April 13, 2019 – Suez Canal Transit
Today we began our journey through the Suez Canal at 5:30 am. Ian would speak about the canal over the loudspeakers. This meant muffins would be available on deck.
It was warm enough to be outside in a t shirt and I did sit outside a bit and walk around the ship. I realized that this wasn’t going to be as exciting as the Panama Canal. This canal was at sea level the entire way. No locks. It had also been widened quite a bit so there were no mules to pull us through.
I realized that there wasn’t going to be much that I found interesting to see. Some points had nothing but desert on both sides. Ian spoke mainly of conflicts in the area that continue until this day.
There was an occasional marker.
The Canal entrance near the Red Sea.
The trip through the canal took about 8 hours which was expected. When we we emerged into the Mediterranean Sea on the other side it was noticeably cooler, windier, and the water was rougher. We haven’t seen water this rough in weeks.
Our warmer clothes came out of the suitcases we had stored under the bed. I’m not sure if we will be sitting out on the deck for a while.
As we cross the Mediterranean Sea towards Naples we will be at a latitude similar to Washington DC.
We spent the day reading, watching and listening. We did go to see a movie about Forrest Tucker starring Robert Redford. Good movie for a nap.…