Safaga , Egypt
November 1, 2022
Today we docked in the port city of Safaga. Nothing to see here but there are side trips to Luxor. We did a cruise of the Nile years ago and have been to Luxor. We decided to take a bus ride into Hurghada, about an hour away. We collected our passports again yesterday as Egypt is requiring that we carry them.
Our bus leaves at 10 am and instructions were to meet out on the pier. We showed up on time and were led to the appropriate bus. We selected our seats carefully. One unwritten rule about bus tours is there is no switching seats. Once a seat is selected, it is yours for the remainder of the trip.
The bus led us to the customs area where we were instructed to get off of the bus. Some carried bags. I left mine on the bus. Inside customs there was a conveyor belt for bags and a scanner. Bags were loaded onto the scanner. Mine remained on the bus. We walked through the scanner. Lights flashed, beepers sounded. Some passengers made a fuss. The customs agents didn’t move much. One had his feet up on a table. Everyone walked through and then grabbed their bags. The fuss over passports was for nothing. No one asked. No one cared. The sawed off shotgun I carry in my back pack was safe in the bus.
We use an app called GPsMyCity and follow walking tours in cities all over the world. Most of the tours are outstanding. I don’t believe there is much to see in this city but maybe some shopping and fun haggling.
The bus was a HAL tour and the complainers were in full force. “Are there maps? We were told there would be maps.” Marco was our guide on this trip. ”We can’t hear you back here”. This is the kind of behavior that drives us insane. Most act like they are 8 years old but do not listen like an 8 year old. They don’t listen. Period. I like 8 year olds.
Fortunately we had strong cell service the entire route. There was a lot to see on the way if you like sand. Plains of sand, blowing sand, ripples of sand, sand mounds. Exciting. We arrived in town and were off the bus first and on our way.
Our walking tour only had 6 stops. We decided to stop for something to eat since it was already past lunch time. We found a restaurant that had a 4.5 star rating on trip advisor. We sat down and placed our order. Language was limited. Any questions we had about the menu that involved any detail were met with a confused look. I ordered the Chicken Schwarma and Terri the Spring Rolls. Nothing like some good Egyptian food with an Arabic touch. We waited and waited some more. After about 30 mins someone came in and went right into the kitchen. I guess the chef was still in bed. We waited some more with more apologies from the waiter. Finally the food arrived. Chicken Schwarma with french fries. Something new. Terri had some rolls. She had me taste one. Still cold from the freezer. No use complaining to people who can’t understand us. We finished and paid our bill. Chicken Schwarma, Spring Rolls, bottled water, two glasses of wine. $13.50. Nothing to complain about here.
Our first stop on the walking tour was the marina area. The city reminded us of Cairo. Failing infrastructure. Bad sidewalks, buildings in extreme disrepair, lots of trash everywhere. Lots of open businesses selling tourist junk. The marina area was very nice and people entering have to past through security. Lots of beeping through scanners but no one paid much attention. I guess this is the Egyptian way.
This are was very well maintained and it was obvious it was strictly for tourists or those with money. The shops were nice but they sold the same junk as the ones out on the streets.
We were off to the next stop which was a shopping area that sold all kinds of nice things. The walk along the way was rough terrain. Nice paving brick sides walk half torn up. Bolts sticking up in the sidewalk where a street lamp used to be. A donkey pulling a cart. Lots and lots of traffic. People here drive with the horn first, steering wheel second. Beep, beep, beep beep, beeeeeeeeeep. It was non stop.
This is the country that probably had the greatest culture in the world 5 to 6 thousand years ago. They left us the greatest artifacts ever found. The pyramids, the great stone statues, mummified remains. All that is left is people hawking souvenirs of a culture that they have no connection to and cities that are a crumbling mess.
I guess some things are fair as I live in the State of Michigan with the worst roads in the world and I do remember having my pickup truck over filled. Maybe not quite as much as the gentlemen below.
The walk was 1.5 miles. When we arrived there were no signs of anything shopping area as pictured. Another victim of Covid 19 shutdowns is my guess. We had very little luck with the other sights on the app. It really needs some updating but my guess is they can’t find anyone who wants to work. We did pass 2 nice looking mosques along the way.
Pick up time was 5 pm. We stopped in a hotel for a drink and then boarded the bus. The one hour trip went by quickly. Back in the port there were more games with customs. Get off of the bus, go through the security screening area and then back on the bus. Same dumb look on the customs agents. I probably had a similar look I my face. We are learning the system. This time we took our bags, put them on the conveyor and let the lights flash and sirens sound, grab our bags and then we walked the several hundred yards to the the ship We probably saved 30 mins as all of the passengers …