Desert Dust

The town of Dongola now has internet access so I am able to update this blog sooner than I thought. The connection is still slow so still no photos (and my camera is back at the zoo where we're camped charging).

Sudan is I think the nicest place I have ever been. The people are so friendly and giving. The majority of the road between Wadi Halfa and Dongola where I am now has been mostly unpaved which most of the mountain bikers prefer! The roadies ride on but have a tougher time without suspension. Many of the riders are struggle more in the heat so I'm feeling lucky I've come here from the heat and aren't having such a rough time adapting. My long dose of Doxycycline had commenced which means that those taking the doxy are more prone to sunburn. I apply my sunscreen religiously and haven't been burnt yet but I reckon I'm going to come home with a very sexy cycling tan!!! I have the beginnings of a sunnies tan now too, as well as a glove tan, finger tan, knicks tan, t-shirt tan... there'll probably be a helmet strap tan too before long!!! Sudan is mostly desert so it has a low population level, clean air, strong sun. The sand is very fine - like dust and it gets everywhere. My clothes that were once white are now nowhere close to their original colour - I did a heap of washing today too and it just wouldn't come out. It coats my tent, and my body. Worst its through my camera which makes its functionality very temperamental (I'm hoping it will behave better after its finished charging because now the zoom doesn't work, the lens takes a lot of fiddling with before it will close.) At the end of a days cycle it coats my arms, legs and clothing (which is a good thing because it provides protection against the sun). Depending on where we're camped depends on how well we can wash. Sometimes we can go for a swim in the Nile, sometimes we're allowed to fill a 750ml drinkbottle to use as our shower. You'd be surprised at how refreshing it is though.

I stopped between villages the other day when I was greeted by a boy and he asked me to sit in the shade for a while which I did because it was the middle of the day, and I could feel the sun burning my skin. His dad made me a cup of tea and fed me some dates (I think the water for the tea may have come straight from the Nile but it didn't make me sick)... very nice of him... then he decided he wanted to kiss me at which point I decided it was time to leave. I get so used to hanging out in my lycra I forget that I probably look like a prostitute to some of these people... I carry a sarong in my backpack and have since made a point of putting it on when I stop!

I quit the race because this place is so amazing and I like taking the time to stop in some of the villages, chat to some of the kids, and leave when I want to leave instead of when the racers leave. The plan was never to race this thing anyway.

Sadly the road from Dongola to Khartoum, and Khartoum to the Ethiopian border has all now been paved so I have put the slicks back on my bike, and am now looking forward to getting to Ethiopia where the pavement ends - even if the kids do throw rocks and try to put sticks in between your spokes!!!