The ship had stayed overnight in Sharm el Sheikh and after two long days at Luxor and then St Catherine’s Monastery I was relieved that the 4x4 Desert Drive and Bedouin Lunch shore tour I had planned for yesterday had been cancelled due to lack of interest. We left in the early afternoon of the 14th March for the short cruise up to the tip of the Red Sea to begin our transit of the Suez Canal first thing this morning.
I heard, and felt, every link in the anchor chain at 3.00am this morning as we moored up to await our convoy and enter the Canal. I should have realised when the anchor was pulled at 4.30am that we were about to begin our transit but I didn’t rouse myself until 5.45am by which time we were some way into the Canal. Entry, however, is not like the Panama Canal, there are no locks on the Suez Canal and those who did witness our entry said that it was not very dramatic.
The visibility on deck was in fact very poor with a strong wind blowing from the east creating a sandstorm that made getting photos problematic, as you will see.
I'm not sure if these are petrol or water tankers waiting to cross at the southern end of the canal. They might be the tankers supping the Gaza Strip – see later postings.
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