There are three police checkpoints between Khartoum and Meroe. At each, we have a stack of paperwork that they want to see. Passports. Parent permissions. Authorized letters from school and Khartoum government. Its a mess. What is meant to be a 4 hour drive is dragged out considerably by whatever whimsical request an officer makes. "Um, the passport numbers are on that paper? Well how about you write all 24 of the passport numbers on this paper. Thanks."
We made it well after dark. We could point in the general direction of the pyramids, but we really couldn't see them. As the bus goes off-road, we're looking for a good place to camp. They tell us that we can camp inside fence, but that we'll have to have everything packed up by 9 am, when people arrive. Nope, too much stress. We weave through rocks and brush. Finally, we find the pitch dark shadows of a huge sand dune. Perfect!
We teach kids how to set up tents by the headlights of the bus. The 2-person tents were borrowed. Most of them were wrapped in IRC tape, borrowed from a parent thats in charge of Sudan's branch of the International Red Cross. What fun!
Burgers, a campfire, cards... The kids were so excited! They whispered and giggled all night. I'm too old for that now- I was passed out early. I had to get up for the sunrise!
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