Substance Abuse at the Blue Nile Falls

Arriving in Gondar was like arriving at an oasis in the desert. Sudan was great, but it had a been a somewhat desperate existence: snatching a quick and secret drink or bite to eat out of sight of other people so as not to offend anyone during Ramadan, and no chance to party or to drink a beer. Ethiopia is completely different. Beer is cheap and good, there are cafes everywhere where you can find some cake and coffee or fresh juice, and the people love their music. Reggae, specifically Bob Marley and Lucky Dube, are favourites on the stereo.

After a couple of days of rediscovering some of the little pleasures of western culture, I made my way south to the town of Bahir Dar on Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile. It's a beautiful lake, with a few islands and lots of Christian monasteries to be explored. Not far away are the Blue Nile Falls. These were once one of the most famous sights in all Africa, but the diversion of a lot of water to a nearby hydroelectric powerplant has significantly reduced their impact. Nevertheless, I was pretty impressed.



I ended up staying the night in Tis Abay, a nearby village. I got a lot of hassle from the touts but two boys were particularly friendly and they ended up being my hosts for the evening. We bought some qat, a bitter-tasting leaf which you chew and keep in your cheek. It is popular throughout the region, and as far away as Kenya and Somalia. It is supposed to give you a mild buzz, but I guess I was not doing something right as I ended up bits of leaf all through my mouth and no noticeable buzz. Hmmm. At the same I took a few shots of the local brew and also 3 cups of Ethiopian coffee. As you can imagine I was pretty wired after that and had some trouble getting to sleep!

Sometime during my evening of mild substance abuse, I mentioned I was an electronics engineer. That triggered several guys to rush off and fetch their electronic appliances that weren't working, and suddenly I had a lot of work to do. I called for a multimeter, thinking that would put an end to things but it didn't: someone conjured up a multimeter and in virtual darkness before a group of about 10 men, I was expected to fix two VCD players and a TV. Under quite a bit of pressure and with a not-so-clear head, I found the problem with the first VCD player in a matter of minutes. The static suddenly changed to pictures and music everyone broke out singing and dancing. It was a great moment. Unfortunately, the other two devices had much more serious problems and with such simple tools I couldn't do much. I felt my star fading a little, but it was still a nice feeling to have been helpful.

The Ethiopian Experiment

I'd never intended to go to Ethiopia, but because of the heavy flooding in southern Sudan and Uganda, it started to look like a good idea. With an Ethiopian visa in my pocket, there was nothing left to detain me in Khartoum. I decided to head east to Gedaref and Gallabat, on Sudan's border with Ethiopia.

My first taste of Ethiopia was the bus ride from Metema at the Sudan - Ethiopia border to the town of Gondar. It was a very enjoyable ride climbing up through fertile, hills and leaving the desert of Sudan behind me. The temperature dropped to something more comfortable and for a few minutes it even rained. I leaned out of the window to touch it and to smell it, the first rain since leaving Europe. The children were friendly, the scenery was beautiful and I felt excited to be entering a new country.

The Pyramids of Meroe

My Swiss friends Dominik and Marianne from the Wadi Halfa ferry showed up at the Blue Nile Sailing Club and so we decided to visit the Meroe Pyramids together. They are situated about 3 hours drive north-west of Khartoum on a hilltop, looking much like a row of crocodile teeth. The pyramids are in fact a royal burial ground dating from the period800BC - 280BC built by the Kushites. Meroe was the southern capital of the Kushite Kingdom. They are smaller and more numerous than the Egyptian pyramids, on which they are based.

We arrived in darkness just after sunset and walked in what we hoped was the right direction until we found a suitable place to camp on top of a sanddune. It was a perfect, warm, cloudless night and before getting into my tent, I took great pleasure in staring up at the Milky Way - looking like a big smudge across the sky. We guessed the pyramids were somewhere nearby, but it would not be until sunrise that we would find them

Sure enough, the sun rose and we spotted the pyramids about 500m away from us. We spent the next few hours playing Indiana Jones. It really felt like that, as we had the entire site to ourselves. Afterwards, we headed to the main road and flagged down a bus back to Khartoum.

Roadtonairobi Returns!

After a long absence, roadtonairobi returns! In fact I was always here, but African internet speeds got the better of me. I hope I still have some loyal readers left!

Khartoum - Capital at the Confluence of the Nile

I've arrived in Khartoum, Sudan's dusty desert capital the first milestone in my journey since leaving Cairo. It's a big. spread-out city located at the confluence of the Blue and White Niles.

I'm staying at the very cool Blue Nile Sailing Club, haunt of the local expat community and wealthy Sudanese businessmen. I just roll my sleeping bag out at night and sleep on the grass under the stars. I'm the only traveller at the moment, but I'm hoping that will change. There is a rather impressive view, as you can see below. Not bad for US$3 per night!



By tomorrow I should have my Ethiopian visa. I then plan to do an overnight trip to the pyramids at Meroe, about 2 hours from Khartoum. From there, I'll head to Ethiopia.

Following the Nile Bend

Between Wadi Halfa and Khartoum, Sudan's capital, the Nile makes a giant S bend through the desert. I decided to travel from village to village by bus and visit some archeological sites along the way. This often required taking a ferry to the opposite bank of the Nile, which was always quite an experience. The ferry was invariably overloaded with cars, trucks and people and completely at the mercy of the current when out in the middle of the river.

I stopped in the towns of Kerma, Dongola and Karima. Jebel Barkal (Arabic for Holy Mountain) near Karima together with its pyramids was particularly impressive (see below). I also enjoyed clambering around on the abandoned old Nile steamers tied up on the river bank on the outskirts of Karima. They are fading memories of a bygone era. But the best thing was meeting the local people, many of whom could speak quite good English, and enjoying their hospitality. It is currently Ramadan and I have often been spontaneously invited to dinner, or just had a nice conversation. The kids in the photo below seemed to think I was famous...





Another highlight was bumping into Gareth Morgan and his team of overland motorcyclists from New Zealand. Their website is here. Dongola out in the Nubian Desert is a funny place to run into anyone from New Zealand, let alone six people!

The heat is quite oppressive and it put me off staying out in the desert for longer. I decided to take a bus to Khartoum and start organising a visa for Ethiopia, my next destination. I arrived in Khartoum this morning, October 1.

Aswan to Wadi Halfa

From Aswan, it's an 18 hour ferry trip up Lake Nasser to Wadi Halfa in Sudan. I boarded in Aswan on Monday 24 September with a ragged mob of other foreigners (Swiss, Greek, German and South African) plus hoards of Sudanese and Egyptians. The ferry was soon full to capacity and all available deck space was occupied by either baggage or human bodies. Below decks was cooler but equally crowded. The South Africans and I secured a reasonably shady spot on the deck and made ourselves comfortable. We finally set sail as night fell. The temperature cooled, the moon came out, and all the stress of boarding slowly drifted away as we chugged slowly up Lake Nasser. This was aided by some whisky and coke which the South Africans had smuggled on board in a plastic bottle, and which they generously shared with me.

We sailed through the night. The next morning, Abu Simbel came into view, Ramsses II gazing sternly upon us. Mid afternoon we reached Wadi Halfa (below). It is Sudan's northernmost desert outpost, essentially just a giant, dusty waiting room full of people just arrived on the ferry or waiting to depart. I'd have to wait 24 hours for a bus to Kerma, 300km further up the Nile.