Day 33 Continued

Suddenly our guide told us to look to the left and lo and behold the pyramids were in sight!! I just could not believe this was happening. They stood tall above the city of Cairo. A few blocks more and it changed to Giza and then we were at the Pyramids and dessert. I can't remember the drive up towards the Pyramids as I was dumbstruck (and teary, I might add) at this sight. Our bus driver took us to the top of the hill to look down on the incredible sight. Hundreds of people, and camels and hawkers but I only had eyes for the Pyramids. Its really hard to put into words the sight of them. We took lots of photographs. Our onboard security guard became our personal guide, he was lovely and the machine gun he displayed meant that no one harrassed us!! We only had about 1 hour in total then back onboard to The Sphynx. Oh so much to take in. Absolutely magical sight. Our security man led us through some ruins so we could get closer to The Sphynx. To look down on this and be so close, its something we will always remember.

We headed off for lunch on a boat on The Nile. Lovely lunch, belly dancer entertained the men while the ladies all queued for the toilets!! The Nile is really dirty, very disappointing. We arrived back onboard around 7.30 p.m. so a very long day. The best day for us on this trip, we have decided that we have to do this again!!

Day 32 update

We are a day behind in our blog as its difficult to find the time to write, just having too much fun!! We entered the Suez Canal around 4.30 a.m., we were ship No. 1 in the procession. To be honest, we didn't expect much at all from this as many people had told us that there was nothing much to see. Well all I can say now is that they must have had their eyes closed!! Its amazing. We sat from 5 a.m. till we arrived at Port said at 4 p.m. Apart from toilet breaks, doing a bit some washing we were transfixed the whole way. One side is desert, the other is buildings, houses, farms and lots of small sentry boxes containing soldiers with rifles. To have this enormous ship so close to all of this is awesome. People were waving, whistling and running along the road as we passed by. We were initially to arrive in Port said at 6 p.m. however we were moving along well and arrived at 4 p.m. After 8 days at sea everyone was looking forward to walking on land again. We had been given a quick trip pass to go ashore in Port Said. A group of us, 10 in total, took off for a stroll along the streets. My first impression was CATS, everywhere! Skinny too. Lots of stalls near the ship but nothing caught my eye. The people were very friendly, usually tourists arrive and go straight to the Pyramids, therefore nearly 2000 people converging on the streets made them very happy. I still find the sight of rubbish and dirt everywhere hard to comprehend. We were tired after our long day on Suez Canal watch and the anticipation of our big day at the Pyramids forced to have a relatively early night, 11 p.m.!!!

Day 32 Suez Canal

Pictures of the Suez canal

Aileen & Harold

Gail & John

 

Day 31 sea day

For the past few days not much happens when you are at sea, you tend to get into a routine of eating talking and walking.

We started the day with 10 laps around the ship then breakfast followed by a swim and a bit of sunbathing, as for the sunbathing it only takes 5 minutes for George to look like a lobster, and he heads for the shade, Then in for a shower and dress for lunch, a kebab and chips then followed by a walk around the decks again.

George watched a movie on tv in the afternoon, we had decided earlier just to have a buffet dinner at the Horizon. This turned out to be a marathon event. We sat down at 7.15, quickly moved to Barry and Linda's table. The conversation was great and before we knew it midnight had struck!! Yes midnight. My back had locked in the sitting position haha. We met up with Roy and Marg at 12.30 a.m. and she has arranged a pizza and trivia night tomorrow, state versus state. We will do our best however Roy is a facts and figures man so I don't like our chances. Will be hilarious though. This is the best part of cruising, meeting all these lovely people. We have included photos of the Atrium, its really decadent.

Day 29 & 30

We should have been in Safaga today. We Are now on our way to Port Said. This makes for a long stretch at sea and a lot of people are bemoaning this fact. Our Captain is a man of few words therefore the rumours are flying around thick and fast regarding our situation. They range from us being flown home from Port Said, to possibly this happening at Southampton!! However the one I believe is an expert is meeting us at Cairo and a one a half day stop for repairs there. We are running on 2 engines, with one less than the other. Watch this space for an update.

We have settled into a sort of routine now, a 45 min walk followed by a swim every morning. We also use the stairs, never the lifts, as we don't want to resemble sumo wrestlers when we come home. The weather is very very hot now, high of 40 plus with an overnight temp of around 32c. Humidity is unbelievable.

We went to the production show the other night and it was fantastic. These shows are so well attended and receive standing ovations, as opposed to most of the other entertainment. This is the only let down so far on this trip.

We have entered the photo competition, at the insistence of other people. The category is people so the one of George's new friend, Barry, planting a kiss on his cheek with George's expression is priceless. So if we bring home a new Nikon be very surprised!!

Day 29 New Friends

Peggy

Table friends

Sandra & Jill

Table friends

Carol & Sandra

Table Friends

Brian & Jo

Day 28

We have officially been told Safaga is cancelled, We now sail for Port Said. The oars on the ship are not helping according to the Captain, He even suggested that we might have other changes to our itinerary. George seem to think he can fix the problem, after a few Drambuie's. He seems to think he is Scottie from star trek ( beam him up Scottie)  The ship is still moving along and that's a plus, the down side is NO Valley of the Kings.

We had a lazy day today. George bought a lens for his camera and did nothing but complain as every time he stepped outside to test his new lens it fogged up with the humidity, and I  managed to get my hair cut.

I have attached pics of the secret door to the front of the ship with other pics of what its like out the front.

Day 27 Engine problems

Well not such good news from the Captain. Everyone has been talking about the low speed we are currently doing..... only 16 knots as opposed to 21 it should be,.... also had no engines for 5 hours during the night and finally the Captain announced the bad news. Due to technical difficulties, we may have to miss Safaga and go straight to Port Said. This would be a great shame as for many of us the main reason for this cruise was Safaga and Port Said. Apparently at this speed we will miss our place in the queue to go through the Suez Cana if we stop at Safaga. We are just about to enter Pirate Alley as well, so hoping we don't lose engines there!!! I don't think the pirates here are like Johnny Depp somehow. However if it comes to the worst and we do miss Safaga well its not the end of the world. As long as we see the Pyramids all is not lost,

The seas are slightly calmer today but only 1 pool is opened so we had a swim and a spa this morning. We enjoy the sea days, meet people for lunch and coffee. George and his cronies are playing dominoes this afternoon. They laugh more than they play.

George has fixed the ship and its full steam ahead

Its environmentally friendly and keeps the passengers fit as well. ....... no more break downs

I forgot my RAC membership