Wednesday
Dear Elsie
Today we have been on the ship a week!
Overnight, we arrived in a small city on the coast of Egypt called Sokhna. I have to say it did not come with great first impressions. When we woke up this morning, we had already arrived and were in port. We looked out the balcony to a pretty dismal sight.
I’m not sure who lives in the tents but they look like dwellings on a construction site. The other side of the ship was not much better. It is a working container port with these huge crane like structures that move up and down lifting containers on and off trucks. The engines of these machines are diesel and throughout the day they have acrid smoke coming out their exhausts. It really makes for a sooty, smelly, polluted port.
But as the day wore on, the pollution seemed to improve. Sokhna is 120km from Cairo, so those on the ship who hadn’t seen the pyramids, the Nile or the other highlights of Egypt, today was the day to do it. They left at 6am and got back a short while ago. We had planned on walking into Sokhna but shortly after arrival, the message came through to say that no one could leave the ship unless they were on an MSC excursion or had a taxi or other company picking them up. Having neither, we stayed aboard, finding a quiet spot in the dining room and working.
To enforce the no passengers on the Port policy, three police vehicles arrived and stayed in front of the ship for most of the day.
The smog lifted as the day progressed and it was a little easier to be on deck watching the containers being lifted on and off trucks. Truck arrives…
Big clamp thing (in yellow) goes down to pick up the container….
Lifts it up…
And up and up until it finds the spot to put it.. (truck has already driven away and the next one is waiting to be loaded up)
And this went on and on and on until way after dark.
I slept for a couple of hours this afternoon! What a treat that was.
Then I went walking at the gym and this is the view from there…
So that is Sokhna. Tomorrow we go to the Sinai desert!
Now we are wide awake so are going to listen to a pianist.
Psalm 23:6
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
The best is yet to come – we are only passing through.
Keep the smile going.
God bless you.
In His Grip,
Gran! xxx 🙂