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Sudan - The Facts

Total distance covered in Sudan = 1559km
Total distance covered on 'non tarmac' roads = 793km

Punctures prior to Sudan = 3
Punctures in Sudan = more than 45 (we lost count!)

Sudan is the tenth largest country in the world with a population of 29 million. (Population of Britain approx 57 million)

Most memorable moments from Sudan

Toby - Reaching tarmac after cycling through the desert for 22 days
Owy - Sleeping under the stars in the desert near Akasha, Northern Sudan
Paul - Reaching the hilltop to see the first sight of civilisation after three days of seeing little other than sand!
Ruth - Having my (very knotted) hair brushed by a lady named Affaf in a Sudanese house

Cycle to the Summit Part 12 - Khartoum to Galabatt

Toby Hammond
2006-06-25 19:32:15

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Khartoum. Thanks Emily for your hospitality, your company and the suntan lotion.

7th March 2002 - Khartoum to El Kemlin - 100km

I was back in Croydon at my old job chatting to friends, but somewhere in the distance I could make out a rendition of Happy Birthday. I awoke to Owy, Toby and Paul's singing and was delighted to be served breakfast in bed, a real treat given that I could count on one hand the number of times I had slept in a bed in Sudan. The mango ice cream, waffles (made with a waffle maker borrowed from the neighbours, the Newfelds) and bananas came served on a silver tray and were washed down with some lovely tea. Owy had stayed up late the previous night and made a great birthday card and I received other greetings from Emily our host and the Newfeld family. Having got the money from the bank we were able to leave Khartoum and it felt great to be back on the road after recuperating from the desert. On the way out of town we met Hansi, a lady who we met when extending our visas and she treated us to birthday Pepsis and cake. The tarmac road helped us to make good progress south and we stopped only when the heat of the sun became too much. We lazed under a large tree, snoozing, reading and eating mangos. For the second time that day I was stirred from my dream by 'singing'. I looked back along the road towards Khartoum and saw 250 soldiers emerge from a cloud of dust as they marched along the road. Sweat was beading on their foreheads, few carried any water and many wore nothing more than flimsy sandals. Although they seemed cheerful, their clothing and rifles looked heavy. When we passed them further along the road, the enthusiasm had dwindled and the singing subsided. One soldier obviously found it too much, collapsed and was bundled onto the back of a truck. For birthday dinner, we gorged on fuul, falafel and salad, but for an alcoholic drink I would have to wait until the Ethiopian border - instead we drank mango ...