(^28) Gondor – Metema (by bus)
The next morning, a bus took me to the town of Metama, home to
the Ethiopian/Sudanese border. The trip was quite an experience. In
true African style, the driver charged for loading the bike as well as
offloading it. We overtook Ernest, and I expected him to catch up
when the bus broke down. I got to Metema dusty and maybe more
saddle-sore than on a bike, as the seats were rock-hard.
Metema, being a real border town, was dirty, dusty, and lined with
pubs and brothels. I located accommodation consisting of a mud hut
containing only a sagging bed. The electricity came on when the
generator started and went off when the generator switched off or
ran out of fuel. With the lack of individual switches, I kept a torch
handy as the toilets were a distance away behind a rickety,
corrugated iron sheet.
Metema
Ernest arrived the next day, covered in dust and sweat, and we
located a different room (not much better but at least a tad more
spacious). We enjoyed our last beer as our path crossed the border
into Sudan the following day.
Being a conservative Muslim country, alcohol was forbidden and
women were seldom seen outside. This explained the considerable
number of pubs and brothels as Sudanese men frequently popped
across the border for a bit of R & R.
leana
(Leana)
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