Today was a day of rest from all the officialdom and the constant flow of people coming out to the yacht, all wanting baksheesh, although we had absolutely no idea whether or not the Navy officials actually came to Paw Paw last night as planned. We were fast asleep by 2100 and slept so soundly, that neither of us woke during the night. If we did, we don’t remember doing so! We, however, found out this morning that the Navy officials had come out to the yachts at 0130; have you ever heard of anything so ridiculous! Needless to say, they had totally wasted their time!
Elaine’s view from her head (aka bathroom) this morning was the sight of a huge northbound cargo ship; somewhat startling given how close it was to us, especially when her brain was still foggy after such a deep sleep.
It wasn’t long after we’d opened our eyes, though, when we heard someone calling to us. Given that it wasn’t even 0800, we simply ignored them.
After our breakfast, accompanied by Egyptian bread and the most delicious and sweetest oranges we’d ever tasted, the little old man, who delivered our fresh produce yesterday, arrived with our eggs as planned, but he had also brought the sweetest strawberries we’d ever tasted, as well as some small melons, baby cucumbers, carrots and a crisp lettuce. Since it was freezing outside, we offered him a coffee and enjoyed a chat.
We learnt that he was 74 years old, a father of 3 daughters and 3 sons, with a total of 23 grandchildren, all of whom spend time in his home with him and his wife, “constantly under his feet, wanting biscuits, chocolates or money”; it seems we have all had similar experiences no matter where in the world we come from! He also informed us that he’d had back surgery to remove 3 vertebrae that were replaced with plastic ones and a vein from his leg was replaced in his back as part of the procedure. Egypt must definitely have a decent medical system for that level of sophisticated surgery and, although he wears a back brace now, he has been rowing out to the yachts and climbing on and off them like a spring chicken. He was also a real charmer, telling Elaine she was his sweetheart and that he loved her. Quite the character!
During the course of the morning we also managed to clear the cockpit of all the jerry cans we no longer needed, received gleefully by the marina “manager”.
By then we both needed a nap, only to be woken around lunchtime, by our agent, Captain Heebi, who was delivering a lovely surprise; two slices of delicious cake from a local bakery. That was swiftly followed by another lovely surprise; a hot Turkish soup, called “tavuk çorba”, delivered to us from Hasan and Zehra, off Kantiba. Just when we thought that was it for the day, the little old man arrived with the Egyptian coffee and Shish Kabobs we’d ordered and another delivery arrived from Kandiba; a huge piece of a delicious nut cake that Zehra had baked this afternoon. What we thought was going to be a celebratory dinner was, in fact, a scrumptious feast; some of the “tavuk çorba” for starters, the shish kabobs for our main course and a slice of nut cake with strawberries for dessert. We certainly weren’t going to starve in Egypt!
Our afternoon, after enjoying a fruit salad and a slice of the cake from our agent for lunch, was spent catching up with family and friends on social media, reading, given the chilly temperatures outside and watching the southbound ships pass by. We learnt from our agent yesterday, that it costs ~ $1 million USD for one of these large vessels to transit the Suez Canal. Absolutely amazing!
