Egypt
Ferry crossing to Sudan
25 / May / 2010
In Aswan we meet 4 Dutch guys from Dustroads (Tom, Bram, Michel and Dirk) who are traveling the same route but twice as fast as we do. Together we go to the ticket office for the ferry and do a trip through town to arrange all the necessary paperwork. On Sunday we drive with 3 cars to the port to meet up with Baraka who helps us with all the steps needed before we can actually load the cars on the barge. Just before loading we have a closer look at the barge and find many new 15cm long steel nails lying all over. A quick cleanup and we carefully drive the cars onto the ferry. Saying goodbye to the car feels strange but the Sudanese captain promised to look after them and to arrive in Wadi Halfa as soon as possible, maybe even on the same day as we will. Once back in town we enjoy the swimming pool one more time and do some last minute shopping before saying goodbye to Egypt.
On Monday morning we all jump in the taxi and meet again with Baraka in the port of Aswan and go through immigration. He told us the day before that the spot below the rescue boat on deck is a good spot as it provides you shade all day. He is right, it is a nice location since we end up watching the loading of the ferry for 8 long hours before departing around 7PM! Many Sudanese passengers bring back electric cooking devices to Sudan. We see everything getting loaded from where we sit the whole day: complete tea sets, fridges, furniture, etc. The night is rough: cold and long without any comfort besides the sleeping mat that Bram shared with us. Thanks Bram.
We wake up around 5:30 with about 50 Muslims praying on deck in between all the luggage and some people still sleeping just before passing by the magnificent site of Abu Simbel on our right.
We arrive in Wadi Halfa around midday after spending 25 hours sitting on a steel deck - stretching our legs feels great. Magdi Boshara, an honest and straightforward Sudanese fixer, meets us on the boat in the restaurant to start the immigration process. We fight our way out of the ferry and get into a shuttle that takes us to customs. We get word that the barge with our vehicles might arrive in the next 2 hours and are asked if we want to take the cars today or tomorrow. Today of course, since that allows us to finish all the steps needed today to get into Sudan and sleep in our own beds! 5 Hours later Magdi has arranged all the paperwork while we collect the cars and drive into Sudan. Last thing we need to do, the next day, is the Alien registration since this cannot happen today anymore. We drive through Wadi Halfa and set up camp on the outskirts of town in the desert. Michel, from the Dustroads team, gets the veggies out and fixes us all a nice dinner under the stars in Sudan. We meet with Magdi in town the next day to do the Alien Registration and get the photo permit.
Practical information regarding the ferry crossing from Egypt into Sudan
On Saturday - Bureaucracy in Aswan
On Sunday - Loading car on the barge
On Monday - Boarding passenger ferry
On the Sudanese side Magdi (nubatia51@yahoo.com / +249 121 730 885) helps to arrange everything for a fixed fee of US25:
On Monday morning we all jump in the taxi and meet again with Baraka in the port of Aswan and go through immigration. He told us the day before that the spot below the rescue boat on deck is a good spot as it provides you shade all day. He is right, it is a nice location since we end up watching the loading of the ferry for 8 long hours before departing around 7PM! Many Sudanese passengers bring back electric cooking devices to Sudan. We see everything getting loaded from where we sit the whole day: complete tea sets, fridges, furniture, etc. The night is rough: cold and long without any comfort besides the sleeping mat that Bram shared with us. Thanks Bram.
We wake up around 5:30 with about 50 Muslims praying on deck in between all the luggage and some people still sleeping just before passing by the magnificent site of Abu Simbel on our right.
We arrive in Wadi Halfa around midday after spending 25 hours sitting on a steel deck - stretching our legs feels great. Magdi Boshara, an honest and straightforward Sudanese fixer, meets us on the boat in the restaurant to start the immigration process. We fight our way out of the ferry and get into a shuttle that takes us to customs. We get word that the barge with our vehicles might arrive in the next 2 hours and are asked if we want to take the cars today or tomorrow. Today of course, since that allows us to finish all the steps needed today to get into Sudan and sleep in our own beds! 5 Hours later Magdi has arranged all the paperwork while we collect the cars and drive into Sudan. Last thing we need to do, the next day, is the Alien registration since this cannot happen today anymore. We drive through Wadi Halfa and set up camp on the outskirts of town in the desert. Michel, from the Dustroads team, gets the veggies out and fixes us all a nice dinner under the stars in Sudan. We meet with Magdi in town the next day to do the Alien Registration and get the photo permit.
Practical information regarding the ferry crossing from Egypt into Sudan
On Saturday - Bureaucracy in Aswan
- Go to the Nile River Valley Transportation Office - Mr Salha to buy passenger tickets
- Go to Traffic court in Aswan to get a paper stating that you have no fines in Egypt outstanding
- Go to Traffic Police and give the court paper and Egyptian license plates and get another paper to give to customs at the port when boarding the ferry
- Drive back to the Nile River Valley Transportation Office to buy the actual passenger tickets (156 pounds for second class with meal included)
On Sunday - Loading car on the barge
- At 09:00 you are at the port (15km out of town) to load the car on the barge
- You meet with Baraka, fixer from the ferry company (picture in slideshow), who will take you through the next steps at the port to get your car on the ferry (no fee charged by him)
- You register your passport details at the entry of the port and then wait for 3 hours (20 pounds)
- Once you are inside the gates you do a custom check of the car (10 minutes)
- Drive to main building on the right to purchase the vehicle ticket (2,012 pounds)
- You go to the customs building on the left to stamp the carnet de passage (car out of Egypt) (25 pounds for the carnet)
- Drive car to the barge and loading is done
- Taxi back to town (20 pounds)
On Monday - Boarding passenger ferry
- At 09:30 taxi to port - 10:00 arrival
- Check passenger tickets at the entry of the port
- Scan of luggage
- In customs building obtaining passport stamps and pay small exit tax
- Go to the ferry to claim your spot on deck if you do not have a 1st class cabin
- Wait for 8 hours and watch the loading of the ferry from deck
On the Sudanese side Magdi (nubatia51@yahoo.com / +249 121 730 885) helps to arrange everything for a fixed fee of US25:
- Immigration
- Carnet de Passage (US15)
- Travel Permit
- Alien Registration (US45 per person)
- Photo Permit (US10 per person)
Cairo to Aswan, Egypt
20 / May / 2010
Getting into Cairo in its famous crazy traffic isn't too bad if you know where you're going. In our case, Salma camping, close to the Pyramids of Giza, is well indicated on the GPS. We get there without getting lost once! Shortly after we finished setting up the tent, we see someone with a "smoke gun" walking over the bar and restaurant area. At first we have no real idea what is going on until he tells us it is for the mosquitos. 5 minutes later we are under full attack - thanks for not smoking out the mosquitos on the campsite! We run for the bar to have a cold beer.
The following day, we are picked up by Khaled, who will be our driver for the coming 3 days to visit the embassies. Our first stop is the Dutch embassy and in 3 minutes the letters of recommendation for the Sudanese and Ethiopian embassies are handed over to Barry. Our second embassy is the French one which takes us 2,5 hours and we do not obtain any letter. Some words from Barry on the French embassy in Cairo: the embassy is the place in Cairo for French people to waste time, receive rude treatment, feel right at home (dealing with useless bureaucracy and people that think they own the world), not mentioning the attitude of the guy we had to deal with - who in France gave him the job? God bless the Dutch - what wonderful people at the Dutch embassy!!! The French could learn a lot from them.
Off to the Sudanese embassy that luckily knows that the French embassy does not issue a letter of recommendation and therefore accepts the visa request without the letter. 24 hours later we can pick it up and run to the Ethiopian embassy to request the last visa we need to arrange in Cairo. Lovely Jasmine tells us to come back the next day at 13:00 and they will be ready.
So, we head off to the Giza Pyramids in the morning after packing the car. Khaled is right on time as usual. We enter the site and immediately see the majestic 3 Pyramids on the hill with the Sphinx in front of it. The Pyramids make you feel small when walking around them. How did they build these giant structures 4,500 years ago? After being stalked for about 4 hours and 25 minutes we decide that the camel riders should bother other tourists and tell them politely to f*ck off! Enough is enough. We smoke Camel and do not ride Camel. No we also do not want a horse ride and yes we do know the price. I am guessing less than half of what you are offering me. Please leave us alone with the Pyramids, have some respect for your ancient ancestors.
To recover from the busy and hectic Cairo (officially 18 million but in reality approx. 25 million inhabitants) we drive into the Western desert of Egypt. This detour only adds a few more kilometers (± 1,300 km) to our journey but that is the price you sometimes need to pay to have peace and quietness. First we go through the Black Desert, a land of sand dunes covered with a thin layer of black gravel from eroded mountains in the area. After the Black Desert, we drive into the White Desert which looks like nothing else on earth and according to the local bedouins looks like a moonscape. Is that true or is it the 53 degree Celsius that makes you think so? Did the bedouins ever go to the moon to check or is it simply correct? The picture will tell you. Driving on the unique road in the desert, we are frequently stopped at checkpoints, sometime only 5 km apart. Systematically the same questions are asked: You speak arabic? Where do you come from? "Hum... Previous Oasis". Where do you go? "Hum... Next Oasis". In any case, the magic answer is always "Hollanda". For some reason they seem to like that and let you go without further questions. Answering France always meant showing our passports. So if the reports from these many checkpoints are actually going somewhere, they must be looking for a French woman that went missing between the checkpoints. The landscape passing by is beautiful even though it is very hot. You go from oasis to oasis: so green and so much water allowing agriculture to exist. Water is all you need to create life in the desert, which at first sight has nothing to offer but its emptiness and peace.
We now wait in Aswan for our ferry to Wadi Halfa, Sudan that departs next Monday. The campsite that we planned to stay in, Adam's Home, seems to be closed so we took a hotel in town with a swimming pool on the roof (Hathor Hotel) for not too much money. Swimming under the stars, with a view on the Nile in busy Aswan! Magdi (our fixer) waits for us in Wadi Halfa to walk us through the process when entering Sudan next week.
The following day, we are picked up by Khaled, who will be our driver for the coming 3 days to visit the embassies. Our first stop is the Dutch embassy and in 3 minutes the letters of recommendation for the Sudanese and Ethiopian embassies are handed over to Barry. Our second embassy is the French one which takes us 2,5 hours and we do not obtain any letter. Some words from Barry on the French embassy in Cairo: the embassy is the place in Cairo for French people to waste time, receive rude treatment, feel right at home (dealing with useless bureaucracy and people that think they own the world), not mentioning the attitude of the guy we had to deal with - who in France gave him the job? God bless the Dutch - what wonderful people at the Dutch embassy!!! The French could learn a lot from them.
Off to the Sudanese embassy that luckily knows that the French embassy does not issue a letter of recommendation and therefore accepts the visa request without the letter. 24 hours later we can pick it up and run to the Ethiopian embassy to request the last visa we need to arrange in Cairo. Lovely Jasmine tells us to come back the next day at 13:00 and they will be ready.
So, we head off to the Giza Pyramids in the morning after packing the car. Khaled is right on time as usual. We enter the site and immediately see the majestic 3 Pyramids on the hill with the Sphinx in front of it. The Pyramids make you feel small when walking around them. How did they build these giant structures 4,500 years ago? After being stalked for about 4 hours and 25 minutes we decide that the camel riders should bother other tourists and tell them politely to f*ck off! Enough is enough. We smoke Camel and do not ride Camel. No we also do not want a horse ride and yes we do know the price. I am guessing less than half of what you are offering me. Please leave us alone with the Pyramids, have some respect for your ancient ancestors.
To recover from the busy and hectic Cairo (officially 18 million but in reality approx. 25 million inhabitants) we drive into the Western desert of Egypt. This detour only adds a few more kilometers (± 1,300 km) to our journey but that is the price you sometimes need to pay to have peace and quietness. First we go through the Black Desert, a land of sand dunes covered with a thin layer of black gravel from eroded mountains in the area. After the Black Desert, we drive into the White Desert which looks like nothing else on earth and according to the local bedouins looks like a moonscape. Is that true or is it the 53 degree Celsius that makes you think so? Did the bedouins ever go to the moon to check or is it simply correct? The picture will tell you. Driving on the unique road in the desert, we are frequently stopped at checkpoints, sometime only 5 km apart. Systematically the same questions are asked: You speak arabic? Where do you come from? "Hum... Previous Oasis". Where do you go? "Hum... Next Oasis". In any case, the magic answer is always "Hollanda". For some reason they seem to like that and let you go without further questions. Answering France always meant showing our passports. So if the reports from these many checkpoints are actually going somewhere, they must be looking for a French woman that went missing between the checkpoints. The landscape passing by is beautiful even though it is very hot. You go from oasis to oasis: so green and so much water allowing agriculture to exist. Water is all you need to create life in the desert, which at first sight has nothing to offer but its emptiness and peace.
We now wait in Aswan for our ferry to Wadi Halfa, Sudan that departs next Monday. The campsite that we planned to stay in, Adam's Home, seems to be closed so we took a hotel in town with a swimming pool on the roof (Hathor Hotel) for not too much money. Swimming under the stars, with a view on the Nile in busy Aswan! Magdi (our fixer) waits for us in Wadi Halfa to walk us through the process when entering Sudan next week.
Entering Egypt - finally in Africa!
06 / May / 2010
We arrive in the port of Aqaba around 09:30 in the morning to arrange the ticket for the ferry to Nuweiba in Egypt and the paperwork for leaving Jordan. In the middle of the port is an information booth where we get all the steps explained by a very friendly, English speaking, Egyptian.
The nasty surprise this morning is that the ticket for the car has almost doubled from 100 USD to 140 Euro. The total cost for the ferry is now 268 Euro, an expensive crossing of borders. The positive surprise is that the ferry is in good condition and that it is a smooth process. 99% of the passengers are locals and we do not see any other overlander. We are on the ferry and on our way to Egypt / Africa!
We arrive in Nuweiba and get ready for the entering process on the Egyptian side which in many blogs has been described as a pure nightmare. It almost reminds us of the fishing market in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania). People running with luggage everywhere, officials with and without uniform, chaos in 40˚ C.
The tourist police already met us at the boat so we do not follow any orders until we see him again. Amed, the tourist police officer, escorts us through all different offices and handles the paperwork for us. All we need to do is stick with him and pay here and there. We get a new Egyptian driving license and 2 new license plates that are mounted on the car for 20 pounds. The last escort by Amed is through the gate of the port. Overall it took us about 2 hours and without a doubt we could not have managed this without his help.
Practical information for other overlanders:
1. After leaving the ferry you will have to drive over a ramp to check the bottom of the car; drive slowly as directions given here are not the best
2. After parking your car for inspection, go and get money from the ATM that accepts mastercard and maestro (Bank of Cairo)l; we needed about 1,200 Egyptian pounds in total
3. Somebody will come and check the engine number and chassis number (safe to have this done), you will receive paperwork
4. Wait for the tourist police to help you through the rest of the process (wearing a white uniform)
5. Do not give your passport or other papers to anybody else even if they tell you they are from customs
6. Consider a "Christmas donation" for the tourist police officer at the end of all the paperwork
7. After leaving the port head for Sawa Camp (about 15km north of Nuweiba) N29 10,977 E34 43,244
We paid the following at the border crossing (in Egyptian Pounds):
- Total customs: 540
- Car insurance: 520
- License plates: 20
- Christmas donation: up to you
Sinai is known as a place for relaxing with high temperatures during the day and reasonable warm nights. Luckily there is a breeze to make you feel comfortable. Sawa camp is a little heaven on earth, a Bedouin camp on a sandy beach facing the Red Sea. Only 50 meters off shore is a coral reef and colorful fish making it a nice snorkeling location. From here you can pay a visit to St Katherine Monastery or climb mount Sinai at night to see the sunrise.
We will head for Cairo where we will arrange the visas for Sudan and Ethiopia. Stay on the road or tracks as there seem to be land mines in the western part of Sinai.
The nasty surprise this morning is that the ticket for the car has almost doubled from 100 USD to 140 Euro. The total cost for the ferry is now 268 Euro, an expensive crossing of borders. The positive surprise is that the ferry is in good condition and that it is a smooth process. 99% of the passengers are locals and we do not see any other overlander. We are on the ferry and on our way to Egypt / Africa!
We arrive in Nuweiba and get ready for the entering process on the Egyptian side which in many blogs has been described as a pure nightmare. It almost reminds us of the fishing market in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania). People running with luggage everywhere, officials with and without uniform, chaos in 40˚ C.
The tourist police already met us at the boat so we do not follow any orders until we see him again. Amed, the tourist police officer, escorts us through all different offices and handles the paperwork for us. All we need to do is stick with him and pay here and there. We get a new Egyptian driving license and 2 new license plates that are mounted on the car for 20 pounds. The last escort by Amed is through the gate of the port. Overall it took us about 2 hours and without a doubt we could not have managed this without his help.
Practical information for other overlanders:
1. After leaving the ferry you will have to drive over a ramp to check the bottom of the car; drive slowly as directions given here are not the best
2. After parking your car for inspection, go and get money from the ATM that accepts mastercard and maestro (Bank of Cairo)l; we needed about 1,200 Egyptian pounds in total
3. Somebody will come and check the engine number and chassis number (safe to have this done), you will receive paperwork
4. Wait for the tourist police to help you through the rest of the process (wearing a white uniform)
5. Do not give your passport or other papers to anybody else even if they tell you they are from customs
6. Consider a "Christmas donation" for the tourist police officer at the end of all the paperwork
7. After leaving the port head for Sawa Camp (about 15km north of Nuweiba) N29 10,977 E34 43,244
We paid the following at the border crossing (in Egyptian Pounds):
- Total customs: 540
- Car insurance: 520
- License plates: 20
- Christmas donation: up to you
Sinai is known as a place for relaxing with high temperatures during the day and reasonable warm nights. Luckily there is a breeze to make you feel comfortable. Sawa camp is a little heaven on earth, a Bedouin camp on a sandy beach facing the Red Sea. Only 50 meters off shore is a coral reef and colorful fish making it a nice snorkeling location. From here you can pay a visit to St Katherine Monastery or climb mount Sinai at night to see the sunrise.
We will head for Cairo where we will arrange the visas for Sudan and Ethiopia. Stay on the road or tracks as there seem to be land mines in the western part of Sinai.