Sandstorms and Pyramids in Cairo

Here we are in the biggest city in Africa, home to the world's worst drivers, last surviving wonder of the ancient world, biggest souq and, for the last week, temporary home for the Jangano 2009 team. It's been fantastic! I haven't written anything yet, as I've been waiting for the iconic shot of us in front of the pyramids. Needless to say, when we did finally get to the pyramids (yesterday), there was a howling gale with sand whipping around us and minimal visibility. So the iconic shots didn't turn out to be quite as iconic as planned, but hey. Here's one of Max and Ben walking like Egyptians, just to prove we were there.




Much to say about Cairo but, as we only have a few short hours left before we take our leave, not much time in which to say it. It's been everything we expected and hoped for and more. We've got hopelessly lost driving around the warrens of downtown, been scared witless by the antics of the drivers (a particular highlight was when, driving along a three-lane highway at 100kmh, we saw the cars on either side of us simultaneously screech to a halt and reverse back to catch an offramp they had passed!), been thoroughly intimidated by the thronging crowds in the market and been completely awed by the splendours of Tutenkhamun's tomb in the Cairo museum. Yesterday Robert and I walked around what appears to be the biggest supermarket in Africa and were hushed (in the way only Zimbos can be) by the array of goods on offer.

I'll provide more detail shortly, I promise. But as for now, we're off today to Alexandria, and then tomorrow will log our furthest north point at El Alamein before we turn our vehicles southwards for the first time and start the long haul home. Our route will take us through the desert for a 10 day jaunt, following the footsteps of David Stirling and the LRDG, and then we'll emerge at Luxor for what we confidently believe will be the highlight of our time in Egypt - the Valley of the Kings.

Can't dally further - I feel the call of the Western Desert!

Egypt!

Well folks, we're in Aswan. Meaning we've made it to Egypt. Our sense of achievement is only slightly diminished by the fact that our vehicles haven't, but hey, that's minor a detail. The point is, we left Zim to drive up to Egypt and now here we are!

Our vehicles were last seen three days ago on a ferry docked at Wadi Halfa in Sudan. Despite multiple assurances to the contrary, we have strong reason to believe they're still there. As it takes two days for the ferry to cross Lake Nasser from Sudan to Egypt, and as it takes another two days for the ferry to be unloaded and our vehicle documents to be cleared once they've arrived, and as they haven't even started the journey yet, it looks as if we're going to be in Aswan for a while longer.

In itself, this is no hardship. We've had a magnificent trip up through Sudan, but we're ready for some down time and Aswan is as good a place as any for it.

Sudan was incredible. We left Khartoum on Tuesday 27th. Within minutes of leaving the city we were firmly and uncompromisingly back in the desert, and within a few hours we were at our first pyramid site, much to everyone's excitement.

Sudan's pyramids are quite different to the ones we'll see in Egypt. Not only in size and shape, but in the complete absence of any form of tourists. We were able to walk around 3,000 year old ruins without a soul in sight. It was extraordinary, and really gave us the feeling that we were the first to discover them (further aided by the fact that many of them are half buried in the sand). The kids were totally absorbed by it, and we spent many happy hours in Sudan wandering around ancient ruins imagining the great things that must once have happened there.

From Khartoum we had 8 days of travelling up to the Sudan-Egypt border. Although we were on tar roads for far more of this than expected, we still had our fair share of desert driving, and we slept out every night under the stars in the desert. On one day we decided to abandon the road altogether and struck out cross-country, following a bearing on the GPS to our next destination, 120 kms away. It was awesome, and I would happily have driven like that for every day of the trip. On several occasions we got stuck in deep sand and had to get out our sand ladders and dig the cars out, which is an excellent way to get everyone working together as a team!

By the time we reached Wadi Halfa the dust had permeated every pore, and we were grateful to be invited by a Sudanese family into their home for the night (another example of the legendary Sudanese hospitality). This was a real experience for us all, and very humbling in its own way. I'd like to think we'd be that hospitable in the same circumstances, but it takes courage and dedication to invite eight complete strangers into your house!

On Wednesday 4th Feb we finally bid farewell to Sudan and boarded the ferry to Aswan. Another useful cross-cultural experience, mixing in with several hundred Sudanese and Egyptian travellers, and at times it felt as if the conditions were little different from those of a sailing boat 200, 500 or even 1,000 years ago. The passing of time is measured on a different scale in the desert.....

So now we're regrouping in Aswan, waiting for the vehicles and looking forward to the run into Cairo next week. We'll be in Egpyt for a full month, so we've plenty of time here. We want to go to the Sinai and see some of the mountains there (including Mt Sinai, where the 10 commandments were originally handed to Moses), and then over to El Alamein for a bit of military history. Then we'll turn back south via the Western Desert. Oh yes, and let's not forget the pyramids....

More soon, I hope. News should be a bit more frequent, now we're in Egypt and the telecoms are a bit better. Tomorrow, remarkably, marks 7 weeks since we left!