river trip

 

after several attempts being blocked due to poor weather, we were finally able to land in akobo.  a week earlier we had flown the entire 1 hour trip from juba only to circle the mud airstrip and return to juba, the pilot didn't like what he saw and didn't want to risk landing. during the rainy season, such canceled landings are common place since the airstrips are dirt and some don't have a decent layer of marum which if applied properly and maintained can keep the airstrip in decent condition.  when the airstrip is just clear black cotton soil, which akobo is, when it gets wet, it turns to sticky clay (mud).  walking through it, the clay cakes to the bottom of your feet and before long you are walking on mud stilts.  landing in poor conditions like this can be problematic, more on the departure side of the trip.  this was my first time to land in akobo (had been there once on a trip overland, driving through the mud) and as we circled the second time, i tried to find the airstrip...there were thatched huts, mud, grass and cows.  somewhere there was the airstrip.

 after settling in at the commissioner's guest house quarters, we decide to take a quick boat trip upstream (as tomorrow we will start off downstream on our journey).  there is a potential project site we want to visit, a payam (an administrative area smaller than a county) that is on the front lines of the inter tribal conflict that is going on in this particular region. each part of south sudan has it's own inter tribal conflicts or potential for conflicts and each is unique to the cultural, social, political environment in that particular area.  here where we are, there are two main tribes and it is never as clear cut as one tries to explain but basically the M are a marginalized group that has no political representation and is fighting to maintain the boundaries of their land, protecting their resources, etc.  while on the other side, the N have more political connections back in the capital and when ever they decide to attack or raid, it is spun as retaliation for the last M attack.  the M are feared and the morning our flight was leaving juba, we received a call saying the M were about to attack akobo.  one thing that doesn't run rampant are the rumors and hear say...at one point we traced back the warning to an internet posting, so who knows.  but the fact remains that the two sides have clashes with many dead and thousands of cattle raided.  in many of the places we stopped they all feared the M and didn't want to plant crops or leave their villages.  once again, is this just a picture they want to paint to us or are they really in fear?  when we arrived at the first village that day, the rain was falling lightly and the steep slope up the bank very slick.  this was a small village with a few men repairing fishing line and the rest standing under the tree.  just about every man had an AK slung over his back.  and those that didn't, probably had one in his hut. we met with the payam admin head in his office, a mud hut near the banks of the river.  after which we went to see where the village caught their fish. they are near the front lines between the M and N and talked endlessly of how the M are in the bushes near their village and they fear they are about to attack. 

 that night, back at where we were staying, i decided to filter a jerry can of water for the week long trip, at least enough to get us to nasir, where we could filter more or even buy water.  until then, we would be in small villages and on the river.  after searching all over the market, which is essentially empty now, we found a couple of empty and clean jerry cans - these are the common jerry can in south sudan, recycled cooking oil jugs.  we had someone fill one of the jerry cans with borehole water and then using a platypus gravity fed filter i had brought along, we filtered 20 liters of water and marked the can as clean.  i wanted to keep a close eye on the clean can and it was stored safely in someone's hut for night. the filter works really well, only takes a minute or so to filter 2 liters and no pumping is needed.

 the akobo market is bare bones, not much in right now.  a lot of merchanise use to flow from the north and that has been cut off, now boats will come in from Ethiopia, but the shelves only contain very basic items.  the restaurants, are also much fewer than before.  we found a small Ethiopian place that served up some hot goat meat pieces, watered down soup and dried injira. there always is sweet coffee or tea, so we stop several times for a drink. 

 we begin our journey the next day, after a long morning of negotiating and trying to find a few last items for the trip. before leaving, we met with a leader from the white army, a term used for the organized armed youth that are involved in the cattle raiding.  it was interesting to hear his perspectives and why they did what they did.  it's a very complex and fascinating structure that exists within these armed youth cattle camps.

 cows swimming across the river - why did the cow cross the river?  to get to ethiopia of course. as we cruised down the river, south sudan was on our left and ethiopia on our right.

 we stopped at this village to check up on some radio that had been installed a year ago.

 finally in the village where we'll spend the night. a small fishing village on the banks of the pibor river.  there is nothing here...fortunately we brought food and water.  dinner was beef stroganoff and blue berry cheese cake...dehydrated food from REI.  never tasted anything so good.  the cheesecake consistency was a bit runny, but flavor was 100%!

 

in the morning we fire up the gas stove again to boil water for coffee.  there is some left over dried bread that we brought from akobo. the stove, an MSR whisperlite backpacker international, burned the petrol very well.  usually with some fuels, i've encountered a lengthier starting processes (which is required to heat up the gas burner so it works properly), but with the petrol it burned almost right away and didn't have problems with impurities.  i would give this stove a 5 star, no real issues i've encountered yet.  i have the extra pack which contains multiple valves for various fuels and the spare parts and cleaning items so the stove stays in good condition.

 the village has a couple stores, as shown below...a grass thatched huts with a small window.

a lady milking a cow.  the female cow is the most valuable and costs the most because of this reason (milk) a young male bull is next in order. cows are not killed, they don't eat their cows, they are saved like a bank account, investment.  cows are traded or sold when a debt is owed, blood money or dowery, the latter being one of the most contentious issues surrounding cattle here.  i've mentioned it in earlier postings, when a man wants to marry, we needs to give a dowry to the woman's family and this includes anywhere from 40-100 cows depending on the situation.  of course in some cases thousands of cows have been required, but that is in rare, more upper class marriages.  out here you are dealing with around 40-50. 

  

 one of the remote fishing camp we stop at.  the fish are caught, and brought to the camp where they are hung out to dry or laid on the grass.  flies and maggots are everywhere, so improvements definitely can be made here.

 having had nightmares of crocodiles living under my bed while a child, i know had the upper hand!

 

a small antelope had walked into the fish camp earlier that day and it had become lunch.

 drying fish and guns.

mouth of a nile perch. it was caught in a net and supposedly a crocodile was attempting to eat it and also got tangled up in the net.

 they cut off the manhood of the crocodile and keeping it on a stake.

 crocodile meat drying in the sun - it tasted like pork.  if we had a bottle of bbq sauce, would have made the best pulled pork sandwich.

 our means of transport for this leg of the trip - we used several different boats along the way and only one had a covering. on the first leg of the journey along the pibor river (which means white river or something like that because of the white/cloudy sediment that is heavy in the water), we were required to take 'police', who i suspect were police or youth with guns who wanted a job (read: money), we took two as they insisted.  each sitting in the front of the boat with their AK 47s.  at several points along the way, the boat driver would call out to them, at which point they'd fill the chamber with a bullet, we were no locked and loaded ready for what was around the bend in the river.  i figured it we didn't end up in a gun fight, i would jump on the right side of the boat (the Ethiopia side) and hang on to the side :) 

 here is our 12 year boat driver, with an attitude. he called the shots and that was it...haha.

the last night of the river trip, we stayed at the commissioner's office in a village on the sobat river. he had lived in nebraska, of all places, so we talked about corn while munching on a roasted ear of corn.  that evening, i set up my REI half dome plus tent in the backyard. in the evening, the sky began to turn dark as large clouds formed and thunder rumbled in the distance.  i tried to find the highest site to pitch the tent, but that was limited and had to settle for what was available.  my host kept saying i should sleep inside the building, that i was going to get wet. i told him i had a good tent and he didn't have to worry.  he kept worrying.  after a refreshing (cold) bucket shower and some fresh fish for dinner, the mosquitos were out in full force.  so we all went our ways and i made my way to my tent.  that night the storm hit and it was strong, the wind, the heavy deluge of rain, the lightning that turned night into day and the thundered.  i read my detective novel by headlamp inside my tent, frequently inspecting for leaks.  suddenly i felt a drop or two from the top of the tent, some water had sneaked in through the air ventilation slots - i did my best to adjust from the inside of the tent (easier if you are outside, but that was not an option at this point). a total of about 8 drops probably made it in, that was it. the floor of the tent now felt like a water bed, i was laying in a giant puddle.  i kept checking the corners and seams for leaking, so far so good.  the entire tent bottom was now submerged, i mover my stuff to one corner and stacked the not to get water items on top of my backpack then went back to reading my book.  the storm continued, the tent was now a water bed, but no water was leaking in. it had become cold now, especially being in water but the Therma-rest pad kept my back warm. in the morning i woke up, now all was quiet, the water had subsided and as i inspected the inside of the tent, now water had seeped in.  i was really amazed and impressed with the REI half dome tent, to survive such a deluge and sit in a couple inches of water for part of night and not allow water to enter in. a lesson reinforced here is that if you want to buy camping equipment to withstand the harshness nature can throw at you, you want to spend the extra money and buy something from an outfit that has tested and improved upon their products.

 the next morning, dry tent (interior) and hot coffee...

and finally, another boat, this time we also had a ram going on.  this was the last leg of the trip to malakal. today will be a long day, 7-8 hours to malakal.

 

 

 the sky fills with white cattle egrets in the evenings, as flocks of these birds fly back to nesting sites.

 sun set on the nile.  after the long last day - 8 hours on the river, we finally made it to the nile and turned north to go to malakal.  the engine was beginning to consume bad fuel and would stop frequently...we floating in the quiet afternoon as the boat driver tinkered with the fuel and engine...eventually we were moving again, sometimes for 15 seconds, others 15 minutes until it stopped again.