13 July 2011
Boarding Ferry from Wadi Halfa on Lake Nubia in Sudan which becomes Lake Nasser in Egypt
Our day started with us waiting at our “hotel with no name” for our fixer, Allie, to tell us the procedure for all the East London car guys & ourselves to board the ferry to Aswan in Egypt. In true African style it was a case of “hurry up & wait”. We were all a bit concerned as we knew that if we could not board the ferry that day, we would have to remain in Wadi Halfa for a week before the next ferry left for Aswan. This was not an option as Wadi Halfa must be “the arse hole of the world”! It used to be a pleasant town on the banks of the Nile, but when Egypt built the new dam at Aswan the old town was flooded & a new town developed away from the Nile - surrounded by desert. There is nothing endearing about Wadi Halfa - you cannot even buy toilet paper!
Allie eventually arrived & he assured us that we were booked on the ferry & that the bikes & support vehicles would be on a separate barge which would leave the following morning. We were relieved to hear this & paid Allie the following: accommodation in Wadi Halfa -$35 per room; for the barge to take the cars & bikes to Aswan - $330 per car, $300 for the trailer & $70 per bike; for second class on the ferry - $52 per person. Although a lot of money we were relieved that we would be leaving that afternoon & even if the cars & bikes only arrived on Saturday, it would be better waiting in Aswan rather than Wadi Halfa. Allie said he would come & collect us when it was time to drive to the ferry. When he did come back it was to tell us that we needed to pay an extra $100 for the “captain” to make a plan to fit the bikes in the hold of the barge! They knew & we knew that we had no alternative but to pay more, so we agreed. When I asked Allie if we should pay the extra $100 to the captain, he said we must pay him as he had already paid the captain!! They saw us coming - especially when we discovered other bikers only paid $30 per bike & about $40 for the ferry.
This left a sour taste in our mouths & unfortunately only added to the disappointment about Sudan. As the area we travelled through is mainly desert, it is very dry, hot & windy, but worse still is very dirty & covered with litter. Our good memories of Sudan are our fantastic bush camps, the fruit juices & rest facilities on the side of the road through the desert.
When Allie eventually took us to the ferry it was early afternoon & extremely hot (over 45 degrees). It took us about 3 hours to complete all paper work & fight our way onto the ferry. There is no politeness, everyone, including baggage & cargo handlers just push you out of the way. By the time we were on board we were exhausted, hot & sweaty, but relieved to be on board. Our “accommodation” was on the top deck, which had no shade cover - so we continued to cook. We also had to fight for a spot on the deck as the ferry was full of Sudanese.
We eventually left at about 6.00pm, drank our smuggled liquor sachets (which are terrible), some had the supper made on board, but the rest of us had bully beef etc which Adri had brought on board - you do not want to spend any extra time perched above a filthy long drop! At sunset all the Muslim men came to the top deck where they prayed for some time, which was quite an experience.
During the evening when crossing the Egyptian border, an Egyptian boat pulled alongside & officials bordered to check our passports - another scrum ensued. Soon after that we crossed the Tropic of Cancer & we suddenly realised just how far we had driven up Africa. That night we all tried to sleep on the deck while trying to fight off Sudanese who seemed to always be encroaching on your space.
14 July 2011
Aswan
Lake Nasser (or the Aswan High Dam) is a lovely piece of water to cruise on as it is clean & the desert & rocks are visible on both sides. Although long it is not very wide. What was very noticeable was the lack of inhabitants on the land & virtually no fishing. We eventually docked at Aswan harbour at about 12.00pm & once again had to fight our way off the ferry & through customs before boarding a bus provided by our fixer, Kamile. The heat was unbearable. As we had heard that Aswan was a tourist friendly & attractive city, we were taken aback when we had to drive for about 20kms through harsh desert before reaching the main city which is on the Nile. The contrast between Wadi Halfa & Aswan is like night & day. Aswan is beautiful with tree lined streets along the Nile with numerous Nile cruising boats moored on the side. Even the people are more friendly, can speak English & to our relief the ATM’s work (we were not able to use one ATM in Sudan - not even in Khartum!).
We booked into the Philae Hotel which overlooks the Nile. We are only paying $40 per room for a very clean room with a shower / bath (with 24 hour running water) & a clean toilet which you can sit on! What luxury.
As we were all filthy & exhausted we all showered & slept. Later on we had a late lunch at a very nice restaurant on the Nile, before meeting the East London car guys who had managed to collect their cars - the barge for their cars had left 2 days earlier.
Aswan is suffering economically due to the lack of tourists which is a direct result of the political turmoil in Egypt. Although this is their tourist season, there are very few tourists around, the hotels are empty & the big Nile cruising boats are moored & going nowhere. It is tough for the people of Aswan, but all are pleased about the political change that has taken place & are looking forward to more democratic reform. They know that tourism will suffer in the short term but are confident that within the next few years will improve. On the one hand this is good for us as we are able to negotiate good deals, but we have to be more alert as the locals will “rip you off to make a quick buck” before you know what has happened!
What a welcome surprise...a view from our rooms...
No comments:
Post a Comment