Sudan to Ethiopia

SUDAN TO ETHIOPIA May 16, 2006 - Entry and first overnight stay After 17 hours on the ship we reached Wadi Halfa/Sudan at about 11 o’clock. Compared to Egypt people were pretty civilized while getting off board. As soon as we got off somebody approached us to help with customs and entry permit. It didn’t take much persuasion for us to accept his help. It was rather hot; the mooring was located in the middle of the desert and didn’t look like one. If somebody would have met us here and we’d tell him that we had just arrived on a ship…they would have probably replied: yeah, sure, it’s the heat. The old Wadi Halfa sank in the floods of the Nasser reservoir. You actually really can’t call Wadi Halfa a city; it’s more a little village in the desert. Riding from the Immigration hall to the hotel in a taxicab was our first adventure. The taxi is a very old Land Rover. Sure enough, after the first few meters it starts to splutter and then stops. After several unsuccessful resuscitation attempts, all men climb out and try to push it. It didn’t work. A passing minibus picks us all up and transports us to the Nile hotel. It’s very plain but clean: rooms with several beds and sand floors, walls made out of wooden planks or corrugated iron and bucket showers. This so-called shower consists of a bucket with water and a small cup. You use the cup to pour the water over yourself and then shower. Very simple. The hotel is booked quickly. The cargo ship doesn’t arrive until tomorrow morning and even the train to Khartum doesn’t leave until tomorrow night. It only took us about 5 minutes to explore Wadi Halfa. Later on we relax in a restaurant and enjoy a couple of cold drinks. The heat is wearing us out. While eating dinner a woman passes us and says: “Guten Appetit”. We stare at her. Did the heat get to us? Nope- it’s not the heat; we really did hear it. It is Sabine and Jochen, two Germans who are also traveling with their taxi (a Toyota Land Cruiser) for a year in south and east Africa! They were just coming up from down south. We talked all evening and exchanged important information. May 17, 2006 - One day in Wadi Halfa and beginning the train ride to Khartoum At 8am in the morning we meet our helper to take care of the entry formalities and to get our motorbike. We received the stamps in our passports in no time. But entry is an expensive bit of fun. Per person it costs us 6350 Dinar (even though we already possess a Visa). To get the motor bike out of customs costs another 7100 Dinar; then 1600 Dinar for customs, 2000 Dinar for taxes, 1000 Dinar for taxes and 2500 Dinar for others (one US$ = 220 Sudanese Dinars). Consequently, the entry for “the Cow” and us together was 19800 Dinar, which equals US $90. And now we have to wait again since the cargo ship won’t get here until noon. Unfortunately it’s not as easy as we had hoped for to get our bike off the ship. The captain is not willing to unload anything off the cargo without a customs officer present. But after we solved that problem we are faced with another one. Next to the freighter there are only two pontoons, which are only accessible via some windy planks. We can already see “our Cow” and the helper ending up in the water. But finally it is done. We are on our way to the train station where the train to Khartoum is already waiting to be loaded. First class tickets for us cost 800 Dinar per person and “the Cow” cost 50 Dinar per each kg = 1200 Dinar. And again we are about $130.00 poorer. Money here just seems to run through our fingers. We are pretty exhausted after loading “the Cow”. Every effort in this kind of heat- it’s easily about 45C` (and more)- is just too much. After freshening up a little, we decided to wait in a restaurant for the evening to arrive and to be able to board the train to Khartoum. Some information about the train: First class over here is not like our first class. Not at all. First class over here means being “exactly the same like the rest of the train”, except for having fewer seats. Rita had to sit in the women’s compartment, 6 women and 5 children. The remaining seats in that compartment are filled up with as much luggage as possible (dishes, bicycles, boxes filled with food…). The seats of the train are completely falling apart, the ventilator runs only at times and there is a constant coming and going. May 18 – 19, 2006- Train ride and Arrival in Khartoum For the 1000km the train ride took 36 hours (In words: thirty six), would you believe it! That means: 2 nights and 1 day on the train. We decided to do the train ride because we were too heavy for the sandy route all the way from Wadi Halfa via Dongola to Khartoum; even though, the train ride here in Sudan is not any less strenuous. The tracks still seem to be from the last century. Despite the slow drive (about 30km/h) we sometimes thought the train is going to jump off the tracks. It wobbles constantly. There is no electricity during the day which means that the ventilator doesn’t work. And if you open a window you’ll get all dusted with sand or you have hot desert wind blow into the compartment. It is so hot that we use 10 liters of liquid, even though we are not doing anything physical. We have a short 2-hour layover in Atbara. We were afraid that ‘the Cow” might have tipped over due to the rough train ride but one glance at the cargo compartment was enough-nothing. The wagon was loaded up so much that you couldn’t even see “the Cow”. No need to worry about falling over. The following night on the train was just terrible. Neither one of us was able to get some sleep. The jolting and wobbling about was so bad that at times we feared the train would turn over. In addition, the ventilator didn’t work all night long. It was unbearable hot. The train arrived on time on the 19th of May 2006, at exactly 9am in the morning. We took a cab to take us to the Blue Nile Sailing Club where we could camp. That’s where we met Claude, a Swiss, who is traveling by bicycle. Later on we found out that he had been traveling around the world on his bicycle between 1994 and 2001. He even wrote a book about it: Gone insane- 7 years in a saddle. In the evening an Italian on a bicycle joins the campsite. It’s Ciro. Claude and Ciro already know each other from Egypt. Ciro is planning to travel for 5 years. And here we thought what we were doing was crazy… May 20 – 24, 2006- Days in Khartoum With the help of the cab driver from yesterday, we got “the Cow” of the train. We weren’t able to do it yesterday since it was Friday. ‘She’ was already unloaded and had gotten through the long and exhausting trip just fine. After setting the mirrors and handles into the right position, we were off to the campground. Now Chri has the time to really check ‘her’ over. The air filter box was full of sand as a result of the sandstorm on the oasis tour through Egypt. The cab driver was an example of the kindness and helpfulness of the Sudanese. He helped us with translating, waited until we had checked everything on the moped, and helped us to find a way to get “the Cow” off the train station. When Rita offered him a tip for all his help, he politely declined and said: “It was me a pleasure to help you”. In Khartoum we got our Visas for Ethiopian. To our great delight the Visas ‘only’ cost $20 per person instead of the expected $63. Unfortunately our trip to the Temples of Naqa didn’t go as planned. We were pressed for time and therefore decided to turn around before we even got to Naqa. Otherwise we would have gotten into the darkness and we didn’t want to risk that. It was a nice day nevertheless. We drove a lot of track. It was a lot of fun even though we tipped over three or four times. Unfortunately we noticed the next day that there was a thorn of an acacia stuck in our front tire and it was losing air. Our first flat tire fixed by ourselves!! And it was even successful. May 25 – 26, 2006- Drive to the Ethiopian border The drive out of Khartoum to Gedaref is not so nice. The area is monotonous with lots of traffic; this is the main road to Port Sudan. Just before Gedaref we can see the first signs of the rainy season: nice, big clouds in the sky. The thought of rain and some cooler temperatures after all this heat that we’ve experienced in the Sudan sounds great. The track out of Gedaref was very bad: a lot of bends, oncoming traffic, huge rocks, large potholes and corrugated iron. It did getter better, though. They are building the new road right next to the track. Now we were moving along quickly. Almost 90km were freshly tarred. Just 20km before the border to Gallabat the road turned into some bad track again. In Gallabat we had to wait a while for the security official. He had just gone for his afternoon prayers to the mosque and we weren’t allowed to go on without anybody taking down our data. Getting the exit stamp for us and for the carnet doesn’t take too long so that we are soon back on our way to Ethiopia. FAZIT SUDAN RITA: the countryside is rather monotonous, mostly just desert and extremely hot. I never would have thought it possible that I ‘d be glad to wear a helmet in temperatures of 45C! And to keep it closed up all the way. But it was so hot that the air-stream would have completely dried one out in no time at all. The people of the Sudan, on the other hand, are just great. Always willing to help (without asking for money), very nice and open, very interested and not at all annoying. Even though it was extremely hot, this country was still a relief compared to Egypt! It’s too bad, though, that we didn’t travel through the apparently very beautiful desert of Wadi Halfa towards the South. But then again, it was the right decision. We would have never made it on our own. It’s also too bad that we weren’t able to see any pyramids and temple- but maybe we’ll come back some time?! Everything that we have seen in the Sudan, including the people we’ve met, was favorable. We didn’t sense any fear or worry in any of the people that we’ve met on the road- everybody lives well with each other and is content. I am sure it is bad in Dafur and in South-Sudan but we didn’t realize anything, neither from the atmosphere nor a heightened military presence. The route that we took was definitely safe! I am glad that we decided on traveling through this country- this way we had a chance to get our own idea of the country. CHRI: I have never experienced heat like that! The people are really nice and otherwise there’s just desert. Too bad, though, that we couldn’t drive from Wadi Halfa to Khartoum ourselves. But when I look back at how much liquid we drank without any physical strain- we would have never made it. Not to mention the sand route and our total weight. One more thing I’d like to mention about the people: they were through and through nice, ready to help and interested in us without getting on our nerves (except for a few minor exceptions). And you can’t tell at all that part of the country is in war, that a lot of people suffer and die: no military or police presence and everybody acts normal. All in all, the Sudan is an interesting and worthwhile country. +++++ ETHIOPIA May 26, 2006- Entry and first overnight stay Still on the Sudan side we had already put on our full motorbike gear including helmet since we thought we had to travel 30km to the next village to take care of our border formalities. But we were told that the passports had to be stamped in Metama, the first Ethiopian city. Chri took off with both of our passports and found himself in a round thatched hut. This was the "immigration office". Quite funny. Pretty soon the passports were stamped and we rode the first kilometers in Ethiopia. Very rough road, many big and pointed rocks in hard ground or gravel, we were more swimming than having a normal ride. About 5 pm we arrived in Shehedi and drove directly to customs to get the "carnet de passage" for the motorbike stamped. The carnet was quickly stamped and the required papers filled out, and surprise we did'nt pay anything. With these formalities we and "the cow" officially were in Ethiopia. As it was already quite late and we did not to drive further on, we decided to look for a hotel. We were looked at quite surprised, as obviously only few tourists have an overnight stay at this place. Accordingly was the "hotel": a small simple room with a bed, a chair, a door and a hole in the wall as a window. The toilet a hole in the ground. The girls who ran the "hotel" bent giggling and laughing . Especially as we brought the bike into the court and had to pass the bar including two doors. Then they took two chairs and sat down just in front of our door, which they continued to open a little bit to see what we were doing. In the beginning it was quite funny but after a while we wanted to be unwatched. The shower, too, was an experience. A hose was connected to the cock and the water was poured into a barrel, which was about 2meter above ground. I was taking an intensive shower, as I thought water was keeping pouring, but unfortunately that was not true and for Chri there was only one bucket left. The weather kept staying very hot, therefore you could not think of a restful night. In addition to that the bed was a real catastrophe. Actually he had had better nights. May 27, 2006- Ride to Gondor Because of the overnight situation we got up early in the morning and quickly were on the road. The "piste" got better as well as the climate. Slowly we drove uphill and fortunately it became cooler. The countryside had changed: Wow! Green where ever we looked; a pleasure after those weeks with only desert around us. Finally there were again trees, hills and mountains and a lot of agriculture. And many people and animals on the road. The Ethiopians appear to be a nation always on the go, but always having an umbrella with them either against the sun or the rain. That requires increased attention while driving, because humans and animals always walk on the street. Before we arrived in this country we had heard different versions of how the Ethiopians are; from "like the Indians" to "throwing rocks" and "shouting you, you, you" everything was included. Therefore we were quite curious what we had to expect. The first impression although was very positive: we were looked at friendly with curiosity, once in a while someone shouted "you, you" but there was no begging (not yet). Concerning meaning of "you, you, you" we decided to take that as a greeting and waved back. This was the best way to handle it, because every child and each youngster shouted these words after us. It should become even worse, but as we said the first impression made us hope. The ride to Gondor was a recreation because we had a good road and the air was cool. Partly the route led up to 2,200 m and it was a benefit to drive with open visor. Shortly before we arrived in Gondor the rains caught up with us: we had a heavy shower. The little trees really were no shelter and we got draggled. Fortunately the final kms were on tarred road and soon we settled comfortably in a cute pension. In Ethiopia, by the way, they have a different calendar, the Julian: currently they have the year 1998 and there are 13 month in a year (12 months with 30 days and 1 month with 5 or 6 days). In addition they have a different "timing", they only count 12 hours, from 6 am till 6 pm. A little bit complicated for an European. May 28 - 30, 2006 Gondor The next day was May 28., 2006 our time, equivalent to Sept. 09., 1998 Ethiopian time = my (Ritas) birthday. I again became 26 years old !!! This event we celebrated with cool beer. Otherwise we had planned to do sightseeing on the first day in town. There was the Gemp Palace building. All examples of architecture from the beginning of the 17.century and really in good condition. We lingered about 2 hours through the arrangement and inspected every corner. Very nice and impressive. After that we were forced to make a break because of rain. On the afternoon we drove to another place of interest: The "Bath of the Fasil". Unfortunately there was reconstruction work in progress but you could make yourself an impression. The second day in Gong we planned to tour the surrounding, towards Simien National Park north of Grong. But before take off we would like to contact PLAN International Bureau in Lalibela as we would like to visit our godchild at the end of the week. When Chri called Lalibela, nobody knew about our wish. Obviously the agency in Addis did not announce our coming, although the bureau in Germany had given them a notice. But they were very friendly and assured us there is no problem with our visit. We should as planned come to Lalibela. Well, we will see. The excursion then was quite short, as the road was very bad and we were not in the mood to get shaken to badly. The countryside around Grong is very impressive. Again many mountains, everything green and an exciting panorama. The rest of the day we took it easy. May 30 - 31, 2006 Bahir Dar and Issat Waterfalls We thought, the road towards south Bahir Dar on lake Tana would be rough, but we were positively surprised it was very new asphalt. It was an easy ride and as fast as humans and animals allowed to go without risk. In Bahir Dar we again booked into a hotel, with wonderful garden, directly located on lake Tana. Good luck, we did not stay in our tent, as it rained quite heavily during those two nights. The first afternoon we stayed on the hotel patio and enjoyed looking over lake Tana. On the last day of May we drove to the Tis Issat waterfalls also called "waterfalls of the blue Nil". The road again was really rough but very hard, no gravel, so we had a good going. In Tiss Isat we bought the entry tickets we got rid all tour guides. We were able to find the way all by ourselves. Then strolled around till we had the first sight of the waterfalls. The sight was not very exciting, because a waterworks built next to the falls reduced the falls to one (1) fall. Electricity takes it tribute. But anyway it was a nice excursion. On the way back it again started raining and the road became very slippery. But Chri and the "Cow" mastered it with bravery. June 01, 2006 Visit to Lalibela What an exhausting driving day! We had been on the road in total 10 (ten) hours. We drove on asphalt from Bahir to Werota, from there we had a terrible road towards Weldia in the east. The 200km road was partly only big stones and gravel, which shook us and the bike terribly. In addition again humans and animals taking the best part of the road. The scenery was a dream! You are moving all the time in an altitude of 3000 m and again and again you have a breathtaking view into valleys and on plateaus. Unfortunately we could not really enjoy it all the time, as we had to concentrate on the road. Somewhere down the road we hit the intersection to Lalibela and the road was better. Relatively even and only a little bit gravel. The last 20 km till Lalibela city we had a narrow stripe of asphalt. Finally we arrived about 7 pm, completely exhausted with aching back and more. We checked into a hotel and fell asleep right away. June 02 - 03, 2006 Lalibela and visit of our godchild The first day we went early in the morning to the bureau of PLAN International, to meet our contact, Mr. Alebel. We were welcomed and different bureaus and project leaders were introduced to us and their tasks explained to us. We even had short conversation with the overall manager. We made an appointment for 7 am next morning to drive to Kenaye (our godchild) and his community. The first impression of PLAN was very good. The rest of the day in Lalibela sadly was not as nice. People in that village are not as nice and helpful as we were used of the Ethiopians. Begging was quite common here: everybody was shouting "money, money" or "give me pen" or "t-shirt" etc.. Besides that we were quite disappointed about the "Rock churches", the pretended highlight of a tour to Ethiopia. The churches are marvelous, but you cannot visit them properly and enjoy the view. In an ugly way they are roofed over with corrugated iron. In addition these roofs are supported by even uglier scaffolding out of wood or aluminium. And these scaffoldings cover most of the cladding and you cannot see much of the churches. The interior we did not like, too, there were a lot of carpets laying wildly disordered around the images were new and painted with "neon colors". For us it was an only disappointment. But fortunately we had that day with our godchild, which compensated everything. On June 03., we were picked up by PLAN assistants in front of the hotel and drove with a Toyota into the mountains. The road to the village Tadios Amba, where our godchild Kenaye is living had been built by PLAN. There was nothing before. We drove about 1 hour, partly the road was heavily washed out and also crossing several rivers was quite an experience. During the drive we were introduced into the different projects which PLAN was performing. They build schools and kindergartens, install solar-powered pumps for water, build bridges and educational advertising in respect to birth control and agriculture. Everything sounded very reasonable and well thought-out. Arrived in Tadios Amba we met the teachers and the principal, and they showed us the classrooms, toilets and showers for the children. Then we walked, fortunately only 15 minutes, to the village of Kenaye. The village consists of a couple round huts and a shed for the cattle. Everything is at about 3000m above sea level and they do farming in this altitude! Really extreme conditions. Then we met Kenaye and his family. They were totally surprised, as we think, they did not get informed beforehand. Accordantly silent they were when we showed up. We were invited into their hut and mama made coffee for us. There was little conversation, but when we gave our present - a soccer ball of the WM 2006 - to Kenaye, he became relaxed. He smiled from one ear to the other and kept doing so. Obviously we brought the right thing. We took some pictures and after about one hour we said goodbye. It was good and important for us to see how Kenaye is living and our money is spent for. It was funny, too, to see that our fotos and pictures were hanging on the wall. On the way back we visited two more villages and had a chance to see different projects. We could convince ourselves, that PLAN did a very good job here in the Lalibela project area. And now we know, that our money is spent well and correctly. It was a very interesting excursion and a short immerge into another world. We are very happy, that we had a chance to do this visit. June 04 - 06, 2006 Journey to Addis Ababa On June o4., we left Lalibela; we drove back the same road. On the main road we turned left towards Weldia. We were in anxious expectation, what kind of road we will find. But it was in a relative good condition. From Weldia we turned south, first toward Dese, where we stayed for overnight. This route again was difficult to drive, first aged asphalt with cracks, holes, waves and dents. Later it even got worse, it turned into a rocky road. Again every single bone did hurt. On June 05., we had a lovely fine surprise: beginning in Kembolcha till almost Debre Sina the road was newly asphalted! 150 km smooth road, even white street markings! A project of the EU! It was like flying along the street; Chri had to pay attention, that he was not getting to fast. We could not remember when we had such street condition. To sad this condition came to an end and the last km to Addis Ababa we had to finish on June 06, on bad asphalt. In Addis Ababa we had arranged to meet with Ilona and Torsten, friends of friends of us, we also could stay with them overnight. Many thanks again for that! Both of them work at the German ambassador school, where drove first when we arrived. We had no trouble to find the way to the school. Addis to us seems to be a mixture of a metropolis and small town. Partially it looked as in Khartoum ( many huts, country lane.) on the other hand it is more modern (big buildings, stores.) Ilona and Torsten obviously were highly surprised that we really as announced arrived on June 6. 2006-- up to now Africa and the different way of living could not delay us. Hihi! This afternoon and evening we spent chatting and a delicious supper in a Kenyan restaurant. Here they had chicken wings for Rita and vegetable samosas and a vegetable meal with rice for Chri. A change to our previous meals in this country: injera (pita made out of teff) and shiro (chickpeas pap, hot), for lunch and supper. Monotonous, but delicious! June 07 - 11, 2006 Stay in Addis Well - we've been in town the whole time but didn't see much of it. We had to stay at Ilona and Torstens house, because Chri was ill (the revenge of Montezuma). He spent the first two days in bed - 39C fever, diarrhoea and abdominal cramping. Poor guy... Rita spent these days reading books and looking after her suffering husband. She really enjoyed reading, because there were the first books since leaving home. Chri took antibiotics and on june the 9th we could see the first soccer match of the world championship in Germany. June 11, 2006 Tour to lake Langano On this Sunday we packed our things and started towards south leaving Addis. The first km were quite awkward, because heavy traffic with trucks and the air was more than dirty. In Mojo we turned into the street towards Kenia and the air and countryside abruptly turned better. Many umbrella-acacias, many small herds of cattle and goats and the typical African round huts. A nice ride on good asphalt. On lake Langano we pitched our tent on a campground and spent a comfortable night. June 12 - 14, 2006 Abra Minch The next day (June 12.) we decided to make a trip to Abra Minch, as we were told the scenery should be very beautiful. We could confirmed this. The country almost exploded of green, there are a many banana plantations, fields with sugar cane, corn and grain. The ground looked sappily red and fertile. Anyhow people here again were awkward, many cries "money, money" and you could see outstretched, begging hands all-around. It seems to be a reflex: A white man shows up; give us something! What a shame. When we arrived we checked into a small clean hotel and arranged a boats tour for the next day on lake Chamo. Unfortunately it poured all night long. Next morning it not really had stopped, skies were overclouded and our boats trip at 9am literally was drowned. We postponed the whole tour to 11am and really sun was showing up and we could enjoy the boats tour on this nice located, lovely lake. We saw many birds, huge crocodiles and hippos! For he first time. They are huge and cute. The trip was much to expensive but it was worth it. The rest of the day we only lazed around. June 14, 2006 - Driving to Awassa and June 15.-16., 2006 stay in Awassa On this day we drove the same road back till Awassa, a small town also located near to a lake. From other travelers we had the address of a nice campground, run by a German and an Ethiopian. And the "Adenium Campsite" keeps its promise. An oasis, idyllic with 2 clean rooms to rent, space for camping, facilities to cook and washing! We decided to stay here for two days and only relax! We washed our clothes, had been served super dinners 2 times from Jana and did do nothing else. That really was "well done"! June 17 - 18, 2006 - Trip Towards Kenyan Border We followed the small but good asphalt strip south. The countryside slightly changed. In the beginning sappy green, later on more scrubland with bright red soil and many umbrella-akazies and termite-mounds. In Yavello we stayed for overnight and had the chance to watch with local people the soccer game Czech republic against Ghana during WM. That was funny and there was a good spirit. June 16., was our last day in Ethiopia; we drove the last 200km up to the border station Moyale. Shortly before midday we arrived, handled custom formalities and sadly enough had to wait until 3pm to get our passports stamped for exit. The officers had lunch time. But we were glad to get to Kenya the same day. We were afraid that of the borders is closed, as we had Sunday. We finished all of the border formalities quite quickly and we did not have to pay anything in addition. And about 3.30pm we said Bye bye Ethiopia. FAZIT ETHIOPIA RITA: what a wonderful country. Such a green, such grandiose landscapes. But people are somehow to stressful. Even the "You, you, you, ", what we in the beginning accepted as greeting is getting bothering over the time, not mentioning the "money, money" shouting and the begging. Very pity, we also ask us, why are these people like that??!! They are able to live on their own, foreign aid is not necessary. Other travelers told us, that they once understood a call of the church, which was like:"..go to the white people, they are obliged to give to you and help you (because of the time of colonization)...). That could be an explanation of the behavior, but no excuse. Most likely other interests are the background. Such a marvelous country, but it itself and the people make it difficult for tourism. CHRI: I had worse expectation with people and I did not expect such an exuberant green scenery. When I had heard the comparison with the Indian I expected the worst. In the south they are annoying but in general it is ok. But I really would like to know, who made those people like that. Foreign aid organizations without an end, which make a lot of things wrong, unfortunately. Scenically this country is marvelous. Even on altitudes about 3000m you see a lot of green. Culturally there could be something - unfortunately Lalibela is mutilated by these awful roofs. What I think is interesting, that people in poor areas do not beg that much. An interesting country, people should be "brought up a little bit more" May be we will make another visit to Kenaye in a few years.

SUDAN TO ETHIOPIA

May 16, 2006 - Entry and first overnight stay
After 17 hours on the ship we reached Wadi Halfa/Sudan at about 11 o’clock. Compared to Egypt people were pretty civilized while getting off board. As soon as we got off somebody approached us to help with customs and entry permit. It didn’t take much persuasion for us to accept his help. It was rather hot; the mooring was located in the middle of the desert and didn’t look like one. If somebody would have met us here and we’d tell him that we had just arrived on a ship…they would have probably replied: yeah, sure, it’s the heat. The old Wadi Halfa sank in the floods of the Nasser reservoir. You actually really can’t call Wadi Halfa a city; it’s more a little village in the desert.

Riding from the Immigration hall to the hotel in a taxicab was our first adventure. The taxi is a very old Land Rover. Sure enough, after the first few meters it starts to splutter and then stops. After several unsuccessful resuscitation attempts, all men climb out and try to push it. It didn’t work. A passing minibus picks us all up and transports us to the Nile hotel. It’s very plain but clean: rooms with several beds and sand floors, walls made out of wooden planks or corrugated iron and bucket showers. This so-called shower consists of a bucket with water and a small cup. You use the cup to pour the water over yourself and then shower. Very simple. The hotel is booked quickly. The cargo ship doesn’t arrive until tomorrow morning and even the train to Khartum doesn’t leave until tomorrow night.

It only took us about 5 minutes to explore Wadi Halfa. Later on we relax in a restaurant and enjoy a couple of cold drinks. The heat is wearing us out. While eating dinner a woman passes us and says: “Guten Appetit”. We stare at her. Did the heat get to us? Nope- it’s not the heat; we really did hear it. It is Sabine and Jochen, two Germans who are also traveling with their taxi (a Toyota Land Cruiser) for a year in south and east Africa! They were just coming up from down south. We talked all evening and exchanged important information.

May 17, 2006 - One day in Wadi Halfa and beginning the train ride to Khartoum
At 8am in the morning we meet our helper to take care of the entry formalities and to get our motorbike. We received the stamps in our passports in no time. But entry is an expensive bit of fun. Per person it costs us 6350 Dinar (even though we already possess a Visa). To get the motor bike out of customs costs another 7100 Dinar; then 1600 Dinar for customs, 2000 Dinar for taxes, 1000 Dinar for taxes and 2500 Dinar for others (one US$ = 220 Sudanese Dinars). Consequently, the entry for “the Cow” and us together was 19800 Dinar, which equals US $90. And now we have to wait again since the cargo ship won’t get here until noon. Unfortunately it’s not as easy as we had hoped for to get our bike off the ship. The captain is not willing to unload anything off the cargo without a customs officer present. But after we solved that problem we are faced with another one. Next to the freighter there are only two pontoons, which are only accessible via some windy planks. We can already see “our Cow” and the helper ending up in the water. But finally it is done. We are on our way to the train station where the train to Khartoum is already waiting to be loaded. First class tickets for us cost 800 Dinar per person and “the Cow” cost 50 Dinar per each kg = 1200 Dinar. And again we are about $130.00 poorer. Money here just seems to run through our fingers. We are pretty exhausted after loading “the Cow”. Every effort in this kind of heat- it’s easily about 45C` (and more)- is just too much. After freshening up a little, we decided to wait in a restaurant for the evening to arrive and to be able to board the train to Khartoum.

Some information about the train: First class over here is not like our first class. Not at all. First class over here means being “exactly the same like the rest of the train”, except for having fewer seats. Rita had to sit in the women’s compartment, 6 women and 5 children. The remaining seats in that compartment are filled up with as much luggage as possible (dishes, bicycles, boxes filled with food…). The seats of the train are completely falling apart, the ventilator runs only at times and there is a constant coming and going.

May 18 – 19, 2006- Train ride and Arrival in Khartoum
For the 1000km the train ride took 36 hours (In words: thirty six), would you believe it! That means: 2 nights and 1 day on the train. We decided to do the train ride because we were too heavy for the sandy route all the way from Wadi Halfa via Dongola to Khartoum; even though, the train ride here in Sudan is not any less strenuous. The tracks still seem to be from the last century. Despite the slow drive (about 30km/h) we sometimes thought the train is going to jump off the tracks. It wobbles constantly. There is no electricity during the day which means that the ventilator doesn’t work. And if you open a window you’ll get all dusted with sand or you have hot desert wind blow into the compartment. It is so hot that we use 10 liters of liquid, even though we are not doing anything physical. We have a short 2-hour layover in Atbara. We were afraid that ‘the Cow” might have tipped over due to the rough train ride but one glance at the cargo compartment was enough-nothing. The wagon was loaded up so much that you couldn’t even see “the Cow”. No need to worry about falling over. The following night on the train was just terrible. Neither one of us was able to get some sleep. The jolting and wobbling about was so bad that at times we feared the train would turn over. In addition, the ventilator didn’t work all night long. It was unbearable hot.

The train arrived on time on the 19th of May 2006, at exactly 9am in the morning. We took a cab to take us to the Blue Nile Sailing Club where we could camp. That’s where we met Claude, a Swiss, who is traveling by bicycle. Later on we found out that he had been traveling around the world on his bicycle between 1994 and 2001. He even wrote a book about it: Gone insane- 7 years in a saddle. In the evening an Italian on a bicycle joins the campsite. It’s Ciro. Claude and Ciro already know each other from Egypt. Ciro is planning to travel for 5 years. And here we thought what we were doing was crazy…

May 20 – 24, 2006- Days in Khartoum
With the help of the cab driver from yesterday, we got “the Cow” of the train. We weren’t able to do it yesterday since it was Friday. ‘She’ was already unloaded and had gotten through the long and exhausting trip just fine. After setting the mirrors and handles into the right position, we were off to the campground. Now Chri has the time to really check ‘her’ over. The air filter box was full of sand as a result of the sandstorm on the oasis tour through Egypt. The cab driver was an example of the kindness and helpfulness of the Sudanese. He helped us with translating, waited until we had checked everything on the moped, and helped us to find a way to get “the Cow” off the train station. When Rita offered him a tip for all his help, he politely declined and said: “It was me a pleasure to help you”. In Khartoum we got our Visas for Ethiopian. To our great delight the Visas ‘only’ cost $20 per person instead of the expected $63.

Unfortunately our trip to the Temples of Naqa didn’t go as planned. We were pressed for time and therefore decided to turn around before we even got to Naqa. Otherwise we would have gotten into the darkness and we didn’t want to risk that. It was a nice day nevertheless. We drove a lot of track. It was a lot of fun even though we tipped over three or four times. Unfortunately we noticed the next day that there was a thorn of an acacia stuck in our front tire and it was losing air. Our first flat tire fixed by ourselves!! And it was even successful.

May 25 – 26, 2006- Drive to the Ethiopian border
The drive out of Khartoum to Gedaref is not so nice. The area is monotonous with lots of traffic; this is the main road to Port Sudan. Just before Gedaref we can see the first signs of the rainy season: nice, big clouds in the sky. The thought of rain and some cooler temperatures after all this heat that we’ve experienced in the Sudan sounds great. The track out of Gedaref was very bad: a lot of bends, oncoming traffic, huge rocks, large potholes and corrugated iron. It did getter better, though. They are building the new road right next to the track. Now we were moving along quickly. Almost 90km were freshly tarred. Just 20km before the border to Gallabat the road turned into some bad track again. In Gallabat we had to wait a while for the security official. He had just gone for his afternoon prayers to the mosque and we weren’t allowed to go on without anybody taking down our data. Getting the exit stamp for us and for the carnet doesn’t take too long so that we are soon back on our way to Ethiopia.

FAZIT SUDAN
RITA: the countryside is rather monotonous, mostly just desert and extremely hot. I never would have thought it possible that I ‘d be glad to wear a helmet in temperatures of 45C! And to keep it closed up all the way. But it was so hot that the air-stream would have completely dried one out in no time at all. The people of the Sudan, on the other hand, are just great. Always willing to help (without asking for money), very nice and open, very interested and not at all annoying. Even though it was extremely hot, this country was still a relief compared to Egypt! It’s too bad, though, that we didn’t travel through the apparently very beautiful desert of Wadi Halfa towards the South. But then again, it was the right decision. We would have never made it on our own. It’s also too bad that we weren’t able to see any pyramids and temple- but maybe we’ll come back some time?! Everything that we have seen in the Sudan, including the people we’ve met, was favorable. We didn’t sense any fear or worry in any of the people that we’ve met on the road- everybody lives well with each other and is content. I am sure it is bad in Dafur and in South-Sudan but we didn’t realize anything, neither from the atmosphere nor a heightened military presence. The route that we took was definitely safe! I am glad that we decided on traveling through this country- this way we had a chance to get our own idea of the country.

CHRI: I have never experienced heat like that! The people are really nice and otherwise there’s just desert. Too bad, though, that we couldn’t drive from Wadi Halfa to Khartoum ourselves. But when I look back at how much liquid we drank without any physical strain- we would have never made it. Not to mention the sand route and our total weight. One more thing I’d like to mention about the people: they were through and through nice, ready to help and interested in us without getting on our nerves (except for a few minor exceptions). And you can’t tell at all that part of the country is in war, that a lot of people suffer and die: no military or police presence and everybody acts normal. All in all, the Sudan is an interesting and worthwhile country.

+++++

ETHIOPIA

May 26, 2006- Entry and first overnight stay
Still on the Sudan side we had already put on our full motorbike gear including helmet since we thought we had to travel 30km to the next village to take care of our border formalities. But we were told that the passports had to be stamped in Metama, the first Ethiopian city. Chri took off with both of our passports and found himself in a round thatched hut. This was the "immigration office". Quite funny. Pretty soon the passports were stamped and we rode the first kilometers in Ethiopia. Very rough road, many big and pointed rocks in hard ground or gravel, we were more swimming than having a normal ride. About 5 pm we arrived in Shehedi and drove directly to customs to get the "carnet de passage" for the motorbike stamped. The carnet was quickly stamped and the required papers filled out, and surprise we did'nt pay anything. With these formalities we and "the cow" officially were in Ethiopia. As it was already quite late and we did not to drive further on, we decided to look for a hotel. We were looked at quite surprised, as obviously only few tourists have an overnight stay at this place. Accordingly was the "hotel": a small simple room with a bed, a chair, a door and a hole in the wall as a window. The toilet a hole in the ground. The girls who ran the "hotel" bent giggling and laughing . Especially as we brought the bike into the court and had to pass the bar including two doors. Then they took two chairs and sat down just in front of our door, which they continued to open a little bit to see what we were doing. In the beginning it was quite funny but after a while we wanted to be unwatched. The shower, too, was an experience. A hose was connected to the cock and the water was poured into a barrel, which was about 2meter above ground. I was taking an intensive shower, as I thought water was keeping pouring, but unfortunately that was not true and for Chri there was only one bucket left. The weather kept staying very hot, therefore you could not think of a restful night. In addition to that the bed was a real catastrophe. Actually he had had better nights.

May 27, 2006- Ride to Gondor
Because of the overnight situation we got up early in the morning and quickly were on the road. The "piste" got better as well as the climate. Slowly we drove uphill and fortunately it became cooler. The countryside had changed: Wow! Green where ever we looked; a pleasure after those weeks with only desert around us. Finally there were again trees, hills and mountains and a lot of agriculture. And many people and animals on the road. The Ethiopians appear to be a nation always on the go, but always having an umbrella with them either against the sun or the rain. That requires increased attention while driving, because humans and animals always walk on the street. Before we arrived in this country we had heard different versions of how the Ethiopians are; from "like the Indians" to "throwing rocks" and "shouting you, you, you" everything was included. Therefore we were quite curious what we had to expect. The first impression although was very positive: we were looked at friendly with curiosity, once in a while someone shouted "you, you" but there was no begging (not yet). Concerning meaning of "you, you, you" we decided to take that as a greeting and waved back. This was the best way to handle it, because every child and each youngster shouted these words after us. It should become even worse, but as we said the first impression made us hope.
The ride to Gondor was a recreation because we had a good road and the air was cool. Partly the route led up to 2,200 m and it was a benefit to drive with open visor. Shortly before we arrived in Gondor the rains caught up with us: we had a heavy shower. The little trees really were no shelter and we got draggled. Fortunately the final kms were on tarred road and soon we settled comfortably in a cute pension.
In Ethiopia, by the way, they have a different calendar, the Julian: currently they have the year 1998 and there are 13 month in a year (12 months with 30 days and 1 month with 5 or 6 days). In addition they have a different "timing", they only count 12 hours, from 6 am till 6 pm. A little bit complicated for an European.

May 28 - 30, 2006 Gondor
The next day was May 28., 2006 our time, equivalent to Sept. 09., 1998 Ethiopian time = my (Ritas) birthday. I again became 26 years old !!! This event we celebrated with cool beer. Otherwise we had planned to do sightseeing on the first day in town. There was the Gemp Palace building. All examples of architecture from the beginning of the 17.century and really in good condition. We lingered about 2 hours through the arrangement and inspected every corner. Very nice and impressive. After that we were forced to make a break because of rain. On the afternoon we drove to another place of interest: The "Bath of the Fasil". Unfortunately there was reconstruction work in progress but you could make yourself an impression.
The second day in Gong we planned to tour the surrounding, towards Simien National Park north of Grong. But before take off we would like to contact PLAN International Bureau in Lalibela as we would like to visit our godchild at the end of the week.
When Chri called Lalibela, nobody knew about our wish. Obviously the agency in Addis did not announce our coming, although the bureau in Germany had given them a notice. But they were very friendly and assured us there is no problem with our visit. We should as planned come to Lalibela. Well, we will see. The excursion then was quite short, as the road was very bad and we were not in the mood to get shaken to badly. The countryside around Grong is very impressive. Again many mountains, everything green and an exciting panorama. The rest of the day we took it easy.

May 30 - 31, 2006 Bahir Dar and Issat Waterfalls
We thought, the road towards south Bahir Dar on lake Tana would be rough, but we were positively surprised it was very new asphalt. It was an easy ride and as fast as humans and animals allowed to go without risk. In Bahir Dar we again booked into a hotel, with wonderful garden, directly located on lake Tana. Good luck, we did not stay in our tent, as it rained quite heavily during those two nights. The first afternoon we stayed on the hotel patio and enjoyed looking over lake Tana. On the last day of May we drove to the Tis Issat waterfalls also called "waterfalls of the blue Nil". The road again was really rough but very hard, no gravel, so we had a good going. In Tiss Isat we bought the entry tickets we got rid all tour guides. We were able to find the way all by ourselves. Then strolled around till we had the first sight of the waterfalls. The sight was not very exciting, because a waterworks built next to the falls reduced the falls to one (1) fall. Electricity takes it tribute. But anyway it was a nice excursion. On the way back it again started raining and the road became very slippery. But Chri and the "Cow" mastered it with bravery.

June 01, 2006 Visit to Lalibela
What an exhausting driving day! We had been on the road in total 10 (ten) hours. We drove on asphalt from Bahir to Werota, from there we had a terrible road towards Weldia in the east. The 200km road was partly only big stones and gravel, which shook us and the bike terribly. In addition again humans and animals taking the best part of the road. The scenery was a dream! You are moving all the time in an altitude of 3000 m and again and again you have a breathtaking view into valleys and on plateaus. Unfortunately we could not really enjoy it all the time, as we had to concentrate on the road. Somewhere down the road we hit the intersection to Lalibela and the road was better. Relatively even and only a little bit gravel. The last 20 km till Lalibela city we had a narrow stripe of asphalt. Finally we arrived about 7 pm, completely exhausted with aching back and more. We checked into a hotel and fell asleep right away.

June 02 - 03, 2006 Lalibela and visit of our godchild
The first day we went early in the morning to the bureau of PLAN International, to meet our contact, Mr. Alebel. We were welcomed and different bureaus and project leaders were introduced to us and their tasks explained to us. We even had short conversation with the overall manager. We made an appointment for 7 am next morning to drive to Kenaye (our godchild) and his community. The first impression of PLAN was very good.
The rest of the day in Lalibela sadly was not as nice. People in that village are not as nice and helpful as we were used of the Ethiopians. Begging was quite common here: everybody was shouting "money, money" or "give me pen" or "t-shirt" etc..
Besides that we were quite disappointed about the "Rock churches", the pretended highlight of a tour to Ethiopia. The churches are marvelous, but you cannot visit them properly and enjoy the view. In an ugly way they are roofed over with corrugated iron. In addition these roofs are supported by even uglier scaffolding out of wood or aluminium. And these scaffoldings cover most of the cladding and you cannot see much of the churches. The interior we did not like, too, there were a lot of carpets laying wildly disordered around the images were new and painted with "neon colors". For us it was an only disappointment. But fortunately we had that day with our godchild, which compensated everything.

On June 03., we were picked up by PLAN assistants in front of the hotel and drove with a Toyota into the mountains. The road to the village Tadios Amba, where our godchild Kenaye is living had been built by PLAN. There was nothing before. We drove about 1 hour, partly the road was heavily washed out and also crossing several rivers was quite an experience. During the drive we were introduced into the different projects which PLAN was performing. They build schools and kindergartens, install solar-powered pumps for water, build bridges and educational advertising in respect to birth control and agriculture. Everything sounded very reasonable and well thought-out. Arrived in Tadios Amba we met the teachers and the principal, and they showed us the classrooms, toilets and showers for the children. Then we walked, fortunately only 15 minutes, to the village of Kenaye. The village consists of a couple round huts and a shed for the cattle. Everything is at about 3000m above sea level and they do farming in this altitude! Really extreme conditions. Then we met Kenaye and his family. They were totally surprised, as we think, they did not get informed beforehand. Accordantly silent they were when we showed up. We were invited into their hut and mama made coffee for us. There was little conversation, but when we gave our present - a soccer ball of the WM 2006 - to Kenaye, he became relaxed. He smiled from one ear to the other and kept doing so. Obviously we brought the right thing. We took some pictures and after about one hour we said goodbye. It was good and important for us to see how Kenaye is living and our money is spent for. It was funny, too, to see that our fotos and pictures were hanging on the wall. On the way back we visited two more villages and had a chance to see different projects. We could convince ourselves, that PLAN did a very good job here in the Lalibela project area. And now we know, that our money is spent well and correctly. It was a very interesting excursion and a short immerge into another world. We are very happy, that we had a chance to do this visit.

June 04 - 06, 2006 Journey to Addis Ababa
On June o4., we left Lalibela; we drove back the same road. On the main road we turned left towards Weldia. We were in anxious expectation, what kind of road we will find. But it was in a relative good condition. From Weldia we turned south, first toward Dese, where we stayed for overnight. This route again was difficult to drive, first aged asphalt with cracks, holes, waves and dents. Later it even got worse, it turned into a rocky road. Again every single bone did hurt.
On June 05., we had a lovely fine surprise: beginning in Kembolcha till almost Debre Sina the road was newly asphalted! 150 km smooth road, even white street markings! A project of the EU! It was like flying along the street; Chri had to pay attention, that he was not getting to fast. We could not remember when we had such street condition. To sad this condition came to an end and the last km to Addis Ababa we had to finish on June 06, on bad asphalt.

In Addis Ababa we had arranged to meet with Ilona and Torsten, friends of friends of us, we also could stay with them overnight. Many thanks again for that! Both of them work at the German ambassador school, where drove first when we arrived. We had no trouble to find the way to the school. Addis to us seems to be a mixture of a metropolis and small town. Partially it looked as in Khartoum ( many huts, country lane.) on the other hand it is more modern (big buildings, stores.) Ilona and Torsten obviously were highly surprised that we really as announced arrived on June 6. 2006-- up to now Africa and the different way of living could not delay us. Hihi! This afternoon and evening we spent chatting and a delicious supper in a Kenyan restaurant. Here they had chicken wings for Rita and vegetable samosas and a vegetable meal with rice for Chri. A change to our previous meals in this country: injera (pita made out of teff) and shiro (chickpeas pap, hot), for lunch and supper. Monotonous, but delicious!

June 07 - 11, 2006 Stay in Addis
Well - we've been in town the whole time but didn't see much of it. We had to stay at Ilona and Torstens house, because Chri was ill (the revenge of Montezuma). He spent the first two days in bed - 39C fever, diarrhoea and abdominal cramping. Poor guy...
Rita spent these days reading books and looking after her suffering husband. She really enjoyed reading, because there were the first books since leaving home. Chri took antibiotics and on june the 9th we could see the first soccer match of the world championship in Germany.

June 11, 2006 Tour to lake Langano
On this Sunday we packed our things and started towards south leaving Addis. The first km were quite awkward, because heavy traffic with trucks and the air was more than dirty. In Mojo we turned into the street towards Kenia and the air and countryside abruptly turned better. Many umbrella-acacias, many small herds of cattle and goats and the typical African round huts. A nice ride on good asphalt. On lake Langano we pitched our tent on a campground and spent a comfortable night.

June 12 - 14, 2006 Abra Minch
The next day (June 12.) we decided to make a trip to Abra Minch, as we were told the scenery should be very beautiful. We could confirmed this. The country almost exploded of green, there are a many banana plantations, fields with sugar cane, corn and grain. The ground looked sappily red and fertile. Anyhow people here again were awkward, many cries "money, money" and you could see outstretched, begging hands all-around. It seems to be a reflex: A white man shows up; give us something! What a shame. When we arrived we checked into a small clean hotel and arranged a boats tour for the next day on lake Chamo. Unfortunately it poured all night long.
Next morning it not really had stopped, skies were overclouded and our boats trip at 9am literally was drowned. We postponed the whole tour to 11am and really sun was showing up and we could enjoy the boats tour on this nice located, lovely lake. We saw many birds, huge crocodiles and hippos! For he first time. They are huge and cute. The trip was much to expensive but it was worth it. The rest of the day we only lazed around.

June 14, 2006 - Driving to Awassa and June 15.-16., 2006 stay in Awassa
On this day we drove the same road back till Awassa, a small town also located near to a lake. From other travelers we had the address of a nice campground, run by a German and an Ethiopian. And the "Adenium Campsite" keeps its promise. An oasis, idyllic with 2 clean rooms to rent, space for camping, facilities to cook and washing! We decided to stay here for two days and only relax! We washed our clothes, had been served super dinners 2 times from Jana and did do nothing else. That really was "well done"!

June 17 - 18, 2006 - Trip Towards Kenyan Border
We followed the small but good asphalt strip south. The countryside slightly changed. In the beginning sappy green, later on more scrubland with bright red soil and many umbrella-akazies and termite-mounds. In Yavello we stayed for overnight and had the chance to watch with local people the soccer game Czech republic against Ghana during WM. That was funny and there was a good spirit.
June 16., was our last day in Ethiopia; we drove the last 200km up to the border station Moyale. Shortly before midday we arrived, handled custom formalities and sadly enough had to wait until 3pm to get our passports stamped for exit. The officers had lunch time. But we were glad to get to Kenya the same day. We were afraid that of the borders is closed, as we had Sunday. We finished all of the border formalities quite quickly and we did not have to pay anything in addition. And about 3.30pm we said Bye bye Ethiopia.

FAZIT ETHIOPIA
RITA: what a wonderful country. Such a green, such grandiose landscapes. But people are somehow to stressful. Even the "You, you, you, ", what we in the beginning accepted as greeting is getting bothering over the time, not mentioning the "money, money" shouting and the begging. Very pity, we also ask us, why are these people like that??!! They are able to live on their own, foreign aid is not necessary. Other travelers told us, that they once understood a call of the church, which was like:"..go to the white people, they are obliged to give to you and help you (because of the time of colonization)...). That could be an explanation of the behavior, but no excuse. Most likely other interests are the background. Such a marvelous country, but it itself and the people make it difficult for tourism.

CHRI: I had worse expectation with people and I did not expect such an exuberant green scenery. When I had heard the comparison with the Indian I expected the worst. In the south they are annoying but in general it is ok. But I really would like to know, who made those people like that. Foreign aid organizations without an end, which make a lot of things wrong, unfortunately. Scenically this country is marvelous. Even on altitudes about 3000m you see a lot of green. Culturally there could be something - unfortunately Lalibela is mutilated by these awful roofs. What I think is interesting, that people in poor areas do not beg that much. An interesting country, people should be "brought up a little bit more"
May be we will make another visit to Kenaye in a few years.