Day 10
Cairo
Had breakfast packed and left stopping to see St. Margaret’s monastery famous for where the burning bush was seen. It was so crowded you could hardly move.
We stopped and saw the Suez Canal on the way to the ferry we had to take to cross over the Gulf of Suez to Cairo. Andy got our ferry tickets and we sat in the sun and waited for the one o’clock ferry. Still waiting at two. It’s a wonder Andy doesn’t get ulcers but he keeps everyone happy. Finally a big old open sided bus arrives and we piled on with our luggage. Dozens of Arabs also got on carrying everything but the kitchen sink. We went a few blocks and then boarded a gorgeous huge hydro boat. Andy said we just hit it lucky as the rest of the day you go by a beat up old ferry. This was like a first class plane with stewardess serving drinks selling duty free liquor and cigarettes. On this trip you never know what you were riding in or on next. Great fun. It took about an hour to get across.
We got to the other side and it took about an hour to get my re-entry visa for Egypt. I can see why the company gets a native tour guide in each country or you would never get by the border officials. They are the most disorganized bunch and all the soldiers just make it more confusing. Back on the bus for another five hours drive to Cairo. Went through a lot of military roadblocks and a soldier got on the bus with his rifle and rode with us. He had the guide interpret that we weren’t to take any pictures of the soldiers and that we wouldn’t be able to make any stops. Made us wonder what was going on as we noticed that there weren’t any tour buses coming towards us, which would be usual. When we got near Cairo we stopped for a break and the soldiers left.
Cairo
Had breakfast packed and left stopping to see St. Margaret’s monastery famous for where the burning bush was seen. It was so crowded you could hardly move.
We stopped and saw the Suez Canal on the way to the ferry we had to take to cross over the Gulf of Suez to Cairo. Andy got our ferry tickets and we sat in the sun and waited for the one o’clock ferry. Still waiting at two. It’s a wonder Andy doesn’t get ulcers but he keeps everyone happy. Finally a big old open sided bus arrives and we piled on with our luggage. Dozens of Arabs also got on carrying everything but the kitchen sink. We went a few blocks and then boarded a gorgeous huge hydro boat. Andy said we just hit it lucky as the rest of the day you go by a beat up old ferry. This was like a first class plane with stewardess serving drinks selling duty free liquor and cigarettes. On this trip you never know what you were riding in or on next. Great fun. It took about an hour to get across.
We got to the other side and it took about an hour to get my re-entry visa for Egypt. I can see why the company gets a native tour guide in each country or you would never get by the border officials. They are the most disorganized bunch and all the soldiers just make it more confusing. Back on the bus for another five hours drive to Cairo. Went through a lot of military roadblocks and a soldier got on the bus with his rifle and rode with us. He had the guide interpret that we weren’t to take any pictures of the soldiers and that we wouldn’t be able to make any stops. Made us wonder what was going on as we noticed that there weren’t any tour buses coming towards us, which would be usual. When we got near Cairo we stopped for a break and the soldiers left.
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