28th April Hurghada, Gulf of Suez

A long 663km drive today though the last 200kms was on a good road with no traffic. In fact the roads here in Egypt have been very good overall and I’m even working out the ways of the Egyptian drivers and what it means when they use their indicators. When they indicate it usually means they are staying in the lane they are indicating but not always. Occasionally it means they are actually turning in the direction indicated. I now think driving in Cairo in the late afternoon rush hour would beat the worst of the Indian experiences. We have seen cars side swiping each other, a taxi we were in was rammed from the rear and today we counted 5 accidents on the road. That’s apart from the many close calls.
Tonight we are camped on the edge of the Gulf of Suez with the city of Hurghada in the distance. We went looking for a place near the water and came upon this family that were out for the day. After drinking their tea and eating their dolmades and cabbage rolls they arranged with a nearby security bloke for us to stay the night here. We paid him 20EP ($4) and have to flash our lights in his direction if we get attacked during the night. He lives in a hut nearby. Sounds like a good scheme as long as Akmed stays awake all night which I doubt.
I thought this was a new area for me then remembered when we left Luxor 42 years ago Neil & Jenni caught the train back to Cairo while I hitch hiked along this road. It was a night trip in trucks, arriving in Cairo in the early hours of the morning. I now am seeing what I missed. In fact the water along this stretch is beautifully clear with good diving. A couple of the family members whom we met are coming back tonight to do some craying. He showed us some photos of the monsters he has caught recently.
Later
I needn’t have worried about Akmed not keeping an eye on us: he spent the night sleeping in the sand a few metres from the van with his trusty dog. We met his wife in the morning.
Now in Luxor where I can post these. The last 250kms of the journey this morning was as part of a police convoy that numbered about 20 vehicles. They travelled at a good speed though.