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SEA GEM LOG
Safaga, Egypt
--March 22, 2000
 Clay
Henderson arrived in
Safaga
while we were still
tied up waiting for fuel to be delivered. He had a bit of a hassle getting into the port but thanks to his portable VHF Charlie was able to go to immigration and get him
admitted to the port. By the time we got fuel it was almost dark and we left the dock to go to the anchorage about two and a half miles away. Again we were
picking our way through a narrow pass in a reef headed to the anchorage just off Tom's hotel. Tom was anxious to get checked in as his work as Rally Control would
start bright and early the next morning. We had planned to go out for dinner to celebrate our arrival and Jeannette's twenty-sixth birthday but we were so tired Jeannette ended up making
one of her delicious pizza specials for us. Tom went to sleep sitting up on the couch, and after dinner Jeannette took him in to an unfamiliar shore to locate the dock for his hotel. It is
terribly hard doing things in the dark in strange areas but we managed to get in, get anchored and get Tom safely delivered. Clay was suffering from jet lag and his mind did not know in
which time zone his body was located.The following evening we celebrated four March birthdays at dinner and made plans to
leave early the following morning for Luxor and a tour of The Valley of the Kings, Karnak and other assorted antiquities. Jeannette stayed on board the boat to watch out for it while Clay, Charlie and I left at 06:00
with Stu, Julie and Joe for our trip. On the way out of town to the convoy location we dropped our laundry at our driver's friends house. The Egyptians take charge quickly and you become someone's project.
 To
travel from Safaga to Luxor is a four hour trip across the desert.
The trip can only be taken in convoy, and departure time is 08:00.
We lined up with a multitude of busses, mini busses, cars, trucks
and vans. We were told we would stop for breakfast.
We did stop, along with all the busses, etc. etc. at the same place.
We grabbed some cookies, some coffee and took advantage of the rest
rooms, which were OK. If you miss the convoy you have to wait
until the next day for you are not allowed on the highway without
an escort. We understand this is for safety from several angles.
This part of the world understands extremes, both in environment
and in people and the Egyptians do their best to protect their important
tourist trade and keep the tourists alive and well.
 Crosing
the desert is a visual banquet. You see shepherds and their flocks
looking as they must have thousands of years ago. On the horizon
you see Bedouin camps and pillars of sand spinning in mini tornadoes.
The harsh landscape seems endless until suddenly you arrive where
the life giving influence of the Nile touches the land. Brown
becomes green, desert becomes oasis, barren becomes fertile and
mile after mile the fields are pregnant with crops waiting for harvest.
For thousands of years this rhythm has continued, little has changed.
Most of the work is still done by hand. Most of the crops
are carried by donkey cart. The farmers live in mud brick houses
by the canals dressed in traditional flowing clothes, turbans on
their heads. Children romp, as children do everywhere and
as you speed by the people look up and wave, probably wondering
as much about our lives as we do about theirs.
Seeing Luxor is a mind boggling experience. Luxor or Thebes has stood for thousands of
years paying homage to a civilization advanced far beyond others existing during the same time frame. The Temple of Karnak was wonderous with it's giant columns that were
constructed with stones of 20 tons floated down the Nile from the quarry 3,000 years ago. It would be difficult to build with modern equipment. The architecture is not only beautiful but
enduring and the design so classic that you could copy it today and be thought modern and innovative. There are murals on the walls with original paint that has lasted for over three
thousand years. We were in awe of the Valley of the Kings, the burial places of the pharaohs. We had an excellent guide who was knowledgeable and enthusiastic about his
subject. Egypt has held people in her trance for thousands of years with her beauty and splendor. We have only touched the tip of what there is to see but are fascinated with our
visit. There is always too little time so back to Safaga we must go. The next leg of the journey up the Red Sea awaits. Until later . . .
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