Here’s some new photos from Egypt, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Israel and Jordan:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fabiolacaraza/sets/72157604192059930/
Are You Happy Now Sharon Riel?
March 22, 2008 at 3:05 am (Egypt, Ethiopia, Israel, Jordan, Photos, Tanzania)
Long Day London
March 21, 2008 at 2:02 pm (Egypt, England)
Cairo to London – March 10
The plane to London was delayed for five hours. We sat on the tarmac at the airport in Cairo and waited for the windy weather in London to clear up. It could have been worse had the entertainment system not been working. Before we even pulled away from the gate I had watched “Juno” and “Michael Clayton”. The Clooney starrer reminded me of “Network” and “Juno” annoyed me with all its hipster references (we get it Diablo Cody, you’re cool!) before winning me over in the final act.
Upon arriving in London, we had our journey further delayed by a backed up Tube system. By the time we got to Fab’s brother’s place, it was dark and we were tired. What else is new?
Farewell, Goodbye and Good Riddance
March 21, 2008 at 1:56 pm (Egypt)
Cairo – March 9
Fab and I shot another couple rolls of super8mm film in and around the hotel in the morning and then spent the rest of day getting ready to fly to London the following morning. We were a little sad about leaving Cairo. We had made friends with all of the guys at the hotel and the city itself had treated us well. We were going to miss Ash, Amr, Mustafa, Karim and Mohammed, all of whom were decent, honest guys.
On the other hand, Egypt, as a country, had financially raped us. Out of all the countries we had visited so far, Egypt was by far the most corrupt. By my count, the government had taken more than $500 from me in less than a month in visa fees and duties. That’s not to mention the 10% service charge, 15% VAT (Very Arbitrary Tax) and 15% tip required in restaurants. In what country on earth is it acceptable to charge 40% extra on the total bill? Answer: Egypt.
Second Last in Cairo
March 21, 2008 at 1:44 pm (Egypt)
Cairo – March 8
Even though I was dog tired, I was up by 7am. Old habits die hard. By ten o’clock, I was nodding off. The rest of the day was spent smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee with the guys at the hotel. In the evening, Fab and I talked with Mike and Jen about meeting up in Amsterdam. They had found an apartment to rent near downtown for a decent price. We were originally supposed to meet up with them in Prague, but their visas had expired and they were on their way back to Canada. We made plans to get together on the 13th through to the 17th, when Mike and Jen were due to fly back to Vancouver.
Three Countries, Three Arguments
March 21, 2008 at 1:41 pm (Egypt, Israel, Jordan)
Wadi Musa to Cairo via Eilat and Taba – March 7
Up early again and out the door by 7am. We took a mini-bus to Aqaba and then a cab to the Israeli border. Fab argued with the driver who said the crossing was 20km away. Fab said it was 8km. It ended up being 12km. On the way to the border, the cab driver told us that there had been trouble in Jerusalem. According to him, a Palestinian man had opened fire in a Jewish seminary, killing eight and wounding another thirty eight. We had missed the event by one day.
We crossed the Jordanian border, a process that involved Fab getting sexually harassed by a customs agent who made her take off her shawl and lift up her shirt to show her stomach. When I tried to intervene, I was told to take my bag back to the car and get inside. Asshole.
We got into Israel without any problems. After clearing customs, we grabbed a ride into Eilat in a taxi and got dropped off at the bus station. The meter read 19 sheckels, but the driver demanded we pay him twenty nine – three for the pickup and seven for our bags. I called him dishonest and accused him of cheating us. He denied it and called us greedy. Sometimes traveling just isn’t worth the hassle.
From there, we grabbed a local bus to the Egyptian border, paid the exhorbent Israeli exit fee and entered Egypt. We walked from the border crossing to the Taba bus station in order to catch the 12:30 bus back to Cairo. We were told that the 12:30 bus was “broken” and that the next bus was at 4:30. There were mini-buses leaving earlier, but they cost more and are usually much more hassle. We decided to wait.
After an hour of sitting on the curb in the desert heat, a local man approached us and asked if we wanted to share a mini-bus with him for the same price as the bus. I initially said no, knowing that the mini-bus would end up being a headache, but he sweetened the deal saying that we would leave immediately and that there would be no stops. Since Fab and I didn’t feel like waiting for another three hours, we agreed.
The mini-bus stopped everywhere picking up people and packages. Eventually, the bus stopped and we were told that we had to switch to another mini-bus. Fab lost her patience and screamed at the driver, her Spanish accent getting stronger with every passing word. Arab men do not like being yelled at by women, a fact confirmed by the veins popping out of the driver’s neck. He refused to respond to Fabiola and instead deferred to me. I just shrugged my shoulders and pointed to Fabiola. Sorry, man. You deal with it. To make things worse, the driver told us that we were not going to be dropped off in central Cairo, like we were told, but instead at a subway stop on the outskirts of the city. Fabiola’s yelling was now accompanied by wild arm gestures. When the mini-bus finally got back on the road, I gave her a high five. She had made me proud.
We got into Cairo late after spending close to an hour on the subway. If we had waited for the bus, we probably would have arrived at the same time. Oh well, at least we were back in a familiar environment.
Into Israel
March 20, 2008 at 1:25 am (Egypt, Israel)
Dahab to Jerusalem – March 2
We hopped in the back of a pick up truck out to the bus station in the early morning. From there, we took a bus up the Sinai coast to Taba, the Egyptian border crossing with Israel. We walked from the Taba bus station to the border and then walked across. Suddenly, we were in a different world – hair, skin, cleavage! It was like being in Mediterranean Europe. Fab took advantage of the situation and exposed her shoulders.
We bought a couple of tickets to Jerusalem at the Eilat bus station and within an hour we were on the road again. We drove through the day into the night past the Dead Sea, listening to Connie Francis on the radio. We pulled into Jerusalem around 9pm. Hasidic Jews ran across the street, their curls flowing in the wind, to avoid traffic. Men wearing yamikas loitered outside the bus station and teenage girls with nose rings waited for the bus. We were in Jerusalem, the city I heard about so much during my Catholic upbringing and still hear about continuously in the international news. It was kind of hard to believe I was actually there.
After some initial confusion, we got on a city bus that took us down to the Old City where our hostel was located. We got off near the New Gate and walked south along the outer wall to Jaffa Gate. Armed security guards asked where we were headed on the way into the Old City and stopped every vehicle within sight. Clearly we were in a different type of city, one blessed with rich history and plagued with chronic problems. What else can you expect from a city that contains some of the most important religious sites for three of the worlds most popular religions?
Red Sea Rough
March 20, 2008 at 1:21 am (Egypt)
Dahab – March 1
We went down to the corniche early in the morning to get some snorkeling in. We figured we would start at the far end of the Eel Garden, supposedly the premiere snorkeling spot in Dahab, and then work our way back to the Lighthouse, the last suitable spot located near the center of the town’s waterfront promenade.
We got to the Eel Garden and looked out at the of water, tumbling over itself and full of whitecaps. Not ideal conditions for snorkeling. A local man told us that it was perhaps too dangerous to snorkel since there is a strong undertow on the far side of the reef. Despite the waves, the turquoise patches of water hinted at the world beneath the surface. Fab and I decided to try and wait out the wind in hope that the sea would settle down. We grabbed a spot at a seaside restaurant, virtually the only kind in Dahab, and relaxed in the sun on long, thin cushions positioned around short tables on the sand. To kill some time, we smoked a sheesha, drank fresh strawberry juice and sipped cinnamon tea.
After a couple of hours, we decided that we would forego Eel Garden and try our luck at the Lighthouse, advantageously located inside a bay. We didn’t have much more luck there. The water was murky on account of the waves and the reef led out around the edge of the bay towards the open sea. However, we did manage to see plenty of fish and a couple of eels. It was too bad the water was so rough because the coral reef was fantastic and only a couple of feet off shore. We also saw a couple of Muslim women going for a snorkel, one wore a full body, Victorian swimming costume and the other wore jeans, a cotton sweater and a hijab.
Leap Year in Dahab
March 20, 2008 at 1:14 am (Egypt)
Dahab – February 29
The overnight bus from Cairo didn’t allow us much sleep. Every half an hour we stopped at security check points and were asked to present our passports. The group of American college students seated in front of us didn’t help either. Why are Americans always the loudest people in the room? I don’t understand, but they are – invariably.
We dragged our asses to the hotel, had some tasty pastries from the attached bakery and then crashed in our room. We vowed that we were through with taking night buses. Only day travel from here on in. We were literally tired of wasting the following day trying to recuperate.
In the evening, we walked along the corniche, discovering the town and looking for a place to have dinner. We ended up choosing a spot on the waterfront with a decent seafood menu. Since it was now officially low season, the prices were discounted and we had the place to ourselves. We shared a seafood platter of fresh squid, red snapper and prawns the size of thumbs. We capped the evening with a sheesha and a few beer, talking about feminism in the work of Margaret Atwood and watching the sunset behind the Sinai Mountains, a rosy backdrop to the tan coloured hills.
Plotting and Planning
March 20, 2008 at 1:08 am (Egypt)
Cairo – February 28
We spent the day doing nothing much except catching up on correspondence and plotting our next two weeks. We decided to do a couple of days in Dahab for some Red Sea snorkelling, a day or two in Jerusalem followed by a trip to Petra and Wadi Rum in Jordan. It looked like a bit of a hustle, but we were running out of time in the region and wanted to cram in as much as possible before being due back in London on March 11. At a quarter past midnight, we boarded a bus bound for Dahab.
Comfortable Cairo
March 20, 2008 at 1:04 am (Egypt)
Cairo – February 27
We slept in late and spent the day hanging out with the guys and the hotel and watching movies in the lounge area. Ash had hooked us up with a nice room and Mustafa bought me dinner at night. It was nice to be back in Cairo.
