Khartoum - Day 51 to Day 52

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3rd - 4th November

The authorities in Khartoum had changed the venue of the major bus station. Result? Total traffic chaos! Ian and Jeremy took their cars off first thing to the Toyota agent who was extremely helpful. They sorted out Jeremy’s car’s electrics which have been giving endless trouble. A new battery was part of the equation. Ian’s car was put on the ramp only to find that the extra fuel tank had just about broken free. It took a little longer to fix this - two days - as the tank had be removed completely and brackets replaced and/or strengthened.

However, in the end all was well. Except that it took about an hour and a half to do the journey to and from the garage when normally it would be a matter of 15 minutes or so. As far as I was concerned a lot of time was spent writing blog and sorting out photographs only to be thoroughly thwarted at the end of the day when it was found that none of the internet connections in the city were operative and it was impossible to update out website. So, dear reader, please be patient. We will try again as soon as we can get the right connection - who knows when, or even where!

Comfortable though the hotel was we decided that funds should be conserved and we would reconnoiter The Blue Nile Sailing Club, which is a well known traveller’s refuge and camping site. It proved to be perfectly adequate and we decided to move there lock stock and barrel for our last night. It is situated, as one would guess from its name, on the bank of the Blue Nile and had adequate toilet facilities. We found another couple, from Belgium, who seemed to have traveled most of the world in their 20 year old Toyota camper van and we had great fun hearing about their travels, particularly about our route ahead where they had just been. They were a charming couple.

We parked our 3 cars pretty close together, so as to retain some sort of “family space” but even so a club member parked his car between two of us! There were a number of club members who arrived after dark and then set up a card school within yards of our vehicles and played/gambled noisily until well after midnight. Oh well, we learn to take the rough with the smooth.

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