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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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source: http://www.cycletothesummit.org.uk

25th February 2002 - 6th March 2002 - Khartoum

We used Khartoum to recuperate from our time in the desert, and Paul who had managed to stay healthy throughout the difficult desert stretch, came down with 'the bug' that had already run its course with Toby and Ruth's bowels! However, Paul was able to get back to full strength in the home of Philippe, a French diplomat we met on the road on the way into Khartoum. We are exceptionally grateful for the excellent food and company that Philippe provided during our stay with him.

Our attempts at securing the necessary documentation for our onward travel (Ethiopian visas, travel permits, renewal of Sudanese visa) were hampered by Eid festival, as most government offices were closed. When they reopened, the process was frustratingly slow. We spent several days to-ing and fro-ing between the Ethiopian Embassy, the British Embassy (we needed a letter of recommendation to accompany our application for an Ethiopian visa), the travel permit office (all foreigners need a permit to travel outside Khartoum), the Aliens Registration Office (you must register with the police if you stay in a major town or city) and the Ministry of Tourism (to obtain a photographic permit). Since the process took quite a few days, we needed to extend our Sudanese visas to allow us enough time to cycle to the border. We said our farewells to Philippe, thinking that we were ready to leave. However, all this bureaucracy proved expensive and we contemplated the amount of money that we would need for the remainder of Sudan and Ethiopia. Given that there are no ATM machines in either country we decided to have money wired from the UK to ensure that we would have sufficient funds until our plastic would be useful once again in Kenya. While waiting for the funds, we stayed with Emily, a gap year student teaching in ...