Tired of waiting in Wadi Halfa, in the dusty northern Sudan, sick of that time is a circle that never breaks, I decide to provide me with a vehicle. I would like to rent a pick up and go with Alice to anywhere in the desert sleeping under the stars. What is so out of the curse of Wadi Halfa. I ask the kind of hotel. Or the guy who is friends with the type of hotel, because these people never know; is simply one that is here and there, that sometimes occupies the front desk and other sestea in the little shop next door where only sell bars of soap, molasses and water. Anyway, it's a nice guy that half chapurrea few words of English, which is more than does the 80% of the population whose tongues simply "mister" and "güilcom".
I explain my desire and a couple of calls. After a couple of hours I have the answer: if I accept a Sudanese driver, no problem, but that they leave me a car to get my air can not be. But, that is precisely the problem: I'm tired of waking up with a Sudanese glued to the hump, however sympathetic it. What I want is to get out and leave behind the black hole and all its inhabitants.
I get a huge pick up nearly new Toyota Hilux. He drives a big guy, dark as everyone here, laugher as everyone here and gone like all here. If I want I can drive the car and take a walk with "my wife", I will be free even if he comes with us. The idea of driving for a refocile menda of these is the view with the, on the other hand, very unobtrusive form of Alicia and above martirice us constantly with their jokes and comments as I find it intolerable to accept the deal or paying.
What if we stop milk and I rented the car for a reasonable price in dollars? The Sudanese get serious and ask me "how much?”. Well, we have reached the point of beginning of a negotiation. So far everything was bubbling litter and incomprehensible in Arabic. A curious thing is that here too talk and talk non-stop and hardly say anything. I said I met on the Panamanian ship. "With what they say, if you say substantial things, these guys would solve their problems in a short time ".
The idea of driving for a refocile menda of these is the view with the, on the other hand, very unobtrusive form of Alice
But. They talk a lot and blow air. But finally it seems that now we will close the crux of the matter. There are car and just need to know how much I have to pay for 24 hours of use. I offer 40 dollars and they descojonan. 400 ask no less. They are crazy. I can not afford 400 U.S. dollars. Not worth it, I have not and I do not feel like. That's more than our total budget for the entire journey through Sudan. But they are serious. These desert outlaws would not leave us the fucking car for less money.
I accept my defeat. No car to escape the vastness of the desert. We will be playing through another day of Whistler. Then I hear a backfire that sounds familiar. “Oh, devils ", I say excited. Maybe there's a loophole, a failure of the black hole, a glimpse of freedom and a light at the end of the long tunnel. “Sí, of course I do ", I cry when I passed in front of a ragged Tuc Tuc. He told the hotel clerk and tell him that's what I want in a basic English so could understand until Alfredo Landa of Swedish films.
The laughs menda, but agree. If I'm crazy enough to climb into a tuc tuc, I get it. Phones and soon displayed a. The tuc tuc is nothing more than chassis powered scooter rickshaw. Simple, easy to handle, fun enough to make us turn away from Wadi Halfa the miles needed to believe that we have changed our world. It also looks flawless. In two minutes I learn the rudiments of driving and we agreed that tomorrow I will use it for twelve hours. The price? They ask for fifty dollars are reduced to twenty-five. It is a steal but I pity because I think that is the working tool of the type and I must pay the profits of those twelve hours. The taxi tuc tuc is poor and rarely see an empty. Work overtime by a few pounds. Error. Never get off the guard.
I can not say you have a pint especially horrible because it has the same suit trailer trash the rest of tuc tuc that abound in Wadi Halfa
Next day, the same driver but the tuc tuc is another. This is much more broken. I can not say you have a pint especially horrible because it has the same suit trailer trash the rest of tuc tuc that abound in Wadi Halfa. In order, the prospect of a little freedom and little desire to get to argue again do accept and make the second mistake of novice: prepay. Once the dollars held by the driver, any further claims will be sterile.
But now that I do not care. I am so happy with my new car I just think to escape. I call Alice and low excited voices. We expected a day trip. So we mount and we became a motorized pair of pale strangers that causes a sensation wherever he goes. The locals simply do not give ourselves credit. For them it is inconceivable, bizarre and possibly inadequate.
The first thing is to have breakfast. We go where the type of falafel. Freaks. After a coffee in the office of Aida. There are plenty of these simple places where black women dressed in bright colors boiled water and mix it with coffee or tea and some spices and a quintal of sugar. But Alice is fond of Aida, Aida Alicia and probably half a pound of getting us out over tea or coffee per. But does it matter if you are friendly and hug my traveling companion, already really tired of waiting for your bike and appreciates these tokens of affection.
After a break, market, to buy a watermelon. Alicia gets out and shooting my developments around the square of posts. The fruits are displayed on hooks like bananas or counter stone on which vendors they lie barefoot. When we are at the height of filming, a couple of types addressing Alice. One of them says nothing, not speak English, but the other asks for permission to take pictures. It is forbidden. We need an authorization not have that now can not get. So Sudan. Markets can be military secrets and objectives of the conspiracy watermelons judeomasónico.
We decided to get away from people and get lost in the solitude that is on the banks of Lake Nubia. There occurs the first breakdown. El tuc tuc no embraga. It has dropped a nut that connects the cable from the gear change. Curl up with a screw and left hands. We get into a track and in turn we drop the watermelon. The pickup although it has cracked a bit. When we headed to the lake. The tuc tuc is to. You have to push. In another twist, becomes a spherical drop our provision. We realize quite late, when we reached the shore.
Here are hundreds of beautiful birds but also thousands of flies and dragonflies chasing who move. When we tried out, tuc tuc and no limps. It has again lost the happy nut. I use that the owner used to close the bonnet and with the help of a group of Nubian women, pushing us laughing, managed to start the junk. Somehow or other we got to the hotel tired but fun. It was a great little adventure and a few hours we managed to break the curse.
And it seems that we have truly broken. At dusk we say the ship has arrived. We rode the tuc tuc with Johan, the German who drives a truck 4×4, buzzing in and out for the port. Although it is a tingling that. The tuc tuc stops in the middle of the road. This time is gasoline. It has left the macaroni. Located the problem, and we solve it again. In the port barrier ragged pair of uniform do not know us a coherent explanation, although much sympathy, güilcom very much Mr.. Not fucking case. Atrochamos to the docks and from a hundred meters Johan recognizes the profile of your truck. Joy. The bikes are there. If all goes well, get out of the hole tomorrow. I almost get the impression that the flies merry way tuc tuc Hotel.
