Buzzing Around The World With Fellette & Doug

There is something about the Suez...

Early this morning, about 5.30

I was up and out on the balcony. We appeared to be in the middle of a mass of ships of various sizes and configurations. They were all stationary and illuminated. Around six we started our slow journey, past a beautiful Mosque

to the southern entrance to the canal. There is only room for a single line of ships, going south or north. There are some passing lanes in the total length of the canal, about 121 miles long and in the lakes between the dug portion that is really a very big ditch. There are no locks in this canal.

The sun was now up and shining on the pink mountains to the west,

our cabin is on the port, left or African side of the ship. I quickly dressed and went up top and to the bow where there was a group of early risers watching as we actually left the gulf of Suez and slipped into the canal that is maybe 500 to 600 feet wide.

Coffee and sweet rolls, filled with dates, fresh from the bakery were there as a special treat, they called them "Pharaoh Rolls". I took two to our cabin where Fellette was still in bed.

We had breakfast on the back open deck that today was full of people who normally eat inside. The sense of excitement was a bit like a school yard when there is a special event happening and we get to leave the classroom, like after a fire drill. I decided to take the morning off and not go to Tai Chi. I can get the catch-up at Tai Chi for Dummies after lunch if I am tired of looking at sand.

The banks are stacked with dredgings from the canal and make it look like a large kids play site. On top of these dried mounds are Egyptian soldiers peering back at us with binoculars, they are posted periodically throughout the length of the canal. It has to be one of the most boring jobs in the world.

There is something that sends a tingle up my spine as we look out from the balcony and see the countryside slipping by us. Sand mounds, soldiers, passenger ferries, palm trees, endless sand, and brick homes that look the same as they did in Biblical times except for the electrical wires and the odd satellite dish on them. Early this morning I saw a woman in flowing robes with a large water jug on her head walking to her home, no doubt to prepare the morning meal for her family. The canal was not there 2000 years ago, but her ancestors have done exactly the same thing for centuries.

People wave and shout and honk horns at us as we pass by.

The driver in the red truck on the barge was honking and waving a white flag [?] as they crossed the canal behind us. Some soldiers wave, some whistle, some stare through binoculars at us.

The first time we went through years ago, Fellette stepped outside in her pyjamas and there were waves and whistles from the soldiers. Two years ago, the same thing happened and I thought that she forgot about those incidents. Today, she did the same thing, I now question whether or not my wife is an exhibitionist or merely likes men in uniforms with guns!

There are barges that can be made into bridges in a flash spaced periodically along the canal. They are manned by the army, and you can see the propellers on the sides of the pontoons.

Egypt is on both sides of the canal, but The Sinai Peninsula is on the east side so I suppose Egypt has to have quick access to that side in the event of invaders from the east. The Suez seems to be one long "Maginot Line" for Egypt.

Photo 4618 shows some anti-aircraft guns along the banks.

We have had a few friends into the cabin today, just appreciating where we are and what we were doing, it is a very special thing going through the Suez, at least it is for us .The weather was absolutely perfect

Our transit from The Gulf of Suez to The Mediterranean took 10 hours and 10 minutes. We are now in the Mediterranean. Now showing on TV monitor in our cabin is the map of Europe for the first time in 80 days.

About 25,000 ships a year pass through the canal. The average fee is around $120,000.

Tomorrow, Alexandria for us. Founded in 332 BC.

posted by Doug and Fellette @ 6:28 AM