Walk like an Egyptian!!

So we made it!! The car is buzzing around like a little desert fox whose just won the lottery, and we are finally in Egypt!! The journey was painless, but the waiting around became a real drag. We are so desperate for the momentum of the project to pick up again, and fingers crossed, we have exited a rather tricky period unscathed and on track.

On Sunday we headed to the Land Rover garage in Amman, to see if our presence could encourage a little more haste. When we arrived, we discovered that all the the folks at Mahmoudia had done an excellent job, but we still had a clutch issue. After a few conversations, and eventually a chat with the big man there, Abdi, we were allowed to camp out the night at the garage. The following morning, they sorted the clutch issue, and also threw in free labour for doing so. They come highly recommended.

We were desperate to hit the road, after nearly two weeks stuck in Amman, and so immediately headed down towards Aqaba, where we were to catch the ferry to Nuweiba, Egypt. After a four or five hour drive across beautiful Jordanian countryside, we arrived in Aqaba, ate, and then went in search of ferry tickets. At this point it was already past midnight, and so we were ready to settle for camping outside the ferry office, until a taxi driver kindly pointed us in the direction of a 24 hour alternative. We entered into a small office, and after half an hour, had three tickets for the ferry the following morning. We headed up to the port, and aftr chatting to the armed guards, camped out in the car park. It was 4am, and we would have to be up early to begin the process of leaving Jordan.

The following morning we rose around 8.30, and headed to the terminal to begin the process with the premise of getting it out of the way. We ended up being rushed onto the boat, with the process taking us nearly three hours. It was painless, and everyone was lovely, it was just a bit disorganised, and on more than one occasion I was left waiting whilst printers were repaired. On boarding the ferry, I also had to run back to the main reception, about 400 metres in 35 degree heat, because after everything, they had forgotten to give me any departure slips!! Oh well, on the ferry, and part 1 complete.

Having paid some $460 for the ferry in total, we expected something at least slightly resembling luxury. What we discovered was a room, which we weren't allowed to leave, and airplane meals. Oh well, we slept a little while, and occasionally peered out through the windows, which I think have quite possibly never been cleaned, and prepared ourselves for the notorious Egypt entry malarkey. After an uninspiring two hours, I awoke to a crowd of people peering out through the window behind my head... Egypt was in sight.

After a pretty prompt exit from the ferry, we were introduced to Ashraf, a member of the Tourist Police in Nuweiba. He is an absolute legend, and lead us around the complex maze of entry requirements, until eventually, after approximately three hours of dashing about in heat exceeding 40 degrees, we were once more on the open road, and heading across the infamous Sinai Desert. We weren't going to have time to reach Cairo, so instead we decided to drive until dusk, and then find a place for food and camp.

After filling up the tank with petrol at an astounding cost of $20, we came across a little settlement in the middle of the desert, and pulled over outside 'Restaurant Sinai Star'. It looked confusingly big from the outside, and inside sat only two men in front of a television. I motioned food, and was met with a 'yes, welcome, please sit down', and after a short wait we were brought 3 plates of rice, meat, and potatoes. As we sat, ate, and relaxed, there was a gradual drift of young men into the restaurant, seemingly there simply to watch what seemed to be an Egyptian MTV, at a ludicrous volume. We asked the Restaurant Owner Ahmed if we could sleep inside for the night, as there were several little areas suitable for exactly that. He said we could, and soon we all settled down for the night.

Cindy chose to stay in the car, underneath a mosquito net, where as Phil and myself settled for a little room in the restaurant where we could stretch out. Ear plugs at the ready, we climbed inside our sleeping bags, for a long awaited good nights sleep. This morning, however, both Phil and myself are showing tell tale signs of our failure to use a mosquito net, and are covered in bites, mainly on the face, yes, the face! They don't itch, or hurt, but rather make us look like we have the lurgy! It's not very nice, but I'm sure we will recover very quickley, and our dashing good lucks will be returned. After saying thank you and goodbye to Ahmed, who hadn't slept, we headed off back down the desert road to Cairo.

On the road we passed through at least six or seven army checkpoints, where men with machine guns, and large armed tanks sat menacingly. We were, however, only stopped once, for a polite chat by an intrigued guard, and on every other occasion simply waved through with a smile. We had already researched a cheap campsite in Cairo, and with the Sat Nav, loaded with Tracks4Africa maps set, we hoped to avoid central Cairo. Unfortunately we missed our turn, and this resulted in a two hour escapade through the heart of the city. Once back on course, it became apparent why we had missed it, as it had been closed off. Joining the line of cars reversing back down the motorway, we eventually got onto the desired road, and located the campsite. It is weirdly quiet there, and at first we even thought perhaps it had closed down, but no, it is well and truly open, and at least four other overlanding vehicles are currently residing there too. It is pleasant enough, and comfortable, and at three pound a pop we can't complain.

Tomorrow we will head first thing to the Sudanese Embassy here to attempt to obtain the most complicated visa of our trip, and then on Saturday we will join 'The Brooke', a veterinary charity here in Egypt, whose work we will visit all throughout next week in Cairo, Luxor, and Aswan, before finally heading out a week Monday on the boat to North Sudan. It feels great to be on African soil, and I am riddled with excitement about the months to come.

photos to follow