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