Some more pictures from Sudan/Ethiopia

So, I can't see what pictures I have put up here, but I will edit them next time I log on. I know There are these:

A delicious juice mix (orange, pineapple, avocado, raspberry, guava).

Me on one of the hills in Ethiopia (Mark, notice the shirt. It is the most comfy piece of clothing I have. It breathes so nicely. Thank you very much, I wear it all the time.)

Myself and Ryan on the edge of the Blue Nile Gorge

Some mechanics putting bearings on a piston on the side of the road.

A house with a small child in a village we stayed in.

The edge of the Gorge.

Me doing what I do best at the edge of the Gorge. I have lost a lot of weight (as you might be able to tell). I sort of expected this to happen, and it is. Everyone is slimming down. The cardio is excessive to say the least. I'm still eating the most of anyone on the tour, but it's not maintaining my muscle mass. For the best, actually, cause I hate carrying that up the hills. For example of what I ate today on my day off:

4 slices toast
1 beef/egg omelet
2 large bread rolls
1.5 double patty, triple bun burgers (think larger than an Extreme burger at Summerhays)
1 plate french fries
1 whole, large pizza with chicken, beef, eggs, cheese and veggies.
1 energy bar
5 scoops chocolate ice cream (finally!!!)

Can't remember the rest, but again, I'll repost as soon as I get a chance and can label these photos properly.

The Blue Nile Gorge (of death)

Hello everyone! I've reached Addis Ababa, capital city of Ethiopia. I'm glad to say that my perception of Ethiopia has been changing, the closer I got to the city. The people have been much friendlier and more welcoming. The stone throwing has continued, but all the riders have learned to deal with it. We have also developed some techniques for avoiding any sort of projectile, ranging from stones to cow dung. I'm still dealing with constant requests for money and "You you you" yelling from the kids, but it's all in good fun.

My odometer reads over 3600km now! It blows my mind how fast we're covering ground here. But there are a few large obstacles that constantly sit in my way... The hills. Always uphill. You wake up, you go uphill. You eat lunch, then go uphill. There are these things called false flats, where it looks like you're going down, but really it's up. So, even the downhills are uphills! I can say that I am becoming a decent climber, though. I have not walked up any hills since before Gonder. Even the Blue Nile Gorge I climbed all on my bike. That was a hard day. It started with a 50km cycle through rolling hills to lunch. After lunch, we had a beautiful 1300m downhill. My brakes got a lot of use because you basically have to keep them on, or you lose control and go off the cliff. The Gorge is beautiful, though. It's like the Grand Canyon, only way more awesome because it's in Africa. I stopped to take a few pictures, but it's hard to capture the magnitude of this thing with photos. Anyway, as you're going down, you're thinking "Crap, I have to go back up this thing". Once you're at the bottom, you stop and take some pictures and prepare for the climb to come. Now, the climb is tough. Really, really tough. Imagine cycling out of the Grand Canyon. It's a 1500m climb within 20km of switch backs. I unofficially timed myself, and did ok. I climbed in about 2hrs, 10 mins. That's 50 minutes behind the first place racer, but actually way ahead of many of the other cyclists. Not too bad for a first climb! And I didn't die! Although, for about 2 hours, I felt like I was going to. My big goal for the climb was to not walk up any section, which I achieved. I averaged less than 10km/h for most of the climb, which is silly, cause I can walk up it at about 6. It can get a little discouraging as you finally struggle to climb a section, only to turn a corner and see another, steeper switchback. And that process repeats itself, about 30 times. I am pretty used to climbing, now, though. We've been climbing up and down every day for a total of about 11,950m. That's higher than Everest! It's sure made the flats of Egypt look easy.

Now, there is not a whole lot of good story to tell since Bahir Dar. It's really been a beautiful ride through the hills, with a lot of scenery. Two days ago, we camped on the edge of the Gorge. It was breath-taking. You are cleaning your bike or eating (or both, if you're me) and you just look up and see this massive scar running through the earth! It's so incredible. The bugs haven't been bad, although we haven't really seen much wildlife. We did have a rider run into a cow, though. And I have seen some monkeys hanging around in a tree. One of the craziest things I saw were some mechanics changing bearings on their pistons right on the side of the road. They just stopped their truck and started working! It's crazy! Also, there are people who carry such huge loads of straw or wood on their backs. It hurts me just to watch them walk!

My experience here just keeps getting better. I love looking around and seeing nothing that is familiar to me. The trees are neat, the birds are neat, the whole countryside is awesome! Also, when it comes to the riders, the bike is a great equalizer. It doesn't matter what job you have or how much money you have. You are now the same as every other rider, and everyone is leveled. Only skill on the bike matters. Everyone seems to be getting along pretty well, although there is a big gap left by Adrian. Ryan and I are constantly making jokes with reference to him to try and relive the memories. Mad Dog, if you read this, you are missed, buddy.

Anyway, I'll post some pics. I'm sorry I couldn't have put some more humour in for you guys, but climbing is really not that funny. It's like a stair master for 6 hours a day. Only you can't turn the power down. And there are no water fountains. Or women on the treadmill in front of you to gawk at. However, there will be some good stuff on the next dirt section and when I do a safari, which I have signed up for. (1.5 days of camping).

Thanks everyone for your support and encouragement! I hope I keep you entertained!

Danimal

Welcome to Eth op a (Oh, sorry, I blinked and someone stole the keys off the keyboard)

So, the title here is pretty self-explanatory. It's a funny thing. The minute we crossed from Sharia law-enforced Sudan into Christian Ethiopia, the thefts began. Literally. The tour was waiting at immigration at the border, not even 100m from Sudan, and a kid climbed into our truck and tried to steal all the rider's spare tires. Thankfully, one of the staff caught him and saved the tires. Life has changed now, let me tell you.

Generally, my first impressions are mixed. Let me start with the negative. Thefts... Thieves are everywhere. Any age, and gender, just anybody really. As soon as you stop cycling there is a crowd that gathers around you and you have to keep a very close eye on your stuff. People have had tools stolen, watches and even an IPod from a riders arm while he was riding! As for myself, I have my kit sorted out. I had a close call, though. I was climbing a hill (you'll hear about those next) very slowly and getting followed by some kids. When I turned around, they were going through my saddle bag and Camelbak looking for steal-able things. Thankfully, I'm pretty good with my kit and nothing was taken. The tour staff has taken to putting up a rope perimeter around camp to keep locals out when we arrive. It works for the most part, but again, a crowd gathers and people are looking for crimes of opportunity. It sounds like I am generalizing, and I wish I was, but this is the case. When I go to bed, I have to strip my bike of anything not bolted down. Pump, light, water bottle, computer, fender, helmet and gloves all come in the tent with me. The locals here are really not friendly. Everywhere you go, in any city or town, you get sneered at or stared down. It's a very unfriendly feeling. And while you're cycling along, people seem to know a few words of English. For example:

Local child: "You you you you you you you!"
Me: "Salam"
Local: "Where are you go?"
Me: "Addis Ababa"
Local: "Where are you go?"
Me: "Addis"
Local: "Give me money."
Me: "If I had money, I would be driving a car."
Local: *Throws rocks or sticks as I bike away*

That is generally how an interaction goes. Only with a lot more "You you you" and a lot more "Give me money". The rock throwing is not as bad as I expected. Their aim is terrible. We have had one girl get hit by  a horse whip, which thankfully did no damage. And it's every age from about 3 years old to teenagers. Some people have actually been hit by rocks and stopped to talk to the parents, which then throw rocks at the kids. You can see the vicious circle here. However, the closer we get to Addis Ababa, the more docile the people get. So, on to the terrain.

Now onto the positive part of the country. The terrain is tough. As soon as we crossed the border, we started climbing. And not small climbs either. We climb a total of about 1000m per day, with the highest being 2500m in one day just before we got to Gondor. And these hills are steep! Some are as sharp as 30 degrees. I have actually had to get off and walk a few sections for about 50m because I just couldn't pedal any faster. It is incredibly tough. The flipside is that the higher we go, the cooler is gets. This is a nice change from the 50 degrees in Sudan. It's usually about 25 at an altitude of 2000m, so it's pleasant. Also, the scenery is beautiful. I have never seen anything like this. The mountains are huge and there are cool trees and shrubs everywhere. The countryside is stunning. I have taken a ton of pictures here, but none of them do the place justice. It makes the tough climbs actually a lot of fun. Well, "fun".

So, we arrived in Gondor on the 11th, a rest stop where we actually had two consecutive rest days. This was nice after 8 days of hard riding. Everyone celebrated with a beer (or 5, depending on who you are) and some local food. I celebrated by getting food poisoning on the 12th and vomiting/shitting for the next day and a half. It was a blast. I slept for another 16 hours and was back to almost full form. My appetite still had not returned, but what can you do? It was a good thing too. There is not a whole lot to do in Gondor. There is an old church from the 17th century to see. But that's about it. I toured the market, but it was Sunday, so nothing was open. The hotel we stayed at was awesome, though. It's called the Goha Hotel Gondor and it sits in the middle of the city, perched high on a hill. You can see the whole city from the hotel, it's really beautiful. It's a little pricey as there is a 25% tax on everything for some reason. That includes a 10% service charge which was not deserved at all. The staff are super forgetful and you usually have to give your order 3 times for anyone to take notice. Then you get bills for 3 meals before you have even gotten your food. But you laugh it off anyway. I haven't slept in a hotel room yet, because I am far too cheap. Plus, you don't get what you pay for. The amenities are awful and I'm used to the tent anyway.

After Gondor, we had two days riding and ended up in a city called Bahir Dar. Now this is a cool town. The people here are very nice and there is a lot to do. I'm going to go and see some old monasteries and the Blue Nile falls today. Plus there is a huge market to browse and practice haggling. We're staying at a hotel again, but I am tenting. Again due to cheapness (what have you done to me dad?). The town is pretty crazy right now as I guess Ethiopia won some soccer match in the Africa Cup yesterday and the streets were packed. Also, we had a costume party at the hotel last night with the theme "Where are you go?" . I dressed normally with a roll of toilet paper and my shovel, cause I usually go to the bathroom, given my string of sickness. After Bahir Dar, we head off the the capital, Addis Ababa. It will take us 5 days to get there including the Blue Nile gorge. That is gonna be hard. There is a 1300m decent and 1500m climb all in the span of 25km. But I'm getting better at climbing, so it should be managable. The decents aren't bad. You get going pretty fast, but have to be on the brakes the whole time so you don't hit random kids or donkeys. I did get up to 70 on one hill, which is a huge thrill.

What else... Oh, the coffee is great here. Not nearly big enough, but very good. People say Ethiopia is the home of coffee. Also, dad, the total for the tour is 11, 995km. So, we are more than 25% done! So, as I sit here, chewing on my bag of locally grown and purchased khat, my spirits are still not downed. Despite the thefts, sickness and mechanical issues, I am loving this. This experience is a funny one. The days are long and gruelling, but the weeks fly by too fast. Unfortunately, the photos will have to wait until Addis Ababa. The computer here does not seem to register my SD card, so I can't upload. Anyway, I miss everyone and hopefully will talk to you all soon!

Some last statistics:
Mother nature: 2 (sickness), Danimal: 1
Total showers taken: 3Distance on odometer: Over 3000km
Things stolen from me: 0 (eat that, clever kids)
Top speed: 70km/h
Thrown objects that have connected: 3 (one rock in the dick, that was painful)
Average speed up hills: 9km/h
Average speed walking up hills: 6km/h
Average speed down hills: 50km/h

*edit* If you want some pro-style pictures from the tour, visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/pletten  He is a Norwegian guy who takes awesome photos.

Post-Khartoum Sudan, I am your bitch.

So, it has been a while since I blogged. I am in Bahir Dahr, Ethiopia, right now, so I will have to update with a few blog posts. So, let's start with Sudan since my last post.

Well, Sudan got hard. Very hard. And I lost my EFI. I tried my best, but two days after leaving Khartoum, I came down with a terrible stomach virus. I had started my 145km day of tarmac (30km easy dirt) and made it about 35km. Actually, let me start with a time line:

Feb 5th, 1800: Eat a huge spaghetti dinner. Feel awesome, go to bed.
2200: Wake up with a stomach ache. Maybe I over-ate. Try and go back to bed. Feel like I want to puke.
2300: Wake up, want to puke.
Feb 6th, 0000, 0100, 0200, 0300: Wake up, want to puke. Only comfortable position is on my stomach, which means I can't sleep.
0430: Wake up, finally puke. Feels way better. Immediately go back to bed.
0530: Get up, pack up gear. Feel ok, have some appetite.
0645: Eat a small breakfast. Feels ok. It will probably stay down, so I'll ride today.
0715: Start riding, feel decent. Not too good, not too bad. Then it starts.

35km into the ride, after the support trucks have gone by of course, I stop and vomit up breakfast. Try riding again. Have some water. Throw up said water. Have some Gatorade and throw it up too. So, I cycle for another 10 km, stopping at least once per kilometer to throw up any liquid, or solid for that matter that I have eaten. I feel terrible. I have to stop on the side of the road so I don't pass out riding my bike and kill myself on the now-dirt road. Spend a little bit of time dry heaving beside the one such there is for shade. Realize I'm going to lose my EFI. Makes me feel worse. So, I wait for the staff sweep (last rider of the pack). Thankfully, he is medic. Bad news. No truck coming to get me, so I'll have to try and make it the 80km to lunch. Fat chance. I can barely keep my eyes open at this point. So, I cycle until kilometer 51, just over the Nile, where our chef is buying groceries and picks me up. Thank God. We head for camp, 90km away. I fall asleep instanly, hunched over in the back seat of a pickup truck that is clunking like the ball joints are falling off. When I wake up, we are at camp. I am pretty depressed now, having lost my EFI on an easy day. So, lacking the energy to talk, eat or move, I lay in the dirt and sleep until dinner. Once dinner comes, I wake up, have a small dinner (and I mean uncharacteristically small). I actually manage to hold this dinner down. So, I set up my tent and fall alseep again. Until the next day. I slept for about 16.5 hours. I felt ok the next day, so I had a normal person-sized breakfast and started off riding . Bad idea. Today was a full dirt day where we followed some old, busted railroad tracks. Then my condition started (sort of) again. No vomiting, but I came close. I was dry heaving and could taste breakfast every bump I went over. So, pretty uneventful, but I made it problem-free to lunch. I took the truck at lunch. I figured I may as well relax and not kill myself. EFI gone anyway, right? When I got to camp, I felt alright. No puking, but still no appetite. So, I took my bike down off the truck to clean it. However, the staff member who tied the bikes on the truck was not careful. He is some impatient South African with clearly no regard for other people's stuff. Anyway, I take my bike down. It's f-ed up. Two bent rims, twisted front derailleur, kinked derailleur cable, scratched chainstay and rear derailleur and a frayed rear derailleur cable. Crap. Long story short, it was all fixable. Thankfully, one of the staff bikes received about the same damage, so he had a chat with the tour director and the transport of bikes has changed. So, all in all, I missed 140km of riding due to this stupid sickness. And lost my EFI, which I will discuss in a second.

My EFI loss. Yes, it's lame. I am very frustrated about it. Now, I know what some of you will say: "There is no shame in riding the truck". Yes, I know there is no shame. And, upon review of my situation at the time, I would have made the same decision if I had the chance again. I would never even have made it the 80km to lunch the first day. Not in a longshot. But, that doesn't make it any better. I still think about it a lot, and it still frustrates me because I was doing really well. It was a goal of mine to EFI and I failed. Even though I couldn't do anything about it. I'm sure you guys will understand where I'm coing from on this. But, my frustration is getting less and less each day, so I will be alright. I came to see Africa anyway, and I will. And hopefully I'll only miss EFI by 140km.

Ok, so on to Sudan. Sudan is hot. Really, really, really f**king hot. Even on the dirt. The days I rode the dirt, the temperatures were 47, 49 and 51. It would have been cooler in the shade if there was any. (sarcasm)At least on the tarmac there is a wind to cool you down(end sarcasm). Man, on the tarmac, it was 57 one day. Celsius. I like the heat, but this was ridiculous. I was drinking 10L of water during the rides. Imagine going into a sauna, cycling and blowing some hairdryers in your face. That is Sudan. And there is no shade. None. No trees, no grass, no roofs. It becomes a toss-up whether you want to cycle fast and get in early to the shade of the trucks, or cycle slowly, conserve energy and be cooler. As far as I was concerned, I just wanted to finish the day. Which I did, everyday, save the aformentioned 140kms. Actually, one of the tougher days, I came in to camp 6th out of everybody, which is good cause I'm usually about 25th and this was on dirt.

(vulgarity warning) Now, there is a humourous side to this. The water you get actually gets hot enough to make coffee with. It becomes too hot to drink by itself. And the sweating... Man, the sweating. In 8 days, I only wore 3 sets of clothes. No point changing, because you sweat packing up your tent in the morning. Then, when you get into camp after the ride, you can stand your clothes up in your tent there is just so much salt in them. Plus, there are all the stoamch bugs going around. So, while you're cycling, your crotch feels wet. Now, you're not sure if you've shit your pants or if you're sweating. But really, who cares? You just want to get out of the heat, so you ride on anyway. Then, you stop to check your pants and pee. But pee is not really the right word. You kind of just drip molasses out of your dick for the one and only time during the day, despite drinking all day. And the dirt is unbearable. Well, for the ladies it probably is wonderful. It's not really dirt, but more of a corregated hardpack. The entire day is corregated. It's like riding over rumble strips so hard that your teeth chatter. And you vibrate all day long. It wears you down to the point you are yelling at the road. But, sometimes the dirt stops and you are relieved with some very deep sand. Now you're riding through butter and you can't slow down cause you sink or fall over. So, you pedal on giving it all you've got while your tummy burbles and you're not sure if you want to fart, crap, burp or puke. It all feels the same at the end of the day. Then you probably do them all, sometimes simultaneously, anyway. The desert is just awesome.

So, sorry for the long post, but here are some closing thoughts: My spirits are not dampened one bit. I love this tour. The good, the bad, the sickness, the health, the dirt, the sweating, the 57 degree heat, the long days. Everything is just awesome. Really, really awesome. It really feels like Africa with all these challenges. The scenery has changed, the plants are different and things are going well. But I do miss some things. In no particular order:

1. A glass of milk. Real milk, not chunky powdered milk.
2. Falling asleep on the couch.
3. A pillow.
4. BBQs.
5. Toilets you sit on.

Anyway, that's all for now. I'll post pictures tomorrow and post about my time in Ethiopia so far. But I can say this: I will miss Sudan. I will miss it a lot.

Some more photos.

 A cold and overcast first day of the tour. At the starting line in front of the pyramids.

 Adrian (Mad Dog) Munday looking at the front gates of the temple of Karnak in Luxor.

 Meticulously cleaning my bike on a soccer field at camp in Idfu, a small city.

 After arriving in Aswan, some quality food. From left to right: Adrian, Gary, Ryan, John, Erik. This is right along the Nile with some temples to be seen in the back. Also note the abundance of fellucas.

 Ryan and Adrian in our room on the ferry. The entire room. In fact, I couldn't even open the door any further if I tried. And that was first class.

 The view of the Nile on my birthday. First riding day in Sudan. Hard to beat that as a gift, eh?

 My tent pegs forged in the fires of Mordor... I mean Dongola, Sudan.

 Arriving at a desert camp before heading off to Khartoum.

A "toilet" Note the bucket for washing your hand in after you've wiped yourself with it.

Sorry there are no more photos to be had. The internet here is so slow, these photos took almost 2 hours to upload. Also, it's hard to choose pics that can accurately represent how awesome this trip has been. When I get back, I can show everyone all of the photos and maybe that will give a clearer picture. Now I head off to bed to rest before a 150km day tomorrow. It is the opening day of an 8 day stretch without a rest day. Wish me luck! Until next time,

Danimal

P.S. I just realized felucca is spelt with one L and two Cs. My bad.

Good riddance Egypt! Hello Sudan? And a birthday to remember.

So, I have arrived in Wadi Halfa. We are again sleeping in a soccer (dust)field. When we take off in the morning, the ride is though the desert again. This desert is a little different, though. There are black rocks and mountains, and it's hot. Finally, some heat. Also, it is my birthday. I decide not to have a beer because Sudan is a dry country. No alcohol crosses this border at all. If you get caught, you get 40 lashes. Not gonna chance it. The ride is very pleasant. I rode with a few people in the morning before the lunch stop. After lunch, I hoofed it solo, and took a picture with a sign, a city called "El Beer". Funny how it is. The scenery was actually very beautiful on this ride. The afternoon was peppered with mountains of black and red and different colours of sand. There was also a tail wind, which gave me an afternoon average of between 35-40km/h. But it was hot. Yes, mom, I wore sunscreen and a lot of it, but still managed to get burned. There was also no traffic. I stopped to pee once and just listened. It was very eerie. There was no sound. No traffic, no wind and no animals. Something I have never heard before. Anyway, after a pleasant 150km, I arrived at camp in a cheerful mood. It was, after all, my birthday. 26 on the 26th. I will celebrate in Ethiopia. However, I was greeted by two ladies, Tori (Canadian) and Kari (New Zealand). They gave me some hugs and one of them snuck me a mouthful of vodka. I took the plunge. It was awesome. They had also set up my tent for me which was a nice surprise. Could this day get any better? Yes, actually. I swam in the Nile. Our desert camp was only 200m from the water. And crocodile free it was. I was first one in the water and it was cold! But with an internal heat fueled by vodka, it went in. And I'm glad I did. I have swum in the Nile. The smile on my face lasted for the rest of the day. It was awesome. Also, I had EFI'd Egypt. A small step for me, but one large step for a total EFI.

So, besides the one day, I have some notes. I am glad to have left Egypt. The rides were ok, but I won't miss it. The people are only after your money and some of them are very unfriendly. If you are planning to visit Egypt, I offer this: Don't. Visit Sudan instead. Look at a high-def picture of the pyramids and call it a day. As I write this from Khartoum, I have yet to have a bad time in Sudan. Everyone, bar none, is extremely nice. People are always smiling at you and offering to help you. And for free! There seems to be no white tax here! The locals are always waving and offering support and praise. The animals are healthier and the land is cleaner. The air is much less polluted. Everything is simply much more welcoming here. Also, there are riots in Egypt now as I'm sure you all know. So, I'm glad to be gone.

My first rest day was in a small town called Dongola. There is not a whole lot to see here but it's a quaint little town with great personality. The market is close by our camp and offers goods at the same price a local would pay. I actually had a really good time here. I had some tent pegs fashioned by a blacksmith. This guy was unbelievable! His anvil was an old gearshaft from a semi. His fire was fuelled by a hand-cranked old blower motor from a car. And he didn't speak English. The Tripod (Ryan, Adrian and me) also had some jewellery (albeit ugly) fashioned out of angle iron according to Ryan's design. And all this without any verbal communication! Just drawing and hand symbols. It absolutely blew my mind. Again, I can not emphasize how nice the people are. For a war-torn country, this place beats Egypt by a million miles. One night, I had some coffee with some spice in it. It was delicious. It was apparently also highly addictive. I have been craving it since. I was told it was cardimom, but I don't know what that is, so I'll get a second opinion. I went out for dinner as well and managed to feed 7 people for about 10$Cdn. Much cheaper than Egypt. We had fol, which is a bean dish and falafel.

Then the bad times came. I usually get sick around my birthday, and this year was no different. Starting the day after my birthday (the day I arrived in Dongola) I came down with the flu. Stuffy nose, fever, the works. I toughed it out, though. The hot dry air helps clear your nose. Also I started my Malaria meds, which give me crazy dreams. Other than that, no side effects. I was sick until about today, when I arrived in Khartoum. The rides have been decent, though long. Apparently we hit dirt two days after Khartoum, which is going to change the game a bit. The desert leading up to Khartoum has been pretty boring, cause it's flat, but it is as close to desert as I've ever seen. It's exactly what you picture. Lots of dead camels and lots of sand. And it's f**king hot during the day. But I am not one to complain as it beats the cold. As for Khartoum, it is a big city. Not a whole lot to see, but I went to a mall to get some TP and a brush to empty my tent of sand. We did have a terribly painful ride into the city. We had to ride in convoy because of the traffic. Convoys are slow. We went for 40km and it took us 2.5 hours. Lame. I would have preffered going uphill.

As it stands right now, I am in good shape. No health issues anymore (not that I would have given up anyway), no bike issues (cause I'm the only one to clean my bike every day) and I have ridden everyday up until now. For those who are curious, my total distance so far is 1979km. At an average of 25km/h. Eat that headwind. I can tell I am becoming stronger. I'm not as tired, and I can go faster and father. I have earned a reputation as being meticulous with my bike and eating the most out of anyone on the tour. My only point of sorrow is that we have lost Mad Dog Munday (Adrian). His section is over and he has gone back to Europe. The Tripod is forever lost. But the dynamic duo lives on.

I will try and post some pictured tonight, but the internet is painfully slow so no promises. Until next time,

Danimal

Still alive and definately kicking.

Hello all. I am still here. I am still alive. I am still awesome. The road has been long and the internet has been scarce. Sorry about the bad typing, the keys in this internet cafe are very old and sticking. So, we have a lot of catching up to do. Luxor is where we left off.

I am glad to leave Luxor. It is a tourist town and basically encompasses everything I didn't want to have happen on my trip. Hounded incessantly by vendors, honked at by cabs and forced to barter every, single price down really is not fun. I have sort of decided that when I want to buy something, I will have to get rid of my "white tax". That's what I call a tax on being a "rich" white tourist. However, the Luxor temple was pretty cool. On the way out of Luxor, the ride was pretty nice. There is a lot of greenery because you're right near the Nile. It sure beats looking at the desert. The people are very testing, though. On one particular day, we passed through a small town where rocks were thrown. I took a large rock in the right bicep, but was ok. You can't hurt steel anyway. What was funny was that all these rocks were thrown by a class of young girls. GIRLS!!! Sugar and spice and everything igneous, clearly. That really got my blood boiling. One of our riders had a wheel bent by a rock and a poor Quebecois was actually knocked over by a kid riding a bike. Let me tell you, I have never wanted to kick a kid in the face worse than today. But, I suppose it's all in preparation for Ethiopia.

After Luxor, and the ride of doom, we arrived in Aswan. This town was much better than Luxor, but still had the white tax. By this point, I have made a few good friends. One is a guy named Ryan. Originally from South Africa, he is married and now lives in Dublin. Very sarcastic sense of humour, so we get along perfectly. His nickname is Princess. This came about because he always suggests activities, to which everyone agrees, and then makes us wait while he gets ready. Concensus is: he is doing his makeup. The other dude, named Adrian Munday, is an investment banker from London, UK. He is a hilarious guy who we call Mad Dog Munday. This name does not suit him at all because... Well, because he is an investment banker. He is only a sectional rider, so he will leave us in Khartoum. We call him Mad Dog because he fractured his skull when he was three and now has a limited range of motion in his left eye. We were gonna call him Mad Eye Munday, but it doesn't have the same ring to it. Anyway, in Aswan, I had McDonalds cause I needed some calories and some stomach-safe food. Let me tell you, it is way better here than in Canada. Your food actually looks like food, not some burger makings thrown into a shitty cardboard box with some lettuce. It was delicious. After the food, the Tripod (Ryan, Adrian and myself) took a felluca ride on the Nile for an hour. A felluca is actually just a really unsafe-looking sailboat. This ride was really nice, though. A good way to relax after a day of cycling. Abdullah, our captain then took us to the market (on commission, of course) to find some supplies without the white tax. We would need some food for the ferry across Lake Nasser. Overall, it was a pleasant evening.

The next day, we took a ferry (first class) across the lake to Sudan. Read that again. It sounds nice. And the ride was fun. But not fun like going to Disneyland. Fun like shoving pieces of broken glass up your ass and sitting in a tub of Tabasco sauce. The place was crammed. Full to the tits. Everyone and all of their gear and their family's gear and their family squeezed on through one door. Then you had to fight your way for a place on deck where you would sleep. We were supposed to sleep two to a room and two on deck. Thankfully, I organzied our room to fit all of our gear and all 4 people. Thanks again, military training. So, we were four people to a room of about 8x10. With only two "beds". And two toilets for the entire ship, which was about 1000 people. But these were not sit-down toilets. These were holes that you squat over and try not to piss all over your shorts while you fire out two-day-old Big Macs. Then one of our toilets flooded. You can imagine this was awesome. I sound bitter, but I'm actually here laughing to myself non-stop. This is going to be one of the more memorable times of the trip. It was great fun. You'll see photos. But at least the trip only lasted 18 hours. When we finally landed, we were the last to get off the ship. This was actually a relief. There would be no fighting to get out the door and sit in the hot sun. But guess what? We had forms to fill out. Four of them to be exact. All requesting the same information. So, we had to sit and wait for everyone to fill these out. After 3 more hours, this was done. On to customs. This was actually the easiest part of the trip. The customs officers did a baggage inspection where they opened about 10 bags, looked at them and closed them again. On to Wadi Halfa!