First Rest Day in Khartoum

Let' see...I awoke at 7:30 in a warm bed with the sun coming in my shuttered french door windows. I walked across the hall and had a long HOT shower and sand still fell to the bottom of the tub. I took my laundry to the reception desk to be done today...ahhh clean clothes to ride in. I then went upstairs to the dining room to get breakfast with the others. Today we had pancakes, eggs, yogurt, toast, grapefruit, cereal, dried fruits, pound cakes, and fresh juice, cheese and crackers...and oh yes...REAL COFFE and we could go back as many times as we wanted...I only went back three times...I will savour every moment of this experience!!!

I have brought a one man tent with me...big mistake..if for any reason you are going to do this ...then bring a two man tent. One man tents weigh less but also have less room. By the time I am in it that is it. I have had to be very creative about packing stuff in my redbox so that I do not have to take the complete redbox out each night. I take out what I need and leave the rest in the box. So today I asked the hotel manager if it was possible to get a new tent. He did some checking around and said I might be able to. He found me a taxi driver they use who speaks English and we set off at 20 Sudanese lbs per hour. In 20 minutes I was wisked away to a back alley where the man was making tents out of canvas for the army...huge monster tents..he had a "two man tent" that was made out of cotton and weighed about 100 lbs. I finally convinced him that I did not want this tent and he then said he would cut it down for me...NOT!!!...and then suddenly it was breakfast time at 11:30 am and the driver sat down with all the workers and had a common bowl of beans and pita eaten with fingers...no forks here...this took twenty minutes and then he decided that he needed to drive me rather than eat ...and not back to the hotel but all the way across town to an illegal/legal market to another tent man..(probably some relative). We arrived forty minutes later into a huge area of laneways where everything from shoes to clothes to computers were being made and sold. As we walked further into the maze of stalls I must say I was begining to feel a little vunerable as I was the only "white" person walking there...(I now know what this feels like)...at least my driver was clearing the way of others. We arrived at a stall and the tent was cotton canvas once again and huge. I kept saying no and an argument ensued between the driver and the seller. I just stood there calmly and said no again and again. Finally I started to walk away and the driver followed me and we made it back to the hotel...60 Sudanese lbs lighter (30us)...and no tent. I will give up the quest for now and trust if one is to find its way into my life it will have to come to me...I will not go to it!!!

So of course I made it back for lunch...french fries (I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOO greatful), vegetable curry with rice and chutney, a spinach salad with tomatoes and feta cheese, rolls, real coffe again...an orange...filtered water, ketchup...and coke...and supper wil be at 8 tonight. I will eat as many calories as possible over the next two days as we have many miles ahead. (HMMM..back to peanut butter and syrup sandwiches)

After such a tring day it was time for a nap so I opened the french doors and shutters wide and slept for an hour...and what the heck might as well have another shower...so I did. I am going nowhere else but here.

There are english newpapers here so I have read about the snowstorm you had with school closings. I must say I forget that it is the second of February and winter in Canada. My tan lines are weird due to the bike clothes but at least we are all the same. I have become use to the warm days..(I will not go on about the cold nights). The interesting aspect of reading a newspaper after three weeks is the realization that world goes on without me...imagine that!!!

It is now 6:15 at night on Saturday. To show you how this country is changing, today was the second Saturday that was a part of a two day weekend. In the Muslim world Friday is the holy day and they work six days a week. They now get two days off a week...so it means there is less traffic on the roads...but the banks are closed only to open the next day...being Sunday...so I will make a trip to the bank for some more funds. Apparently we will have more opportunities to stop along the route as expedition riders to have a coffee or coke stop. This is sopmething I look forward to.

I also need to find others to ride with as it wil make the going easier as it will block some of the wind we are to encounter. As we finsh off with Sudan and head into Ethiopia we will begin to climb and then as I mentioned in another post we will be dealing with altitude and its effect on our riding...not to metion the rock throwing children.

I was told the other day that over half of the population of Ethiopia are under 16. This being due to so many parents who have died from Aids. If that is true you need to imagine that children and rasing children and what that means. We are a noevlty and "we are white people on bikes" as the tour leader tells us...so we need to take anything off our bikes that we can...no tool boxes etc. I have a rain cover for my camelback so I am trusting that will keep wandering hands off my stuff and out of the pack. I will need to carry my extra tubes with me in the backpack as there are three zippered compartments on my tool box and it is behind me where I am unable to watch it...so into my red box it will go. We will need to ride with a partner as much as possible.

So that folks is how I have spent my first rest day...I trust you have all had a wonderful Saturday in North America and that the weather will improve. It is almost over the hump for winter and March is next month...well I am trying here to be an optimist!!!

I will update this post after supper tonight to let you know what we had.

I wish I could upload pictures to these blog enteries but I do not have a laptop to upload my pictures to first...but I am working on this so stay tuned. For pictures go to www.tourdafrique.com...and see if you can find me in any of them...I am there!!!

...well I am back after a meal of fish, scalloped potatos, green beans, salad, gingerbread and turkish coffee...wonder what the campers are having for supper...I am sure it is just as wonderful. Henry Gould..the person who started the tour is with us at this hotel and we have had many interesting conversations with him about Kenya etc. As he said to me..camping for four months is okay if you are twenty but when you are "our"age not a great plan..thus hotels wherever possible..I agree with him :-)

Well I am of to bed in blue sheets with a ceiling fan blowing a cool breeze..no sound of wind whipping my tent with sand or the sound of others tossing and turning and getting up all night to beckon to the call of nature...actually it is all a part of the experience and I am grateful for it all.

In the morning I will have breakfast with Janet and then we will go back to the campground to clean our bikes and pack our red boxes and permanent bags and then back here for the afternoon and one more night of luxury. I will report with a new post. It is such a treat to be able to spend so much time writing about my experience especially when you get time to reflect on what has happened and process the information.

Sleep well fellow souls and may you continue to be blessed and grateful for all you have...Good-night:-)