ngolo

its been awhile and many kilometers over seriously deteriorated roads across south Sudan. most recently, a trip to Pibor and Akobo near the Ethiopian border. the trip to Pibor started on Saturday afternoon and we drove about 3 hours to Bor where we spent the night at Liberty Hotel - or was it Freedom Hotel? anyway, it was surprisingly nice, clean for south Sudan standards, the only issue were the hoards of mosquitoes in the room. The road to Bor from Juba is relatively good, and can keep up a decent speed. It did get muddy and slick near Bor and several trucks were stuck and buses were sliding sideways past us.

the following morning the sky was full of dark menacing clouds as large rain drops sporadically hit the ground. after breakfast, it appeared as if the storm was going to miss us and our travels. after loading up the land cruiser, we continue towards Pibor. the roads is in ok condition, ok for sudan standards. the temperature today has cooled due to the rains and the windows are rolled down as we cruise through grasslands, semi forest, and flat endless seas of waving brown grass.

parts of the drive take us through what is considered one of the largest migration routes in the world for the white eared kob. we certainly saw many of them as well as thompson gazelles, and a plethora of birds. the animals would watch from a distance and as we approached would race off into the grassland. the number of birds was amazing and at times we'd drive through a crowd of large

the drive from bor to pibor took about 8 hours and about three hours from bor, the road deteriorates. this is about the time your entering the 'wildlife park' area and after this point the number of people and villages seen drastically decreases. further on, the road get even worse and due to recent rains the tracks are full of muddy water. the cruiser rocks back and forth, trapped in the tracks, spewing mud as it crashes through. at times the drivers decides to drive through the brush and not risk the muddy tracks.

we stop at one village to refill the windshield water reservoir.

we finally arrive in pibor as the sun is starting to set. a spread out village, with huts, a few shops and a cell tower. there is a low flowing river, actually no flow at this time, just pockets of stagnant water. we see our coworker sitting at a shack - obvious to spot the white skin in the distance. we drive over and down a couple of semi cool ethiopian beers as the sun sets. the cool evening breeze whips across the village and the thought of setting up tent isn't too appealing. we decide to order some dinner instead; a dinner of cook goat pieces and injira (ethiopia flat bread like stuff). during dinner, we decided to see if the ngo in town had space for us to crash, which they did. they had two empty safari style tents that we were able to use instead of setting up camp in the dark.

the next morning, the view through the tent window with the river in the background and boat sitting under a tree with goats climbing around. this morning it rained and turn the ground into a slippery mud...that collected on the bottom of your shoes. it reminded me of walking beans in minnesota clay fields.

although it was raining, we decide to drive to akobo to check out last year's projects. the road between pibor and akobo can be treacherous. it is cleared swath of land that turns to a slick mud after rains. fortunately after about 1 hour of slipping and sliding, the conditions are less wet and easier to maneuver. additionally, this stretch is treacherous due to recent cattle raiding and children abductions that were reported. the two tribes are not the best of friends. we didn't see an evidence of the recent events, not that we were looking for it, but supposedly thousands of people had been displaced. rumor or reality, no one knows. akobo is a town built in a swamp and everywhere is water and mud. we check out our project sites, find a bite to eat (another ethiopian restaurant that served similar food to what we had the previous night), i walk around to find another ethiopian shack that is serving coffee and drink a small cup of sweeten strong coffee and talk to a local about the town. a recent ICRC project just constructed solar power water systems, so i asked if he would show me. after a quick tour we are back on the road for the 3 hour return trip to pibor. a lot of rough intense driving for the past days. even though you are not driving, your eyes are hypnotized on the road, watch it speed under the vehicle as if you were behind the wheel. after long drives, your mind also starts to go numb from all the jarring and intensity. i was told that after really bumpy driving for many hours, one losses part of their short term memory. maybe that is why these trips always seemed so short. just kidding.

the next day in pibor, there will be a dog and pony show and ribbon cutting of the projects that had been accomplished in the area. a lot of high powered people arrive and there is a long ceremony.

the local butchering in pibor. chopping up the pieces and hanging up for sale.

the dried up river bed along pibor. soon this will be a flowing river as the rains are starting to fall.

collecting water at one of pibor's boreholes

instead of driving back, i'm able to catch a ride on our chartered plane. turning a 11-12 hours, bone jarring drive to a 2 hour (forget exactly how long it was) flight.