sudan

it's a stifling 40 degrees here in khartoum, but i'm glad to be here. BiRT, our 20 tonne big red truck, made it here from wadi halfa in 2 days, after getting stuck 4 times in the soft, sandy desert (and it ranged from 5 minutes to 3 hours to dig and push it out). sudan is full of the most frustrating bureaucracy (paperwork and permits galore), but on the other hand full of some of the nicest people i've met on the trip so far, so it more than redeems itself. we're here just as the presidential elections are finishing up, but since it's pretty much guaranteed to be rigged, there is no surprise that bashir will be re-elected. he's wanted for war crimes for the genocide in darfur, but apparently since he's got the economy back on track, people are willing to forget about the other part. pretty crazy...

anyhow, we're off to kassala tomorrow to climb big granite domes, then heading down into ethiopia in the next few days. i'm having a great time save for some heatstroke and homesickness, and will try to get in another update once i'm in ethiopia. photos seem to be a lost cause though, the internet in these parts just seems to get worse and worse....