A wind still day ushers us back into an unreal reality. We continue to relish in our location and the unexpected wonders of an underwater world that we did not know existed. It will be a long drive to Cairo. We pack and round off our perfect experience with a last snorkel to admire beauty that we do not know if we will ever experience or see again. Cairo, here we come. The road continues along the Red Sea in the distance and through the Sinai desert. Hugo and Andrej amuse themselves at the expense of a sleeping Sammie by sticking all kinds of bizarre objects into his mouth and then take pictures of it!
We reach the city Suez which is under heavy surveillance and army troops and tanks are everywhere. We cross through several check points with no problems. Everyone is friendly and waves us through. We cross the Suez Canal through a tunnel and as we emerge we are officially in Africa! Willie drives through the heart of Suez-city and we again feel as if we’ve entered a different world. The traffic is true to everything we remember of Egypt; 6 cars occupy a 3 lane road; shared by motorbikes, bikes, pedestrians and often donkey-carts; cars honk, pass one another with near accident-distances between them; people jump on and off moving taxi kombi’s in the midst of shouting, laughing, talking and endless activity whilst heavily armed soldiers on army tanks keep guard.
Willie takes us to a park on the edge of the Suez Canal where we watch huge ships negotiate the narrow waterway with ease and elegance – a little surreal – big ships, in the middle of an arid desert, appear from nowhere, glide pass and disappear! We cause a little stir in the local community: an odd-looking group: Willie and Andrej with their farmer and cowboy hats, Hugo, who stepped out of Pirates of the Caribbean with his long hair, and me – gray-blonde with a vicious looking black dog on a leash! 2 uniformed officials approach us and ask for passports and they make it clear, respectful and friendly, that we are not allowed to take any pictures of the ships or canal. We are joined by a friendly Egyptian man who it turns out is working for the American government. It is good to talk to him about the situation in Egypt. He tells us that Hilary Clinton visited Tawiq Square yesterday; that the revolution was necessary and that the Egyptian people have waited a long time for the needed change that is coming. The military is in control and will be until the nation votes on the newly written constitution. We are surprised to find out that voting will take place in the next few days!
Willie takes us to a park on the edge of the Suez Canal where we watch huge ships negotiate the narrow waterway with ease and elegance – a little surreal – big ships, in the middle of an arid desert, appear from nowhere, glide pass and disappear! We cause a little stir in the local community: an odd-looking group: Willie and Andrej with their farmer and cowboy hats, Hugo, who stepped out of Pirates of the Caribbean with his long hair, and me – gray-blonde with a vicious looking black dog on a leash! 2 uniformed officials approach us and ask for passports and they make it clear, respectful and friendly, that we are not allowed to take any pictures of the ships or canal. We are joined by a friendly Egyptian man who it turns out is working for the American government. It is good to talk to him about the situation in Egypt. He tells us that Hilary Clinton visited Tawiq Square yesterday; that the revolution was necessary and that the Egyptian people have waited a long time for the needed change that is coming. The military is in control and will be until the nation votes on the newly written constitution. We are surprised to find out that voting will take place in the next few days!
The closer to the outskirts of Cairo we come the more congested the roads. Our car, with us inside, and Sammie half hanging outside of the car attract a lot of attention. We drive so slowly and so close to one another that you can have quite a meaningful conversation with your neighbor driver. “Let’s catch up on the ring road,” or “See you on the highway!” We are heartily greeted often with, “Welcome to Egypt! Where you from?” If we say, “South Africa” then the answer will be, “Bafana, Bafana!” I’m happy for South Africa for what the World Cup has done for them: it carried them into the international arena, but also into homes of all cultures and countries of the world.
We have to traverse the city through weekend –, going home- and crazy Cairo traffic. Nevertheless, it adds to our cultural experience as the Nile greets us and the pyramids wave to us in the hazy distance. We realize that 25 January is not only Ruco’s birthday, but also The-Day in Egypt – the day that the revolution, as they refer to it, started. It is displayed on cars, donkey carts, bill boards and young boys sell it at traffic lights. We miss our campsite with one exit which means another extra 14 km and we reach camp Selma after dark – tired, but glad that we made it safely to Cairo and that we have a place to sleep and a place where our car will be safe.
We have to traverse the city through weekend –, going home- and crazy Cairo traffic. Nevertheless, it adds to our cultural experience as the Nile greets us and the pyramids wave to us in the hazy distance. We realize that 25 January is not only Ruco’s birthday, but also The-Day in Egypt – the day that the revolution, as they refer to it, started. It is displayed on cars, donkey carts, bill boards and young boys sell it at traffic lights. We miss our campsite with one exit which means another extra 14 km and we reach camp Selma after dark – tired, but glad that we made it safely to Cairo and that we have a place to sleep and a place where our car will be safe.
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