Less than 22 hours, not that anyone is counting

So here we are, in Egypt. Specifically, we are comfortably secured and all things American in our stateroom on a cruise ship in Alexandria, Egypt. But the fact remains we are in Egypt and we survived our first day here.

Rob and I have both been a bit apprehensive about today and tomorrow since we booked this trip last fall. We will be much more settled and breathing deeper in less than 24 hours. Yes, we chose to come here, and yes, we (well, I) wanted to see this part of the world if only briefly. But with things heating up politically in this part of the world, and with one port stop already nixed (sorry, Port Said), we will be happy to be able to say, “Been there, done that, now show me a Greek island.”

We arrived in port a little after lunch today and spent the afternoon on a bus touring around Alexandria. We got off and walked around some old catacombs (creepy), a 99 foot pillar built in ancient times and named after Pompey even though it wasn’t built for him (a general who was fighting to become Emperor but lost), and the rather impressive Library of Alexandria which has quite a collection of books and artifacts and, reportedly, a rather rocking website. We’ll find out when we are home and aren’t paying for internet access by the minute.

As for the historical notes and dates and such of where we visited today, I have to admit that I didn’t retain much. I was too overwhelmed by being here and taking in all the sensory input of Alexandria. So far, I’m not really a big fan of Egypt.

First of all, the place is LOUD. Even as we were arriving in port today, I was struck by all the noise. Yes, it’s a real, working port with containers and cranes and such but really, were all the sirens and horns necessary? We had one little boat circling us repeatedly for about a half hour, running what sounded like a police siren. Then there were horns from other boats. And announcements from the dock. And then at noon, a call to prayer over a huge sound system throughout the port and city. That would have been much more moving had all the other noises ceased for a bit.

In Alexandria itself, it wasn’t any better. Car horns, sirens, what I decided to believe were firecrackers (although I didn’t see any starbursts), loud music out of windows that were open due to the heat and humidity. As we arrived back at our ship, I realized one reason why I kept hearing sirens: our bus was in a caravan of four tour busses being lead and followed by a police escort…who really liked to use their authoritative sirens.

Yep, we had a police escort. And several men who looked like the Egyptian version of the FBI accompanying us. They were tall and were dressed in suits and sunglasses and glanced around a lot. And they all seemed a little lumpy on the right side of their waists.

Driving around town, both Rob and I had a hard time seeing what we were seeing. We saw dirt and trash and filth and difficult living conditions. Streets were piled with heaps of trash and rubble. What looked like items that had been put on the curb for trash day were actually furniture and household goods and car parts for sale. Feral cats were all over the place. Men sat in rickety chairs on the crumbly sidewalks, smoking tobacco (illegal hash in their homes, we were told) through water pipes, watching a soccer game on TV. Women in head scarves and long gowns or long pants and sleeves shopped with their children. Laundry was hanging outside to dry as dirt from the road was kicked up on it making me wonder if clothes are ever really clean here.

As yet in the midst of this third world existence that was difficult for first world eyes to take in, the people waved. Waved and smiled and blew kisses. They seemed so happy to see us, our four tour busses flanked by police cars. As eye contact was made through the bus windows, I realized some of the people were genuinely happy to see us, some were leering, and some saw us as huge dollar signs.

We were warned that shop vendors might be aggressive. And they sort of are, although they do seem to take a stern “NO!” as an end to the conversation. We’ll see what tomorrow brings. But I have already completed all the souvenir shopping I wanted to do, which is a huge relief to Rob whom I am so grateful has been in charge of handling all financial transactions on this trip (I’m in charge of all the other paper, like tour tickets and passports and boarding passes and such). We’ve been warned about pickpockets and the need to haggle and the questionable quality of some items. Needless to say, not a lot of souvenirs are coming home with us from Egypt.

Tomorrow is our Big Day. The one we’ve been anticipating with both excitement and trepidation. We are scheduled to meet our tour in a lounge at 5:45am tomorrow morning and will return shortly before the ship leaves port at 6:30pm. I am thankful to say my physical self seems as ready as it can be. My mental self is a little more at ease with having survived today. Rob is still on the fence and quietly counting the hours until we leave port. If all goes according to plan, tomorrow we will see the Nile River and the pyramids. Stay tuned!