Days 9 -10. November 20/21 - Khartoum

Our continued flight over the deserts of Sudan was beautiful and fun.  Khartoum wasn't far off so we were able to 'play' a little on the way.   We flew in close formation with each other and had fun photographing our buddies.  We also found camels doing what camels do in the desert -  walking around trying to look busy.  They didn't seem to mind us swooping down low to get closer looks at them.

Team Barnstormers came past us and we waved and yelled at them to slow down so we could get some photos.

"Hey, Keith!  Can you pass the bag of Cheetos?"










On our approach to Khartoum, (we were about 15 miles north), we heard Maurice on the radio!  We had been told that he was close to catching up with us, but as he rather enjoys being a man of mystery, he did not communicate his whereabouts until we heard him now telling Khartoum approach that he was having engine power difficulties about 30 miles out.  We continued to monitor and then heard him a short while later inform Khartoum that he was down to 40% of power and things "weren't looking good."  Khartoum wanted to know more.  Long pause in conversation as Maurice had to be thinking carefully about his next move.  As we called in our new position of 5 miles out, we heard Maurice broadcast a mayday.  The tower informed him of an alternate airport closer to him where he could attempt to land.  Maurice's response was not clear.

We and others landed in reasonable formation and taxied to a parking area set aside for all of us.  Big crowds had once again gathered to greet us.  It was a beautiful day in Khartoum and we were happy to be there.  After shutting down our engine, we learned from Max who had landed ahead of us that Maurice actually landed at Khartoum.  He apparently realized he was actually closer to the airport than he had reported and didn't need to head to an alternate. He still landed under an emergency declaration as his engine "had quit".  His plane was towed to a hangar near where we had all parked our aircraft.  We were told by Max who witnessed his landing that neither he nor his aircraft were injured during his "emergency" landing.  I had never met Maurice before -- only heard many stories about him. Now I was seeing him for the first time.  He was shuffling with a limp across the ramp. His tall frame stooped slightly at the waist and he looked weary.  He wore a white pilot's uniform shirt with epaulets, somewhat baggy trousers, was toting a flight bag, and his long white hair was sticking out in all directions as if each strand was trying to flee the scene of a calamity.  I felt a little sorry for him but sensed he would be in fine form shortly.  I looked forward to meeting him.

 A family of airplane enthusiasts  wanted their picture taken with us. This happened a lot everywhere we landed.  Ramp personnel, airport managers, security officers, their family  members, school children -- all wanted to be photographed in front of our planes and next to the pilots.  Their enthusiasm was wonderful but we had to be alert to keep them from innocently climbing up on the fabric-covered wings to look inside the cockpits or trying to sit on the wings for photo ops leaving dents on our flying surfaces.


Our 5 star, egg-shaped hotel, The Corinthian, rises like a blue "carbuncle" (a term Prince Charles used to describe ultra-modern high rises in London) along the skyline of Khartoum. It was the most amazing example of, in my critical opinion, a long night of debauchery out on the town a few hours before a 7 A.M. deadline for a design blueprint at the city planning office.  To be fair, though, on the inside it was very nice.  The lobby was airy and inviting, our room had a terrific view of the Nile River, and the staff were helpful and welcoming.  The internet here as in most places we stayed in Africa was inconsistent and slow.  We would have to wander around the hotel with our iPads and laptops to scope out the best hot spot.

 

The Corinthian.  It appears to be perched on top of a river barge but is actually about a half mile away.  I think I can tell my grandchildren that I was abducted by aliens and temporarily held captive in their space ship and they would believe me.

 The view of the Blue Nile from our hotel room.  The two tributaries of the Nile River - the Blue Nile and the White Nile - converge a few miles downstream.








Our first night in Khartoum, we were invited to an outdoor banquet buffet by the vice-president of Sudan.  He chose the grounds of the city's police headquarters.  Sounds sketchy, but it was very nice.  The headquarters is centered in a lovely park-like, nicely landscaped area.  The building itself was bathed in tinted flood lights and the surrounding palm trees made it look more like a palace.  The vice-president did not attend the dinner, but the head of Sudan's Civil Aviation Authority, and the Mayor of Khartoum were present.  They were very hospitable and enjoyed hosting us with good food, music, dancers, drummers, and song.

Our banquet and hosts.

 

Our hosts who graciously signed our rally flight book.

 Dancing the night away.

 Learning the moves.  Colleen and Mike, -- crew of the Antonov, on the left--and I were picking up steam as the night wore on.  The music was SO much fun!

The next day was a free day and some of us went to the National Museum of Sudan and then a boat ride on the Nile to the convergence of the White and Blue Nile rivers.  The White Nile is the longer of the two and originates in central Africa flowing  northward from southern Rwanda through Tanzania, Uganda and into Sudan.  The Blue Nile originates in the mountains of Ethiopia at Lake Tana which is located 1800 meters above sea level.  These tributaries of the Nile River differ in other ways than origin -- the Blue Nile is the main source of water for the Nile River and is the source of more fertile silt and other soil deposits that have nourished the region for thousands of years.  Their convergence joins their many qualities and power as the Nile River we all think of continues its journey through Egypt and out into the Mediterranean Sea.

At the museum.  This is how one of the Caesars might have reacted to a time traveler's first sight of The Corinthian Hotel.







 

Brett and Pixie boarding our boat.  The Tiger Moth gang showed the most interest in getting out on the Nile.  I was happy to join them.

Tiger Moth co-pilot from the UK, Stewart, and I properly attired in life vests for our ride on the Blue Nile.

 At the convergence of the two tributaries.  Though one is not white and the other blue, you can see a slight difference in shade between the two rivers.  The 'muddier' looking one is the Blue Nile and carries much silt from its high elevation source in Ethiopia.

 For thousands of years,  this river has nourished an entire region with life-giving nutrients and sustenance.  Today its shores are a dumping ground for modern mankind's most abundant waste product -- plastic.  Not a very nice way to thank a mighty river.










After the river boat trip we browsed aboard a derelict 19th century British gunboat that was at dry dock just 80 or so yards from the river.  Gunboats like this one were highly used by the British during various military campaigns to assert authority in Sudan.  The particular one we visited had been captained by the famous Major General Horatio Kitchener who is 1898 fought and defeated the French to gain control of this part of the Nile which was a vital artery for all sorts of British, expansionist enterprises.

Brett and Pixie braving the weak floor boards to look around the gun boat.  Old relics like this have embedded in their rotting wood and rusty hardware echoing tales of exploit and adventure.  Too bad they can't talk.

 On our last evening in Khartoum, we had a very nice sit-down garden dinner at the embassy residence of British Ambassador Michael Aron.  As some of us were without formal dinner attire due to a screw up with our A boxes (containers carrying our personal goods such as clothing that could not fit in our biplanes but were to be transported in the support aircraft like the Antonov and Grand Caravan), we all went to the dinner in various attire.  Alexandra, Cedric, Nick and I went "local" and had fun anyway.

Our new 'look' for dinner at the Embassy.  There's a knack to knowing how to tie these scarves. Alexandra got hers right;  I fumbled with mine.

Ambassador Aron showed up in casual attire that made us feel more comfortable.  He's a very charming and friendly ambassador which is the point of good diplomacy.  He was also a delightful host making all of us (about a hundred people including other invited guests to meet the rally teams) very much at ease.

The infamous Maurice having fun spinning yarns with Jeremy -- one of the  rally staff members. 

Fairly new arrivals to the Rally, John and his daughter Bella.  They came in as a replacement crew for the Israeli-owned Stearman.  They were to fly the rally as far as Nairobi when the Israeli owner and pilot would re-join the group and take on the Stearman flying from there.  John and Bella had plans to return to the U.S. in any case.  A very delightful father/daughter team.

Pixie and TeamWolf co-pilot Emily enjoying the dinner with other invited guests I did not know.  There were three father/daughter teams on this rally and that made all this so much more fun for the rest of us.  Team Alaska and Team Frog and Kiwi  were the two husband and wife teams.

 Emily's cheerful father,  Wolf.  This delightful gentleman always had a smile on his face and enjoyed funny stories as well as telling them.  To  his far right are the newlywed helicopter crew Sarah and Paddy from the UK.

 Our Egyptian rally team, Yasser and Timur from Cairo.  They are members of the Aero Club of Egypt and joined the rally at Mersa Matrouh.  Yasser is a heart surgeon and for him flying is a great respite from the grind of cutting open people's chests.  He especially enjoyed low fly-bys over crowds of enthusiasts at various airfields.  The two pilots flew a Cessna 172.

Rally staffers Nathalie, Maxime (Max), and Estelle who have been friends since childhood.  Nathalie and Estelle were the events coordinators selecting and booking our lodgings, tours, and handling our passports to make the customs/immigration process run more smoothly.  They are from Belgium and I learned some French listening to them chatter.  Nathalie loved learning English slang expressions from me.  It was fun explaining, "getting down to brass tacks".  This trio was amazing in their ability  to smile through  some of the complaining a few of us did when fatigue got the best of us.

 Colin entertaining the crowd at the ambasssador's piano.  I can't recall all the pianos in Africa Colin had fun playing.









We got back to the hotel late but still had our night-before briefing in which we were told our breakfast time and "wheels" time (the time we had to board our transportation to the airport).  0400 breakfast, "wheels" at 0430;  take-off time 0600.  Take-off times were rarely achieved.  We were always dealing with fueling delays, paperwork for immigration/visas delays, and on occasion 'Maurice delays' which were to end soon.  If our crystal balls were working, we could have anticipated these delays and slept in another hour!

Once at the airfield, we would always be summoned for an updated briefing.  Sam, wherever he was on the ramp, would yell, "Briefing!", and we all would gather under the wing of the Caravan or Antonov if it was a hot, sunny morning to get our routing info, frequencies, weather updates etc.  On this morning we knew our destination: a refueling stop in Ed Damazin in southern Sudan and then a longer leg to our destination for the night....Gambela, Ethiopia.  And now an adventure of a different kind was about to begin.