Dongala

Our rest day is in Dongala, a small town between Wadi Halfa and the capital, Khartoum.

I took a ferry across the Nile though it was more akin to Noah’s ark. Passengers included an unhappy camel, whining the entire way, a heard of goats, a donkey cart laden with onions, fellow humans and several pickup trucks.

An abandoned zoo is our campground for the next two nights. Broken cages, sprawling trees, and grass surround our enclosure. We bring the zoo back to life. Children peek through the metal bars of the gates shouting and whistling, trying to get our attention. They scream hello and money, hoping for some sort of reaction.
Observing the locals and our group, we are the zoo, we are the animals! A watering hole after five days in the desert and where does everyone congregate? We are like animals at an oasis—cleaning ourselves, playing in the water, and watching out for predators.