17 April, Sunday Khartoum to halfway Ethiopian border
Hugo and I feel much better, but today its Andrej’s turn. He looks pale, feels weak and nauseous. Willie and Hugo leave to find a Toyota dealership where Willie wants to buy brake pads for the vehicle. They are successful, but we leave the campsite after 12pm which is much later than what we have planned. We would also like to visit the school which we eventually find. It is scorching hot again.
Our friend shows us the school, different classrooms and it is great to be able to see the place where they have wholeheartedly poured themselves in with such passion and love.
We need dog food for Sammie. I have come to realize that it is something like an exotic delicatessen. Stores do not carry dog food and after making a few calls our friend tells us that he has find a store with dog food. He escorts us there – first to one branch and then to another just to find out that they want a shocking $100 for a 25 kg bag! No ways! Sammie will eat with us from now until we reach a place where dog food is something they understand.
We do stock up on some food and other provisions and it is after 2 when we finally head out of Khartoum. We are not done yet, though. The US embassy is apparently on our way out and we want to stop, greet and thank “our man” (see Caren’s Conundrum – Chillax) who has helped us so much during our Sudanese visa ordeal.
We find the embassy, a big and beautiful building, heavily guarded by super friendly officials. The boys look like tramps from the Oliver Twist movie – their white T-shirts are brown and stained, pants wrinkled and dusty hair. We receive a hearty welcome in spite of looks and smells. Once inside: it is cool and clean, so clean and we cannot stop being impressed by what we see and experience. The restroom smells good, is squeaky clean, has soap, toilet paper and paper towel and the ultimate luxury: the toilet flushes! What has happened to us?
We meet 2 Mr Mohammeds before finally reaching the right one. We thank him and Willie also has an opportunity to ask him about a new Ethiopian border crossing requirement: we need a special letter from our embassy in Addis Ababa that guarantees that we will not sell our vehicle whilst in Ethiopia! Mr Mohammed has heard about it, but tells us that the US embassy does not provide a letter like that.
This letter has been a growing concern that was looming in the background: we’ve heard from different overland groups that the Ethiopian government now requires in addition to the Carnet de Passage, another letter of guarantee from your resident embassy in Addis Ababa that states you will not sell your vehicle, motorbike during your stay in the country! It makes no sense, because the sole reason for obtaining a Carnet de Passage, which is like a car passport, is a declaration to the country you enter that you will not sell your vehicle. It is also expensive, because before a Carnet de Passage is issued the owner of the vehicle must deposit a sum of money that equals the current value of the car. This is kept as a deposit and once you return with your vehicle to the country that issued the Carnet you will receive your money back. The most recent information we received was from the German bikers we met in Wadi Halfa. Yes, they had to provide a letter from their embassy when they crossed into Ethiopia. They provided Willie with a copy of the letter so that we could see what exactly is required. Willie uses the letter as a template in which he inserts our information. It is not something we want to do, and we hope we will not need it, but our vehicle has German license plates, we have residency in Germany until September and our Carnet de Passage was issued in Germany. This really has not anything to do with the US embassy…?
It takes us another hour plus to shake Khartoum and outskirts off. We drive through the most littered country side I’ve ever seen – kilometres of trash lining the highway and covering the plains, the vegetation, bushes and trees ! It will take years to clean up if it is ever addressed which I doubt. Littering and clean environments do not seem to be of very high value in the Middle East. It is something I’ve mentioned often during our travels and it remains puzzling to me with my first world Western mind set.
It is searching-for-a-bush-camp time. It is not my business anymore as I’ve stated before, but I do notice that although we are out of Khartoum we are not out of civilization. There are farmers working on their fields beside the road and people everywhere. Isolated bush camping will not be possible – we will be visible any place we decide to stay. Willie turns off on a dirt road that takes us kilometers away from the road, but as predicted: people everywhere. We find a place that will be suitable and Willie and the boys go to the farmer or who we think is the farmer. They explain with gestures, pointing to the moon and the sun that we need a place to sleep for the night. He is extremely friendly, seems to understand, nods his head and we feel comfortable pitching camp for the night. We quickly have an audience of pointing, laughing, excited little boys. They watch our every move and of course the ‘kelp’, Sammie, makes them cry with delight. They leave as the sun sets and we have a hot, but pleasant evening. We have a proper meal – the first in several days and devour 1kg of meat between the 4 of us and of course, remember, now Sammie as well!
Su(da)n, Su(da)n what shall I say – you are for sure the hottest place I have ever been in the whole wide world! I will be glad to say goodbye to you, not to your people, but don’t be offended… I do not like Florida for the same reason, but I have the most awesome daughter-in-awe, a born and raised little Floridian!
Click Play
Hugo and I feel much better, but today its Andrej’s turn. He looks pale, feels weak and nauseous. Willie and Hugo leave to find a Toyota dealership where Willie wants to buy brake pads for the vehicle. They are successful, but we leave the campsite after 12pm which is much later than what we have planned. We would also like to visit the school which we eventually find. It is scorching hot again.
Our friend shows us the school, different classrooms and it is great to be able to see the place where they have wholeheartedly poured themselves in with such passion and love.
We need dog food for Sammie. I have come to realize that it is something like an exotic delicatessen. Stores do not carry dog food and after making a few calls our friend tells us that he has find a store with dog food. He escorts us there – first to one branch and then to another just to find out that they want a shocking $100 for a 25 kg bag! No ways! Sammie will eat with us from now until we reach a place where dog food is something they understand.
We do stock up on some food and other provisions and it is after 2 when we finally head out of Khartoum. We are not done yet, though. The US embassy is apparently on our way out and we want to stop, greet and thank “our man” (see Caren’s Conundrum – Chillax) who has helped us so much during our Sudanese visa ordeal.
We find the embassy, a big and beautiful building, heavily guarded by super friendly officials. The boys look like tramps from the Oliver Twist movie – their white T-shirts are brown and stained, pants wrinkled and dusty hair. We receive a hearty welcome in spite of looks and smells. Once inside: it is cool and clean, so clean and we cannot stop being impressed by what we see and experience. The restroom smells good, is squeaky clean, has soap, toilet paper and paper towel and the ultimate luxury: the toilet flushes! What has happened to us?
We meet 2 Mr Mohammeds before finally reaching the right one. We thank him and Willie also has an opportunity to ask him about a new Ethiopian border crossing requirement: we need a special letter from our embassy in Addis Ababa that guarantees that we will not sell our vehicle whilst in Ethiopia! Mr Mohammed has heard about it, but tells us that the US embassy does not provide a letter like that.
This letter has been a growing concern that was looming in the background: we’ve heard from different overland groups that the Ethiopian government now requires in addition to the Carnet de Passage, another letter of guarantee from your resident embassy in Addis Ababa that states you will not sell your vehicle, motorbike during your stay in the country! It makes no sense, because the sole reason for obtaining a Carnet de Passage, which is like a car passport, is a declaration to the country you enter that you will not sell your vehicle. It is also expensive, because before a Carnet de Passage is issued the owner of the vehicle must deposit a sum of money that equals the current value of the car. This is kept as a deposit and once you return with your vehicle to the country that issued the Carnet you will receive your money back. The most recent information we received was from the German bikers we met in Wadi Halfa. Yes, they had to provide a letter from their embassy when they crossed into Ethiopia. They provided Willie with a copy of the letter so that we could see what exactly is required. Willie uses the letter as a template in which he inserts our information. It is not something we want to do, and we hope we will not need it, but our vehicle has German license plates, we have residency in Germany until September and our Carnet de Passage was issued in Germany. This really has not anything to do with the US embassy…?
It takes us another hour plus to shake Khartoum and outskirts off. We drive through the most littered country side I’ve ever seen – kilometres of trash lining the highway and covering the plains, the vegetation, bushes and trees ! It will take years to clean up if it is ever addressed which I doubt. Littering and clean environments do not seem to be of very high value in the Middle East. It is something I’ve mentioned often during our travels and it remains puzzling to me with my first world Western mind set.
It is searching-for-a-bush-camp time. It is not my business anymore as I’ve stated before, but I do notice that although we are out of Khartoum we are not out of civilization. There are farmers working on their fields beside the road and people everywhere. Isolated bush camping will not be possible – we will be visible any place we decide to stay. Willie turns off on a dirt road that takes us kilometers away from the road, but as predicted: people everywhere. We find a place that will be suitable and Willie and the boys go to the farmer or who we think is the farmer. They explain with gestures, pointing to the moon and the sun that we need a place to sleep for the night. He is extremely friendly, seems to understand, nods his head and we feel comfortable pitching camp for the night. We quickly have an audience of pointing, laughing, excited little boys. They watch our every move and of course the ‘kelp’, Sammie, makes them cry with delight. They leave as the sun sets and we have a hot, but pleasant evening. We have a proper meal – the first in several days and devour 1kg of meat between the 4 of us and of course, remember, now Sammie as well!
Su(da)n, Su(da)n what shall I say – you are for sure the hottest place I have ever been in the whole wide world! I will be glad to say goodbye to you, not to your people, but don’t be offended… I do not like Florida for the same reason, but I have the most awesome daughter-in-awe, a born and raised little Floridian!
Click Play
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