We got a lucky break for our trip up the Suez. The forecast wasn't great but once we got out there it looked pretty good, so we kept going overnight. Turns out the weather was delayed 12 hours and we just pulled into the Suez Yacht Club just as the 30 knot winds and sand storms began! Visibility drops to zero and you are sand blasted with winds circling so that the sea stands up and you have to push your engine to make zero knots per hour. A couple of yachts that were caught said that the rain drops turn to 'mud' because the sand sticks to it on the way down so you get muddy not wet. It hasn't rained here for 5 years, so that was pretty special. The Suez Canal is purely a money-maker for Egypt. Someone measures your boat calculates the fees based on your capacity to carry cargo plus baksheesh of course. It's an old system. It cost us $US500 go through and it didn't stop there.... You aren't allowed to transit the Suez without a Pilot and you aren't allowed to travel at night. All in all it means a few nights at the marina at the southern end; few nights in the Ismailia Yacht club in the middle and a night in Port Said Yacht Club at the end - each at $US21 per night. And when I say 'yacht club' don't picture what you may find in Australia. It's usually a concrete wall to stern-to and a mooring buoy (shared with two other boats) to hold your bow off. No clubhouse and I'm not even going to describe the 'toilet facilities'. We have left the boat and are now in Cairo. I can't wait to leave. The people here don't like us and while there is no physical theft - they see it as fair game to lie and cheat in every transaction they have with us. It's tiring and not a good experience. We've now seen the Valley of the Kings and the Pyramids and Sphinx and none of it measured up to China's Terracotta Warriors nor Cambodia's Angkor Watt. The people ruin the entire experience. We'll be here in Cairo a few days (as short a stay as possible). It's difficult to comprehend this place. It's like they built a beautiful city, then bombed it, then repopulated it with the expectation that it will be destroyed again - so why spend any money on it. ??? There are some beautiful old buildings like some Italian cities, with wide marble staircases and balconies with French doors. Then its filthy. The dust I can understand because the desert sand just lies on everything no matter how often you clean it off, but the garbage and litter everywhere with people living around it. Then you go to the subway and it's magnificent??? And the trains are so clean and safe. It's like the opposite to most cities. Also its interesting that they segregate men from women in the train carriages. Some trains have a special mixed carriage, but I find the men so disgusting that I'm happy to use the women's carriages. The shops here are weird. Guess it's because of the way they dress. The women wear the obligatory black burka or strangest confusion of clothing with miss-matched patterned head scarfs. It's odd to see a couple walking down the street, her in the black burka head to toe and him in skin tight Calvin Klein Tee-Shirt and spray-on levi jeans. Something is definitely wrong here. The shopping centres are all Men's Fashion Shops. For example, a six story shopping complex had back to back men's shops with tight shirts and jeans and trendy bags and undies. No women's fashion to be found. On the main street you can find the odd ladies fashion shop, but.... the clothes kind of look like a big version of kid's clothes with silly little motifs and frills and bows. I included a photo from the main street in downtown Cairo but it didn't work out too well cause I only had my iPhone on me. Only a few more days of Egypt. We head back to the yacht (nice clean home away from these hotels). Still have to negotiate with a pilot to transit the last half of the Suez; provision the boat; fuel up; and head up to Port Said. From there it's 200 NM to Cyprus and then on to Turkey - one of the world's most wonderful cruising grounds. All the yachties have been getting together and discussing marinas, anchorages and sights. At least half of our community have already spent time in Turkey because they started their journey in the Med. Turkey and the Pacific are the hands down favourites. Can't wait for Turkey!!! |
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AuthorLenny & Gina Archives
February 2015
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