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July 29, 2007
'Ello Turkey!
LOCATION: Ulukisla, Turkey
SEE WHERE WE ARE!
Longitude: N:37deg.40'34.
Latitude: E:034deg.19'41s.
Kms from Djibouti: 6,116 kms
Today was an uphill struggle, literally. Climbing 1,400 metres from the coast at Adana up to the Anatolia plateau, the vast central area of Turkey that makes up 97% of the land area, was a shock to the system after having to deal only with low grades since Ethiopia. But if the legs were complaining, the rest of me was relieved to be elevated out of the stifling humidity of the Mediterranean coastline and into insect-free, brisk mountain air with stupendous views of the Bolkar Daglari range to the southwest. From here the road slips away effortlessly towards Ankara in the north where I should be in 2-days. Skirting the city to save on time I'll push onto Istanbul and rendezvous with the Turkish Rowing Association on the 7th August on the eastern shores of the Bosphorus. Following an initial introduction from Erden from Around n Over they are very kindly organizing a traditional Turkish 'kayik' for me to row across to the west bank. It will a very symbolic moment: the expedition crossing over from Asia into Europe for the last of 16 legs in total that comprise Expedition 360.
Miles and countries are beginning to pass a little quicker under the wheels that I would otherwise like. This circumnavigation has never been about speed, but with a completion date now set in stone much rests upon getting to European shores in time to secure a decent weather window to complete the final channel crossing before the winter storms arrive. So Syria got short thrift, which is a shame as the people are as friendly as the Nubians in north Sudan and the history and antiquities that the region has to offer is little appreciated by outsiders. Definitely on the shortlist for a return visit.
Turkey is another world to the Arabian Middle East. The people are friendly enough, even though many of the men look like WWF fighers (World Wrestling Federation). The main gripe is cost. Turkey is incredibly expensive - as much as 3-4 x what I've been used to since leaving Djibouti. I suppose this means the start of the harsh reality of being back in Europe with its ridiculous prices. So no more hotels (actually not a problem as there aren't too many of them anyway). It's back to sleeping in the flood tunnels under the road at night and setting aside enough time to cook my own food. A meal at a roadside restaurant will otherwise put one back around 10 Turkish Lira ($8 USD) which blows my $15-20 a day budget out of the water very quickly.
One problem that I hadn't anticipated, or at least to the degree that it has ended up being, is language. Turks in this part of the country speak virtually no English (Erden, where are you?!). I know the onus is on the outsider to learn enough of the local lingo to get by, but I was rather hoping to get a little helping hand from the locals, at least in the first week of being here, to provide for the basic needs. But perhaps Turkey is rather like China in terms of its isolation historically? In any case, there's been a lot of jabbing at things for sale by the roadside followed by me moronically holding out a palm full of money for the seller to pick out the amount due. Of course this is a recipe for getting well and truly ripped off and on more than one occasion the guy has just shoveled most of the contents of my hand into his own, resulting in the money being snatched back and a fierce exchange of insults that neither can understand.
Another issue is the road, which is very narrow in places and often lacking a hard-shoulder to ride in out of the traffic. Trucks often pass a little too close for comfort and my trailer has been clipped twice now - fortunately no damage done. Now more than ever I miss the little handlebar mirror I had on the Asia leg, (but which was stolen on arrival in Mumbai). It was a real life-saver, allowing me to judge traffic coming from the rear and move over if need be. A replacement should be waiting for me in Istanbul. I just need to be extra careful until then. A much needed pit-stop is also in order for a bunch of other gear that has either been lost, stolen or just worn out: my gloves fell to bits in Egypt; the welds on the frame of the trailer broke in Sudan (so the whole thing is now held together with string), and my tires have worn well past the tread mark. But for now, the whole contraption still moves.
jason
Posted at 8:52 PM
July 26, 2007
Circumnavigation Controversy Clarified
LOCATION: Aleppo, Syria
SEE WHERE WE ARE!
Longitude: N:36deg.12'17.
Latitude: E:037deg.09'11s.
Kms from Djibouti: 5,637 kms
Definitive rules for circumnavigations of the world completed by human power have been published by AdventureStats of Explorers Web Inc., an independent group of international historians, geographers and explorers, whose conclusions help clarify the recent dispute between the three teams pursuing human powered circumnavigation attempts or claims: Expedition 360 (Britain), Expedition Canada (Canada) and Around 'n Over (Turkey/US).
It looks like the verdict is now out.
You may remember the row that erupted in the international press earlier this year between myself, Canadian Colin Angus and Turk/US resident Erden Eruc over the definition of a legitimate human powered circumnavigation (HPC). Colin, who is claiming to have completed an HPC in May 2006, traveled exclusively in the Northern Hemisphere, which to Erden and I is not enough to constitute a circumnavigation of the world. Several exchanges in the press followed before the controversy simmered down again.
More on the controversy in the National Geographic Adventure magazine
And the UK Guardian
Until just recently the dispute was not properly resolved. However these new rules come down heavily in favour of the circumnavigation attempts currently underway by Erden and Expedition 360, which is fantastic news. They require the circumnavigator to -
> Start and finish at the same point, traveling in one general direction
> Reach two antipodes
> Cross the equator
> Cross all longitudes
> Cover a minimum of 40,000km or 21,600NM (a great circle)
View the complete set of rules and regulations
Read the background story
Explorers Web Inc., offers breaking news and indepth features on the activities of the international exploration community. Their AdventureStats division offer rulings and guidelines for expeditions involved in a variety of genres from mountaineering to polar travel to human powered circumnavigations. They also provide links to partner websites and other sources who also carry statistics. They offered this advise to Colin Angus -
"To...Colin we would suggest the term 'around the Northern Hemisphere'".
More on AdventureStats
More on Explorers Web Inc.
DOING IT RIGHT - THE ALPHA GLOBAL EXPEDITION
Meanwhile another circumnavigator, Adrian Flanagan, has chosen to employ the antipodal criteria in his attempt to sail the first-ever single-handed “vertical” circumnavigation of the globe - considered the last great sailing prize in long distance, single-handed sailing. Following the precedents set by earlier pioneering yachtsmen and women who have completed west-to-east and east-to-west circumnavigations, the vertical route has remained elusive because of dangers of ice in the High Arctic Region. Recent changes in global weather and temperature patterns have caused Arctic ice floes to break up earlier. The ice edge is receding further clearing the route for a short period during summer.
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, who achieved the first single-handed, non-stop circumnavigation in 1969, has described Flanagan's Alpha Global Expedition as, “a serious challenge.”
Flanagan, 46, set sail on the Alpha Global Expedition on October 28, 2005, and covered 26,000 miles going west around Cape Horn to Nome, Alaska, where his 40-ft. stainless steel sloop, Barrabas, has spent the Arctic winter. Flanagan's route will take him along Russia's Northern Sea Route. Success will see Barrabas become the first British flagged yacht to sail Russia's Arctic coast and Flanagan, the first sailor to achieve this feat single-handed.
To pull this project off, Flanagan's track will pass over two points on the earth's surface which are diametrically opposite each other - or antipodal. History's first passing through antipodal points was completed in 1522 by 18 members of Ferdinand Magellan's expedition to find a route to the Spice Islands by sailing west. His expedition criteria ensures that the equator is crossed at least twice and the distance traveled is about 22,600 nautical miles or more, or about the circumference of the globe.
jason
Posted at 8:41 PM
July 23, 2007
In Syria - Circumnavigation Completion Date now Fixed
LOCATION: North of Damascus, Syria
SEE WHERE WE ARE!
Longitude: N:32deg.59'10.
Latitude: E:036deg.14'04s.
Kms from Djibouti: 5,342 kms
When I walked into the 'Arrivals' building on the Syrian side of the border (with Jordan) I met two Americans who had been sitting there for quite some time, waiting to hear if they'd be given a visa or not. "They've faxed all our details off to Damascus to get a decision", said Andrew, a freelance journalist from New York. "We're hopeful, but I guess nothing's for sure yet".
The immigration officer for foreigners thankfully turned out to be wearing a smile (which I've since found out is pretty much the norm for Syrians - they're universally extremely friendly). I think it helped when explaining my circumstances that I was covered in sweat from the ride over the hill from the Jordanian side, and he could see my bike parked just outside the doorway. "The Syrian embassy in Amman wouldn't give me a visa" I explained. "They told me that I have to go back to my country of residence - the UK. But I've been traveling for 13-years and I don't have the time or money to go back to England just for this visa. Can you please help me?"
"I will try" he muttered while starting to leaf VERY slowly through my passport, meticulously checking each stamp for even a whiff of the evil neighbour, Israel. When he got to the section with the Egyptian and Jordan stamps he went back and forth a few times trying to make sense of the mishmash of entry and exit stamps between Nuweiba (on the Egyptian side) and Aqaba (on the Jordanian side). Fortunately the deliberate smokescreen seemed to work and he didn't ask the one question I was dreading - how there ended up being two entry stamps for Egypt and only one for Jordan? Evidently the two days and $160 US spent going back and forth between Aqaba and Nuweiba had been worth it after all, and twenty minutes later I was walking out the door, passport in hand, and with the needful Syrian stamp inside. The poor Americans were still sitting there.
What this means is that we are now able to officially publicize the COMPLETION DATE of Expedition 360 - Saturday October 6th this year. After riding through Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Austria, Germany to Belgium the final crossing of the channel in pedal boat Moksha will be completed over 3-days from 2nd-4th October (weather dependent as always). The arrival at the Greenwich Rowing Club slipway will be at 10.30 am at high tide slack water on the 6th. After lifting her out onto a mobile trolley a group of close expedition team members and supporters will push her up the hill to the Royal Observatory for the final crossing of the zero degree line of longitude. This is represented by a strip of brass embedded in the cobblestones, the same that Steve and I crossed over on our outward bound journey 13-years ago.
The Prime Meridian at Greenwich
One may ask, 'What's all this business about pushing a boat up a hill? Why not just Jason cross as he's the one completing the full circumnavigation'? Well, firstly the pedal boat is one of the things that makes this expedition as unique as it is: custom designed, custom built and still going strong after all these years. She's suffered many near fatal accidents, from colliding with a coral reef outside the Turks and Caicos Islands in 1995, to being rear ended in a traffic jam going to a school presentation in Colorado in 1996, to capsizing and nearly sinking in a storm off Morro Bay, California in 1998. And yet she has faithfully delivered every crew member who has ridden in her safely to the other side of every piece of water she has been asked to cross. Moksha is as much a part of the team as any of us, and you never leave a team member behind.
Watch the original channel crossing in 1994 (a very beery affair...)
Second, the people who will push her over the line with me are the heart and soul of the expedition, those who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes over the years to cover a myriad of tasks that couldn't have afforded financially otherwise. Aberdeen Asset Management have assisted financially since June last year, but for 12 years prior to this it was only through the energies of the individual people we met along the way that the expedition was able to move forward. These people got roped into Steve's grand idea much like I did as one of the earlier team members. So it will give me immense pride to be with them at at the last.
ALL ARE WELCOME! Details of directions and maps will be posted nearer the time. But this should hopefully be enough lead-in for anyone planning on coming from abroad to start thinking about travel arrangements.
Finally, after all these years and thousands of miles, the light at the end of the tunnel is starting to get bigger. The end is in sight...
jason
** MOKSHA SHIPPING TO EUROPE FUNDING DRIVE - NOW CLOSED!**
> Total to raise: $5,761
> Total raised to date: $6,070
> Total still to raise: $0
Sincerest thanks to the following for your pledges -
- Dick Curtis & the Globetrotters Club, UK, $100
- Gretchin Lair, USA, $100
- Sebert Lewis, UK, $1,000
- Erden Eruc and Nancy Board of Around n Over, Seattle USA, $100
- David Newcomer, USA, $20
- Jay Bowman, USA, $250
Posted at 10:41 PM
July 21, 2007
Visit to Petra & Moksha shipping appeal latest
LOCATION: Amman, Jordan
SEE WHERE WE ARE!
Longitude: N:31deg.57'21.
Latitude: E:035deg.54'42s.
Kms from Djibouti: 5,040 kms
** MOKSHA SHIPPING TO EUROPE FUNDING DRIVE **
> Total to raise: $5,761
> Total raised to date: $5,970
> Total still to raise: $0
A very quick response from some of you has resulting in the additional Moksha shipping costs already being covered. MANY THANKS to those who pledged! I hope this really will be the end of it...
Sincerest thanks to the following for your pledges -
- Gretchin Lair, USA, $100
- Sebert Lewis, UK, $1,000
- Erden Eruc and Nancy Board of Around n Over, Seattle USA, $100
- David Newcomer, USA, $20
- Jay Bowman, USA, $250
The Road to Amman, Jordan
I'm now in Amman, the capital of Jordan, about to head over the border into Syria. I spent two days mucking about getting additional stamps in my passport between Aqaba (Jordan) to Nuweiba (Egypt) to cover my previous tracks through Israel. I hope the hassle and expense was worth it. The worrying thing now is that it appears that I am NOT able to get a visa from the Syrian consulate here Amman: they expect you to have acquired a visa in your country of residence before traveling (a little impractical for me seeing as the traveling started over 13-years ago!). So all my hopes rest on riding up to the border tomorrow and hoping the immigration officials understand the unique nature of my predicament, and give me a visa. I'm sure it will cost extra money, which is OK. As long as they don't turn me back, which would put things in a major bind.
Although getting increasingly squeezed on time I couldn't pass by what some archeologists have labeled the 8th Wonder of the World - Petra - without making a short detour. Carved entirely from the exposed limestone bedrock that dominates the region, the temples and tombs of Petra were built in the 3rd century BC by the Nabateans (originally from the Arabian peninsular) as both a city hidden from the attention of outsider invaders and a trade centre for controlling the trade routes between Damascus and Arabia; levying taxes and providing protection on commodities such as frankincense and myrrh from Arabia, silk and spices from India, and slaves and ivory from Africa.
'Match me such a marvel save in Eastern Clime, a rose-red city half as old as time...'
Dean Burgon
In a short time the Nabateans made great advances, mastering hydraulic engineering, iron production, copper refining, sculpture and stone-carving. A violent earthquake in AD 555 was thought by archeologists to force the 10,000+ inhabitants to abandon the city, only to be rediscovered by a Swiss explorer in 1812.
Although the human workmanship is magnificent, it is the works of nature that impressed me the most: the 'As-Siq' gorge created by a tectonic rift that runs for 1.2 km with 80 m cliffs soaring on both sides and just 3m wide in places, and the exquisite marble composition of the interior of some of the tombs that almost make them look like Gingerbread houses.
The only thing that struck me as a little strange is just how much emphasis these people put on carving out tombs for their dead. It seems like the entire valley is just one gigantic charnel house. And yet all the tombs are now empty. Where did all the bodies go?
jason
Posted at 8:11 PM
July 19, 2007
Moksha Shipping Appeal - A Last Request
LOCATION: Ma'an, Jordan
SEE WHERE WE ARE!
Longitude: N:30deg.11'16.
Latitude: E:035deg.41'41s.
Kms from Djibouti: 4,820 kms
The port clearance charges for getting Moksha released from Rotterdam turned out to absolutely astronomical, way more than anticipated. So I'm afraid I have to reopen up the Moksha shipping drive to try and cover an additional $1,261 USD that have been temporarily 'borrowed' from what I was needing to finish the trip with.
Total raised to date: $4500 USD
Total shipping charges: $5761 (for breakdown see below)
Still needed to be raised: $1261
Breakdown of shipping charges (in US dollars) to date:
Djibouti Port fees: $764
Sea Freight Djibouti to Rotterdam: $1,762
Rotterdam Port Fees: 2722
Moksha Trolley clearance: $413
Wire Fees: $100
If you are able to help out, please drop us email
Or go straight to a payment section (credit cards accepted)
Many thanks!
jason
Posted at 2:56 PM
July 16, 2007
Out of Africa ... into the Middle East
LOCATION: Ma'an, Jordan
SEE WHERE WE ARE!
Longitude: N:30deg.11'16.
Latitude: E:035deg.41'41s.
Kms from Djibouti: 4,820 kms
Two days ago I rode through the Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel, just north of Suez, and officially crossed over from Africa into the Middle East. Although spectacularly dull, the Sinai peninsular had one redeeming feature in the form of the first tailwind since Djibouti, over three and a half months ago. Since that time the wind has been exclusively from the north, i.e. a headwind. Plus with each degree in latitude northwards the temperature drops an appreciable amount, so that riding throughout the entire day is now completely possible. Sleeping in the desert at night I have even felt chilled on a couple of occasions - it's been a long time since I've had to pull the sleeping bag out of it's protective stuff sack.
Sinai Desert Road
The ride up the Red Sea coast from Hurghada to Suez was predictably a non-event, but at least no more hassle with police check points. Aside from one stretch of about 100 kms it is just concrete to concrete beach-side developments in varying stages of [in]completion. Dreadful. I was pleasantry surprised however by the town of Suez. Expecting a grotty port town I was greeted instead by charming narrow streets bustling with activity: well stocked shops with merchandize I haven't seen on shelves anywhere else; coffee houses with retired seamen sitting outside sucking on hooka pipes; families ambling slowly nowhere in particular, taking in the evening sea-breeze that sweeps through the town with rejuvenating vigour. I almost felt like it could have been Marseilles! And not a tourist in sight - absolute bliss. The local people are lovely and seemingly more honest and definitely less annoying than the Nile Valley contingent. A cup of tea would cost 25 piestras, a fraction of what a foreigner would pay elsewhere. The only thing that got a bit of getting used to were the Coptic Christian men who would ask me, almost under their breath, if I was Christian also. When I whispered back that I had been brought up Christian nearly all of them would whip open up their shirt front and yank out a sweaty crucifix from the midst of a huge Tom Jones' chest wig, offering it for me to kiss. I chose to blow kisses instead on grounds of hygiene, but I don't think it quite cut the mustard in their eyes.
The First Cloud since...Djibouti?
The onus now is to reach Belgium before the European winter sets in, thereby increasing the chances of a decent weather window to cross the Channel in. An official completion date for the circumnavigation will be posted once I get through Syria, which brings up another whole can of worms that could still put a spanner in the works...
At this moment in time I am in Jordan, having crossed from Egypt to Israel via the land border at Taba, and from Israel to Jordan via the land border at Elat. At each immigration point I asked for either the exit or the entry stamp on a separate piece of paper, rather than the passport itself, which all the officials kindly complied with knowing full well that if I apply for a Syrian visa in Amman (the capital of Jordan) with an Israeli stamp in my passport then it will automatically be rejected. So now I have a passport that contains no evidence of an Israeli stamp - which is great. However, it also fails to show where or when I left Egypt and where or when I entered Jordan. Again, this is likely to raise a red flag to the Syrians who will reject a visa application even if they suspect the passport holder of having entered Israel. The Jordanian head of immigration at the Aquaba land border crossing suggested I tell the story that I took the ferry from Nuweiba (in Egypt) to Aquaba and that neither the Egyptians or the Jordanians bothered to stamp my passport. This way Israel is off the radar screen. But I can't help feeling the Syrians will smell a rat. So tomorrow, as an extra precautionary measure, I'm going to take the ferry from Aquaba back to Nuweiba in Egypt, asking for my Jordan exit stamp and Egypt entry stamp to put on separate pieces of paper, then return to Aquaba on the next ferry, this time getting an exit stamp for Egypt in my passport (from Nuweiba), and ditto an entry stamp from the port of Aquaba. This way it will look to the Syrians like I left Egypt at Nuweiba and went straight to Jordan on the ferry, missing out Israel altogether. If this doesn't work then my backup plan is to leave Jordan and re-enter on a second passport that will contain no possible links to Israel at all. But then I've heard that the Syrians get suspicious about new passports also, so who knows...
If this is confusing, don't worry, it's beginning to make my head hurt too. Bottom line is it's all a colossal pain in the backside. But I'll be very happy to get that Syrian visa in my passport.
jason
Posted at 9:14 PM
July 11, 2007
Visit to The Brooke Hospital for Equines
LOCATION: Hurghada, Red Sea Coast, Egypt
SEE WHERE WE ARE!
Longitude: N:27deg.15'38.
Latitude: E:033deg.48'15s.
Kms from Djibouti: 4,007 kms
On a more positive note [to the last update] I recently spent the day visiting the Brooke Hospital for equines (horses, donkeys and mules), a truly wonderful animal welfare charity working in poor communities around the world in which the people are dependent upon equines for their livelihood. My parents have always been avid supporters, so an arrangement was made to visit one of their mobile field clinics in Qus, a small town just north of Luxor. Although Expedition 360 is a human powered journey connected to outreach programs primarily targeting young people, we have in more recent years focused on smaller scale awareness/fund raising activities that seek to assist local projects/organizations we meet along the way (rather that one huge organization). Plus having grown up with animals and now traveling through countries where equines are often subjected to an extremely harsh life, it's an easy cause for me to get involved with.
Many of the wounds and illnesses I saw were of course quite shocking (especially to the soft, western eye): donkeys with gaping harness wounds on their flanks from careless user management, several cases of the front chain on the head-piece rubbing a deep gash in the animal's nose (fixed quite easily and cheaply by wrapping the chain with a piece of old cloth), and a horse with a 12 x 4 inch area of flesh missing from its rump following a collision with a car. One owner had brought in a mule with second degree burns to its muzzle caused by a traditional, but erroneous, method of treatment for respiratory ailments that involves forcing the animal to inhale a concoction of smoke and herbs. This last case illustrated the point made by host and guide Dr Emad that 80% of the pain and suffering experienced by the animals is caused by ignorance on the part of the owner/operator.
Short term healing often takes a long time because whole families are dependent upon the animal for their daily sustenance, and so the poor beast has to keep on working when it should ideally be resting. But in the long term many of these problems are easy to fix: with education. So in addition to providing free vetinary care once a week the clinic has introduced a policy of appointing local leaders with a background in animal management (such as the dealers) to provide a middle layer of management interface between the Brooke staff and the owners on the ground. This helps introduce a trickle-down effect of knowledge and good animal welfare techniques which spread throughout the community.
As part of this same strategy for prevention the Luxor team also target children with educational workshops that aim to radically improve the habits and practices of animal management within the next 15 years. This struck me as perhaps the greatest value investment the Brooke are making for long term, permanent solutions to the problems being addressed. But, as Dr Emad point out, it takes time.
"It's easy to treat hundreds and hundreds of animals but to change the mind of one person, this is the most difficult thing"
See video top.
They are seeing results however. In the 35 years that the Brooke has been operating in the Luxor area the overall physical, mental and emotional condition of the working animals has improved dramatically. When they first started visiting Qus 7-years ago they would treat up to 150 animals per day. Today they typically see between 40-60 animals, a drop of nearly two thirds.
If you care about animals please visit the Brooke website and consider getting involved. I can personally vouch that they are a legitimate, truly excellent organization worthy of your support. A copy of their periodic magazine was always knocking around somewhere on the kitchen table when I was growing up and I believe you'd have a hard time finding another animal welfare charity more committed and successful in relieving the pain and suffering of equines worldwide.
jason
Posted at 6:41 AM
July 9, 2007
The Hassle of Egypt
LOCATION: Qus - Egypt
SEE WHERE WE ARE!
Longitude: N:25degs56'
Latitude: E: 032deg.46'
Kms from Djibouti: 3,714 kms
Part 3 of the Lake Nasser crossing is now posted covering the final night's paddle to Abu Simbel and subsequent betrayal by fishermen leading to the detainment by Egyptian border security. Video included
Felucca moored on the Nile
Crossing into Egypt from Sudan was always going to be a let down in many ways. The genuine kindness and hospitality of the Sudanese people, especially the Nubians between Khartoum and Wadi Halfa, would certainly be a hard act to beat. But nothing prepared me for just how awful many Egyptians are towards foreigners. Unfortunately riding a bike one is limited to either traveling along the Nile valley (the major towns of which are very touristy), the Red Sea road (which is just one disastrous development project after another), or the Western Oases - probably the safest bet if you actually want to meet normal, decent Egyptians. But not having enough time to take the 360 km detour through the western desert I have so far been confined to the Nile Valley where I'm sorry to say that my impression of the locals has not been great. Their minds are for the most part twisted by money, greed and how much they think they can squeeze out of you for the smallest thing. And since they've been hassling tourists for 2,000 odds years they're pretty good at it. The places of antiquity are fantastic of course, but I can't see myself coming back to this country in a hurry on account of the irritation factor.
Tomb of Sety I, Valley of the Kings
There are, as always, the exceptions. And outside of the tourist towns and in the smaller villages there are of course thousands of decent Egyptians as good natured and well meaning as the next person. The problem though is that only a tiny minority of foreigners ever get to meet them. The police are still so paranoid about tourists being targeted by terrorists (since the Luxor killings in 1997) and the country's tourism industry taking another dive that most if not all of the smaller, more interesting towns and villages are still forbidden to visitors. Tourists are instead herded onto air conditioned buses and carted to the next 'safe town' in one of two armed convoys that travel up and down the Nile Valley each day. My ride thus far from Aswan has meant riding through at least 10 police checkpoints whose job it is to prevent individual travel by foreigners. My method of dealing with them until now seems to be working: I just put my head down and keep riding no matter how hard they scream and shout at me. The bottom line is that they're not going to shoot me (their whole raison d'etre is to protect tourists) and so far they've either been too lazy or confused to actually come after me. But who knows, maybe I've been lucky. I've read stories of many other cyclists who were forced to take a ride on a bus or in a truck.
However the hassle factor is enough for me to take a right turn here in Qus and head for the Red Sea road where I believe there should be fewer checkpoints.
Next update tomorrow on a visit to the Brooke Hospital for equines - very much the highlight of my time in Egypt so far.
jason
Posted at 8:40 AM
July 1, 2007
Kayaking Lake Nasser (retrospective)
Partly for the record (before my memory fades) I've put together a few retrospective pieces of the crossing of Lake Nasser from Wadi Halfa to Abu Simbel.
Click here for Part 3 covering the final night's paddle to Abu Simbel and subsequent betrayal by fishermen leading to the detainment by Egyptian border security. Video included
Click here for Part 2 covering the second day hiding out across the border into Egypt and discovery by shepherd boys. Video included
Click here for Part 1 covering the departure from Wadi Halfa through the first night's paddle across the border. Video included
jason
Posted at 4:50 PM