Abu Harez and AW 5 -6 February

Abu Harez, Monday, 5 February, 10:50 PM
At the moment, sitting on a web-bed in an abandoned house near the Polish mission’s house, sans mattress, blanket, or anything else really, in Abu Harez. We set out today around 3 PM. G had found a house yesterday. We rented a sort of lorry for most of the gear, including our luggage. T, G, M, and R rode in it while the rest of us and the more delicate equipment went in the Land Cruiser. Alas, the lorry had a tire come off the bead about 45 minutes out of Karima. G moved R to the Land Cruiser and sent us on ahead while he, T, and M stayed with the lorry to wait for a wrench to be brought from Karima so the tire could be changed. We arrived at our house in a village in Manasir territory only to be told by the local Omdeh (sort of a mayor over several villages) that because it was Manasir territory we couldn’t live in the house, even though we weren’t working in Manasir territory. The young man we’d rented the house from looked apologetic, but could do nothing. The Omdeh was polite, but very firm in telling us that we had to go. Imshi (the imperative for, essentially, “go away”) was used frequently. We did manage to persuade him to let us stay for a little while so we could decided what to do next. After some discussion, B and Bomba decided we should go back to Abu Harez where the Polish team is based. Abu Harez is, I think, at a sufficiently central location on the track between Karima and HG and environs that the lorry won’t miss us when it comes through.
The Poles gave us a very warm welcome, dinner, water, and a great deal of stronger beverages, including smuggled “special tea” (Sudan is a dry country in more ways than one. We dubbed the moonshine Sudangac, like Cognac, only more likely to maybe make you blind.) I had a shot to try to calm my nerves. The Poles also arranged this small house we’re in and the beds. B consumes (and continues to) a great deal of the Poles’ stash, but the rest of us decided to come out here to the house so the Polish team could get some sleep as they have work to do tomorrow.
Paused for a moment to take my doxycyline. I’m too concerned about the guys in the desert with the lorry to sleep tonight, I think. It’s likely to be a long night. If we’ve had no sign by midday tomorrow, I plan to insist we head back to Karima along the route they’d intended to take to look for them. It’s hard sitting here in the dark and cold wondering where my husband is. I hope they’re all right. I can’t bear even to write down the worst going through my mind.
I doubt Mom would believe I’m so calmly sitting here, dirty, tired and cold. Nothing bothers me so much right now than the not knowing. I should have stayed with them. Logically, though, they won’t pull in tonight – it’s gotten too late. But I don’t think they’ve gone back to Karima either. Band I borrowed the satellite phone from the Poles (after we couldn’t get ours to work) to try to call M’s cell phone and got an “out of area” message, suggesting they were still out in the desert. I just hope they’re okay.

AW, Tuesday, 6 February
The guys rolled in around midnight. We had all finally gone inside the house (where it was warmer) to try and sleep when we heard the sound of an engine. I ran on ahead of the others through the narrow little alley between houses in time to run into T and Henryk (the Polish field director) just coming in from the other side. I probably woke half the village saying “Well, aren’t you a site for sore eyes!” and promptly jumped on him. ☺ Much relief to see them. Went into the Poles’ house to be greeted by B, swaying a bit on his feet who confided (in a voice loud enough to wake the rest of the village) that he was a bit drunk. ☺
It transpires that the van sent to bring the wrench from Karima broke down. Someone decided to try to take a shortcut across the desert with the wrench to save time and got lost. So, some people were trying to dig out the van, others trying to fix the tire, and still others were out searching the desert. Fortunately, everyone made it through in one piece. T, G, and M spent a great deal of time just sitting and sleeping, T and G curled up under G’s sleeping bag in the bed of the truck on top of our mattresses (and enjoying one of our precious cans of Pringles) and M in the cab while the rest of us shivered in Abu Harez without our sleeping bags. ☺
Long, cold night. We couldn’t get to all of the luggage in the lorry so I had to loan my sleeping bag to R while T and I unzipped his and tried to share it. My red duffle got thoroughly anointed with peanut oil from the damned jerry cans (despite our attempts to clean them) but I don’t think it leaked through onto all my stuff. By sheer chance, the alarm clock I’d shoved into my backpack got set for 7:30 and woke us all up in time to greet the Omdeh for the Abu Harez area who has agreed to help us out in finding new accommodations near HG.
Poles treated us to breakfast – we owe them a great deal. Arrived here in Al Widay and found a house. Interestingly, this village of Al Widay is populated by Beja nomads who settled down to farming about 40 years ago. We’re about 2 km from our site at HG. The house belongs to our neighbor and the local shopkeeper, Mohammed Ali, or rather to his brother, a doctor who now lives in Wow. The house was filthy when we arrived around 9:30. Spent much of the day cleaning and arranging furniture. T found a dead, partially mummified cat in one of the rooms. There were syringes and razor blades in random places. Half the village turned up to stand around in our courtyard and watch the proceedings. The shower room (just a room, no tap, faucet, or anything) is infested by enormous daddy long-legs. I think I managed to take care of them with D’s bug spray though. No taps at all for water, we’ll be relying on 3 large plastic barrels for all of our washing up and to pump drinking water out of – they’ll be filled by someone we hire in the village. No WC of our own yet either, though one will be dug and a wall built around it in the next few days. Instead we have to take a little stroll out past the village generator (AW Power and Light) to a privy out there, which is fine, except the wall only comes up to about my armpit, making it less a privy and more of a “hey, check it out, I’m trying to pull my pants up and hold on to a roll of toilet paper in the gusting wind-y”.
We’re screening over all of the windows and most of the doors (or door frames, I should say) to try to keep the flies out. T and I have a nice little nook on the veranda, walled on one side by the wall of the room D and Mg are sharing – their windows with shutters open out onto it, but no one really minds, and opposite that the veranda wall with one doorway and a window, both to be screened in. There’s a narrow passage outside that between the house and wall around the house. The other “wall” is 2 huge chests left here in the house placed back to back, one for us to use as storage and one facing the rest of the veranda to be used for dig supplies, etc. There’s just enough room to squeeze past the chests into our nook. We’ve hung our mosquito nets. Most everyone else has tent-like things, unlike ours which are more, uh, Victorian. Anyway, G made some crack about them looking all “fairy princess” I told him I planned to decorate them with butterflies. I think that backfired, because I think he thought I was serious. He’ll learn.
I’m tired and sore and looking forward to getting to work. Writing this sitting with the gang out in the courtyard with the thunk-thunk-thunk of the diesel engine used to run AW Power and Light in the background. Our house is wired but there appears to be a short somewhere, so we’re in the dark. I gather the power is run for a few hours every night. For everything else, we’ll need to rely on our solar panel. G is trying to smoke a cigar, I’m hoping I don’t find bits of the end he’s spitting out on my pants tomorrow. Flies are dreadful, hopefully the screens and judicious use of PiffPaff (the local bug spray) will work.
Though frustrated by the delays beyond anyone’s control, everyone seems mostly in good spirits, if tired.