Red Sea - day 23 Egypt - towards Hurgada
St Barbara's Web Diary
Peter & Sue Goldsmith
Fri 11 Apr 2008 09:55
25:49N 34:33E
12.00 10th April
Today is a different day. Awoke early to flat calm so it was showers and off
we go. In company with Albert II we are making for Hurgada some 120 miles to
the north.
Peter2
Back to sea and back to blogging - places to go, people to see, stuff to
tell. Very pleased to have left Sharm All Fake at last, it was a very
welcome break after our last passage but was a bit limited after a few days.
Having said that I really fancy a latte from Costa's right now!
A quick recap on the entertainment on shore. The night before last was a
traditional 'Egyptian night' in the marina hotel and we were treated to the
delights of belly dancing by a very modestly dressed young dancer, along
with four of her male colleagues. The twirling, whooping, clapping and
threatening gestures with wooden staves went on for hours. Our followers at
home can be assured that the St Barbara contingent (Sam and I) behaved with
considerable restraint and impeccable decorum and managed to avoid many a
tempting look to participate. Suffice to say, a group of German visitors
were far too easily encouraged into the fray and one woman, in an attempt to
throw off any suggestions of her impending 50th birthday, tried with all her
heart - and considerable waistline - to out belly the belly dancer! I am
certain she awoke the next morning with the fondest of memories, even if
with the stiffest of hips
Back to today, awake before dawn and pretty much off the mooring by 0800hrs
we are making good progress sailing under cruising chute and we're hoping
that the promised southerly wind will come. We are now slipping along a mile
or so from the shore, passing more resorts in the process of being built
and, all things being equal, will reach our first destination, Hurghada, by
about this time tomorrow morning. This is a more established port with a
town so will be a good chance to see some real Egypt and stock up properly
on fresh vegetables and fruit. What happens then will depend on the wind so
I'll update as and when we know.
Pretty unsurprisingly its a very pleasant 26 degrees here and its back to
sitting on deck watching the world, occasional bird and many jelly fish
float by - a wonderful life. We've just got the cruising chute out and are
determined to make the most of the light winds. Meanwhile, things are
hotting up in War and Peace - the two emporors Bonapart and Alexandra have
signed a peace treaty, but I don't think its going to last.
Sam,
Thought I would add a few lines today, keep you all updated on my
activities. After the, lets say interesting belly dancing and a few drinks
it was off to bed for a good sleep ready for another's day out diving. Spent
yesterday out with emperor divers from the resort. Jim and Ged from Albert 2
came along as well, Ged doing some bits towards her advanced divers course
and Jim came to buddy up with me. We went out to a reef not far south of
Port Ghalib. The seas were very rough and the wind still blowing it was nice
to be on a bigger boat rather than out in a yacht.The reef was named Marsa
Mubarak, roughly translated is the blessed bay or bay of spirits. It
certainly was blessed and we had two fantastic dives, possibly the most
peaceful dives I have ever done, was beautiful. the main highlight being a
green turtle which was at least 5 foot long and pretty timid swimming
alongside us for a short while. So was a fantastic day followed by a good
meal in the hotel last night. All you can eat buffet, needless to say I made
the most of it and felt a little worse for it after. So we are off again
with plenty more adventures ahead of us!