Day one - Egypt (sleep, food, and driving)

June 23
Today, after our so-called nap (not an actual true night’s sleep) we woke up at 8am for breakfast in our hotel. Down 4 flights of stairs, in an elevator that had a maximum capacity of 5 people allowed, and across the lobby was the quaint little dining hall. I think they prepared a special meal for us… because I saw the locals eating what looked like some sort of bean mixture and of course with flat bread to dip. No utensils, just tiny napkins. On the contrary, our meal was a scrambled egg “pie” that was cut in the same manner – it was double layered, along with flat bread, fig jam, butter, and cheese. Completely edible (for me that is)! Not to be rude, but the cheese was very salty and almost crumbly. Can I say that I wasn’t a big fan of the cheese? Needless to say, Adam’s love for cheese grows stronger while we are here.

After Breakfast, another quick nap - maybe more mini that quick, then off to the lobby with our luggage. Maximum efficiency in the elevator was two people and two suitcases. It was crazy confined though. By this time it’s 11am locally and we’ve been in this country for a total of 8 hours. We headed off to our next destination... we were picked up in a big casino-sized tour bus, loaded our luggage below and off we went. I need to talk about the craziness that people endure everyday with regard to Egyptian commuting. Let me preface this by saying I thought the drivers in Japan were insane, mainly because they drive “offensively”, not defensively. Meaning they change lanes when they want to and you better be the one watching out!

Where do I start? I guess I can say I’ll never complain about our traffic in San Diego (in comparison to Egypt). I understand, fully, why the cars are more narrow here than anywhere else I‘ve been. Painted lanes on the roads are only suggestions. Drivers hover over them and constantly squeeze in an additional lane that shouldn’t exist! Folks drive here with one hand “at-the-ready” to lay on the horn! They use the horn to let others know they are trying to get into another’s lane (courteous pre-cutting someone off) and to notify fellow drivers to get a move on (stop blocking traffic). Do they use seatbelts? Absolutely not! I even saw a child that looked to be 6 years old on the lap of an adult man in the passenger seat. Did I mention that no one or anything was in the backseat? Helmets are also a rarity for those that ride motor-bikes. I’ve see tandem riders and not in the typical fashion that Americans ride double. The driver rides “normal”, but the passenger “dangles” off to one side. Can you say dangerous? Or life support?

So far we’ve made all our destinations in one piece… well 9 pieces actually. Thank you for your prayers of safety, they are being answered!

-Tiffany