we landed - and pitched into the throng. within the first hour of our arrival we had spectacularly blundered into one of many tourist scams, this one involving our passports and duty free booze. they saw us coming a mile off. we survived - pride damaged but wallets intact.

having cunningly arrived at a weekend our visa pursuits had to wait so instead we hit the pyramids, though not the worst way to kill time as they are truely impressive. next up was the beaurocratic shambles known as the sudanese embassy. but a helpful letter from the british consulate (cheers debbie) and a cup of chai with the main Sudanese man himself, resulted in a record-breaking four hour visa delivery. schweet - lube those tappets!

the ethiopian visas followed with relative ease once we found the place - rasta coloured sentry boxes proving a dead give away. things were running smoothly? not so fast! the saars scare had unbelievably forced new shipping inspections, delaying our bikes further. thanx.

but hey, onto the western desert, all be it by public transport. and one budget tour promising a night under the stars later, found us broken down in the middle of nowhere. germans! can you belive it germans, came to our rescue.

two weeks after our arrival in cairo, we find ourselves here by the red sea in sinai, bearing gifts of large and loud horns for our much missed bikes. still waiting...