5th December 08

Date: 5th December 08
Location: Aswan, Egypt
Weather: Sorry but clear blue skies and sunshine again, 32°c
Status: After waiting all morning we’re moving again….

Got up bright and early for breakfast to enable us to get away as quickly as we could to try and get all the way up to Hurghada on the Red Sea coast…but for some reason noone else was; we were still waiting, annoyingly enough, for people to arrive at 11am…..ARGHHHH WHY DO I BOTHER SOMETIMES!!

We started the drive out of town and headed north along the banks of the Nile being stopped at every town by police checks, this is the first week following the stopping of the age-old convoy system which has operated here in Egypt for all tourist cars and buses and it appears they are still very much set in their old ways still!

We drove north to the town of Idfu and then as the sunlight-driving-hours-only curfew would be taking effect before we hit our intended destination for the night I decided to reroute us east towards the coast as it’d be easier to find a place to camp for the night away from the tourist trail.

We drove for three hours until we hit the Red Sea coastline and after another longer police stop entered Marsa Alam, a small town centred around diving on the magnificent reefs here.

We pulled up at a little restaurant and arranged with the owner to stay the night in hs grounds providing we ate there…usual story! Had a great meal of chicken and pizza and went to bed.

End of day location: Marsa Alam, Egypt
Distance covered: 375ks