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Egypt (first part)


I go down to find Loïc which waits to me now on the lower floor.
To the sound of the foghorn, all the ferry returns suddenly in an intense boiling. The passenger becomes a sleepwalker is delirious about it, automatically advancing towards his objective to reach without worrying to hustle his neighbor. Our is simple: to leave Adrienne the calle of the boat and to go to the tourist police force in order to be made record as soon as possible.
It was without counting that we had just posed the foot on the African ground. The passage of the Egyptian customs is new, without common measurement with all that we had already lived before. We unload boat the 1ier September at the evening with 23h00, and set out again the following day September 2 with 14h00 of the station. Not less than 15 hours of waiting and steps in any kind are necessary to obtain a poor wretch provisional plate number. We sleep forced constrained under the hall of the step lost to listen to the last innovations of Fayrouz, the Lebanese diva.
It is the beginning of Africa...

All these administrative annoyances fortunately quickly are forgotten in Dhahab (1 night), said the city of the delayed 68tards!
Adrienne stops all bringuebalante in front of the "Speed bar" to be restored. With the menu of the day, crimson chopped steak and quite fatty chips.
On top, Mined, a copte makes us share his passion for the diving under navy. As a welcome in its country it takes us along to discover, armed with a tuba and palms, marvellous sea-beds of the Red Sea... In Dhahab always, we meet by largest of the chances our German family of the ferry-boat, which proposes to us to pass on their premises to Alexandria. They are professors in German school. It is decided us to Alexandria will spend a few days after Cairo.

Pressed by the calendar we leave Dhahab on the hats of wheel, direction the capital. We pour a small tear on these beautiful fine sand beaches. Snif not time to benefit from it. These two days spent to the paradise will have almost made us forget that Adrienne always suffers from terrible evils to the belly. Also, an hour hardly after having left Dhahab, Adrienne stops after having discharged a large prout. Outside, it makes one night black, around us nothing, only of the stone and sand. This hostile environment however does not dismount us, and, taking our courage with two hands, we trifouillons in the engine, flashlight with the fist. A bus stops. The driver, a true black of Nubie, in fate with these words "ahhh 2 CV, all the same ones!"
"But from which it leaves that there!?"
It does not matter, it is already on-site helping Loïc to make the turn of the engine. I try to start again the car. Was this can be quite simply a blow of heat? Bingo, it starts again with the quarter of turn. We push large a ouf relief.
The large breakdown is not for this time... the prospect to camp there on the roadside in full desert with thousand place of a heart which lives with a car in roads hardly delighted us...
On his dash of kindness, the driver proposes to escort us to the doors of the prestigious balneal city of Sharm-el-Sheikh (70 km from there). We accept with joy this tended hand. During the way, Loïc succeeds in diagnosing the problems of the car. It would be the alternator which does not provide enough any more of electricity to the battery. At once known as made at once, Adrienne starts again to make a series of odd "gases". I extinguish the headlights it advances, I light them it starts again with péter to stop...
We are thus obliged to make an entry all fires extinguished in Sharm-el-Sheikh. What is still funny downtown, becomes more complex outwards especially without street lighting to show the way to us.
"One continues asks me Loïc?"
"Well on one continues you do not believe all the same that..."
At this time there, I see Loïc leaving the head light the door and making mine leave the head by the window to light the road. One looks at the half smile mutually, the air of saying, "not one cannot, they are not serious..." one laughs of more beautiful with the idea to lead kind. Without wondering as good old days more if mom will be content where not, we trace our road with opened tomb, armed for only lighting with this vulgar head light held bravely by Loïc the head out of the car.
Outside, always these same mountains desiccated by the winds and sun. One would say "freeze-dried" so much they seem arid and without life. We will roll, thus, 35 minutes during, glad to finally be able to make the clowns.
We stop to spend the night in a dispensary of countryside, in any case Adrienne is not able more to make an additional turn of wheel. Two police officers and two male nurses offer hospitality to us. Before sleeping, they serve the tea, Loïc leaves its narguilé, we speak about Egypt and France....
The next morning we try but in vain to start again the car. Even helped by the male nurses and the police officers, Adrienne wants nothing to hear. It categorically refuses to start. In the horizon, as attracted by scrap with the anguish, a bird of ill omen appears. We know that the sight of such a vulture means in light, nondesired expenditure, nor budgeted for. Adrienne does not leave us the choice and our hosts do not seem any more to want to help us to push it under this extreme sun. Enough curiously, the break-down mechanic agrees to tractor draw us on 100 meter, to see just enough whether with a little more speed Adrienne starts.

Loïc makes him signs of going gently to starting. Adrienne is old and the hooks of traction are shaking.
"Khallas Khallas shouts us" (What wants to say OK not problem)
We are not whom half has relieved.
Ca "CRACKS" is there, it is made. This simpleton will have finally succeeded in tearing off us the ring of traction of the frame, while starting like rough. We pestons internally not letting anything show through. We had asked him to render service to us, well badly took us.
Badgered by its arguments, as what we will die under the sun if we remain there, we accept its top spin to join a city located at 75 km, between Sharm-el-Sheikh and Suez. Cost of displacement 20 euro, average wages of an Egyptian per month 60 euro... No how.
We climb with the back of the truck, because the cabin of the breakdown truck is too small to receive 4 people. Ca makes us odd roll with Adrienne without rolling...
Arrived at the city in question, it leads us at one of his friends mechanic.
"It is Friday says us it, you will not find anybody here other". The streets indeed deserted, are swept by a sandstorm. We accept for want of anything better with this small presentiment that the things will be spoiled.
His/her friend proposes to put the cables to try to start the car. He descends Adrienne from the breakdown truck and comes to position his truck beside our battery because the wire are too short. But, in its operation, it strikes our car and inserts the tire postpones right. There all goes very quickly. Loïc ignites and leaves the large cinema while shouting like one pestiféré, me on my side, without reflecting too much why, I make a good on the hand of the break-down mechanic with whom I was paying the top spin. On the 150 pounds I recover of them finally 50. A furious discussion begins then between them and us. They want to recover the money pretexting that well on the car nothing has, we especially want that they do not help us any more, too it too is, and it is out of question which we return the money. We are with two fingers to come from there to the hands when the situation is calmed as by miracle. Five minutes after we let us drink a tea sitting together like old accomplices. It is like that in Egypt, even at the edge of a bloody crisis the tea always finds its place... Finally, they even to us will deposit in truth a garage where two young technicians give us from new coals in the alternator. We benefit from their snack to eat a little. Not having changed enough pounds to the customs, we run after the economies and all the occasions are good. Old truck-drivers, completely stone proposes bangs to us... one nicely makes him understand that we are not really in the same trip that him... the car starts as if it were new, we jump of joy... Suez Canal opens the way of Cairo to us.
Our entry in the capital is epic. It grouille of world, between 12 to 18 authority, inhabitant million does not know too well.
We will spend 9 days in Doctor Anas (Egyptian) and his son Wallid (free-Egyptian). They us nicely lent a room and an access Internet so that we spend 9 days stuck to our computer in order to update the site.
The pyramids will await they also our honeymoon to see us.

Newspaper from September the 2sd to 14, 2003 by Geoffroy

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