AFRICAN HOSPITALITY
At the Russian embassy in Sudan, they gave us such a wonderful welcome we still remember it some months later with gratitude. They gave us a room with air conditioner, bought us some food, and paid for visas. Maybe Ambassador Chistyakov likes travelers, but maybe “lost in sand” Russians just missed people from their own country. Unfortunately hospitality was not up to Russian standards everywhere. We go and go, spend our nights in tents, cook ourselves, we do not wash our bodies, as all the river beds dried up, if we come across a river at all. And here, we lie in our tents, stick to each other with sweat, and dream of reaching the capital. There they will meet us at the embassy, we will have a rest, clean ourselves and go on further. Of course, we thank our people: both in Kenya and in Namibia, they arranged sauna and accommodation for us. But sometimes, other things happened. In Tanzania, they did not even allow us in, and refused us politely: we can’t help you, boys, go by. And better – stay at home! But they took our signatures, in case be killed, robbed, taken ill, get lost etc. Of course, they are right in their way - and it’s even their responsibility – to warn about troubles that could arise… For example, we noted such a principle – evening comes and traffic stops, everyone goes into hiding. They say, in Africa local bandits sometimes string ropes across the road or make obstructions from stones: the car stops, someone runs up and robs the car. Especially those driven by foreigners. They are also said to kill people sleeping right in their tents. Well, they frightened us a lot! And we answered that we had nothing against it, we decided to do it ourselves and are ready to meet everything – what is to happen, will happen. And we should say local residents showed no aggression towards Russians and did not interfere. Except in cases, when they often came to have a talk, being drunk. In Africa, they altogether like drinking (as people in Russia also do). And in Sudan, we saw that men like fighting very much. We were witnesses to some bloody showdowns with knifing and cut ears. And yet, us Russians were sure that the friendliest people lived there. People are very good! When we stop to have a rest – here there are people in white loose overalls and offer their help. Or we got stuck somewhere in sand at the end of the day, and did not know where we are and they, like white angels, hop on their donkeys, come up and wave their hands – invite to spend nights at their places. They are very destitute but they treated us as their own and carried their bedclothes to the yard and got some more bedclothes from their neighbors. And in the morning, when they saw their guests began to move and wake up they brought them tea to their beds. Exclusive hospitality!

"YOU" OR THEIR CUSTOMS
Near the border to Ethiopia, we heard machine gun stutters. It turned out to be that the natives greeted everyone in such a way – shooting up or at the traffic signs. However, as it became clear soon, the arms is more often used for its intended purpose, so to speak One day we were driving along in the desert, in an out-of-the-way-place… And suddenly, we saw two men running in our direction with machine guns. There was no sense in running away: a bullet will reach us. So we stayed at our place. They reached us – slender, out of their breath, with wicked faces. It was difficult to imagine, that they want to drink and eat. We had nothing except four muffins and one liter and a half of water. We divided it in two, like brothers… In Ethiopia, we were struck this fact: every fourth man has a machine gun or a rifle. He may be going along the road with a rag put on, but he has a machine gun with him. And if a person has no firing arms, he surely carries stick on his shoulder. After the independence war when Eritrea separated itself from Ethiopia, the army was disbanded and the arms were given to the soldiers. Looted tanks and frames of armored troop carriers are lying around on the sides of the roads, and only the wind whistles through them. They could probably use them as agricultural machinery as they still plow with bulls! Frankly speaking, we got terribly tired of people. In Africa, we could get to the most godforsaken hole, but people would soon begin to gather from somewhere! They live everywhere; each piece of land is occupied. At first, one person, then the second one and later a crowd of people comes – they all are destitute, torn and… very tiresome. When you arrive at a village, all two hundred people will necessarily surround you at once. Sometimes, we could not get at our motorcycles and had to push people aside. Sometimes, we had to yell at somebody silently… They know just one English word “You”. On all sides you hear: “You, you, you!” Even sometimes at night, when we stopped to urinate at the road shoulder, we heard from the darkness enthusiastic “You!”

PROUD PEOPLE, TENDER ANIMALS
We only managed to get a rest from tiresome attention in Namibia, which turned out to be a true gift of fortune for us. With relatively low population density (in the area compared with Germany, there only live eight hundred thousand people) As it always happens, awards for difficulties were received at the very end of the way. But long before this, we contrived to be lost in desert: at first, the brothers Sinelnik decided to drive racing one another, dashed away in different directions and met just in two days later. Another time, photographer Volodya was lost. True, he showed quickness of mind, borrowed a donkey from a local and hopped on it to the Nile ferry. By the way, it was him who had the most disappointments in this trip. It was pity to look at our operator: he is a great lover of animals and he had hoped to film them. But all he found there were just desert and people! Where, he said, are the jungle and the animals? We arrived in Dar-es-Salaam just during the Easter weekend and bathed in the great Indian Ocean. Then, our further path lead us through Tanzanian parks. There, we finally saw elephants for the first time. A herd of elephants was crossing the road, and at first, a mother-elephant wanted to attack us – she had probably never seen such animals as motorcycles before. Finally, she calmed down… Monkeys did not leave the road, they looked at us and asked for bananas. We gained animals’ favor with fruits, and presented gifts to people. Volodya took a bulky packet with him… Soviet badges for souvenirs, and most of them were Komsomol badges somehow. Of course, we could not give them without a particular reason! And in almost every village, Volodya presented them solemnly and with proper words. He pinned them to the breasts of young pretty girls with his own hands. Everyone was happy. And that is, how half of the African people became Komsomol members. In Kenya, we met representatives of the legendary Massai tribe. They beliefs, stealing a person’s picture is to steal his soul. That is why even today their photos were rare. But civilization is working here, too. During the rainy season, the roads are washed out and in bad condition. We drive slowly in the dirt. The whole team tries to avoid thickets. There are some young boys of about 16-19 years of age, and they all have spears. We decided to take them for a ride. They rejoiced, climbed on the motorcycle, surrounded themselves with their spears and we started. The motorcycle looked like a hedgehog, only the tips wave near the faces. And Volodya takes pictures in the meantime. Apparently, their elder saw it. He was annoyed, came up and threatened – You must not take pictures! So, Sanya presented him with a tomato! He ate the tomato, stopped muttering and even kissed Sanya’s arm as a token of gratitude.

PEOPLE'S DIPLOMACY
Reputation travels quicker than motorcycles. When we reached Namibia, they were already waiting for us. Sergey and Alexander Sinelnik, Vladimir Saigakov and Vladimir Novikov were celebrity names. They recognized us in the street, invited us to visit their houses in eager rivalry. By that time the crew’s photos flaunted on the first pages of many African papers. The Urals, which had crossed the entire African continent were demonstrated to the highest authorities in the Namibian government. Moreover, they announced officially that at least 50 such motorcycles will be purchased in Russia in the near future as the first trial lot. And those motorcycles, we came on, were left in that country. There are three biker clubs in Namibia. The fellow from the “Desert Wolves” club saw the motorcycle with sidecar, and could not tear himself away from it. At last one club purchased a single motorcycle to place it in their space like an exhibit, and the other club took the motorcycle with sidecar and promised to pass it to their children like a relic. The amount of money, we got after motorcycles, were sold was just enough to buy our air tickets. We did not finish the planned route up to the end, as there were difficulties with visas in the Republic of South Africa, and so we did not get to see this country. But we managed to see two oceans – the Indian and the Atlantic – and to cover more distance than we were going to – a total of 14 350 kilometers. One more stage of the round-the-world motorcycle trip is finished, and our heroes will continue on the Ural-Wolf (basic model of the Irbit plant, modified with the participation of the “Night Wolfs” motor-club). Australia and the New World are ahead. They are not very famous heroes yet, but Fedor Konyukhv’s and Dmitriy Shparo’s glory does not turn their heads and they are going to make a brand of their names. Then what is their purpose? The purpose of the expedition, arranged by the “Racing Team” of the Russian Bikers Association, is to prove the capability of Russian motorcycles to cover long distances in different climatic conditions over a short period of time. Simply stated, to prove that in durability our technique is noteworthy and sometimes better than the foreign one. According to the competent opinion of mechanic Vladimir Saigakov, the motorcycles showed themselves excellently. And as we see, so did the bikers. By the way, it was him who had the most disappointments in this trip.