israel

after a short and pleasant 24 hour sail we arrived in israel just a day before their independence day. entrance into this country was a bit different from any other place we have visited before. they have strict security measures in place and the navy monitored our every movement as far as 40 miles from their shores. we maintained constant radio contact and they escorted us into the marina with a big navy ship loaded with a gun pointed at us; but we must admit they were at all times very polite and welcoming. once settled in the gorgeous marina at herzliya we joined in their 63rd independence day celebrations. we met our very special neighbors from s/v nirvana who gave us t-shirts from the regatta and flags. we blended right in and celebrated with them.



we also went around the entire complex with a shopping center, fancy stores and delicious restaurants and enjoyed the beautiful show of the regatta and the air show courtesy of the israeli air force acrobat planes flying over the mediterranean sea. it was a joyful and beautiful day, at least for some; as for the palestinians it is known as a date for mourning (they call the creation of israel the "naqba" which means catastrophe in arabic).



learning of the history of this country and the struggle of those who live here was very appealing to us. the conflicts of culture and religion are visible everywhere. the military planes fly constantly and there are security measures on land like check points in all public places, not to mention restrictions and walls between israel and their neighbor countries and palestine territories.

we learned a lot from visiting this wonderful place but still leave without understanding many of the intricacies of their problems. it is amazing how the israelis have managed to build such an amazing and developed country in the midst of all the conflicts and of course the dessert. i absolutely loved israel and was pleasantly impressed with everything i saw.

suez canal

20000 ships go through the suez canal each year. This year we were one of those and part of a very small group of sailboats that crossed. The total length of the canal is 162 kilometers. It starts in the city of suez. We left this city around noon with a pilot and covered the first 81 kilometers until the middle lakes into the city of ismalia. Here all small boats are required to spend the night. we actually spent 3 nights and took a train to Alexandria and later a bus to cairo. Upon returning we picked up another pilot and we covered the remainder 81 kilometers until port said in the Mediterranean. Here we dropped the pilot and slept one night out of the canal right in the med, very exposed to wind and swell. This was the most rolly night ever…. And to top it off it was very cold. But we were happy to have crossed the suez and be in the med.

The canal is pretty simple. There are no locks and it is a long stretch of water marked by a marker every kilometer and with sand dunes left and right for the most part of the journey. Upon arriving in the south tip we were required to hire an agent which was of course not the greatest experience. they overcharge and the service is pretty substandard. Everyone that we came across asked for the baksheesh which is part of the everyday life in Egypt. It is simply a tip but whenever you give it, no matter how much it is, it will start an argument that is too little and they always want more… we played the game as required and tried to be patient throughout. We did have what we think was the only exception to this rule. Our pilot for the last leg was quiet, polite and after receiving the baksheesh he did not even look at it but simply put it away and thanked us. we were very surprised and happy to have met him and have had him on board.

There are three separate convoys of ships transiting the canal. One northbound in the morning and two southbound in the afternoon. The canal is open every day except when there is a warship crossing; and in this case it is reserved for only that one vessel. Small boats like ours are allowed to transit during daylight hours only and go next to the big ships. It is pretty amazing to see the big guys perfectly lined up going through the canal.

Sailboats are not allowed to sail so we had to motor all the way. we did pull out the genoa briefly to help the speed but this is technically not allowed. In our case our pilot asked that we do so to go faster. The experience was interesting and we enjoyed the view and the conversations with the two pilots we had on board. the marinas at suez and ismalia were very pleasant, and except for our agent our crossing experience was an enjoyable one.

cairo

after alexandria we took another train to cairo. this time we got ourselves in a first class car, not wanting to experience the hard third class trains of egypt ever again. we arrived at the central station in cairo and witnessed the most chaotic traffic of the trip so far.


from there we took the metro and then decided to go to look for a hotel in zamalek which is a beautiful residential neighborhood with upscale shops and amazing houses where all the foreign ambassadors live. This neighborhood was definitely the highlight of our trip we walked endlessly through beautiful streets avoiding the crazy traffic of cairo and had a relaxing weekend strolling around, seeing the great boutiques, art galleries, eating at delicious restaurants, and acting like residents of this place more than tourists.
esteban got a badly needed hair cut in one of the local hair saloons. We loved the hotel we stayed at and the quietness of this area of the city.










of course we also visited the museum and the pyramids and the sphinx; a must for all tourist in this place of the world. and of course we thought they were amazing. surprisingly the tourism that day was very low and we enjoyed the pyramids plateau almost all to ourselves. at the end of our short stay we took a brand new bus back to ismalia and continued our canal crossing towards port said and the Mediterranean sea.

alexandria

during our transit through the suez canal and more specifically our stop in ismalia, in the middle of the transit, we decided to take a train and travel to alexandria and cairo. the train was in itself an experience. going to alexandria we took the cheapest possible train and only one available. the total price was 2 dollars per person for over this 5 hour trip and we stopped everywhere. the view was exceptional and educational inside and out. inside we watched the people and talked to some of them, all very friendly and practicing their few words of english with us. outside we watched astonished the garbage all around. to us egypt was like india, dirty all around; very sad.

once we arrived in alexandria on the mediterranean coast, we walked around the city center, had delicious food and found ourselves a nice little hotel with the most fantastic view of the harbor. we enjoyed cable TV with hundreds of channels; definitely a novelty for us. we must have watched 4 movies during our stay. we also visited the catacombs, and the famous bibliotheque, built where the ancient one once was. we walked all around to enjoy the shops and very good food. it was a good break and a good doze of civilization and busy city life.