We entered Sudan with much excitement and a bit of uncertainty of what our next leg had in store for us. With most of the headlines coming out of Sudan being inherently travel unfriendly, we had no shortage of bad press to cause a bit of concern. Political issues, restricted travel zones and the list of advisories regarding the hazards of travel into Sudan gave us a predisposition of what our experience might be like.
We started running into Sudan issues as early as Cairo. While trying to obtain our Sudanese entry visas, Mike was refused reference documentation from the Canadian embassy, citing that travel into Sudan was not supported by the Canadian goverment. On first impressions, there didn't seem to be much to look forward to and little support for travel into Africas biggest country.
There is this popular game in Egypt, lets call it something like “Sherards oder Pantomine”; and we're getting quite good. The objective of the game is to explain the description of some inanimate object or service using broken Arabic and obscure hand gestures. I'll explain the rules so you can play along.
Egypt is a good opportunity to stock up before less hospitable locations to come. Do you need a “jerry can” for extra “benzene” on those long desert roads? How about some chain lube to help out with the sand. Take your hands and draw a picture of a chain, run it through your legs in a big rotating circle and add in a little clicking noise to help out. If you need, get your friend to do the same or rub his hands together to depict a well lubricated chain! So simple! And to make things extra entertaining, Egypt as a country does not stock chain lube or jerry cans, so you can play as long as you want!
Who ever has been to an Arab country will not get around this word. I am sure for some people it calls up “fund” memories when visiting this country in the past.
According to Wikipedia Baksheesh is a term used to describe tipping,charitable giving and certain forms of political corruption and bribary in the Middle East and Asia.
And you are asked everywhere for it. It really can get annoying until your brain learns to blend this word out of your reception sense.There are moments you hate it, there are moments you love it. Again, we have stories to tell that will give both sides of this culture.
When we passed into Syria and passed through Latikka it was time for a quick lunch at a local stop beside the highway. Of course we got again to chat intensely with some people there, making photos of our bikes and asking what we are up to. We got a recommendation by a local to see the largest castle of Syria, Castelli Homs. So, after a short electric hick up with one bike on the highway and a quick repair we ended up on the top of a steep hill, just at the foot of some gigantic castle wall. Unbelievable. It was also used for many years by the crusaders as a safe haven. As the castle was just about to close we decided to stay close by and pay it a visit first thing next day. We found a cheap hotel with a brilliant view to the castle which made the couple of Dinar worth the choice.
We have the habit of planning our day each morning, where we want to stop, do some sightseeing or have lunch, or at least how far we want to get for this day.
But until now, we did not have ONCE the chance to follow through this plan. Not once, after riding 14 days through East Europe and Asia.
But, this is in fact good news! This is freedom and a prove that we are living it this moment. With no strict schedule we realize you have a much better chance to understand the culture and people of each country to visit. We just went with the flow and took what we got, which gave us moments realizing what this trip is about. It is not only about taking a nice turn in a beautiful coastal road, feeling the warm wind in your face, or overlooking a valley, full of different unique colours or exploring ancient castles, it is about connecting randomly with people you would never, never meet in your life, who live so different, who grow up so different and have different values but who share most certainly one thing with us: genuine interest in other people.
Ride For Africa has repositioned across the Atlantic and is about to start the next portion of our journey to Tanzania. With bikes being readied, paperwork in order, and a lot of maps, we prepare to leave Dresden for the middle east and then into Africa.
Unfortunately, it's during this preparation that we have encountered our first major logistical challenge. Due to personal and professional responsibilities, Mike will have to delay his departure on this next leg of the journey. Although not completely unforeseen, It was not an easy decision, and came as a huge disappointment for both of us. We have spent the past couple years planning our trip to connect Edmonton to Kilimanjaro, so it's an unfortunate reality that Mike won't be able to attend all of the ride as we had planned.
After nearly two years of planning and prep, our journey has begun. A journey to symbolically connect Edmonton volunteers with the African communities they support. A journey to raise awareness and to bring supporters with us to Tanzania for their own great adventure and participation in a valuable cause. A journey that will eventually culminate on the top of Kilimanjaro in 3 months after nearly 18,000 kilometres of riding starts with the biggest country of our trip, Canada.
Departing the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital on a remarkably warm day for April in Edmonton, we were greeted by Catherine from Hands Across Africa and others curious observers who gave us a thoughtful send off.
We are getting closer and closer to our departure date, leaving Edmonton in under a weeks’ time! For some reason, our to-do list appears to be getting longer the closer we get to our actual departure date, but most of our big obstacles have been overcome and we’re getting very excited to start the journey.
On April 15th we had another TV interview at CTV News at Noon in Edmonton, promoting again our cause of this trip and inviting people to join this great adventure by climbing Mt. Kili with us.
Please click on Twitter icons on map to get location and brief message where we are. We try to update our location daily. We also try to update our interactive map, showing route we have taken and photos as soon as we have good internet connection. You find it under "The Ride" section. Thanks for following us.
If you have trouble seeing the map or want a more detailed view of our exact route in the last 7 days we have taken until now, please click here.
For all Kili climbers who are looking for some feedback from other climbers, please feel free to use this blog as your communiction plattform. Send out questions and ideas on what to do during, before and after the climb. See if you can hook up with some climbers to add some more excitement to this amazing trip.
Thank you to everybody that took part in Ride For Africa's official launch this past week! The response has been amazing and we could not have made it work without your support!
On February 25th, Mark Inglis helped us introduce our upcoming journey to 300 supporters at the Royal Alberta Museum. Mark's stories as the only double amputee to ever summit everest captivated all in attendance and made for an enjoyable night in support of a great cause.
Thanks to the support of Mark Inglis and Hands Across Africa, our charity ride to Mt. Kilimanjaro has received great exposure. Mark spoke with CBC radio and shared his thoughts on our cause (listen here). Additionally, Mark and Axel were interviewed on GlobalTV morning show and Mike and Mark shared our plans with CityTV Breakfast Television (watch here). We have received so much positive support, including a nice article from The Journal (read the article here) and the St. Albert Gazette (find the article here).
We entered Sudan with much excitement and a bit of uncertainty of what our next leg had in store for us. With most of the headlines coming out of Sudan being inherently travel unfriendly, we had no shortage of bad press to cause a bit of concern. Political issues, restricted travel zones and the list of advisories regarding the hazards of travel into Sudan gave us a predisposition of what our experience might be like. .jpg)
There is this popular game in Egypt, lets call it something like “Sherards oder Pantomine”; and we're getting quite good. The objective of the game is to explain the description of some inanimate object or service using broken Arabic and obscure hand gestures. I'll explain the rules so you can play along..jpg)
We have the habit of planning our day each morning, where we want to stop, do some sightseeing or have lunch, or at least how far we want to get for this day.
After nearly two years of planning and prep, our journey has begun. A journey to symbolically connect Edmonton volunteers with the African communities they support. A journey to raise awareness and to bring supporters with us to Tanzania for their own great adventure and participation in a valuable cause. A journey that will eventually culminate on the top of Kilimanjaro in 3 months after nearly 18,000 kilometres of riding starts with the biggest country of our trip, Canada.
We are getting closer and closer to our departure date, leaving Edmonton in under a weeks’ time! For some reason, our to-do list appears to be getting longer the closer we get to our actual departure date, but most of our big obstacles have been overcome and we’re getting very excited to start the journey. 
For all Kili climbers who are looking for some feedback from other climbers, please feel free to use this blog as your communiction plattform. Send out questions and ideas on what to do during, before and after the climb. See if you can hook up with some climbers to add some more excitement to this amazing trip.
Wow - what a week this has been for us!
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