Eritrea is poor, unbelievably poor
And it still shows the pockmarks of war
Supplies are all short here (you can't get a beer)
There were other collapse signs we saw.
We thought the Red Sea would be dusty
With unpleasant head winds, we'd heard
But the wind has been kind (we are sailing today)
And the snorkeling here is superb.
Last night we ate grilled Spanish mackerel
Provided by Gone with the Wind
Our chef has been told she must be on her toes
Will our tuna pass muster, if tinned?
It does, and our cook wins another chef's hat
For the Long Island barbeque
As we sail north into Suakin
The channel shows four shades of blue.
If Eritrea is poor the Sudan is abject
The streets are not even paved
There's rubble and garbage piles everywhere
But the donkeys are well behaved.
And the market is crammed with colourful stalls
Fruit and veges and grains and bread
The donkeys draw carts and goats trot about
They all look well enough fed.
We set off today for an overnight sail
Reef Fendera's the goal to attack
But the wind comes up hard so we come back inside
To the shelter of Marsa Salak.
Now we creep up the coast with the wind on the nose
To the small Taila sandy cays
The water shows blue against white sandy spits
With this wind we might stay here for days.
We now are believers: it blows from the north
We bash up against it all day
But we find some good shelter at Khor Shinab
And in time to get off and play.
We talk to the local fishermen
We're able to get fresh fish and prawns
In return we've given them medicines
And a mask (because their's was torn).
The Khor Shinab sand dunes come down to the sea
It's secure, if dusty, protection
We climb up the quoin behind the boats
We're quite pleased with this selection.
We make it today to the Elba Reef
There are dolphins and snorkeling here
Susie calls down to them and they call right back
"Feel Free": their message is clear.
We're hoping like mad for a weather break
To get further north to Hurghada
This constant wind from the north every day
Is making the sailing much harder.
The break now emerges so off we go
On a double overnighter
So far, so good: it's fairly calm
And our prospects are looking brighter.
We soaked up some sights of old Cairo
The citadel, mosques and bazaar
The chaotic Egyptian museum
(Tutankhamen was best by far).
We gaped at the Giza pyramids
Had a felucca ride on the Nile
We drank tea at El Fishawi's
Ate in Alexandrian style.
Then we Nile cruised from Aswan to Luxor
Ancient Egypt is on full display
Learned to deal with the cursed baksheesh
How much and when to pay.
Now we're heading off north from Hurghada
The Gulf of Suez is near
There's a forecast of fairly good weather
But you cannot rely on that here.
We've reached Port Suez this morning
(After radar failure last night)
There are oil rigs galore off the coast here
And a couple gave Susie a fright.
Now we're motoring along the Suez canal
Shaban is our pilot today
We may make it to Cyprus in two days time
We're now in the mood to play.
Now it's three days time, for the army
In it's own inimitable way
Has taken over the Suez Canal
So we can't move again today.
It turns out the problem is U.S. warships
But we're now underway to Port Said
We're coming close to the playground now
We're about to pop into the Med.
MAY 2008
And it still shows the pockmarks of war
Supplies are all short here (you can't get a beer)
There were other collapse signs we saw.
We thought the Red Sea would be dusty
With unpleasant head winds, we'd heard
But the wind has been kind (we are sailing today)
And the snorkeling here is superb.
Last night we ate grilled Spanish mackerel
Provided by Gone with the Wind
Our chef has been told she must be on her toes
Will our tuna pass muster, if tinned?
It does, and our cook wins another chef's hat
For the Long Island barbeque
As we sail north into Suakin
The channel shows four shades of blue.
If Eritrea is poor the Sudan is abject
The streets are not even paved
There's rubble and garbage piles everywhere
But the donkeys are well behaved.
And the market is crammed with colourful stalls
Fruit and veges and grains and bread
The donkeys draw carts and goats trot about
They all look well enough fed.
We set off today for an overnight sail
Reef Fendera's the goal to attack
But the wind comes up hard so we come back inside
To the shelter of Marsa Salak.
Now we creep up the coast with the wind on the nose
To the small Taila sandy cays
The water shows blue against white sandy spits
With this wind we might stay here for days.
We now are believers: it blows from the north
We bash up against it all day
But we find some good shelter at Khor Shinab
And in time to get off and play.
We talk to the local fishermen
We're able to get fresh fish and prawns
In return we've given them medicines
And a mask (because their's was torn).
The Khor Shinab sand dunes come down to the sea
It's secure, if dusty, protection
We climb up the quoin behind the boats
We're quite pleased with this selection.
We make it today to the Elba Reef
There are dolphins and snorkeling here
Susie calls down to them and they call right back
"Feel Free": their message is clear.
We're hoping like mad for a weather break
To get further north to Hurghada
This constant wind from the north every day
Is making the sailing much harder.
The break now emerges so off we go
On a double overnighter
So far, so good: it's fairly calm
And our prospects are looking brighter.
We soaked up some sights of old Cairo
The citadel, mosques and bazaar
The chaotic Egyptian museum
(Tutankhamen was best by far).
We gaped at the Giza pyramids
Had a felucca ride on the Nile
We drank tea at El Fishawi's
Ate in Alexandrian style.
Then we Nile cruised from Aswan to Luxor
Ancient Egypt is on full display
Learned to deal with the cursed baksheesh
How much and when to pay.
Now we're heading off north from Hurghada
The Gulf of Suez is near
There's a forecast of fairly good weather
But you cannot rely on that here.
We've reached Port Suez this morning
(After radar failure last night)
There are oil rigs galore off the coast here
And a couple gave Susie a fright.
Now we're motoring along the Suez canal
Shaban is our pilot today
We may make it to Cyprus in two days time
We're now in the mood to play.
Now it's three days time, for the army
In it's own inimitable way
Has taken over the Suez Canal
So we can't move again today.
It turns out the problem is U.S. warships
But we're now underway to Port Said
We're coming close to the playground now
We're about to pop into the Med.
MAY 2008
