There are a few days to look back on now from the comfort of Aswan in Egypt. Our last night in Ethiopia was in Gondor where an ancient castle of the kings of old graces the centre of the town. Lying outside the magnificent walls was a wrapped person with a chubby baby crawling over her, I have since wondered if she was alright or was it as we have found so often someone having a siesta after lunch.
When we got to the border with Sudan the pace of entry processes meant we were riding into the sunset. The huge red ball set over a field of sunflowers and shortly after as we were checked yet again by another police post we encountered the first of many offers of Sudanese hospitality. This was the police wanting us to joint their “break-fast” of the Ramadan fasting season, having a date with a local took on another meaning.
The roads became less travelled and the hotels more communal with dirt floors and no walls. Just rows of beds under the sky trying to catch every breeze. In one town our beds were pushed aside and the TV was turned on LOUD until 3 in the morning while all the locals gathered around for the only entertainment in town. They perched on the side of our beds (as we tried to sleep) totally unaware of the personal space we are used to. I was the only woman at a couple of these places and the local lasses were quite invisible so I wonder what the men thought. Sudan is a place to experience fantastic hospitality, there is no beer or alcohol either.
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