NorthCape-SouthCape:
060114
Counterproductive
Today Ian and Lukas arrived at the Taba airport and we had to get the bikes from the customs. I expected it to take an hour, at the most, but was bitterly disappointed. It took closer to five hours. If we hadn’t had Unsama from Egypt as help, we probably wouldn’t have made it at all.
What the Egyptian customs didn’t like was me bringing five vehicles but only three people. That the two missing riders then came by air to Taba, instead of the port in Nuweiba, where the bikes came, made it extra problematic. Vehicle and driver can’t enter in two different places. We had every customs officer busy and at times the loudness of the discussions exceed 100 dbA und for a while I though it was a lost battle. Somehow we managed to fight us out of the bureaucratic and counterproductive grip of the customs officials.
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I have enjoyed the technology in the team. My ancient phone is the only one that can transfer pictures in Egypt. Mikko likes gadgets but his Ericsson something-something generation doesn’t cope. People have laughed for years over my stone-age Ericsson 310, called ”shark-fin”, but now I have my revenge and wish only that my daughters could see me now, when I take out my dated thing and beat everybody. Shark-fin never fails. |
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Ian and Lukas were in a good mood, despite having to wait for the bikes until it got dark. |
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For this trip through Africa, I had made one single rule: ”Never ride in darkness". Now we have travelled the 450 kms from Nuweiba to a point south of Suez. Can’t understand why I have to break every single rule I put up for myself in life. |
One big bonus was to ride through the mountains of Sinai under a full moon, one of the most beautiful scenes I have seen in a very long time. It was so beautiful that tears almost came in my eyes. Unfortunately there was no time to get the camera pod out for a 30 seconds exposure. It would probably have been the picture of the year.
It is now almost three in the morning and it’s time to get some sleep. Only clowns and hottentotts do proof-reading. Preformance only, counts.
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High
Performance Riding
www.pgdakar.com |
Per-Gunnar
Lundmark
Fjällbonäs 15
933 91 Arvidsjaur |
Per-Gunnar
Lundmark
Eva.PG.Lundmark@swipnet.se
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Updated
2006-03-06
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