I am awake at 5.30 and head for the dining room at 6 for coffee. George and his wife are up. The coffee is good with toast.. and they have packed me a lunch... Wonderful..
The GPS is confused and it takes me a good hour to find the new road north out of Khartoum but I'm on my way eventually.. I cross the White Nile and am heading north. At the first police road block I'm asked to give a teacher a lift to a village up the road.. which I do .. I'm becoming a taxi ..No communication and all I get about 50 k's later is "stop" and she thanks me in Arabic and walks over to what looks like a school.
North of Khartoum is dry and becomes dryer.. I'm heading for the Sahara Desert.
Every now and then one can see the Nile in the distance.. a Green band ..a life saver..
The road is good and I make good progress. I do notice that at all the service stations I pass there are queues.. The Sudan has its own oil wells ??
It is now dry and harsh.
I go to a lodge in the village of Karima ..recommended.. Looks ok but at 140 Euro a night I give it a miss. I check out a few pyramids in Karima. I find a hotel in Merowe that is almost new US$40 b&b and I get a suite.. its very nice.
The Sudan has over 1000 Pyramids.. Egypt 115.. the difference is that those in The Sudan are only 40 -50 feet high. I go looking for the valley that is said to have over 100.
Anyway, I need to fuel up. Long trip tomorrow to Egypt.. about 700 k's but should be a good road all the way. In Merowe all the fuel outlets are dry. I'm told I can get diesel in Karima
so I head back there, about 15k away. There are 3 service stations - all dry - all with queue's.
I ask when they may get fuel ..no one knows but they still queue.
As I leave the third and final station one of the attendants says he has a friend who has 60 litres..in a drum at home.. would I like to buy it ..sure..and off we go. I siphon the 60 litres into my tank..not thinking of the quality.. and pay the guy.. Out of nowhere a plain clothes policeman arrives..arrests me and the seller and tells me to drive to the police station.
Not a good scene. It's 4.30 pm and I'm being charged with buying on the black market and fraud.. so is the seller who is handcuffed and told to sit on the floor behind the police office counter.. I'm not cuffed but given a chair to sit on as the charge is recorded.. Apparently buying fuel other than in a fuel station is illegal.
Not a good scene.. There is not much English spoken so I'm in a pickle. After about 45 minutes things aren't looking any better so I phone Zoe in Washington D.C. and tell her my predicament. She contacts the embassy in D.C. and they are indifferent.. They tell her to contact DFAT in Australia - they have a 24 hour emergency number. She does this and is told they will report it to the nearest Embassy, which is in Cairo, but they are closed.
I'm in a tiny remote village 250k's north of Khartoum ..I see at least 1 night in the cells.,,,
Then I have a brain wave.. Remember George at the Acropol hotel in Khartoum.
I phone.. speak to one of the other brothers..He takes the info..George will be back in 15 minutes. 15 minutes later George phones me.. says to stand by as he has a friend high up in the Khartoum police. He will ring me back within an hour. About 30 mins later George calls
and asks me to pass the phone to the most senior police officer there.. I give the phone to the guy writing out the charge who listens politely, doesn't say much and gives me back my phone. About 15 minutes later the local police Chief turns up, white uniform with all the stars on his shoulders etc.etc. He speaks English.. "Mr George" he says.." You must understand that you are not under arrest.. but being held as a witness." I was the instigator of the whole transaction.. It is now about 6.45.. I need to make a statement taken down in Arabic. They phone a translator in Khartoum who reads it out which I accept. I don't sign anything.
A few minutes later a civilian turns up ..seems to have some say.. the discussion turns to the type of fuel I bought Benzine (petrol) or Gasoil (diesel). I did not know at the time what they called what. It appears the law differentiates between the two for the black market trading charge. I'm confused, they seem confused and I suggest we go and sniff the tank then they will know what type of fuel it is. This is a good idea! 6 of us have a good sniff and it is agreed that the fuel is Gasoil.
So things lighten up now.. but there is still much going on and the seller is still behind the counter and not looking too happy.
I happen to have a large bag of Turkish Delight in the car and hand them around ..everyone takes a piece and is appreciative. The numbers of interested parties has now grown to about 20.. Still discussions going on..which I don't follow.. The chief makes a speech to the ensemble reminding me and them that the Sudanese are very hospitable people and that Australia is a good country although not Islamic, and that Sudan and Australia are friends,
that I have been delayed as they had sent 2 officers to try and find more diesel for me but to no avail. It was just as well as my tanks were just about full. At about 8 pm they say I can go.. I say goodbye to the seller..The cash has been confiscated by the cops..and I get the hell away. I am pleased they didn't ask me for the receipts for changing foreign currency.
I'm finally in my lovely hotel room where I will only spend a short time.
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