Saturday
We left for Cape Town airport yesterday at about 2-30pm. After checking in we were soon on our way to Johannesburg on SAA. I haven’t flown SAA for years. They were excellent. Unlike other airlines who still have air hostesses do the emergency procedure routine, SAA have a video. It was far more practical. I love the surprises that come with travelling. On SAA, they served a meal with Sadza! In South Africa it’s known as pap. It came with stew in a tasty gravy, so I did what I haven’t done in 40 years, I rolled the sadza into balls and dipped it in the gravy. Child of Africa!
Our arrival in Johannesburg came with one rare event: our luggage came off first. As soon as we had it, we set off to find Julian, Jess and Gerrie who were in the Egyptian Air queue. Catching up with them we all checked in together. We had tried checking in 24 hours before and selecting our seats, but kept getting an error. The lady checking us in found the same error, so she called the supervisor who overwrote what was wrong and found a batch of seats for us. It meant we were in a cluster of 8 seats of which two were free. I had an open seat next to me which allowed for more sleep than the others. Mike didn’t sleep a wink.
The Egypt Air flight was very smooth. Many have criticized Egypt Air but the food was acceptable and the flight was on time. The airplane was comfortable and equipped. If I have to make one observation about them, it would be their communication is not quite as frequent or clear as other international carriers, but I guess once you’ve flown on a few international flights, there’s not much more to know. Our plane was very very big. The engine probably the size of our new Echo Rd basement!
We arrived in Cairo on time. Bustling, dusty, loud, chaotic Cairo. I’ve never been here before and have very low expectations. Once we were off the plane, as soon as we rounded the first corner on the way to passport control, we encountered the chap that was to meet us. He had an Expat Explore sign and gave us clear instructions on what to do next. We had to go through passport control, then go down and get our luggage and he would meet us there. That’s exactly what happened. We were herded onto a coach and were told we would be at the hotel in 45 minutes.
The first view of Cairo was interesting. The reputation of the drivers goes before them. They drive on the right, so that already was a change to what we were used to. The cars, taxis and coaches are all alike – they hoot and shout at each other and seldom indicate. Our coach driver hooted vociferously at drivers who were trying to push in. Then he let rip at the driver through his open window. There was a well travelled New Zealander on the bus. (Egypt is her 91st country visited). She egged the driver on – “don’t let him in – good driver – you tell him! I’ll shout at him if you like!”
Once that episode was over, we drove through the busy outskirts, staring in awe at miles and miles of unfinished buildings, desert and tall brick apartment blocks with dozens of rows of balconies adorned with family washing. Shockingly, there were also a number of apartment buildings under construction which had been abandoned after their concrete slabs had collapsed on several floors. What a sight to see – rows of concrete floor slab resting dangerously at 45 degree angles. How they will recover from that I don’t know. We asked Mike, “how did that happen?” His reply was there was a conspicuous lack of reinforcing steel. Concrete slabs need more than just cement.
We also saw pyramids in the distance. Suddenly, out of no where, there they were. Three big pyramids rising from the stark sand and into the bright blue skyline.
We soon arrived at our hotel.
All of us were in various degrees of exhaustion. After checking in, again seamlessly and with the help of Expat Explore staff, we found our rooms and crashed. I had a luke warm shower. Mike fell into bed and slept soundly for three hours.
After waking up, I found free internet at the poolside, so took advantage of that, catching up with some messages. Close by there were pink flamingos.
At lunchtime, I went to the bank just outside our resort and exchanged some US$ for Egyptian pounds…
For the balance of today, we are resting. At 6pm this evening, we meet our tour guide who will give us instructions for the rest of the upcoming tour. Tomorrow, we go and see the pyramids. I hope to still have internet access even when on the Nile, but that remains to be seen. Thanks to Adrian and Stacey for setting up the little netbook so I can continue blogging.
So far so good. We have not yet been hounded by people trying to sell us stuff, but then we haven’t been outside the confines of the spacious resort at which we are staying. It’s not bad here. It’s very picturesque and well maintained. The rooms are a little dated but they are clean and the place is quiet which is a major plus. Excited to be here!
Psalm 146:1-2
Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
These are the days!
Keep the smile going.
God bless you.
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂
No gym for the next couple of weeks, but lots of walking.
Braces:
1 year, 45 days