Cairo to Port Said

Day Two - Act Two

Now for the real fun. Hahahahah! Our car took us back to the hotel for 11:30, enough time for Ross to take a swim and for me to organize lunch to go(the penalty for being stupid) and buy my one and only souvenir for the entire trip: a black cat with a gold scarab and inscription on the base. We then called the ship to make sure everything as on schedule. Yes it was. We had a car (a very nice Mercedes this time) and drive booked for 1pm for the 3-hour drive to Port Said and we had asked Saied to be our driver (all was forgiven!). With some time to spare, we went up to the lounge and had some soft drinks and snacks and had on last longing look at the city.

And off we went…on schedule….all in order….all according to plan…..all organized according to Queen Victoria’s purser and manifest officer.

You know something’s up, right? But before that, a little about the drive - very dusty and mostly through industrial areas and new housing developments. As we approached the Suez Canal, the scenery became greener (canals) with farms and agriculture. Suddenly, we turned north an we were parallel to the Canal. And, then just as suddenly, there she was… the Vic floating over the farmlands. The driver stopped just by the Bridge and we took loads of photos. We had been told by Ruud, the purser, that there had been delays and that was evident by the fact that she was not first in the convoy as she should have been – there were several freighters ahead of her.

Well, off we went again, after our photo op, and arrived in Port Said. The driver, after questioning many people, finally found the correct gate………………………They would not let us in. We did not have the right visa. We had an entry visa; we needed an exit visa. Well, do I need to tell you how we felt. We had visions of a 3-hour drive back to Ciaro, begging for our room back for another night, flying to Athens, getting a hotel there and rejoining the ship on the 15th. All at a cost of…..don’t ask. We were also furious, especially as we had done everything by the book. We came equipped with the telephone number of the ship’s agent, so our driver, who never left our side, called them -in Cairo.

Eventually we got the branch office in Port Said and we were told to go to their office. Our driver was wonderful, never left our side and handled all the phone calls. I was almost in a total meltdown by the time we arrived at the office. In the meantime, we’d called the ship and told them of our dilemma. By the time we got to the office, I had the purser on my cell phone and the manifest officer was already on the line with the ship’s agent. Everyone greeted us very kindly and we started to tell our story…….Ross turned to me and said: “Let the men take care of this.” Well! In another life……. But he was right…I was surrounded by Muslim men, helloooooooooo! I’m not a feminazi and so I took the seat that was offered to me and played humble woman! Hahahahahah Just blend into the woodwork and pretend you don’t exist!!!

The agents reassured us that there was no problem and that all would be well. We drove to the police station where immigration officials are located. Another warm welcome and I sat demurely on an orange plastic chair. Everyone was so nice. The head immigration officer gave us one pound (Egyptian pounds) coins as souvenirs – beautiful with Tut’s head on one side. We got the requisite stamps in our passports and then we were off again with our agent. We went back to the gate – some backsheesh was handed over and we were in. We bade farewell to our driver whom we tipped handsomely. We walked through the terminal building and onto a little boat as we watched the Vic approach. The immigration officers appeared and off we went. They gave us quite a treat, just for fun. We went out to the ship in tandem with the pilot boat. (We had no idea what was going on!!) The pilot embarked and then we went alongside and the agent and immigration officers embarked up a wood and rope ladder. Darren, Head of Security, took one look at us and said “No, you are not getting back on this ship, laughing all the time.” Then we were taken to the Vic’s berth. Ross got to steer the boat. Everyone was waving at us from the ship. The near disaster had turned into quite an adventure and we are the talk of the ship!!!!

We waited on the dock for the Vic to tie up….we were the first on the ship. Ruud, the purser came out and we hugged him from sheer relief. Darren came down the gangway and yelled to the security officers: “No, not those two - don’t let them on!” Then it was hugs all around.

And then what did we do? Tired but with adrenaline pumping, grubby in our dusty whites, we headed straight for the Veuve Cliquot bar and ordered VC and caviar!!! We sat there and relived the events and just grinned a lot!

Everyone who had watched the boat episode came to greet us. Our heads were spinning. I ordered room service and was sound asleep by 9pm. Exhausted, but very very happy thanks to Ross. What a great guide….and he made all the right choices: hotel, car services, sites to visit, timing. It would not have been the same on an excursion.

P.S. The weather is now cool and will stay cooler as we leave the Middle East behind, but the temperature in Cairo was perfect - 70s. We were lucky.