After getting my visas in order, my vaccinations complete, and bags packed, I was off on a five hour flight to Hurghada, on Egypt’s Red Sea coast. There was some initial confusion about the arrival time and duration of the flight, which differed from several sources. It was caused by Egypt’s last-minute decision not to observe daylight savings time this summer. Last summer they changed their clocks four times: forward in the Spring, back at the beginning of Ramadan (to make the dawn-to-dusk fasting easier), forward at the and of Ramadan, and back at the end of the summer. It’s easy to see why they avoided this confusion and skipped it altogether this year. It took me a whole day to finally be certain of the time.
In Egypt, all prices from taxis to groceries are negotiable. I’d been warned to determine taxi prices before getting in, so I negotiated a rate of 80 Egyptian Pounds (about $10.60), an only moderately successful experience for my first time.
The next morning, my first full day in Egypt, I snapped awake at 4:30am. Around 6:00, I decided to go for a walk through the mostly still-sleeping streets of Hurghada. I snapped a photo of a mosque as I was walking past, which shows what a large street in the old pert of town looks like. There’s a strange contrast between the broad streets and the poorly-maintained back roads where the locals live.
After buying some water and juice, I visited a couple dive shops to arrange a boat dive for the next day, and was then content to relax at the hotel.
The next morning I was up early once again to catch the boat. The crew was Egyptian, the dive masters were Belgian, and the other divers were Belgian, Dutch, and French. It was a multinational group, but in what has become a theme for this trip so far, I was the only American. The sea life was beautiful and the coral reefs were especially spectacular.
After getting off the boat, I went to find a bus ticket to Alexandria for that night. On the way, I experienced the first of what will be many minibus rides in Africa. Egyptian minibuses run on fixed routes around the city, with several major plazas serving as interchange points. The fare for any bus is 1 Egyptian Pound (about 13 cents), which is paid by handing your money to the person in front of you, who passes it along to the one in front of him until it reaches the driver. Your change is returned in reverse fashion. It operates on the honour system, but your change will be returned to you correctly every time.
On the eight hour overnight bus ride, the air conditioner was turned up to overdrive. I had neglected to even wear long sleeves, so I was far too cold to sleep. I arrived in Alexandria hungry and tired, with no reservations and no plan.
