Suez, Suez Canal, Port Said, Egypt, and the Mediterranean Sea

Suez, Suez Canal, Port Said, Egypt, and the Mediterranean Sea. We had been at anchor in Suez, all night, waiting our turn to join a convoy through the canal. It is not wide enough for ships to pass, in some locations, so they only go in one direction at a time. After getting our clearance, we joined a convoy at about 6:00 AM. There were 28 ships in our convoy. We were number 7 and the 6 ships in front of us were all US Navy. Normally there is a stop with a layover of various times in a lake at about the middle of the canal. As our convoy was with the US Navy, there would be no stop. We went right through. The US Navy gets priority. All the Navy ships also get tugs accompanying them in case they have to maneuver in tight spaces.

The east side of the canal is the Sinai Peninsula and is almost all sand and totally barren. The west side is Egypt. In many places it is very green with various types of farms. There are also some small towns along the way. There is one tunnel under the canal and a bridge or two. In populated areas there are free ferries.

At one point there is a monument celebrating their great victory in the 1973 Yom Kippur war. I guess their history is just a little mistaken. It seems to me, actually I remember very distinctly, they got their butts kicked so badly, the US and Russia had to step in to stop Israel from going all the way to Cairo. But then again, that’s how the Egyptians have been recording their losses in wars since the Pharaohs. The hieroglyphics tell of Pharaohs victories where they really got their butts kicked too. Why change now?

Along almost the entire length, there were soldiers, in various numbers, lining the west bank. I guess they want to make sure no one steals the canal or maybe it’s the sand they are protecting. There must be a big shortage.

Port Said is at the far north end of the canal, at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. There is nothing special to see or do there and it is really just a fueling station for ships. Shortly before entering Port Said harbor there is a fork in the canal. The Navy ships took the right fork which leads directly out to the Mediterranean as we took the left fork to the harbor.

Originally this was just supposed to be a very short stop, only to pick up passengers, who took an overnight Cairo trip from Suez. Now we had several hours as we made better time then expected. There was an announcement aboard that we could get off for a short time if we wanted.

By the time the ship docked and put down the gang plank, out of nowhere, appeared dozens of vendors setting up tables. The port area where we were docked was bordered by buildings that kept you from entering the city. There was a large gate but it was locked, so you had no choice of where to go if you did walk off the ship.

Besides the usual tourist garbage they had some weird stuff here. Bobbi tried to buy some Rolex knock offs. Naturally she needed many. The vendor didn’t have enough with him but left three with her as he went to get more. I walked over to Bobbi and started to try setting the watches to see if they ran. I was zero for three, so we put them down on his table and walked on. Nothing was a bargain, that I saw, but I forgot to bring a small calculator and our large one was to clumsy to carry. I really drove a hard bargain and got a great price. From $10 I finally got him all the way down to $2. I know that back home they are $1.50 at Walgreen’s but they won’t haggle there and where’s the fun in that.

They had all kinds of power and hand tools along with steel pipe and lots of other stuff cruise ship passengers would not buy. It must all be stolen off cargo ships.

Remarkable! We only spent $2 there and Bobbi really spent nothing. I think this is a first for her. The first time ever she has gone to a port from a ship and bought nothing.

Great Deal Sherm Out