Ferry Ride to Sudan

Still Day 10...

After the 17km convoy we stopped at the ferry. Our big trucks left two days earlier and were transported on a separate boat so we had a small truck carry our bags and we rode our bikes to the ferry dock. It is quite a feat organizing over 60 riders with bags and bikes. We had to identify our own bags and carry them ourselves with our bikes through an x-ray before boarding the ferry. At the ferry there were two lines of riders - those that wanted cabins on the ferry for the 18 hour ride and those who wanted to sleep on the deck. I know what you are thinking - the cabins sound nice. Not so on the ferry to Sudan - the stories of bed bugs, fleas and cockroaches were enough to send me to the deck and it turns out those stories are in fact true! Once on the ferry we sat for 6 hours while the boat was loaded with all sorts of cargo and people. The scene was chaotic and below in the seated area - men wereyelling and arguing and yelling some more in Arabic and carrying all sorts of goodies - blenders, t.v.s - you name it! We were told to stake our claim on the deck and hold onto that space for dear life. Laura and I found two small spots under one of the life boats. Enough space to put our bags and roll out our thermarest mats and our sleeping bags. I tied my camelbak and food bag to a pole because I was literally six inches for the edge and there was nothing but a two inch lip between me and the lower deck/water. It felt a litte dangerous but it meant that we would be left alone all night (some of the female TDA staff weren't so lucky!). Ever inch of that deck was cover with bodies - I have never seen anything like in my life and it was exciting. We went to sleep early and were woken up at 9pm with call to report to the "dining area" for a "medical check" (temperature check) and a passport check. Then it was back to the deck. I fell asleep without a problem - Lake Nassar was calm and the boat had a quiet hum. After all the loading chaos it was amazing to see the deck so quiet. One rider said he came up from a cabin at 11pm to see what was going on and there was nothing happening - the whole deck was asleep. At 5:15am the call the prayer woke me up and put my headphones on and stared at the stars. I have never, ever in my life seen a sky like that before - stars, stars and more stars. I stayed awake and watched the sunrise. I felt happy and alive and really excited to be in Africa. After a week of long rides, pain and adjustment to camp life - this really felt like the beginning of my trip.

Once the sun came up the ferry deck came alive - men smoking and talking and I was able to by a Sudanese SIM card for my phone for $2 (after paying $20 in Egypt!). We prepared a breakfast of granola, bananas, oranges, bread and jam. At 6:45am the ferry passed Abu Simbel (Pharoh's carved into the side of rock) - amazing to see from the water! The ferry sailed into the "port" - more like pulling up into the sand bar and docked. All the of the Sudanese passengers had to disembark before we could get our bikes and luggage off. It was well after 1pm when we climbed off that boat - a full 24 hours after boarding.

Once on land we had more customs procedures to follow - into a building to have our bikes and bags stickered before riding 5km into Wadi Halfa - the Sudanese port town. We rode out to the local soccer stadium to set up camp and were surprised to find the stadium full of people. There was some kind of ceremony going on which involved the military and gun fire which under normal circumstances might make me nervous except that all the people were cheering! We stood on the other side of a fence and watched as the ceremony ended and set up camp after the crowd had left the stadium. Despite the firing of guns - the people were immediately friendly. The children were curious but there was no yelling or rock throwing. I knew right away that I would like Sudan.

The TDA arranged to have a money changer come to camp which made getting Sudanese pounds easier (not sure where else you would do that in Wadi Halfa) and we took a tuk tuk the 3-4km into the town. Wadi Halfa has two restaurants and with over 60 people looking for dinner - we overwhelmed them both! But the staff managed and were very friendly and happy to have our business. The food was very good - chicken, potatos, and rice - simple but a nice change from the bread and jam I had been eating for the last 24 hours. After dinner a few of us sat on a bench at nearby cafe and drank ginger tea. It was brewed by the most beautiful Sudanese woman with a kettle on an open fire and jars of tea in front of her. She served tea to men on plastic lawn chairs sitting outside the cafe watching a Nick Nolte film with Arabic subtitles?! The tea was amazingly sweet and delicious and felt cleansing and medicinal. I turned to the four riders I was with and said how happy I was to be in Sudan and that this was what I came to Africa for and they all agreed. We were all looking forward to Sudan.