After all the trouble we've been through getting visas and the ferry, we weren't sure what to expect from Sudan, but all worked out well. The immigration and customs were cake and the only problem we faced was the crappy hotel we ended up with and a bit more waste of time and money in bureaucracy to get us "registered" once in the country.The $35 hotel we start at is double the price of anything we stayed at in Egypt and still so bad that we slept with the lights on and moved to a campground on the Nile the next night. (we stayed the first night only because we hadn't slept in 34 hours and just needed to fall down.)
We had 3 days to explore Khartoum while we waited for our bus which finally arrived yesterday (Sat). Friday night, I went to a gathering at a local cemetery of Sufi-Muslims (so we're told) doing an absolutely random mix of whirling dervish, southern baptist gospel and tribal dance to pay respects to the dead. Pretty crazy what people do when nobody is looking.
The people in Sudan are amazing. Most people don't really pay us any special attention unless we say 'hi'. Those who do notice us say 'hello' like we're their next door neighbor. The hard part is talking to people who have been impacted by Darfur or Ethiopia/Eritria. The positive attitudes of individuals I've talked to are absolutely incredible against the backdrop of what they're are going through. The human spirit is truly unreal when put to the test.
Khartoum as a city isn't terribly inspiring, but it shows that a people who care can have a clean city. They have garbage cans around town and people use them in huge contrast to Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and some of Turkey where the city is your private trash bin.
Now we've met up with our friends and are getting ready to head out again tomorrow en route to Ethiopia for our next adventures. The group has promised to get stuck in sand down to the transmission again so we can see what fun we missed!
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