But it took a few days for various reasons that you will read
from here.
Its now Thursdayafternoon and I am actually in a beautiful
lodge at the feet ofMount Kenia near
Nanyuki right on the equator.Yes, done some miles since Sunday and it almost all
went well .
Lets start Monday 19th.
Took off from Awasa where I had that nice Godolias hotel
with a very good bed so slept ok.
Soon outside Awasa roadworks began and they did not stop for
160 kms.It was a gruelling day with a
road without tarmac but stones on the slopes of the hills and mud in the lower
parts.And it was sticky red mud from
which the locals make bricks to build walls and houses.
Of course after several hours of struggling with the bike I
fell in the mud. The tyres were full and turned into slicks without any
grip.So I lay there with the bike on
the right hand side and I could feel to be covered by the mud.Onlookers were plentfull and after I crawled
up they helped me to get the bike straight after which I took off again and
fullfilled the 160 kms.It seemed never
to end.
Than suddenly I had a brandnew road in front of me all the
way to Yabelo for another 150 kms.
It was a super treat and I rode like a madman.
Unfortunately the fall has damaged the bike further. Already
In Egypt the footboard plate broke off from the frame but it also holds the
rearbrake and the lower attachment of the engine guard.Now the latter has no more stenght on the lower
end so when I fell the E guard bent backwards and is out of line.
Brake still works but I fear for another time rubbers up and it could be end of journey.
Again that day i was amazed with the huge number of young
people just roaming along the road, doing nothing apart from jelling at
me.Seems none have work and I wonder
what they are gonna do with the doubling of numbers within the next 30 yrs.
I foresee disaster.Millions of them will run North so better prepare.
Actually there were problems in Ethiopia with the Oromia
people.Not just a smal tribe but a
total of 36 million people who live south of Addis.They are not happy with the government who seems
unwilling to take them seriously so they strike and paralyse the country by
blocking the roads.This happenedon the 5th, 6th and 7th March.Luckily this was noticed by my travelagent
who switched those days to the North iso Harar and that was a good decision
otherwise we would have been stuck in Harar for 3 days.
The government says all is under control but further actions
might come including setting the petroltankers coming from Sudan to Gondar
ablaze.May be you remember I noticed so
many burned out tankers on that road but could not know the cause.Now it seems it happened before .
Also the government blocked the internet in the Oromia area and
so I had none for several days.
In Yabelo I went to the only motel around but it was no
luxury for 44 dollars.Dirty and
infested with mosquitos, holes in the mosquito net and windows that cannot be
clssed.I sprayed alomost a whole can
but was still attacked in the night while it does not favour a good night rest.
Ok, the omelet and the coffee in the morning were ok so I
took off at 8 AM to Moyale , the bordertown between ETH and Kenia.The town is real Oromia area so the guide we
had kept me uptodate by Phone on the political situation since last week 10 Oromia people were shot down in Moyale by security
forces that are sent there to do the job.They are from another ethic and do not speak the same language.
You always see that when troubles arise in Africa and their
own brothers must stop them and shoot them.Always another tribe.
In Moyale I set myself up in the Koket Borena hotel.Again very basic , bit cleaner than the previous
one and the food was good and the beer was cold so what else do you want.Yes, a good night sleep, but again the airforce was around and the net
very porous with holes as big as tennisballs.
Of course, I survived but did not feel really fresh on
Wednesdaymorning and it was not the beer !!
Drove to the border and there all went smooth both on ETH
and Kenia side.
It all took approx 1,5 hours so by 10 AM I hit the road to
Marsabit, once one of the most notorious roads in the world and thats only 2
years ago.See Youtube for horrible
movies about that road from Moyale to Marsabit or reverse.
Now it is a highway and there was nobody on that road apart
from the animals.
I flew to Marsabit in 3 hrs for 250 kms.Great riding in a beautiful landscape.
Arrived Marsabit at 13.30 hrs and found a place to
sleep.Did not want to continue since
rain was on the way and the next hotel too far in Isiolo.
I booked into the Imperial hotel but I wonder why its called
that way.Nothing Imperial was to be
noticed or seen.
But it was clean and the food was good.Had a favourite and thats fried goat
meat.Very tasty and you must chew that
meat, not suck like the saltwater injected meat in Europe.
All was available in town, money from an ATM ( flappetap )
and fuel from Shell.
The town is surrounded by big vulcano craters and they are
so well intact that it looks as if they still worked recently.
The wheather was cold and wet so I did not walk far and
hallelujah,a deception. NO BEER !!
The hotel had also a mosque so beer is not allowed.
Since I am not a muslim I crossed the road to Jims liquor store
and bought some Tuskers that I gulped happily away in my room.Of course the cans were wrapped in newspaper
like you see in all Muslim countries like Algeria and Egypt.
Fell asleepby 08.30
PMsince there was nothing to see, experience
or to talk to, just nothing.
As mailed to you I took off on Saturday 17th to the brewery to collect the bike.All was in order in spite of finding rat
droppings on the saddle.I know from
experience that they like the wiring since I found once an earlier HD version in 1986 in Lusaka, after my leave,
with bitten plastics on the ground and a tail hanging from the headlamp.I found a whole nest in it and was not happy
to have to rewire all that was consumed.
Now I tried the electrics and all was working, so no damage.
Changed the oil which after only 5000 km was as black as
coal.Normally the change is at 8000 km
but I thought it better to do that now since I am going to hit the hight temps
in Southern Ethiopia, Kenia and Uganda.I bring the oil from Belgium in my luggage which is not allowed but I
think its not a crime in itself. The bike was even allowed to have some fuel in
it when flying to Cairo.
When I removed the oilfilter with a special wreng cause it
is in a horrible place I slipped and cut my little left finger.It looked as if , after a while,there was more
blood than oil splasihing around.The
bleeding is a good thing since it prevents bacreria from coming in.Went to the clinic to have it cleaned and
treated and after that it was fine.Needless to say that I have to watch it everyday in this climate but the
wound is now already closed.Thanks for
that.
After the service I drove with a taxi as navigator to the
west of Addis to a hotel to take off on Sunday early to Awasa via the old road
that was said to be better than the usual Modjio road.We drove the latter back from the Bale
Mountains and it was not great and had a mile of road works with so much dust
that on a bike this can be very dangerous.The dust does not go well with the eyes.
Therefore the old road choice over Tuya and on to Ziway
where it joins the Modjo road to Shashemene.
The recommneded hotel was a disaster and the worst of all
hotels I had in Ethiopia.A bed as hard
as a plank so my hips are not happy with me.They get already battered everyday in the saddle from the bumpy roads
and they do their work since 1949.
Food a disaster, bathroom
a dirty, smelly hole and no light to be able to read anything.
Hence I thanked Booking , in my own way, for the
recommendation
This morning I took off at 7.00 to find first fuel because
the further you get away from the capital the less fuel is available.
I have 3 extra cans , total, 14 liters so in grand total 33
literswhich is good for 650 km and if I
do not speed as a fool it goes over 700 km.
In fact 2 are cans and one is a water bag made from strong
canvas that is known among overlanders as usuable for fuel also.So far no leaks and its not yet dissolved.Handy to store since its partly pliable with
the fuel inside.
Took off to the old road and only after 2 km hit a road work
of a mile while it had rained the evening before.Helleluyah, mud all over the place and this
red laterite clay sticks like the best glue or comparable to starch.A HD weighing 500 kg with round profile road
tyres is not the handiest machine to get through that mud.I feared for gettting stuck or just slipping
away which happens at too low speed.So
put a bit speed up and it all becomes even more dangerous since braking is a no
go.I have to hold my feet almost on the
ground , in case off, and have only the front brake that one should nerver use
in these circumstances.I almost fell
when my right foot hit a large rock but I could balance it out.
At a moment I saw that the other most left side of the road was drier and I managed to
cross but met directly another threat.The upcomng traffic has no mercy since II am on the wrong side.They will never slow down or give way so you
better watch it wich I did and finally got out.
Thanks to the one who recommended this road.
After this thrilling start whereby I took quite some mud on
the bike and myself along it was not a good road but few traffic and that helps
to avoid the potholes, donkeys, cows and goats.They are predictable for me but certainly not people who cross only when
they see me coming.
After 5 hours for 280 km (not bad ) I hit my target Awasa at
12.30 hrs and found a very, very good hotel for the same price as the bad one.
Just 30 dollars.Super clean hotel and
well maintaned and a super nice soft bed so my hips get a treat coming night
and can rest to be ready for some bumping again tomorrow.Plan to reach Yabelo at 310 km and just 200
km from the border town of Moyale which is for Tuesday.
Forecast for tomorrow is thunderstorms but, generally, these come in
the afternoon and I might reach Yabelo before 14.00 hrs.I have rain gear but it all becomes more
risky.
I informed you that I would not have Internet for the
remaining days in Southern Ethiopia.Reason be that it is disconnected for reasons that I will not explain in
e-mail.Only Awasa is a different zone
and hence I have Internet here.Certainly not in Yabelo and Moyale.Will come back on this once having internet across the border into
Kenia.
Hope to have a good night sleep and a good dinner which is
almost dueso good bye for now and will
be back in cyberspace when possible.
Yes, I am home in the metropole of Bost and its a good
feeling.
Although on Monday I was still riding in the heat to the
brewery and yesterday I did already some shopping at AH since I certainly needed
a haring, pindakaas and stroop wafels + ingredients for my favourite Indonesian
dishes and all within 18 hours from eachother.
So I was allowed to parc the bike in the brewery where they
emptied a container for me which, of course, I appreciate enormously.If you parc it somewhere and still have your
doubts about its safety it is a source for sleepless nights.
What would I do without it on this trip ? The bike is the axle where it all turns
around so I have to treat it like a baby with utmost care.
For that reason I went this morning to my HD dealer in Geel
( 60 km from here ) to tell tham that the bike had performed to utmost
satisfaction and about the ailments with the broken plate and loose windscreen.Also I had questions about how to clean the
special K&N airfilter, oil change in the bush and the making of the skidplate for underneath
( anti stone protection for the sump and oiltank ).
Bought 4 liters of HD engine oil , 20W50. To be take nto Addis and change the oil before
taking off.
Already its better to do that while still in the brewery for
when something goes wrong or in need for a tool or something else.Safer
than doimg it in the bush.
Normally one changes the oil at 8000km but now after 5300 km
it looks like tar because of the hard conditions it went through, so better to
change it now. The wheather ahead is
going to be hot in Kenia, Uganda and Rwanda so I am cautious about it.
My time here till 2nd march is filled with usual activities
like everyday shopping, cooking, going to the dentist,new reading glasses, meeting friends and family but on top of that
my birthday on the 21st, Lindas 60 thbirthday on the 26 and the awaiting of the birth of Lindas
granddaugther due for around the 15th Feb.
From the 2nd of March
till 16th Linda and I will tour Ethiopia in the northern part.Doing both N and S is too much for 12
days.May be we also visit Harar, the old walled city with the hyenas in the streets
at night.
I have requested a travel bureau in Addis to put an
itinerary together for those 12 days and it will come end of this week.Curious to see what they will propose.
Linda flies back on the 17th march early morning and I will
go to the bike to do the service , load up and do my first leg to Asela at only
160 km from Addis.Will
tell why once I go.
The next part of the trip is to Rwanda from where I will,,again,
go home for a good 2 weeks.Its only
approxx 3000 km but it will be the wet part.
When you do Africa from North to South you will always meet
the Tropical Conversion Zone wich is the rainbelt that goes up and down Africa
with the changing seasons.It is approxx
1000 km in width from N to S and the
lenght is the width of Africa from W to East or in reverse.
It goes up from below the equator from approx March to October and down to under the
equator from approx Oct to March.
It now starts to move from Southern Africa ( = SA, Zim,
Zambia, Angola) up to DRC, Tanzania , Rwanda, Uganda, Kenia, Ethiopia.
Thus ,I go south from Ethiopia in mid March to Kenia, Uganda
and Rwanda and I will meet the rain belt , TCZ, in those countries.In general the rains fall in the afternoon so
I will adjust the daytrips to early morning till around 2 pm.Enough anyway .The roads might not be so good with those rains .
After my next stop in Rwanda and going back on the road to
Tanzania on the 1st May the TCZ has moved so far up that Tanzania will be dry
again.Same for the whole of Southern
Africathat will enjoy winter from that
moment.The riding will than move to
midday to avoid the cold mornings and the riding in the dark after 5pm.
During the 4 weeks that I crossed Egypt, Sudan and half
Ethiopia I had my dark moments due to difficult conditions like the horrible
accommodation in the dirty lakandas but I went on by saying , Paul, this is
what you wanted so you got it now and have to deal with all you meet.I did and got where I wanted to be, in fact,
10 days earlier than expected.
But now that its all behind me you start to remember the pleasant
moments and forget about the difficult ones and that s good.Keep up the morale for the next challenge.
Sjaak Lucassen ( www.sjaaklucassen.nl
) told me that problems do not exist on such a trip, only challenges.Look what he did and is planning for
next.
As stated before the blogs will now reduce to very low
levels till 18th March.May be one per
week for the Sundaymorning when Linda is still asleep andI have collected the pistolekes from the
bakery and have time left befor e the late breakfast.
Yes, regarding Linda.The weekend after I left she went to see one of her sisters in Antwerp
and stayedovernight cause I was not
there to keep her warm anyway.
As usual at home she went for her 10 km run in the morning
but , of course, in unknown terrain.
At one moment she got stuck in a large rope hidden in fallen
leaves and fell hitting her elbow on the hard surface.In the beginning she thought it was not so
bad but the next day she had a big operation here in Tienen to rebuild her arm
with steel plates and half a hardware store in srews.
That store earns good money on her since last year she had
the same thing with her collarbone that broke in pieces after falling with the
course bike and now has 13 SS screws.You can see the heads from outside.
During my trip she never told me about it which I must
appreciate since I do not know what I would have done.It was also during my darkest moments in the
South of Egypt so I , possibly, would have gone home and than you do not know
what will you do next.Go back or call
it off.
So, I amnow grateful
she did not mention.Of course, other
super good people helped her where and when they could so she was in good hands.Thanks for that !!
Have hit already Addis Abeba and have ,
finally, found a good, normal hotel as I am used to. Hopefully the
wifi works ok so I can upload the blog to-day being Thursday 1st Feb.
Last one was Sunday 28th Jan at the Mayleko lodge
in Gondar. It was reasonable and my opinion was different from the
halleluja remarks in the guestbook. Often made by rather ignorent
tourists who like anything different from home even if it is as unpleasant as can
be.
Those tourisst see a country from a bus (
cocon ) , surrounded by a whole group of peers and protected by an
organisation and guides. They meet only people who know that the tourists
will drop money and thus they are all friendly.
For me that is totally different.
Travelling on my own I have to mix with the locals and do what they do, look
for shelter, look for food, look for fuel etc hence I am very much vulnerable
and they know that. Than you notice that the locals are not always that
friendly ,especially the teeners and twentiers. The elderly show
respect but not the young ones. Than the very young ones, they roam the
streets in gangs and appoach you agressively for money. Ones you do
not give anything, they throw stones, even while riding. I have read and
heard of overlanders, travelling by bike, car or bicycle and being harrassed
and stoned on many occasions while the parents were laughing at a
distance. Therefore I meet overlanders who love Ethiopia and others who
hate it. Yesterday I got a stone against my arm but the thick
leather jacket protects me , same for the helmet and front screen.
It is amazing to see the number of youth
gangs hanging around everywhere and doing nothing just looking for an
opportunity to go into, like an old overlander on a big bike stopping in front
of them and being vulnerable. Once I was tempted to give one a proper
knock in the face since he was very agressive but , fortunately , the traffic
moved on and problem solved.
Therefore I hate riding in these
traffic jams in a large city like Addis Abeba or the larger towns where traffic
often comes to a standstill at markets and busstations, both at the official
ones but more at those famous unofficial stops which can be anywhere.
I wonder what the future will bring for
these youngsters. I think that sooner or later these gangs will turn
violent against any possible money source. Let s watch it , I am
sure to be right.
Anyway, nothing thrilling happened in
Gondar. Went to buy an SIM card and looked for an Insurance company for a
Yellow card but they did not speak English and all failed. Tomorrow I go
here in Addis to get one, if they understand what I want.
From Gondar I wanted to go slow to Addis
in 3 days for 800 km. First to Bahir Dar at 188 km. I
hit BD by 10.30 after a beauty of a road. Super steering through the
bends over the hills and mountains up to 3500 m high on a perfect new
tarmac. Cant be better !
So I hit the throttle and went 200 km
further at Debre Markos and found a grumpy hotel but manageable.
Slow wifi but was able to change my
return flight to Brussels and pay the company.
That road was also good but older so
watch for the occasional bad holes and sudden disastrious speed humps, too high
to go over but they are in sections so I can drive in between , but only when
you see them in time and I almost failed. Hitting one means flying
off the bike and hoping that all will turn out well but I doubt that.
Therefore I tell myself constantly not to
ride as in Europe but this is Africa. Slow down and survive or else .!
Yesterday , Tuesday I took off by
07.30 for 300 km to Addis. The first 100 km were fine but than hell
broke loose. I came to the edge of a plateau and looked down where I
could not see the bottom of the valley. At least a km in height to go
down by mountain roads, steep and only dirty hairpins. But thats no
trouble for me, the Stelvio is my friend, but here the tarmac was transformed
into a lunapark. Deep cuts by the lorries and tarmac pushed up in the bends,
broken tarnac, big stones to fill the holes , etc. It was
unbelieveable. Of course the heat in summer breaks a new road up
immediately with overloaded lorries going up and down.
So I went slowly down and it was
steep, I put the bike in neutral, why, to safe fuel, I was
low on fuel and nowhere a fuelstation and I did not foresee anyone soon.
Also I did not know once being in the valley what would be next, a nice flat
road out of the vallley or grimping up the mountain on the other side
with the same height, bends and bad, very bad road. I had to guess
but did not dare.
I just concentrated on the going down job
and that was enough. Felt sorry again for the bike and had to be carefull
not to hit a high stone with my engine sump or low lying oilpan which are
unprotected.. My 1980 HD had an engine guard underneath since not all roads in
the US were tarred but now they do not have it anymore. Stupid of
me not to make one. I will do now when I am in Holland after
measuring the bike here. I will have a alu plate cut with some slots to
fix it with hoseclamps to the frame tubes. Better that than
nothing. Sure I will meet more stones on the way.
Anyway, I was coming down the mountain
with lorries going very slow so no problem but those damned busses fly
anywhere. Carefull Paul !!
Once I hit the bottom of the valley there
was nothing, no village no fuel , just nothing.
Soon I noticed that I did not go
out of the valley the low way but again , as feared , straight up the other
side with the same conditions, but now also lorries at standstill which cannot
make it and block everything. In that case a bike is an advantage since I
only need one track.
I also feared for my fuel since going up
a mountain with more than half a ton in weight takes some fuel so I did it very
carefully and not to many revs to keep the consumption under control. Also the altitude will consume more fuel.
I got up the mountain meeting monkeys and
, halleluja, a bit better road donated by the Japaneese.
Thanks them for that !!
Now I was on a high plateau again and
hoped for no more valleys but only for fuel.
No station I met had benzin so I had to
find it the African way. I stopped by a Tuk Tuk and asked the driver for
fuel. He said nothing, no fuel in town. Than I asked him for the
jerrycan fuel station and he asked if I had money. After confrirmation he
took off and I followed. He brought me to the end of the village to an
unfinished building as you see all over Afica and he shouted whereafter a man
came out with a jerrycan and sold me 5 liters of clean fuel for one dollar a
liter. 3X the price but still just a dollar for one.
I took off and through good and bad roads
I approached Addis and found fuel at 25 km before Addis having left about a
quater of a litre , not enough to reach Addis but again I was saved by the
bell.
On the way I had one problem that I
wanted to pee but you get no chance to find a lonely spot to do it.
There is just no 10 meters without a
person along the road and that for 300 km. The moment you stop
immediately they come out from the woodwork and start staring at you or like
the very young ones asking for money. Bad sign !!
I think those stupid tourists in
those buses give these nice little brown eyed kids what they look for and
spoii them all along.
For Addis I had planned to set me up in
the Taitu hotel, See their site which looks better than reality.
Its the oldest in town and it shows
Must have been a pleasant Majestic place once but not anymore.
Now derelict and run down
completely. I feared for many cockroaches but did not see one.
I took a room since the bad roads had
worn me out , especially the left arm that controls the non hydraulic
clutch, just an oldfashioned cable to pull on.. Makes you Biceps like in
the gym !!
I had some geaorgeous Wahlias and an
undercooked pizza and no tele or proper wifi and the place was deserted by
20.00 hrs so I hit the sack at 20.30 and slept well until some noisemakers woke
me up at 04.30 AM.. Still did almost 8 hrs of sleep and thats a lot for me.
I told the reception woman that I would
stay if it was nice but go if it was nio and so I went.
Booked with the smartphone another hotel
closer to the airport and more expensive at 65 dollars a day. Must be
better.
And it is. Nice hotel with good
wifi that needed VPN and was installed by the porter, a young lad, who was
willing to help the old helpless baba . Works great.
I had planned to fly home on the 15th
Feb and return 2nd March with Linda for a 2 weeks holiday here , not with
the bike but car, plane or other.
Now I am here already the 1st. I
changed my flight to next week iso the 15th straight to Brussels with ETH.
Nice 9 hrs flight direct.
But I have to parc the bike
somewhere. I contacted my former collegue who has built
this brewery while I was Account Manager also for Ethiopia.
He has built it and now continues
enlarging it since sales seem to boom.
He said he would ask the brewery manager
who I know quite well since I had to interview him for this job.
But all works out well and they allow me
to parc the bike in the brewery, possibly, in a containerr. I will Phone
the Installation manager tonight to work out when and where.
So I will rest here to go home
Mondaynight and come back only on the 2nd with Linda.
She flies back home the 17th and I will
continu my journey as from that moment to Kenia and so on.
May be one more blog and than I stop it
till second half of March.
I find it sometimes a pity to write in
English since it is not my motherlanguage. In Dutch I can express myself
much better to make statements, jokes or other wise. But , of
course, I do it for my English spaeking friends who are not fluent in Dutch.
I also need some new reading glasses
. These HEMA ones I use now are too old and overdue.
On the other hand glasses must be cheap
since i eat them, sit on them, loose them etc.
Am now very thursty but I have a little
fridge on my right hand side and without getting up I have a Wahlia at hand, no
glass please and prosit and till the next one.
It is now Sunday and I am sitting in the MaylekoLodge in Gondar,Ethiopia.Yes, a bit further than anticipated but, you know, once I go its hard to
stop.Only tiredness is a killer and
will stop me.
Also I was curious how it would be at the border.Hopefully no horrible procedural nonsens
again.Have had enough of that.
On Friday I still wanted to stay resting in Khartoum but on
that morning I looked out of the window at 7 and saw no traffic.Hey, its week end here. They go to the
mosque.A good day to ride with less
traffic and so I took off at 8.30 to Wad Madani at 188.That was my plan, nice short 3 hr drive
.No I get there and it was onky 11.30.
Decision was fast, PULL the throttle and go for the next 236
to Gedaref.
Road was ok, enough fuel and no troubles.I arrived there at 15.30 hrs.Search for the BEST hotel in town and
found the El Watemaliki.Big old east
european style block .Hardly any
guests and only chicken to eat again.Nicely charcoaled so no stomach problems.
The next day Saturday I took of for the 160 km to the
border.70 km was excellent, next 50 km
was horrendous and I felt so sorry for the bike everytime I did not see a
bloody pothole.It wears you out also
but you cannot get careless.The bike
might break in 2 if you hit a big one at speed.
I arrive at the very busy border not with people crossing
but just hanging around, possibly looking for a stupid like me and ripp me
off.But they do not know me and very
quickly notice that theres no chance for that.Also all my valuables are packed on my body so they should cut me up to
get to it.
Another rule is to have , at least, your CC and cash +
passport on your body so you can go anywhere if and when neccessary. More important
than your underwear , I say.
On the Sudanese side I was directed to a hut for the
customs.They checked chassis nr and
engine nr, looked a bit in the luggage and signed the Carnet de Passage.15 minutes and off to Immigration and
security.No problems , all-in order and
15 min later I had a stamped PP and off to the Ethiopian side.
Directed first to immigration.Also in a shed you do not want to keep your
pigs in and just as dirty.
2 young chaps helped me and stamped the PP within 5 minutes.
Holland and football always works.Van
Basten and Gullit for the elderly and Robin van P.and Robbe for the yoiung ones
.Off to the other side of the road with
even more gruelling accommodations for customs.Nice young lady helped me to fill the Carnet while she said that it is
not really required in ETH.I checked
that later in the list of countries and she was right.Now I have to have it stamped again at the
exit in Moyale.
She checked all bike numbers, luggage and after 15 minites I
took off into Ethipia. I can tell you I
was happy that the border s t. as at
Wadi Halfa was over.Both sides within
an hour.Super !!
Had planned to go to Gondar since there is no hotel before
that.Was rather worn out , because of
some border stress and the road to G seemed endless.But the riding was great, nice mountain roads
like in the heart of Spain.The winding
roads and with good tarmac.Hardly any
traffic but many fuel lorries.I saw six
fuel combinations, that is lorry + trailer completely burned out and not long
ago.
Wonder wich side they carry the fuel, to or from Sudan or
just for the border town.
Approaching the town you get the usual increase of people on
the road but more than that are the animals roaming on the road.You must be very carefull not to hit a cow,
goat, dog or sheep.The people seem to
live all along such road.Going to Addis
this might be confirmed.You just ride
all the way through towns.In fact in
Belgium is the same .Houses are built
there all along a Steenweg.
I had booked a lodge that, I thought , was on the entrance
to town.Could not find it, traffic was
horrible with all those tuk tuks that jump like flies. I asked a student for a good hotel with
wifi.He directed me up a hill to the
Goha hotel and I put me up there.Good
choice but wifi mediocre .Beautifullview over the city.
I decided to move to the lodge that I had booked for 1st Feb
and drove to the road back to the border.Google Maps showed as if it was there.Went for 30 km on that beautifull road and did not find it.Rode back to the junction south of Gondar and
asked a police woman who directed me nicely on the parallel road to the airport
and 2 km further foundthe lodge.Less impressive than they show it on the
site.
Wifi was off since there was no power.They asked for 90 dollars while B. com
indicated 45 dollars for a standard room.
They called the woman owner in Addis and she agreed for me
to have a luxury room for 70 and I agreed.Wifi is back now so I can enjoy myself with the laptop.
Tomorrow I go for an insurance card, so called yellow card
like our green card for all the coming countries up to SA.Handy but no value since an accident is a
matter of cash. But I must have an Insurance to avoid hassle at a police
roadblock.
Also needed a local SIM card and biscuits cause the ones
from AH are finished.Stll a pot of
Calve but the Kanjer stroopwafels ended today.Pity, I love them and give plenty energy together with a real coca cola.
Plan is to ride on as from Tuesday for the 750 km to Addis
in 3 days, maybe.
To be continued.
One other thing that has really struck me all along from
Cairo to the Sudanese border with
Ethiopia is the plastics everywhere , hanging in huge quantities on anything it
can cling to.Every bush, tree, fence,
pole, grass is litered with plastic hanging on it.Most towns dumb their refuse outside the
town somewhere in the desert and put it on fire.That smell
you meet at every town and city depending on the wind and I hate it.
Wonder what the future will bring because this is not going
to stop. It will get worse.
Lets see how Ethiopia deals with this refuse and the other
countries to follow.
It is 16.05 hrs, itsnice and warm and my mouth is dry like sandpaper.High time for a Wahlia.
Its now Thursday 25th Jan and I am in Khartoum since
yesterday.In my earlier blog I had
stated that I would be staying in Atbarah for an extra day but in the evening
ofTuesday I looked around and got the
creeps of that hotel and dirty room with another horrible bathroom smelling
after all that goes through.
it.Told myself , if
I can get holsd of petrol wednesdaymorning I am off to Shendi = hafway to Khartoum.
Indeed, I found petrol before 9 and took off to Shendi.The road was no comparison to the desert
roads, much more traffic, mainly lorries and long disatnce busses and therefore
a much more bumpy one with the occasional bad stretches and dangerous
potholes.However I flew through since
with a bike one can avoid a pothole while with a car you avoid one on the left
side but hit one on the right side.
The lorries did behave reasonably correct sine they are
heavily loaded and cant go fast and manouvre quickly.On the contrary those busses you must watch
out for.They drive like mad and do not
see any other road user.As a bike I try
to stay away from them since I am no match except for speed.
They are just ludicrous as many bus drivers around the
world, even those from De Lijn in
Belgium drive like mad with , often, no passengers inside so why the hurry ?
I arrived at Shendi at 11 AM already and felt good so I
pulled the throttle and continued to Khartoum that I reached by 14.00 hrs.It was 30 C and the bike did not like the
slow traffic.while my underworld was also cooked or fired.Quicly went to the area where i had seen
hotels on a map and found The Regency, an old English heritage where , since
that time, not much has changed or was maintained.
I do not disloke such old hotels provided its clean and not
smelling after wet and rotten carpets and leaking bathrooms. Not the case, quite acceptable so I dove
in.Rather tired from those 4 days of suffering.I ate like a dockworker , nice veggie sprigrolls, lambcutlets and
fruitsalad.Was nicely filled up.Went to bed by 10 Pm but had problems to
catch sleep since my room was next to the disco of the neighbours.Noise till 1 Am and after that I slept irregularly.Could also be from the withdrawelsymptoms of
no alc in Sudan.Who knows ?
Khartoum is the usual big, dusty, hectic city with traffic
jams all day through so I have the bike parked in front of the hotel entrance
because the manager wants to show it off and I will not move it until I leave
on a nice cool morning which is good for the bike.The town reminds me of Kaduna in Nigeria.
I was told in Wadi Hakfa, only on my 2nd visit for the lost
paper, that In Khartoum I had to
register again at theairport.So this morning I took off with a completely
rotten taxi to the airport.Once there
I found some officials and asked about the registration.They brought me to an office with a man in
uniform with lots of gold stars on it.He and also the others looked as if I was from outer space and as if I
was the first one to do this while I know that all overlanders do this.Strange feeling and agian I was told there
was a problem.I belivee its the word
they know best or is their only Engllish one.My reply was for them to solve it since I
KNOW NOTHING, QUE ?!!
I had to go to other offices at another airport and an
office in town. Told them I would not do this without somebody from them to come
with me.It is theircooked up nonsens, right ?
And yes a big guy in uniform without stras or stripes went
with me to a building at about 100 meters .Witioin 15 minutes all was done, I paid 535 SDG = 40 dollars and I had
another stamp and sticker in my PP.But
before that they had produced again 5 papers and 4 copies of , God knows what,
before the sticker was issued.Fortunately
I did not get all those papers to carry again.Where did they learn this absolute useless way of administration.I think its to keep people at work otherwise
they roam the streets.
Now back in the hotel I do this blog and look out for lunch
( without a nice cold beer ).
For the rest I chill, make coipies of the papers I need for
the Sudan / Ethipian border and enjoy my crackers with pindakaas, yes , all
still from Belgium same as my dutch stroopwafels.Trick is to take enough to your liking and
not eat them all at once.
Ihad the plan to stay till Monday but I am now already
down to leaving Saturday but to cut the kms to the border in 3 piececs of
approx 250 each.Hope the hotels are
not of the sort that I had before geting here.
One thing that has struck me since the border with Egypt and
that is the high number of cow skeletons along the road in various stages of
decay, from fresh to real skeleton. This
is because Egypt has almost a continues supply throughWadi Halfa from within Sudan.I met a cattle trader in Abu Simbel who had
just struck a deal for a 1000 cows in one go.That is approx 25 full trailers with 40 cows each on it , standing loose
so they fight, fall over and die on the long journey in the scoring heat.Quite a number do not survive and they are
thrown out of the lorries on the raod side so one gets a constant rotten smel anddeath aroma in the mouth.Do not eat your lunch along the road side cause
the flieis will also come for you.
The cows are not allowed to enter Egypt alive so they are
slaughteredon arrival in Abu Simbel.I have seen many ways of slautering cows,
sheep and horses in Africa and one must have a steel stomage to watch
that.I would not like to see that place
of carnage in Abu Simbel.Not one of
those cows want to die while they smell the blood of those already gone.They have never felt a rope so will fight
like hell and they are big with very dangerous horns that cut you open when theyattack you.I know theAfrican solution for
thisbut will not explain that in this
blog.In fact, I should forget that I
have ever seen it.
One more remark to make is that I am surprised about the
fact that nobody has asked me for money or bribe since i landed in Cairo till
now.Not at the borders, not on the road
, not in towns and even not at roadblocks.Surprising.There must be stern instructions from above.
At the roadblocks they ask often for my PP. However the guys
are mostly in civil clothes.I have now
learned not to accept that.I ask for
their ID before showing my PP.No ID no
PP and it works.I had 2 occasions
yesterday that the guy let me go without seeing my PP.
Also I tell them that I am a tourist and not terrorist or
criminal sio they should be nice to me.That also works, ceatinly for the elderly ones amongst them.
Its now 13.00 hrs and I go for lunch.
Than a nappy , if I can andoff to the copier for my document copies.
It is now Tuesday 23rd but I had no wifi for 2 days so I
have to go back to Sunday 21st since a lot happened on that day.I had forseen to reach Dongola at 400 km and
one never knows how good the road is and possible other conditions.
But in the night I suddenly rememberedthat something must have gone wrong with my
Alenis Registration form that I filled in on the Sudanese side and folded up in
my passport.After that I went to immigration
to have the pp stamped.Now, in the
night I remembered that the form was not there anymore on returning the
pp.At that moment I did not realise
this.I checked all pockets but did not
find it .For that there is only one
solution and thats to return to the border at 25 km to get the form or a new
one, if possible.It was the right
decision since I notice now that at every roadblock they only look at that
paper and not the PP.Its a sort of
travel permit that indicates my route
through Sudan.
I was at the border at 9 but it only opened at 10.I
called the fixer and he said he was on his way.
Before he arrived there was a young customs officer who
spoke some English which is helpfull I can tell you.I explained the loss of the paper in the
immigration office.He asked my name and
went off returning after only 5 minutes with my original paper. Can tell you I was more than happy and
quickly took of to Dongola at 425 km from there.Nice road , no traffic and the wind in the
back.
I had tried to get more fuel in Wadi Halfa since I was not
full due to the border trip but In WH they said there is fuel halfway at ABRI
and I believed it cause I wanted to go.I should know now after 50 years Afrca that such message is only to
please me.
I arrived in ABRI and , of course, nothing like fuel so I
could not make it to Dongola.Suddenly
a man comes up and says that he might find some in town at the market so he
calls somebody.This person showed up
and was the guesthouse manager of the only one in town and where you should only
go if you do not want to sleep under the bridge.But the best was he spoke English, sort of
but he told me that he had phoned and nowhere fuel to be found.But he said that the town security officers have a
Reserve stock for emergencies so we could go there and plea
for 10 liters which is what I wanted to be safe.
He drove a car from 1946, a Morris Minor and he took me
along in it.It showed its age and
African service and repairs.No more
suspension, other engine and only max 30 km /hr, but it was a bit of fun in my nasty
situation.We arrived at the station
and he went in , came back and said only 4 liters.I said , is not enough , I need 10.Go in yourself and make a dramatic story to
sustain an emergency and ask for 10.
I came intoo a small and dark office with a bed and a desk +
chair.In the chair was the officer in
charge with desert fighting costume and 3 big guys lying together on the
bed.Here they have beds evrywhere and
like to leay on them for as long as they can.
I made a story of a relative that I have to go and see
urgnetly and need to be quikly in Khartoum.He murmelled a bit and said it was ok but only with a can and not a car
or bike at the petrolstaion since he does not want to be accused of anything.We looked for a container but did not find a
small one in the market.Suddenly the
guy found one , blew on it and siad it was ok.I looked into it since the engine does not fancy sand and other rubbish.But it looked ok.
We filled it at the station and ,of course, it leaked at the
seam on the side.Thus we truned that
seem to the top and went quickly to the bike smelling myself as a petrolstaion.
Dumped it in my fueltank , gave the guy 50 sud pounds and
went off for the remaining 230 km.
Arrived Dongola but had no accommodation yet.I had checked the travel guide but nothing
inspiring.I saw two hotels but I cannot
describe how dirty and rundown they were.People lying in beds all over
the place with 6 or 10 in a room and I was offered such a bed .Ran away and I askedan older man if he did not know something
better.It is funny and understandable
that those who speak some english are the elderly and certainly not the
youngsters.So an older man told me
where the better one was and told another young chap to take me there.He took a tuk tuk an I followed it to , I
hoped, heaven.
But no, it was a large white building with plenty rooms but unfortunately
not claned since time memorial, no bedding, no towels, no toilet paper, no
shower and you only see no dirt when the light is off.This was the best in town so I took it.They had a restaurant so I ate again a fried
half chicken to avoid any thing else to spoil my internal pipeworks.Chicken with bread for the second day.
I slept accordingly which was not much and looked at the
ceiling as from 3 am to 7 am when I got up to prepare to run away from the
place.Not before an elderly man
stoppedat my bike and asked where I was
from.He was a Nubian , tall and with
stature.He asked if I spoke French and
since I do he was very happy and offered me a morning tea at a nearby stall, telling
he studied in Lyon.
He welcomed me to Sudan and after al that I took off to
Karima.I had planned to stay in Karima and
enjoy the super Nubian guesthouse run by Italians and costing only 180 dollars
a night without the food.I could not
care lesssince i was looking for an
extra day rest , good food and all the rest. In Karima I found the place but it
was deserted apart from a guard who could make known that they were in
Italy.Shop closed.
Rather diappointed I took my book again and looked for the
2nd best in town.The Nassr hotel and I
found it suddenly when I looked beside me while driving through town.
First happy but a second later totally disappointed, again
dirty as can be, no bedding or towels, stinking after sewers, urine and the
sort.At the reception the manager laid
on a bed, the whole day I notice, and was as lazy as can be.No one cleaning or doing anything.
Again a bad night.The only postive thing was that he arranged for 5 liters fuel so I could
make it to Atbarah with what I had left in the tank.The total of 18 liters is enough for the 300
km I had to do but I do not feel comfortable.You never know.Thus when I took
of this morning I went to the market
petrol staion and waited till it opened which it did at 8.30 while a row of cars
had grown into the Streets.
But I was first with my 3 ltr jerrycan and they helped me instantly.Off to Atbarah, a town at 300 km on the Nile north
of Khartoum which is still 300 km away.
It was the last Long Nubian
desert stretch that I had to do and I have known it.All 300 km a strong headwind and sand all
overwth the last 100 km sandstrom
straight in the face.Am I happy with my
screen and new helmet that I can close completely.It also has an internal sunscreen so you do
not need all of these horrble sunglasses
that pain your head under a helmet and I
loose them liberally, even at 150 euros each.
I, finally, arrived in Atbarah and looked for the hotel,
classified as best in town, for what its worth.
But I saw suddenly a new hotel and dove in.They gave me water and greeted friendly so I
thought this si it.
No sorry, we are full for to day and tomorrow.Sh.. !!
Off to the original best and it is worth its ranking.Best in town so no bedding again, no
restaurant, no towels, toilet does not flush, no windows in the room, dirty all
over, naked electrics right under the shower etc.It reminded me of our first times we stayed
in the newly bought brewery in Bedele, Ethiopia.Some of us even got ill after staying in
their accommodation centre.It was
unbelieveable and now again.
I have not washed myself now since Sunday , eaten only chicken
, well fried to avoid the tommy palaver,
Not slept more than 5 hrs a night so I wonder when it will
bounce back on me.
I need a good rest for a few days in a good hotel and hope
Khartoum can offer me that.I will stay
here another day also because wifi is good .Hope i will sleep properly.
Thursday off to Khartoum andthe HOTEL with bedding, towels, shower, wifi etc = all the normal basic
things one need from a hotel.
This evening I went to the market on foot and in the dark
and ate a half fried chicken.I almost
dream chicken but the intestins do not complain which for me is essential.Tommy palaver breaks you down and would force
me to stay put in such hotel.
I aslo eat bananas, apples, oranges.Eat only what is fried, cooked or pealed or
leave it = Rule nr 1.
To day was Saturday 20th Jan and again a day I will not
lightly forget.Got up by 5 AM and after
the usualcleaning ritual I loaded the
bike up and drank some tea.Coffee might be too strong for the intestins and I do
not fancy an Egyptian ferry boat toilet .
Kamal, my fixer for the Egyptain side waited for me at the
bank close by and yes, he was there.Off
to the ferry and we got loaded immediately including 55 cyclists from allover
who do a 102 days run to Capetown.They
do 100 km a day and camp in the bush or desert.Not my piece of cake but nice people to talk to.
I was still with the Irishman Brian and we parked the bikes
upfront next to eachother.After us the
lorries came on board and made the ferry tilt suddenly.I was at 30 meters from the bikes but saw
them falling over.What happened isthat Brians bike stands rather straight on
its stand and the lorries made it fell over on to mine and so they went
both.Of course we got many hands to put
them up and saw not much damage.My side
stand has a lip on it so I can pick it up with my foot easily.Now its flattened and the picking up does not
go well.I will see when and where I
will bring it back to normal.
The ferry took off and after 1,5 hrs it docked on the other
side.We were quiclkly of the boat and
followed Kamal to the border post.I will
sustain from telling in detail the uselesness of all thats being done to get
people out of Egypt.Just incredible.It took 4 hours of plain waiting till Kamal
had done his thing.I paid him the cost
and$ 50 for him and we could leave the
gate.
On to the Sudanese side that is way easier but still takes 2
hours at least.
Finally I drove to Wadi Halfa, an ugly desert bordertown
with some hotels but they are far from that.I asked for the Ritz but am in the Alharen without shower or bath, no
towels but the toilet does not smell.
Brian will camp with the bikers in the desert.Must be fun but I have stopped camping.
No restaurant and I had no urge to explore the town.I feel rather tired from hanging around and
too much sun on my bold head.Bit of a
headache too.
I ate a good fried chicken that was collected from the market
with rice and water.Will survive.
2 pieces of bread were with it but I keep those for tomorrow
since there is neither breakfast here.
Still have my Calve peanutbutter so Ill enjoy this somewhere on the way.
Next is Dongola at 400 kn along the Nile .The road looks good and I hope it remains like that.
Surprisingly I have good wifi wich is nice when you are
alone and nobody to talk to.I talk to
myself yes but am now a bit fed up with my own stories, worries and thoughts.
Now in Abu Simbel which is not an ugly
town. Reasonably maintained but they are on the shore of huge Lake
Nasser so have plenty water.
Went to see the Ramses temples that were
saved from the lake before filling.
Tomorrow the masterpiece and thats
leaving Egypt with a load of bureaucracy for nothing , just employment
creation. Most unpleasant to say the least but I will never
forget this.
To day I flew to Abu Simbel over 290 km
with a strong wind in the back and it felt like riding in a vacuum at times at
120 km/hr. Total time 3 hrs but 25 % more fuel consumption. All the way a fantastic road but still you must be vigilant on holes and other iregularities otherwise you can really fly.
Here at the Tuya hotel I met an Irishman
who I knew of already in Cairo that he was also on the way but did not see him
there . He also goes to SA but must be home again in April so he
has a set target.
Tomorrow I sleep across the border , I
hope, in Wadi Halfa and set of on Sunday for a 400 km stretch to Dongola. This is the first town with "Hotels" . The Irishman camps so will go into the desert to sleep.
I stopped camping this year for obvious reasons that I , already. explained earlier.
Its
said it is a good road. Only few years old and no rains here.
Now Thursdayevening 18th Jan I prepare to
go to Abu Simble tomorrow morning.
But first what transpired since Luxor.
The owner of the Memnon hotel in Luxor,
mr Sayed had warned me against the police escort and advised to go early to
avoid them. Also , in case I would be stopped and questioned just to say that I
go to the Christian Church.Do not know
why but I did all this and it worked.Was , in fact, hardly asked
anything at the many roadblocks and flew through.
Mr. Sayed was really a nice man and very
helpfull.I had the problem that in
Sonag at the Nile boat they charged my visa card but later said it did not work
so I paid 50 dollars to the boss.No
invoice nor receipt. Stupid of me cause the following day in Luxor I check the
Visa account and it was debited so double pay.I say this to mr. Sayed who got very angry and said he would get my
money back.He phoned the culprits and
did as if he was a policeman.In no time
they were prepared to return the money but did not know how.In the meantime Sayed also informed the
tourist police who also phoned them and put pressure on.At the end they send the money to Sayed who
will keep it for me till a next time and I am happy we taught them a lesson.
So now in Aswan.When I arrived here I went to my booked
Nubian Holiday house who indicated to have parking.It was way out of Aswan and had no parking .
It also looked a bit very local to my liking so I said that they had cheated me
to pretend to have parking.I said they
should not try to take cancellation fees. Wonder only what I could do in case they
would do but so far no debits.
In the meantime I was in touch over the phone
with Kamal Muawad who is a fixer to get me over the border.For him this holiday house was also to far
from Aswan to see me.Hence I took off
again and after another hour over all the motabs I arrived in Aswan and phoned
Kamal for a hotel.I stopped a taxi
driver to use as Tom Tom.Kamal told
him where to go over my phone and off we went.This way I crossed Aswan completely to 4 hotels that also had no
parking.Than I made it clear my way and
they understood.Thats why I am now in
the Basma hotel with a separate parking next to the front door for my HD.
I took an extra day in Aswan to go to the
Traffic court to get a Certifcate of no fines in Egypt .Without this one is sent back from the border
to get it .Another 2 to 3 days delay.
So this morning I went with him and upon
arrival we jumped all the cues and headed straight for the ones who issue the
certificate.But soon it became clear
that something was wrong with my Egyptian bike license.We went from office to offce and finally it
became clear that I had a taxi license .Sorry but in Cairo they gave me that and I cannot even read it. All-in Arabic.They told me to get back to Cairo.
Of course my adrenalin level went way
high bit I kept quiet.Kamal did all the
talking etc.At the final end after
visiting 6 offices ate least 4 times each I paid 550 LE = 26 euros and all was
done.Yes, with receipt.Was not such a nice start of this beautiful Sunny
day.
Kamalbrought me back to the hotel and said we will meet in Abu Simbel on
Saturday morning at 06.30 hrs to go to the ferry and cross Lake Nasser to go to
the border.
He also guides 36 cyclists from all sort
of nationalities through the border.Actually
they are peddaling to Abu to cross to Sudan possibly also on their way to South
Africa.
The hotel is an old bit British rundown
place but the food is good and the beer is excellent so what the heck for the
rest.
I checked the tiewraps underneath the
bike and they are still fine.Bit looser
but I pushed them a bit tighter again.
Checked the clutch cable beacause its a
new one and it might loosen up a bit and need adjustment for the freeplay but
the recommended gap is not too large so
I leave it for the moment.If it becomes
too loose the gearshifting will tell also by becoming more difficult and
noisy.Clunk, clunk, etc.
Tomorrow I want to go early to avoid the
heat after 12 noon and to have the time to see Ramses that was saved by a Dutch
consortium from Lake Nasser and put higher up the lake shore. Otherwise it
would have gone under water.
Also I want to see where the ferry leaves
and what state the ferry is in.Do I
need swimsuit or not as underwear.No
worry mate, the moment you hit the water
you become croc finger food.
Ok, fine for now and may be tomorrow
more.
In Sudan you might consider me on
Holidays cause there will not be much Internet/ Wifi available.
May be we have to wait till !st Feb when
I intend to hit Gonder in Northern Ethiopia.I was there in 2015 and had a hotel with wifi and cold beer , the
Essentials.
Till than I will keep record of all my
mistakes and other people s.
Did not reach Luxor on Sunday because the escort did not take the desert road. No instead, again this horrible Nile Corniche with hundreds of speedhumps in many sizes and, of course, the usual crowds of people, donkeys, busses etc. Again a treat but by 14.00 hrs I was kaputt and after only 250 km. So I told the police to find a hotel in Suhag. We searched for an hour but no hotel anymore in Suhag. Finally they found a river nile boat that serves as a hotel. Quite run down but I only need a bed and food that does not give me the TommyPalaver. The room was correct for me and the food was again a chicken, When well fried the best meat option. I could not read the menucard in Arabic so didn't bother about something else.
That Sunday I will remember forever since the unexpected but most feared thing happened and that's a problem on the bike. On leaving El Minya we took fuel and also the spare tanks ( 5 and 3 ltr ) and all was ok until we took off. Suddenly my right foot went down with the footrest. On an HD the footrest is not just a thick pin but a proper floorplank of 30 cm long. The rear end went down and I could not see what was broken. To continue I had to hold my rightfoot with the heel on the exhaust because you cannot ride and let your leg hang in the air. I waited till the first stop and than checked. The foortrest is attached on the rear end to a plate that is welded on the lower frame tube and the front is bolted to the engine guard.
Now, that rear endplate welding was broken of the frame. This plate also has the rearbrake assembly attached to it so I could not really use the rearbrake. To note is that I only use the rearbrake in emergencies when front is not enough and in bents to get the bike better through the bent. It curves better with some rearbrake action.
Now I had to be damned carefull cause a crossing child should not be hit so reduce the pace. I drove the whole day like that and was not happy. A real mentally off day.
Some people tell me to get it welded which I will , certainly not, do before the Harley Shop in Johannesburg since welding on a bike frame is too delicate. If too much heat is applied or the wrong rod used the frame can burn and be weakend resulting in a total collapes of the bike. Finished palaver. Also the electrics break down if not properly handled and protected from the high currents during welding.
I looked what I could do that might hold it. I found a small original hole in that rear plate and was able to push two tiewraps through and around the frametube. Hence the whole thing hangs again in its place held at the front by the original bolt and the rear by the 2 tiewraps, They are strong since even the maffia uses them to tiedown people for god knows what. I can put my foot on the footrest but do not dare to push to hard not knowing the real strength of the tiewraps. Time will tell.
I slept well on the boat and left the next day, Monday 15th. Thanks for that since it's Heineken pension payment day.
Again the escort was on the door to take me. I insisted to take the desert road and they took me there. Fantastic riding through the desert on an almost perfect huge highway with very little traffic. Hoped it would last. It did for 200 km till Qena and than they took again that shitroad along the Nile. Since they guide me I often do not know where we are or what could be an alternative. I knew that from Qena it is just a short stretch to Luxor straight over the bridge. No they took me again 70 km around for almost 2 hours with hundreds of speedhumps again. One time the hump was too high and I got stuck and fell with my entire rig on the right hand side. Fortunately that heavy bike has a good engine guard that can hold your leg underneath so it does not get crushed, I have had this only 2 times before in my Harley career and that goes back a good 35 years. The police got me up since I cannot lift the bike on my own. In fact I took it , finally, out on them and told them what I felt.
Although they could not understand it they got note of my state of mind. After that they had troubles to find the hotel. Took an hour and 3 phone calls to the hotel owner and than a taxi driver got us to the place. In that running around through Luxor I saw the whole town and the historic sites.
Enough for me to live on. I will not visit these rundown monuments and get harrassed by traders and money seekers. I will take a day off on Tuesday 16th and work on the blog , bike and myself.
The hotel is the New Memnon Hotel and the owner, mr Sayed , is a very friendly man who goes out of his way to please his customers.
The hotel is a local hotel and not an, always similar, group hotel. Its correct, clean, cool, good local food, perfect B/fast, he had cool beer delivered for 2 days, super nice roof terras, no pool that I do not use anyway, safe parking for the bike and at no cost. He charges 25 euros for a day with B/fast. He also waived the cost for the day that I was late which I can only appreciate. Srongly recoomended and can be booked through Booking.com or Tripadvisor. He also got me a stock of new spare tiewraps when I gave him the story of the B/down.
The rest of the day I rest, eat, siësta, drink a beer, look at the surroundings ( Vally of the Queens ) from the 360 degrees roof terras.
Tomorrow I will try to avoid the police but that might be difficult. They are everywhere. Mr Sayed told me to take it hard on them and than they will do what I want and that's only to ride the Luxor - Aswan desert road straight to Aswan for 225 km. Only 3 hours, I hope.
I have booked a Nubian Holiday Lodge on the Nile next to the Nubian tombs. The bike might wake them up and haunt me in the night. Look forward to it.
Police, secretservice ( in long black coats), military all over the place so keep your cameras locked up.
Yesterday I went to the pyramides but was
not allowed into the parc because, no bikes allowed. Seen then before but wanted a picture with the Harley.
Hence I went to the Harley shop to by a
local Tshirt with pyramides image on it. Only 1 my size and no sleeves.
I had a taxi driver who I followed so
not to loose the way. Traffic is peculiar to say the least but
I got through. Fear is the worst you can have here. Do like them.
This morning I took off at 08 AM to El
Mynia where I arrived at 13.00 hrs after 350 km.
Of course with many new experiences like
driving on the Nile Corniche. It was hell because of all the people
going to market and the traffic in between.
The engine was near to overheating due to no speed and so no cooling.
Hence I turned off to the Western Desert
road against all advises. It was a treat . Nice large road
and one can fly. Hardly any traffic.
After 100 km stopped at a roadblock and
was put aside. Needed passport.
After 10 minutes they told me that I
would get an escort to El MInya. And truely, one pick up in front of me
and one behind and there we went. I felt like the president himself. They were super friendly and know all important Dutchmen, i.e. Van Basten, Cruyf, Gullit and that' s it.
They say that tomorrow they will escort
me again to Luxor and we start at 08 AM. Curious if they will.
If somewhere someone invented the speedhump it must have been Egypt or did they inherit these also from the British ?
You find them in amazing high frequency and in all sort of shapes, sizes and disrepair. To day I cursed properly because I grounded twice praying and hoping the bike would survive. The lower frame tubes receive the beating and I din't dare to check them yet.
Worst is that they are real donkeys , grey as the tar of the road so you do not see them. At a speed of 100 km that's a challenge and almost a launch from the saddle.
I get more and more cautious for these.
El Minya is known for some troubles so I was warned from many angles . Of course my escort prevented any problem. They even pushed through the traffic with sirenes on till at the hotel.
The hotel is in a backstreet and has got no facilities like resto or bar. This is sometimes an advantage, like now that I must sleep well to take the same beating tomorrow over 500 km to Luxor. Hope to reach it before dark ( at 17.30 )
I want to take the Great Eastern Desert road on the other ( east ) side of the Nile but do not know if the Hermandad will agree. I have my passport so in case they are not there at 8 AM I take off alone.
I will try to make a picture with the escort which they generally fancy and I avoid a detention.
I arrived on Sundaymorning 7th Jan. at 02.30 AM and went straight for the hotel. The rest of the day was for resting.
All the fun started on Mondaymorning around the corner of the hotel at Cargo Village.
I wrote this all down in the afternoon but lost the contents when ,during uploading, there was weak wifi.
Now I just copy what I wrote to the shiipper of the bike.
The bike is out now after 3,5 days.
Incredible what bureacracy must be done
while no one really knows the ever changing rules.
Bikes through the airport is max 7 per
year so they do not have the hang of it.
I cannot make a list of what the sequence
is since it was all done for me but I have ended up with a pile of papers
mostly in Arabic and with at least a hundred signatures and stamps.
We even had to go into downtown yesterday
to validate the Carnet by the Egyptian Automobile club before customs was
prepared to fill it in.
There is no one who knows the entire
process. Sure CFS does not even know but there are guys in the different
deparrtments that can be used and thats what we did, or my brewery man did .
He works already 25 years at the airport for all brewery imports and knows
everybody. That helps but upon asking he does not know who can do the
entire process.
I have not seen the other biker but they
told me he is struggling to go through.
I will make a trip to the pyramids to
morrow and the Harley shop and Saturday I go on my way to El Minya at 300
kms along the Nile.
By the way they roughly handled the bike
at decrating at carcustoms and parked it , not on the sidestand, but against a
concrete pole and thereby denting the fueltank. Fortunately no hole in it.
So far for the nervewrecking clearance process. I really have to get back to my senses and I hope that happens quick.
The things I left in the bike panniers and topbox suffered also since all I put in when I delivered the bike was wet due to the heavy rains between Dover and London. The boots and gloves are green . Rest of tools , raingear, fueltanks, are ok.
Fortunately he started immediately. I , of course, worried he would not but I have a new battery, new starter relay and all elctrical systems checked.
I did not take any photos since we were in restricted areas. Did not want to loose my camera or go into detention for a day .
Tomorrow I will make pictures at the pyramids , I hope , and upload these.
Finally, after several years of attempts and hesitation I have decided early september to go on my motorbike trip to nowhere.
The first leg , of course, is Africa since I know that continent better than any other . Unfortunately one cannot drive to Egypt at this moment due to blockage in Syria and Lybia. One could go through Iran and Saoudi Arabia to cross at Djedda but this does not have my preference.
Also one can put the bike on a roro ship from Piraeus to Alexandria but I do not fancy riding in this wheather from Belgium to Greece. To leave in winter is essential since the desert In Egypt and Sudan is no option for me in summer.
Hence I have decided to fly with the bike to Cairo and leave from there to Capetown. The bike transport is taken care of by Motofreight at Heathrow.
I drove the bike to Heathrow on the 8th December in a horrible wheather between Dover and London. Heavy windguts , hail, rain and 250 lorries chasing me after we got off the ferry.
The process of getting the bike into Egypt is not the easiest one. In fact it's considered the most difficult entry of all .
Thsi demands for detailed preparation which , I think, I have done in the past months.
Have all the required documents, like visas for Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. All easily available from the embassies in Brussels even the Sudan visa. In fact it was the easiest contrary to what I read in other overlander blogs. Took me 10 miniutes to leave the embassy with the visa.
Have the Carnet de Passage to avoid payments of import duties for all countries in Africa. Stamp at entrance and on exit.
Of course all other documents like motorcycle license, int drivers license, copies of all and plenty passport photographs.
I will fly on Saturday 6th Jan to Cairo and stay at a hotel at the airport for as long as the clearing process will keep me there.
The agent that I was offered to help in clearing the bike asked only 1000 euros whic I think is a bit stiff since all clearing charges seem to be around 200.
The people at the Al Ahram brewery at Cairo who I know quite well offered me to assist since they have logistic people at the airport for clearing their goods.
Of course I am very grateful and am sure all will work out fine.
One most important matter on such trip is not to be in a hurry. It' s not work and have all the time in the world. No targets , please !
Sunday is normally a work day but not the 7th. Seems to be a Holy Day so I can try the temp of the poolwater and drink a Sakara / Heineken beer.
Will go to terminal 2 to buy a local SIM card and change some money.
These last days before departure make me restless , hoping not to forget the right stuff and leave home what I do not need. Always at the end of a trip one finds itself with things that were not needed so I want to avoid that.
My idea is to go from Egypt to Sudan, Ethiopia,Kenia, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, and from there Zimbabwe or Botswana to South Africa.
My partner Linda will join me for 2 weeks in Ethiopia and Botswana ( Okavango ).
The bike I ride is an 20 year old Harley Davidson Electra Glide. Of course I had it overhauled and renewed many essential parts to reduce the risk of breakdowns.
HD dealers in Africa are in Cairo and South Africa but nothing in between for more than 10.000 miles. On my long trips ( 15.000 km each ) to the North Kaap , Finland, Marocco I have experienced only one breakdown which was due to a service fault whereby the 2 sparkplugs were not well tightened and popped out in the desert at Ouerzazate , almost simultaniously . As everywhere in Africa it did not take 5 minutes before someone came out of the woodwork and asked < Vous avez un probleme, chef ? > . I showed him the problem of a SP hanging on the wire out of the cylinder . No problem , he said, I have a brother who can fix this.
Truely in notime his brother came along and fixed the plugs back with the help of a piece of metal from a gazcanister and one small plier.
He assured me this was for life and he was right . I drove another 4000 km and arrived home safely. I had to spend quite some money to fix other cylinder heads.
On my last trip this summer to the North of Finland and Moermansk I decided to skip the camping. No more sleeping in a tent and crawl on my knees in and out while my bones are getting older and become more sensitive to this kind of treatment ( or punishment).
I now go for hotels, B&B's and other decent places to sleep and eat. In Egypt the choice is endless and cetainly at this moment with very few tourists for all kind of reasons. Sudan has less hotels but one can sleep at peoples houses who rent out a room so to make a little money.
Ethiopia now also has ample hotels and lodges.
Booking. com is my friend for this, as well as Google Maps.
I will attach a picture of the bike being packed with , of course, the essential paperwork and a picture of other needed stuff to survive.
In London with my son I loaded some " power " with my most preferred drink.
We hebben om te starten ook al een reeks extra's toegevoegd aan uw blog, zodat u dit zelf niet meer hoeft te doen. Zo is er een archief, gastenboek, zoekfunctie, enz. toegevoegd geworden. U kan ze nu op uw blog zien langs de linker en rechter kant.
U kan dit zelf helemaal aanpassen. Surf naar https://www.bloggen.be/ en log vervolgens daar in met uw gebruikersnaam en wachtwoord. Klik vervolgens op 'personaliseer'. Daar kan u zien welke functies reeds toegevoegd zijn, ze van volgorde wijzigen, aanpassen, ze verwijderen en nog een hele reeks andere mogelijkheden toevoegen.
Om berichten toe te voegen, doet u dit als volgt. Surf naar https://www.bloggen.be/ en log vervolgens in met uw gebruikersnaam en wachtwoord. Druk vervolgens op 'Toevoegen'. U kan nu de titel en het bericht ingeven.
Om een bericht te verwijderen, zoals dit bericht (dit bericht hoeft hier niet op te blijven staan), klikt u in plaats van op 'Toevoegen' op 'Wijzigen'. Vervolgens klikt u op de knop 'Verwijderen' die achter dit bericht staat (achter de titel 'Proficiat!'). Nog even bevestigen dat u dit bericht wenst te verwijderen en het bericht is verwijderd. U kan dit op dezelfde manier in de toekomst berichten wijzigen of verwijderen.
Er zijn nog een hele reeks extra mogelijkheden en functionaliteiten die u kan gebruiken voor uw blog. Log in op https://www.bloggen.be/ en geef uw gebruikersnaam en wachtwoord op. Klik vervolgens op 'Instellingen'. Daar kan u een hele reeks zaken aanpassen, extra functies toevoegen, enz.
WAT IS CONCREET DE BEDOELING??
De bedoeling is dat u op regelmatige basis een bericht toevoegt op uw blog. U kan hierin zetten wat u zelf wenst.
- Bijvoorbeeld: u heeft een blog gemaakt voor gedichten. Dan kan u bvb. elke dag een gedicht toevoegen op uw blog. U geeft de titel in van het gedicht en daaronder in het bericht het gedicht zelf. Zo kunnen uw bezoekers dagelijks terugkomen om uw laatste nieuw gedicht te lezen. Indien u meerdere gedichten wenst toe te voegen op eenzelfde dag, voegt u deze toe als afzonderlijke berichten, dus niet in één bericht.
- Bijvoorbeeld:
u wil een blog maken over de actualiteit. Dan kan u bvb. dagelijks een bericht plaatsen met uw mening over iets uit de actualiteit. Bvb. over een bepaalde ramp, ongeval, uitspraak, voorval,... U geeft bvb. in de titel het onderwerp waarover u het gaat hebben en in het bericht plaatst u uw mening over dat onderwerp. Zo kan u bvb. meedelen dat de media voor de zoveelste keer het fout heeft, of waarom ze nu dat weer in de actualiteit brengen,... Of u kan ook meer diepgaande artikels plaatsen en meer informatie over een bepaald onderwerp opzoeken en dit op uw blog plaatsen. Indien u over meerdere zaken iets wil zeggen op die dag, plaatst u deze als afzonderlijke berichten, zo is dit het meest duidelijk voor uw bezoekers.
- Bijvoorbeeld: u wil een blog maken als dagboek. Dagelijks maakt u een bericht aan met wat u er wenst in te plaatsen, zoals u anders in een dagboek zou plaatsen. Dit kan zijn over wat u vandaag hebt gedaan, wat u vandaag heeft gehoord, wat u van plan bent, enz. Maak een titel en typ het bericht. Zo kunnen bezoekers dagelijks naar uw blog komen om uw laatste nieuwe bericht te lezen en mee uw dagboek te lezen.
- Bijvoorbeeld: u wil een blog maken met plaatselijk nieuws. Met uw eigen blog kan u zo zelfs journalist zijn. U kan op uw blog het plaatselijk nieuws vertellen. Telkens u iets nieuw hebt, plaats u een bericht: u geeft een titel op en typt wat u weet over het nieuws. Dit kan zijn over een feest in de buurt, een verkeersongeval in de streek, een nieuwe baan die men gaat aanleggen, een nieuwe regeling, verkiezingen, een staking, een nieuwe winkel, enz. Afhankelijk van het nieuws plaatst u iedere keer een nieuw bericht. Indien u veel nieuws heeft, kan u zo dagelijks vele berichten plaatsen met wat u te weten bent gekomen over uw regio. Zorg ervoor dat u telkens een nieuw bericht ingeeft per onderwerp, en niet zaken samen plaatst. Indien u wat minder nieuws kan bijeen sprokkelen is uiteraard 1 bericht per dag of 2 berichten per week ook goed. Probeer op een regelmatige basis een berichtje te plaatsen, zo komen uw bezoekers telkens terug.
- Bijvoorbeeld: u wil een blog maken met een reisverslag. U kan een bericht aanmaken per dag van uw reis. Zo kan u in de titel opgeven over welke dag u het gaat hebben, en in het bericht plaatst u dan het verslag van die dag. Zo komen alle berichten onder elkaar te staan, netjes gescheiden per dag. U kan dus op éénzelfde dag meerdere berichten ingeven van uw reisverslag.
- Bijvoorbeeld:
u wil een blog maken met tips op. Dan maakt u telkens u een tip heeft een nieuw bericht aan. In de titel zet u waarover uw tip zal gaan. In het bericht geeft u dan de hele tip in. Probeer zo op regelmatige basis nieuwe tips toe te voegen, zodat bezoekers telkens terug komen naar uw blog. Probeer bvb. 1 keer per dag, of 2 keer per week een nieuwe tip zo toe te voegen. Indien u heel enthousiast bent, kan u natuurlijk ook meerdere tips op een dag ingeven. Let er dan op dat het meest duidelijk is indien u pér tip een nieuw bericht aanmaakt. Zo kan u dus bvb. wel 20 berichten aanmaken op een dag indien u 20 tips heeft voor uw bezoekers.
- Bijvoorbeeld:
u wil een blog maken dat uw activiteiten weerspiegelt. U bent bvb. actief in een bedrijf, vereniging of organisatie en maakt elke dag wel eens iets mee. Dan kan je al deze belevenissen op uw blog plaatsen. Het komt dan neer op een soort van dagboek. Dan kan u dagelijks, of eventueel meerdere keren per dag, een bericht plaatsen op uw blog om uw belevenissen te vertellen. Geef een titel op dat zeer kort uw belevenis beschrijft en typ daarna alles in wat u maar wenst in het bericht. Zo kunnen bezoekers dagelijks of meermaals per dag terugkomen naar uw blog om uw laatste belevenissen te lezen.
- Bijvoorbeeld: u wil een blog maken uw hobby. U kan dan op regelmatige basis, bvb. dagelijks, een bericht toevoegen op uw blog over uw hobby. Dit kan gaan dat u vandaag een nieuwe postzegel bij uw verzameling heeft, een nieuwe bierkaart, een grote vis heeft gevangen, enz. Vertel erover en misschien kan je er zelfs een foto bij plaatsen. Zo kunnen anderen die ook dezelfde hobby hebben dagelijks mee lezen. Als u bvb. zeer actief bent in uw hobby, kan u dagelijks uiteraard meerdere berichtjes plaatsen, met bvb. de laatste nieuwtjes. Zo trek je veel bezoekers aan.
WAT ZIJN DIE "REACTIES"?
Een bezoeker kan op een bericht van u een reactie plaatsen. Een bezoeker kan dus zelf géén bericht plaatsen op uw blog zelf, wel een reactie. Het verschil is dat de reactie niet komt op de beginpagina, maar enkel bij een bericht hoort. Het is dus zo dat een reactie enkel gaat over een reactie bij een bericht. Indien u bvb. een gedicht heeft geschreven, kan een reactie van een bezoeker zijn dat deze het heel mooi vond. Of bvb. indien u plaatselijk nieuws brengt, kan een reactie van een bezoeker zijn dat deze nog iets meer over de feiten weet (bvb. exacte uur van het ongeval, het juiste locatie van het evenement,...). Of bvb. indien uw blog een dagboek is, kan men reageren op het bericht van die dag, zo kan men meeleven met u, u een vraag stellen, enz. Deze functie kan u uitschakelen via "Instellingen" indien u dit niet graag heeft.
WAT IS DE "WAARDERING"?
Een bezoeker kan een bepaald bericht een waardering geven. Dit is om aan te geven of men dit bericht goed vindt of niet. Het kan bvb. gaan over een bericht, hoe goed men dat vond. Het kan ook gaan over een ander bericht, bvb. een tip, die men wel of niet bruikbaar vond. Deze functie kan u uitschakelen via "Instellingen" indien u dit niet graag heeft.
Het Bloggen.be-team wenst u veel succes met uw gloednieuwe blog!