20. A barge, a ferry and lots of waiting: crossing from Egypt to Sudan

Finally, after two weeks of waiting we are ready to sit on deck of a ferry that will bring us to Wadi Halfa in Sudan. Kosta had put the car on the barge yesterday and so we make our way down to the port.

The Cruiser on the barge

At around 10 am we arrive at the port. The chaos is unbelievable, you would say it is the first time they have to organize this. But we can only smile at this, we are just glad to be leaving. Egypt is definitely not our favourite country. They might have wonderful pyramids and other monuments, they might have beautiful diving spots, but in all honesty they do not have the nicest people. No, not everyone is out to scam you, only the people that deal with tourists… that is 90% of all Egyptians. I understand that they are in a bad situation. Since the revolution in January things have not gone for the better for these people. Prices have gone up, tourists have stayed away. So I have no problem with paying a bit more here and there (as a tourist you always do). But prices often rise with 300% when they see a white face. So asking us 5 pounds for a drink when we know the Egyptian price is maximum 1,5, is more an insult to my intelligence than just asking a bit more to a tourist. And this is how it goes every time we want to buy something: you know the price but you have to bargain again and again and again until you think that this is a fair price for them and for you. More than once we have put the stuff back and walked away. Stupid of them to triple the prices, now they have sold nothing.

Anyway, back to the ferry. A couple of other overlanders have already secured a place under a rescue boat. We join them, and are more than happy with this spot as we have shade. Of course you can also book a cabin but we prefer to do it this way. And then the waiting starts. It is 10 am and the ferry will leave at around 5 or 6 pm. Nothing really exciting happening on this ferry (although trying to make your way down to the bathrooms is a bit of an adventure). Finally, more than 24 hours after having settle in on deck, we arrive in Sudan. And we might have had hours and hours to have absolutely nothing to do but before we can get of the boat we have some more paper work to fill in. Really, people,why not give us the forms when we get on the boat and check the passport during the long trip instead of in the morning… At about 2 pm we finally get of the boat: both of us tired, me having a mega headache and being a bit dehydrated (trying to avoid the bathroom LOL). But most of all we are happy to set foot on Sudanese ground.

Enjoy the pictures, we certainly have and have smiled at the memory of this crossing:

Under the rescue boat

Our sleeping place for the night… and a bit of a more comfy option for Roy:

Somewhere in the morning: waiting together to see Abu Simbel from the ferry