more wild and unmanaged and there were some low hills to make it more interesting. Straight away we saw some beautiful blue birds, and a toucan/hornbill type thing, and someone sitting outside drinking a BEER, all of which was very exciting. Soon we arrived at a bigger road and turned left towards Himora, but it was still very quiet. We decided to chance wild camping as Himora was still 35km away, and found a spot in a field with good cover from both sides. We heard voices and livestock noises during the evening but nobody disturbed us.
A reflection on Sudan then. Our route through it lacked anything epic or incredibly beautiful, but it’s a nice enough country with a great relaxed vibe. The people were very friendly and welcoming, but not overbearing as they sometimes were in Egypt. I also really enjoyed the early sections through the desert, which had a kind of stark beauty, easy wild camping and incredible stars. After Khartoum things were a bit of a drag as it was quite dull and very very hot. It will be interesting to see how the country changes now that Bashir has gone, we heard a lot of positivity from various people we talked with in our time there. Hopefully the US will release them from the sanctions list before long, as this has really crippled the economy and makes life difficult for ordinary Sudanese on a daily basis. I’m rooting for them.
*I will be writing about these in more detail in future entries.
As expected/hoped it was very peaceful in the night and we slept pretty well. After brekkie we set off along a dirt track that wasn’t on any of my maps and according to komoot was sometimes actually in the lake. It was also very nice and peaceful, with lots of birds and lizards and mysterious rustlings in the undergrowth. After 10km this led to a village and back onto the planned route. However the “asphalt” “road” was in fact a bone shaking rocky track, so bad that we often rode on the small dirt tracks to the side of it. Along here I was stopped by a random guy on a motorbike who demanded to see my passport and look thoroughly at the contents of one of my panniers (but only one). When Rebecca pulled up he sweetened and soon we were allowed to go. I have no idea why he did this, other than as a power trip. As a counterpoint to this, some nice men in a pickup truck stopped and gave me some nice cold water and the offer of a lift.
After 15km of shaking the road did turn to asphalt and progress became a lot smoother. The road was very empty and quiet, through grassland and seemingly unmanaged fields with the odd tree about. There was some nice bird life about, and at one point we went past some kind of turf war between these medium sized red birds and a big group of kites. There were no cafes so we stopped in a field for a rest under a shady tree, and filled our bottles up at a checkpoint where the available water was clean but for some reason full of bees. At the checkpoint they also went through the same passport and pannier examination as before.
About 10km before the border there was a collection of buildings in the middle of nowhere. We stopped for food, which turned out to be injera, the Ethiopian staple. It is a big semi-fermented pancake with stuff on, that you tear and eat with your hands. This one came with salad and some wet spicy stuff. The injera had quite a strong fermented taste and was ok, but I’m not sure I’m looking forward to another month of it. Whilst wandering around I got some more Ethiopian vibes, experiencing my first “farenji” and my first “you” from some kids*. We set off and immediately realised that this WAS the border, even though it was nowhere near the border on our maps. The formalities were pretty quick and we were done within 45 minutes. On the Ethiopian side we weren’t actually stamped in and they told us we had to go to the town of Himora to do it, which thankfully was on our route. There was a laughably half-arsed attempt at some extortion, which involved the customs guy saying something about a penalty because it was forbidden to ride bicycles in Ethiopia, me saying I didn’t believe him, and him saying OK we could go.
We set off into what may have been Sudan or Ethiopia, which was immediately more beautiful than before. The land seemed more wild and unmanaged and there were some low hills to make it more interesting. Straight away we saw some beautiful blue birds, and a toucan/hornbill type thing, and someone sitting outside drinking a BEER, all of which was very exciting. Soon we arrived at a bigger road and turned left towards Himora, but it was still very quiet. We decided to chance wild camping as Himora was still 35km away, and found a spot in a field with good cover from both sides. We heard voices and livestock noises during the evening but nobody disturbed us.
A reflection on Sudan then. Our route through it lacked anything epic or incredibly beautiful, but it’s a nice enough country with a great relaxed vibe. The people were very friendly and welcoming, but not overbearing as they sometimes were in Egypt. I also really enjoyed the early sections through the desert, which had a kind of stark beauty, easy wild camping and incredible stars. After Khartoum things were a bit of a drag as it was quite dull and very very hot. It will be interesting to see how the country changes now that Bashir has gone, we heard a lot of positivity from various people we talked with in our time there. Hopefully the US will release them from the sanctions list before long, as this has really crippled the economy and makes life difficult for ordinary Sudanese on a daily basis. I’m rooting for them.
*I will be writing about these in more detail in future entries.
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