Cape 2 Cairo 2 Cape Blog

Ferry Welcome aboard the “Saga Naan” (Ostrich Leg)

Everyone kept themselves very busy this morning preparing for our departure from Cairo to Aswan. Ande, Brian, Andre, Kenny and Sakki, along with Waguih, were also busy at customs in Alexandria, having to renew their passes once again so as to unload their bikes, get through inspection and acquire their number plates…same old sherade in other words. Needless to say, the group at the hotel waited in trepidation for some news, any news at all (as minimal as it might be), from the bikers. Time was running out and by three in the afternoon, we were still waiting at the hotel, in Cairo, lock and loaded for the guys to return from Alexandria. [Anticipated route: Cairo – east towards Suez – south to Safaga (along the Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea – west towards Qena – south to Aswan (Aswan Dam)]

Departing Cairo and heading east towards Suez

Needles to say Ray had chewed all his nails and Jacques, well Jacques just couldn’t keep still. The call finally came when the guys announced that they were on their way. Our spirits soared and so we checked out of our rooms and loaded the last bit of luggage into the IVECO. The second call came through to announce that they were just two minutes away from the hotel. Well, let me tell you..in Africa, and especially in Egypt, two minutes is never two minutes..as a matter of fact, it isn’t even five minutes, nor ten, nor twenty. They arrived a good forty minutes later, around 4:30pm much to our relief but still our nerves were getting the better of us. The guys still had to shower, pack, eat and load their bikes before departure. We also still had to leave in rush hour traffic through Cairo and push on at a steady pace throughout the night so that we could make Aswan in the morning  in time for the ferry (900kms in total).

After Ande, Brian, Andre, Kenny and Sakki showered and checked themselves out of their rooms, Ande, Brian, Kenny and Sakki started loading their bikes. I ordered them pizzas so as to push matters along and speed up our departure. I don’t think any of us looked back..7 days at the Radisson Blu Hotel and we were more than willing to get on our way (well, Brian was actually just a passer by having spent the majority of his days in Alexandria at customs).

Waguih giving instructions to the bikers at the petrol station neighbouring the Radisson Blu Hotel

After filling up the bikes, escorted by Waguih and his team, Archie as back up crew/rider and Ig as point rider (just behind Waguih’s car), and Ray driving the IVECO (with Jacques, Marlene, Andre, Garth and I as passengers) at the back of the convoy, we got on the road. After an hour in the hectic traffic, we got out on the highway to Suez. The highway was solid and smooth tar, wide and empty, with spectacular Egyptian décor all along the way to Suez. At Suez, we took a right towards the South, driving along the Red Sea on our left hand side. We were finally free, free to ride and free to drive with a beautiful tail wind at our backs.

Departing Cairo in rush hour traffic

Unfortunately, it was already dark and therefore, we couldn’t see the Sea or the landscape (except for the oil rigs, with their flares, lined up on the coast and out in the Sea), but what we did see was all sorts of luxurious and stunning resorts, lit up as if Christmas, all the way down the Red Sea to Ainsukhna where we turned right towards Safaga. What was amazing and shocking at the same time was that all these resorts were totally empty; no occupants, no tourists, nobody. There were also plenty of new developments and huge resorts half way built, but they looked like they hadn’t been worked on in months. Egypt’s economy has really taken a downturn.

Quick photo taken at the check point before the security asked me to put the camera away

We stopped to fill up with gas at one point, where Waguih took the opportunity to smoke his beloved shisha pipe and some of us drank Turkish coffee and tea. Having to ride out of that station was a problem because we were stopped at a check point that insisted that a police escort drive with us all the way down to Safaga. We waited at the check point for more than half an hour; which again adding pressure on our precious time schedule to make the ferry. The wind was whipping sand onto us, a pack of wild dogs circled around us howling at cars passing by and the military walked about us, checking the motorcycles out and trying to strike up conversations with us.

We stopped on several occasions all throughout the night and early morning to ensure that the bikers drank that potent Egyptian coffee and tea to keep them awake and water to hydrate. The bikers rode beautifully and at equal distance from each other. There were a couple of close calls: James verged onto the wrong side of the lane and got bumped by a car; and Garth, driving the IVECO was over-taking a huge truck when all of a sudden, with incoming traffic, he realized that the highway had a dug up hole as a median, making it difficult for us to swerve back into the right lane. Jacques was brilliant having had driven the IVECO more than anyone else, keeping to the road and ensuring our safety throughout the early hours of the morning.

The motorcycle riders pushing through the night on a dirt road

The riders were hooting at each other every time they saw one of their comrades verging off the road and falling asleep. Kenny (or ninja turtle..because of his motorcycle padding and gear) was apparently singing to himself and playing around with his GPS to keep himself awake while Archie chewed sweets to keep his mind focused. Sak took the initiative to overtake James at one point as the bikers were falling way behind Ig at the front. Ulrich, Ande and Brian,  highly alert and overwhelmed with Egyptian caffeine, rode very well and enjoyed the whole trip down to Aswan. There was amazing camaraderie and teamwork amongst the bikers. Hats off to the bikers!

As the sun was coming up we could see the Grand Nile to our right..a marvellous spectacle of desolate and fertile land intermixed as one. Remember that Egypt includes parts of the Sahara and Libyan Deserts. [Fact: 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area in Egypt]. The temperatures can soar up to 43ºC on the Red Sea coast. Fortunately, we passed that section through night time and the early hours of the morning; hence making it bearable for the riders and a lot easier to process when tired. The common transport was the donkey. The people were so much more welcoming and happy to see us come through their rural villages than what we had previously experienced in the cities. Most of the dwellings along the Nile were the typical Nubian mud homes; some even carved into the rock and desert mounts on our left hand side.

Passing through towns along the Nile

All in all, the riders and the IVECO made it to Aswan in record time (the motorcycles having ridden a maximum of 130km/hr), arriving around 10am at the traffic office, where we met an Italian film crew and two women basketball players, who were heading to Mozambique for the Africa games and who were driving down to Cape Town fundraising for HIV/AIDS. Needless to say, Aswan was scorching hot. The sun rays were hitting us hard as we waited on the side of the road, outside the traffic office; people hustling about, taxis, tuk tuks and trucks zooming by us and little kids or should I say, ‘entrepreneurs’ trying to wash the motorcycles or even just our shoes.

My friend, the little entrepreneur

We left the traffic office a good half hour later to customs where we would be loading up the bikes and the IVECO onto the ferry. On the way to customs, I rode at the back of Ig. Let me tell you, do not, and I emphasize, you do not want to ride a motorcycle, in shorts, in Egypt. The wind and heat hits you like a ton of bricks, combined with the heat generated by the motorcycle engine.

Riding with Ig towards the Aswan Dam and port where customs and the ferry awaits us

At customs, it was another long, long and long wait. We sat in the parking bay most of the morning and afternoon hours, finding what little shade we could, eating crisps, crackers, corned beef and cheese, hydrating ourselves with as much water as we could. [The toilets at customs, not that they were the worst we had found so far..toilets in which you pee and poop all at once in a standing or squatting position, were absolutely repulsive and there were no lights..You just wanted to get it over with and run out for safety or a breath of fresh air while clinging on to your survival wet-wipes].

Around 2pm, we were finally called into the customs office where the passports had to be cleared and stamped and the riders’ carnets had to be sorted out. It was a total mess. The fact that we had Alain’s bike but not Alain became a problem (even though we had the right paperwork and authorization from Alain). There is always something in other words; something the officials have to find or seek out that will end up prolonging the endless and vicious sherade of red tap and bureaucratic “shit” (excuse my French!!) We were the last to be processed and cleared to load unto the ferry.

Easier said then done of course. We passed the gates down to the ferry where the mass of people were still loading their air-cons, fridges, luggage and equipment onto the ferry. The barge in which we were supposed to load the bikes and IVECO was not ready. There were a couple of locals scooping hundreds of buckets filled with rotten fish from below the surface of the deck. The smell was wretched. We then sat down on the ground, on the cardboards that we found lying about, in the shaded area generously provided by the IVECO, and waited and waited again; observing the few Arabic’s going through the mission of undressing from their robes, taking a bath/swim in the not-so-clean Nile neighbouring the ferry.

Finally, around 4pm, when they had finished unloading the buckets of rotten fish off the barge, we took the initiative ourselves to begin loading the bikes and IVECO onto the barge. That was a mission on its own.

The ferry’s rope was stretched out across and tied onto another ship, interfering with the IVECO’s passage onto the barge. Of course, it was way too much trouble for the locals and people in charge to assist us with this interference. A couple of our guys stepped down onto the line, putting weight onto the rope so that the IVECO could pass over and continue onto the barge. Marlene held up the rope for the motorbikes while I and the other guys helped each bike onto the barge. After securing the bikes, we prepared to enter the ferry and seek out our first class cabins!

Marlene will be taking over from here to describe our 18 hour ferry ride to Wadi Halfa.

[Words of the day: Lock and load and RocknRoll]

Early this morning, Brian, Sakki and Kenny left with Waguih, our fixer, to Alexandria, while Ulrich returned to DHL. Andre and Ande took the train to meet Brian, Sakki and Kenny in Alexandria later on.

Back at the hotel, after another five star breakfast buffet, Kerrylee and Jacques worked on finalizing the accounts, while Ray did his ‘speedy gonzalez’ moves, making the final preparations for our departure. Marlene, Alta and James went on a walk to the mall to do some last minute shopping for the trip, while I settled my accounts and worked on backing up Andre’s pictures, taken the day before.

During the rest of the day, we all awaited anxiously for Brian, Sakki, Kenny, Andre, Ande and Ulrich’s return..with their bikes and number plates of course. Ulrich fortunately came back to the hotel with his bike around two thirty in the afternoon. We could almost see the light at the end of the tunnel! Everyone was packed and ready to leave and waiting apprehensively for feedback from the guys in Alexandria.

Ray called a meeting around 5pm to brief the group on the latest. Unfortunately, by that time, we were told that the guys were waiting with their bikes, at inspection, for their number plates but the men in charge had already gone home for Iftar or their much anticipated meal of the day (i.e. Ramadan). They had to leave their bikes in the warehouse and departing today was out of the question.

Ray suggested to the guys in Alexandria to rather stay the night so as to get their bikes and number plates as early as possible the next day. It made no sense for them to do the two hour drive from Alexandria in traffic to arrive late in the evening/night and have to wake up again and do it all over the next morning. After very little consideration, the guys agreed that it would be better for them to sleep overnight in Alexandria to get a good night sleep and to get to the customs as soon as it opens the next morning. Unfortunately, Sakki would not be able to see Alta off and Marlene would not have her husband to keep her company at night! (Thank you ladies for sacrificing your needs for the good of the group)

Kerrylee and Ray organized the room allocations for the extra night so as to cut costs. I moved into Brian’s room, while Archie moved into Ray and Garth’s room. Ulrich kept a single room and Jacques and Ig stayed in the same hotel room.

Dot, Kerrylee and Alta departed for the airport around 9pm. We all thanked them for coming along and for their company, and especially to Kerrylee for all her hard work. One last drink and it was off to bed. Tomorrow will be a long day and night. The group has decided to push through the day (depending on when the bikes get here and how fast the riders are able to prepare them for the trip down) and night of Sunday to arrive in Aswan on Monday in one go (900kms). The goal is not only to catch the ferry in time on Monday afternoon, but because of required ‘formalities’, to get their as early as possible on Monday. Even with the tail wind at our backs and the police escort, the night and drive there will be long and tough on the drivers and especially the riders. We will keep you posted but please understand that the next two days will be tiring and we will most likely only be able to rest once on the 18 hour ferry ride to Wadi Halfa.

Kerrylee, Dot and Alta's departure to the airport

[Word of Caution: It turns out that it is much better to do the Cape to Cairo route rather than Cairo to Cape because getting the bikes released from customs in Egypt is a total nightmare]

Good night

Pyramid of Khafre

Archie, Garth and Jacques washed the IVECO sparkling clean and prepared it for departure, while Andre, Ulrich and Ande left with a taxi to the Great Pyramids of Giza, followed by the Papyrus Institute and The Island of Zamalek (not the beer, the island!!). It is an island in the Nile that lies between modern downtown Cairo and Giza. The island consists of an upscale, garden area with various attractions, embassies, schools and hotels (including the stunning and luxurious Cairo Marriott).

[Fun fact: It cost 87E£, less than R2/litre to fill up the IVECO and yet they wanted to charge twice that price to clean the inside of the bus]

Meanwhile, after a fabulous breakfast, I went upstairs to upload the blogs dating from the 1^st of August 2011 (sorry for the delay and thank you for those who already gave us feedback) and Kerrylee and Ray carried out their usual admin. 

Kenny, Marlene and James took a taxi to go to the Egyptian Museum. This turned out to be quite the adventure as they had two taxis fighting over them. The taxi that lost out on the potential business made it his mission to hassle the other taxi (in which Kenny, Marlene and James were sitting) by cutting him off every so often and showing his malcontent thereof. Although stuffy inside the museum, they all greatly enjoyed the journey into Ancient Egypt as well as amazed by how few tourists there were. Tourism in Egypt, currently, is non-existent.

Brian, unfortunately, was still suffering from a runny tummy..or as Marlene puts it..a dribbly bumJ  Garth helped alleviate his plight with Imodium (what has been and will probably be our greatest saviour on this trip) and some Boscupan for the cramps. Feeling a little better, Brian came to the pool to catch some sun rays and R&R time with the rest of us sitting up at the pool. Waguih joined us at the pool to discuss the latest proceedings and talk strategy for the next day.

Later in the day, Kerrylee and Ray finalized accounts with Waguih, while Ig and I prepared the bikes for shipping for a safe return back to our Cape to Cairo mates. A briefing was then scheduled for 19:00, where Ray asked each to recap their day and provided the group with the latest updates for tomorrow’s proceedings in releasing the bikes and of the anticipated departure. [Poor Dot could not join us as she was feeling the effects of her earlier lunch out with Archie]. At 5:30am tomorrow (Saturday), Brian, Sakki and Kenny are to go by car with Waguih back to Alexandria; to be joined later on by Ande and Andrew by train. At 9am tomorrow, Ulrich will also be returning to DHL to ensure that his bike gets through customs and is finally released into his possession. Unfortunately, Alta and Kerrylee, will be leaving us Saturday night and return home. [Alta will be joining us again however in Addis Ababa].

Preparing the bikes for shipment

We have decided to play it by ear (depending on what time the guys come back from Alexandria with their bikes and how thorough the riders prepare their bikes for the ride down: “safety first” says Ray). Nevertheless, Ray asked us all to be packed and prepared by tomorrow afternoon. It is 900kms down to Aswan, followed by an 18hour ferry across to Wadi Halfa and another barge crossing the next day. Each rider was given a number sticker to put on their helmets, including a sticker ‘Cairo to Cape’ and emergency numbers to call.

The time for us to leave Cairo and commence our adventure is near. Cannot wait! After the briefing, a couple of people dared to venture out for dinner…what will you have?…I think I’ll have a shawarma with bug please (Sakki teasing). They soon came back from their stroll to eat at the hotel!! 

As-salaamu ‘alaikum (peace be with you)

Once again, the group savoured a five-star breakfast buffet at the Radisson Blu Hotel. And once again, Brian, Kenny and Marlene, Sakkie and Alta and Andre left at 5am in the morning to Alexandria (a two-hour ride), with Waguih, to deal with the release of their motorbikes (some for the second time, others for the third time this week). Andrew Reid flew into Alexandria from Johannesburg and arrived in the late morning to also present himself in person with his passport and to ensure the release of his bike from the authorities. If the motorbikes are not released by Friday, there are chances we won’t be able to catch the ferry at the harbour by Monday afternoon (the last ferry crossing from Aswan to Wadi Halfa for another week). Ulrich left for the airport to fetch his carnet from DHL and had to travel an hour in the traffic to the Egyptian AA to get his paperwork certified so as to ensure that his bike also passes customs in time for our scheduled departure. He then returned to the airport to provide his paperwork and carnet to DHL, but they had already closed. He will have to go back on Saturday morning to get his bike passed through customs..Insha’Allah.

Yesterday, Ray had been told that the IVECO Daily was repaired and ready for delivery for today at 11am. While Ray and Kerrylee went about their usual admin and James, Ulrich, Garth and Dot and Archie took a “Me Day”, I continued to work on the daily blogs. Three-thirty in the afternoon, the IVECO was still not delivered. It became clear to us that an early departure out of Cairo would probably not be an option. However, our fingers are still crossed and well, this is Africa…We take what we can get and we are basically forced to deal with the endless and quite frustrating charade!

View from the 9th floor of the Radisson Blu Hotel

Having finished our tasks and admin, Kerrylee, Ulrich, Jacques, Ray, Garth and I went up to the pool to enjoy some R&R. Of course, when I say Ray catching some R&R..it basically means a five minute sit down before he’s up again making calls and fretting about.

Archie checking the top of the IVECO for any other problems

The IVECO was finally returned to us in the evening…in despicable condition. The front bumper was hanging off, the air filter wasn’t cleaned, the oil filter hadn’t been changed, two added dents on either side of the van miraculously appeared and the van itself was as filthy as it had gone into the shop. Needless to say, we were disappointed, disgusted and truly shocked by the absence in service in Egypt. Ashraf Labib, an IVECO Cairo Representative, came to check out the problem. With the assistance of Mahmoud, we explained to him the issues and this turned into a heated debate. During this heated debate, an Egyptian motorcycle crashes a meter away from us adding to the drama of the moment. Seeing that we weren’t going to arrive at any solution (being Friday the next day), Ray was able to lower the cost of what repairs had been done and called it a day.

Heated debate with Ashraf Labib and his team as to what was done and what wasn't

The group accompanied by Waguih that had left for Alexandria in the early hours of the morning finally returned to us exhausted and having gone through quite a run-around themselves. After a delicious dinner buffet, the group got together on the outside patio to recap on the recent events and to talk strategy for the ride down to Cape Town. The Cairo to Cape “Recce Run” 2011 group was now complete and gathered around the same table. Ray welcomed everyone and spoke about the possible alternative route if we were to miss the ferry at Aswan. Those who left for Alexandria had high hopes however that the bikes would be released by Saturday lunch time. The scheduled departure is still set for Saturday afternoon, but will most likely be in the early hours of Sunday morning. Either way, we would be looking at a fast descent with a decent tail wind at our backs, assisted by a police escort. Garth briefed the group about possible illnesses, on malaria tablets and their side effects, on the importance of hydration and on upping the intake of salt. James, Ig, Andre, Ray and Archie provided the riders with riding tips and suggestions..as James put it..”just get into harmony with your bike”! Each rider will be given a number sticker to facilitate the riders during road blocks and police checks.

The group left the table exhausted but in high spirits and ready for a good night sleep.

Alexandria, Day 4:

Some of us wake up at 03h00 because some of us don’t know how to set an alarm!

Breakfast at 05h00. Bus at 05h30.

Brian looked decidedly grey-white. When in Rome … so Brian opted to be an Egyptian –so gippo guts he has.

Sakkie doesn’t look too happy either … has taken 3 x “white gold” (Imodium) … he reckons that
today would be a good day for spontaneous weight loss

We believed that we would get our travel permits sorted.

We had to get it sorted because tomorrow is Friday and Friday is like a Sunday in Arab states i.e. nothing happens.

Wagiah arranged a car in addition to the minivan. We needed a smaller vehicle to travel the 30kms between the two ports in Alex. We also had a police escort. Since 1997’s debacle with tourists – the police have itineraries of large groups and then make sure that we are safe during excursions.

05h40: Departure from Radisson Blu – minivan, support car and the police.

40kms outside of Cairo we get a call from the driver of the car. He was involved in an accident and the right-hand side of the bonnet was ripped. Could things get worse?

Minus the support vehicle – on to Alex. To the licensing department – R3600 for four signatures and we can take the next step – ordering the new number plates.

Alta and Marlene went through to the airport to collect Andy. Welcome to the team Andy … you’re going to have a great time with this team. No-one is normal BUT at least we have a sense of humour.

Back to the Port to see if we have all the vital papers. And tomorrow is Friday aka weekend.

En route to the port – Brian gasps that he needs to get to a “WC” – he looks terrible. Seems that this dribbly bum has moved to the upper regions – and Brian needs to vomit. He asks permission to do his business out the window of our moving bus. Permission granted – and Brian gave us a
concerto! Being the sympathetic team that we are … Sakkie took a video; Ig stole his chips and Sakkie expressed his observation: “How do you keep an Egyptian away from your vehicle – let Brian vomit out the window.” Brian is a little better – we will dose him with muti and he will be full of ^%$& again.

3 hrs later – Port Authorities refuse to complete the process. They are going home because it’s Ramadan and tomorrow is Fri.

Ig came through for nothing – thank you Ig for joining us – don’t see it as a waste of a day … you got to know us better!

• We are without papers
• We haven’t eaten the entire day and its 16h00
• We ladies need a loo

And tomorrow is Friday

To add to all our crises … our back-up vehicle that needs to be on the ferry by Saturday – has not been returned from its service and tomorrow is Fri…

1000 km to get to Aswan:

• NO bikes
  NO Luggage (Marlene has 1 outfit which she has worn since Monday because her luggage is in the container)
  NO back-up vehicle
  NO departure on Saturday ???

The ferry leaves once a week … so looks like we will be doing more days in Cairo (probably would be a good thing – as we have spent most of our time in Alex).

Spirits not so high … but we have had some amusing moments during the 6 hrs on the bus:

Sakkie reflects on having to service his own bike:

“Ek ken genoeg om my ‘bike’ te breek. Ek sé dat D I Y beteken Don’t Involve Yourself. My toolbox is not used for repairs …inside are weapons of mass destruction.”

Brian tries to be profound: (no wonder he is full of the stuff today):

“Adventure riders are risk takers. Fearless – but not foolhardy. The personality that is able by whatever means to achieve a positive outcome in a situation that would defeat all”

Tomorrow … who knows! (Struggling to get internet connection!)

Fri 5^th 07h30 Addendum:

We got the backup vehicle – half the service not done … not cleaned – in fact truck came back in worse condition that was sent in (on Mon) – but – we have it back.

Ulrich doesn’t have his bike … still in the pound at the airport.

Sat: Back to Alex – fetch 4 bikes; Ulrick fetches his at airport … and the team leaves together for Aswan.

In our frustrated state – bought a mountain of baklava for R5 – as comfort food.

Reminiscing and having a laugh..

After another yummy breakfast buffet, the remaining Cape to Cairo participants and Cairo to Cape ‘eager beavers’ gathered in the hotel lounge, chatting away, reminiscing on friendships built, impressions formed and obstacles confronted. Sakkie and Alta, Kenny and Marlene, James, Brian and Andre B. left early in the morning to Alexandria to present themselves with their passports (ridiculous, time-consuming new red tap bureaucracy requirement) to ensure the release of their motorbikes in time for the Cairo to Cape departure (being Brian’s second attempt). Kerrylee and Ray resumed to the usual administration and service tasks required of them.

Rob and Les hard at work on their bikes

Unfortunately, it was time to say good-bye to Dirk, Coetzee and Alain; wishing them a safe trip back home. Rob and Les were also preparing to depart for that day to reach the Suez Canal and hopefully be allowed to cross in order to continue their road adventure in Isreal. (Insha’Allah: expression commonly used to indicate hope for an aforementioned or intended event/activity). Rob and Alex also departed today. The majority of the group members decided to stay at the hotel for safety reasons due to the trial of Mubarak and his two sons. Mahmoud, our professional guide, had cancelled and suggested against the museum tour the night before, in anticipation of angry mobs and/or anticipated scuffles during possible demonstrations. The majority of the Egyptians we spoke to are out for Mubarak’s blood; however, there are still Egyptians who are divided and acknowledge that they still want Mubarak, his sons and security chiefs to have a fair trial. The Egyptians are on edge and one can feel a little tension in the air. The majority stayed at the hotel therefore, enjoying the pool and comfort of the room while others either worked on their motorbikes or prepared them for shipping. Ray and Ig looked years younger, having had a fresh new haircut at a local barber shop (miming and transmitting gestures to the barber in hopes of explaining what needed to be done)!!

The Egyptian Museum

Despite the anticipated trouble and suggested risk, Ryan and I nevertheless decided to take a taxi by ourselves to the Eygptian Museum. The streets were empty and we made it to the museum in no less than 25 minutes. Army forces were placed along the Tahir Square and tanks were located at each street corner. However, it was very calm and everyone went about their day; listening closely to the Mubarak trial on their phones and radios. Established in 1835, the current neo-classical, peach building was built in 1900. The museum’s collections exceed over 120,000 pieces, from the pre-historic era to the Greco-Roman period. After having left our cameras at the locker room and having passed two security checks, Ryan and I started our journey into the Old, Middle and New Kingdom periods.

Around 2pm, after having finished a little more than half of the first floor, I suggested to Ryan to take a break outside and have a soda and a quick smoke. We asked the guards if we could come back in (seeing that the Museum closes at 3pm) and they assured us that we were more than welcome to. Around 2:20pm, Ryan and I realized that the front door to the museum was shut. We decided to try the exit, but no can do! After my persistent debate with the guards and Ryan keeping very quiet on the side, they let us back in, only to be confronted by another set of guards 5 minutes later asking us to leave the Museum. Due to Ramadan and upon the authority of the Museum personnel and guards, the Museum was to be closed half an hour early. I started to argue once again with one, then two, then three guards to allow us through to the second floor, for just two minutes, in order to see the royal mummies (the most exciting and remarkable part of the museum if you ask me) and it was only with the fourth guy that we were let through. However, I can only assume that he didn’t want to bother arguing with me anymore and knew that the security guards standing at the steps would definitely chase us away once and for all…and they did! Ryan and well, especially I, tried to concoct ways for us to sneak up to the second floor but to no avail. Either way, this is Africa and the local Muslims, being the holy month of fasting, are hungry, tired and in no mood to accommodate or please (where is, I wonder, the humility, submissiveness and patience Ramadan is suppose to instil in the people?!).

Government building, neighbouring the Egyptian Museum, burnt down during protests in February 2011

No regrets however, the trip was worth it and the museum was incredible. [On a side note, neighbouring the Museum was a government building of Mubarak that had been burnt down by protestors during the Revolution in February. Lucky it didn’t damage the Museum in the interim!]. We left in style with our taxi (Class E Merc) in the middle of rush hour. It took us more than an hour to return back to the hotel.

One last pose before heading back to Jozy

We joined up with the others and after a couple of drinks and conversations; we said our good-byes to Ryan, Brandon and Andre. The group that had left to Alexandria had not come back yet. Some ate at the hotel restaurant downstairs, others spent the evening in their rooms, while I worked on the daily blog till bedtime. Another interesting and culturally enriching day in Cairo.

Alexandria Day 3:

What a day!

Salam alekum – with an early start to the day – 04h00 wakeup call; 05h00 breakfast; 05h30 in bus to Alexandria 210 kms away

Why Alexandria? The 4 x bikes are at the port and we have to go sign to get bikes released. Sakkie, Alta, Ken, Marlene, Andre, James and Brian leave for the 2.5hrs’ drive.

Rest of the group have been instructed to stay in the hotel for security reasons. Mubarak (the ex-president) has his trial/hearing – so 8000 army and 2000 police at the ready for any problems.

Wagiah is our “fixer” – i.e. he has connections in extremely high places and he makes things happen. If we were to do this on our own it would take about ….. 10 days – so we were connected and all chipper as this documentation-sorting meant we scored because we would see another city

Alexandria is beautiful – Ken and Marlene said that it reminded them of Havana.

Went to MSA – Marlene had to sign – the facility was full of impatient people with numbers awaiting attention – we had Mustafa – Wagiah’s connection who got it sorted in 20 minutes.

Off to a 110-year-old shisha coffee cafe where we had the most nauseating ‘dark coffee’. It tasted like ground acorns and was pitch black and had the consistency of mud. It was so bad – we shared one cup. Tea is great and we all smoked shisha (hubbly bubbly).

The two ladies went to the “BATHROOM” – had to hunker down in the ‘eastern’ toilet which had two foot stands in a mucky hole. The toilet is filthy, actually inexplicable. Two mustard-coloured floaters and the smell was unbearable!
Alta had a tough time – after her ‘visit’ she was trying to zip up her jeans and stop the involuntary vomiting. It was cruel to laugh … but it was great to see how she could still multi-task – even in this precarious situation.

Then went to the library (1 ½ hrs) – was once the largest library in the world – had a great lunch. Pizzas are harmless.

Back to the shisha cafe for ANOTHER 2 ½ hrs …  This time we upped the luxury with cherries and we didn’t care about the mud-coffee. All this time, Wagiah was on one of his 3 x mobiles and his computer trying to sort this out.

FINALLY we move – got to another site and wait for 2 hrs and then we found out that Andrew Reid had to fly in early – to facilitate the release of his bike as he has to show himself with his passport.

ANOTHER shisha bar – 1 hr! By now we have cancer of the throat and Andre treated us to Syrian sweets – baklava. 8 packets of chips (sponsored by Sakkie) cost R3.

Depart for our 3 ½ hour jaunt back to Cairo – NO bikes and Wagiah has totally lost his sense of humour. But THE GROUP is still in high spirits.

Saw accident and bumper-bashing – watched two men pulverise the offender through the back window of our mini bus.

The good news is that we have to do this all tomorrow … back to Alexandria. There are two ports – sign at the one and go the 30kms to the other to collect the bikes and to collect Andrew who re-directed his flight to Alexandria. Andre was coerced into riding the 4^th bike (because Marlene and Alta refused to take the responsibility of riding). For the first time there is someone more anxious about riding than Kenny. Andre will ‘ride’ the bike out the port, around the corner – without any wheelies and his brother, Ig, will ride the 210 arduous kms back to Cairo. NB: Andre has no biking skills.

Whose idea was this anyway?

[slideshow]

Alta – novice at shisha

Mud!

This stuff is revolting

Multi-tasking

We went up this road 5 times

Will you buy … only 1 pound

Hour 8: In the sea breeze

Pray wherever you are

Our “fixer”!

I have had ENOUGH!

Fridays and Saturdays are weekends here – so if we don’t sort out all this stuff … we cannot begin the “Cairo to Cape” journey on Saturday!

Hold thumbs and pray for us … we need it!

It was a day of mixed feelings as Charlie, Kobus, Ofer, Jacci, Rolf, Deon and Leon prepared to return home. We enjoyed a breakfast buffet followed by the usual gathering at the hotel lounge. Kerrylee and Ray, as usual, were running up and down making transportation and ferry arrangements, finalizing service fees and preparing paperwork for the release of the motorbikes, while Dirk, Marlene and I worked on the website and daily blog setup.

Certain people had decided to go to Khan El Khalili, Cairo’s most famous bazaar or souk (known as the Turkish bazaar during the Ottoman period) in the Islamic district of Cairo, while the others decided to work on their bikes or enjoy a leisure day at the hotel. At 1pm, the first six batch left with the first taxi bus to go to the market; only to be told to return ten minutes later because the proper traffic and security arrangements had not been taken. The hotel would not allow us to go without Mohamed, our security escort. We (Jacques, Ray, Kerrylee, Alta and Sakkie, Rob and Alex, Garth, Kenny and Marlene, Andre Badenhorst, Andre du Plessis, Dirk, Ig and myself) waited for more than half an hour at the hotel, sitting on the bus, waiting for the traffic and security arrangements to fall into place. We finally left with Ray’s insistence and picked up our security escort on the way.

Islamic district of Cairo

After an entertaining ride through the traffic of Cairo (imagine a video game of cars, each competing to get to the front of the ‘race’ no matter what it takes, beeping along their intentions, brushing only centimetres away from your car mirror or front bumper and at times, taking the sidewalk if need be), the bus dropped us off in a stunning square, in the centre of a chaotic bazaar, surrounded by stores, street food vendors, restaurants, cafes and the Hussein Mosque. The bazaar was a maze of corridors, filled with hundreds of exuberant scents and aromas (spice monopoly), an array of bright and colourful colours and thousands of amazing and exotic artefacts and items (such as carpets, jewellery, antiques, perfume and perfume bottles, lamps, pearl boxes, belts, shishas and spices among others).

Established in the 14^th Century, Khan El Khalili is a place where art, commerce and history come together; providing people with a glimpse into what a medieval market used to look and feel like. As we walked into the labyrinth layout of the streets, vendors tried grabbing our attention with Spanish, Afrikaans, German and English greetings. “It’s free to look” they joke. Some of the corridors were more overwhelming then others with the occasional heated debates, the craze of firecrackers, the combination of sand, dirt and rubbish particles dominating the hot air and the zooming scooters amidst the overcrowded passes. We stayed firm with the constant persistence of the vendors while still managing to keep a sense of humour and overall enjoyed the awesome experience it represented. We finished our bazaar trip by enjoying a well-deserved break at an Egyptian restaurant whose terrace overlooked the square. Dirk had a very hard time convincing a shoe polisher to stay away from his takkies..and I made friends with two street savvy children who kept trying to sell their jewellery up until the very last moment before we embarked on the bus.

Sweat ridden, we arrived back at the hotel to reunite with the rest of the group. An hour and an half later, a small faction left for the Sound and Light Show taking place at the Sphinx. Due to Ramadan, the sound & light show was postponed an hour so as to allow the locals the much anticipated time needed to eat their first meal of the day. We joined Brian Berry (who had just come back from Alexandria where he had to deal with the tiresome, red tape bureaucracy involved with the release of the motorbikes) and Waguih (who has been a blessing in terms of the transportation, tourism, motorbike and paperwork arrangements) at a café on a street corner and enjoyed the pleasant evening drinking water, tea and smoking the shisha pipe (Kerrylee and Waguih mastering the shisha pipe while Jacques’ lungs took a beating!!).

The streets became increasingly busy as the local Muslims completed the fast-breaking meal known as Iftar. Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting, is a time of spiritual reflection and worship through prayer and reading of the Qur’an. Charity is also very important in Islam and even more so during Ramadan. A local came to our table asking for money and as we usually do in South Africa, we brushed him off and said no; while Waguih discreetly asked the owner to provide him with change to give to the man. Ramadan is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and submissiveness to God. However, for us foreigners and non-Muslims, it means that the majority of the restaurants are closed, that shows and events are delayed and that places like museums and other close earlier than normal. On a positive light though, it also means less chaos and traffic out in the streets in the morning and during the day. To continue…Kerrylee, happy as can be, had her first camel ride, followed by a heated debate to settle accounts. The merchant had originally asked her to pay what she felt was right only to return apprehension towards her offer of 20E£. After a heated debate between Waguih and the merchant boy and the assistance of the café owners, the boy grabbed the 20E£ from Kerry and left very unhappy, scooting off on his camel.

Using the Sphinx as the narrator of Egypt’s ancient history, the sound & light show offered a glimpse back in time to see, feel and imagine how it was when the powerful ancient Egyptians once ruled. It was an amazing two-hour laser show that showed the Great Pyramids of Giza in a different light; other than in daylight. Due to Ramadan and the loss of tourism (as a result of the revolution and enduring protests), the sound & light show was virtually empty, creating a feeling that you were one with the Pyramids. We came back very tired, but also very satisfied with another great day in Cairo. Fortunately, Ulrich Kossak arrived safely in Cairo and introductions and greetings occurred before all called it a day. I think I speak on behalf of everyone when I say..”I slept like a baby”.

First Day of Ramadan, holy month of fasting

OR TAMBO on the 31st of July 2011

After a 7 hour and 55 minute flight on Egyptair, Andre Badenhorst, Jacques de Beer, Kenny Hadden and Marlene Gracie, Garth Diers, Sakkie and Alta Fourie, Dot Bruins, Kerrylee South and myself (Jessica Chvatal) arrived in Cairo anxious to meet the Cape to Cairo group at the Radisson Blu Hotel, in Heliopolis (“City of the Sun”). Needless to say, our winter jackets and long sleeved shirts came off very quickly!

Cairo Airport, 01 August 2011

We arrived at the Radisson Blu Hotel and immediately met with the rest of the group. Dot was happily reunited with Archie as was Kerrylee with Ray and Andre with Dirk and Doc (Coetzee). Introductions were made, smiles were shared and happy, excited and enthusiastic words were exchanged. The Cape to Cairo/Cairo to Cape 2011 group was almost complete! Bruce Jones left the day before to reunite with his son in Italy; Keith Jones returned to Johannesburg to reunite with his wife and meet his newborn son (congratulations!!) and Peter Henman returned to his home in Cape Town. Brian, Ulrich and Andrew have yet to arrive for the trip down to Cape Town.

Some of us decided to join the group for a second breakfast at the hotel where the Cape to Cairo participants shared their thoughts on and impressions of the journey up to Cairo. Kerrylee, efficient as always, organized the check-in and the room allocations.

Cythech crew hard at work, unloading the IVECO for repair

While the crew stayed behind hard at work to empty the IVECO Daily and send it off for repair, a group of us decided to go to the Giza Pyramids (consisting of the Pyramid of Cheops, the Pyramid of Khafre and the Pyramid of Menkaure as well as a number of smaller edifices known as “queens” pyramids) and the Sphinx (a mythical creature with a lion’s body and the face of Khafre, located on the Giza Plateau).

Waiting on the corner of the street next to the South African Embassy

After a brief stop at the South African Embassy (in order to organize the tedious paperwork involved in order to ship the returnees’ motorbikes back to South Africa) and the bank at the Oasis Hotel (to change our money into the local Egyptian currency), we arrived at the majestic Pyramids. When I say majestic, I really mean MAJESTIC! Standing under the scorching sun, enjoying a light breeze, the group stood in awe. 

Their brilliant appearance as they stand tall on the west bank of the Nile was nothing but spectacular and a sight for sore eyes. Of course, the whole experience wouldn’t have been the same without the constant pestering of the vendors..whether it be a camel or horse back ride and/or picture, postcards, drinks or artefacts. After a welcomed KFC lunch late in the afternoon, the guide took us to The 3 Pyramids and Papyrus Institute where we learned about the makings of papyrus and enjoyed the sight of fabulous workmanship.

The Sphinx and Pyramid of Khafre in the distance

The Great Pyramids of Giza

  After our educational stop, the bus took us back to the hotel where we reunited with the rest of the crew and participants; some enjoying the comfort of their rooms and others enjoying the 9^th floor hotel pool and bar.

The group came together for an evening celebration where Ray thanked the Cape to Cairo participants for an amazing Recce Run up to Cairo. The Cape to Cairo participants, in return, offered their feedback and thanks while the Cairo to Cape participants offered their expectations and excitement for the trip down. An enormous and most delicious cake was served with sparkles to celebrate the safe arrival of the Cape to Cairo partakers and the beginning of a new journey for the newly arrivals. It was a perfect evening filled with story telling, emotional reflections and shared laughs.