(^24) I read the wind farms of Zaafarana and El-Tur were the windiest stations in Egypt.
I surmised something like that!
Zaafarana – Desert Camp – 84 km
I was long-lipped getting on the bike, but the day held a surprise in meeting the
Tour D’Afrique riders heading in the opposite direction and flying south powered by
a tailwind. Wimpy, Errol and Thor, from my 2005 tour, were still with the tour, and
it was super awesome seeing them. As soon as the road reached Sukhna, a
surprise awaited. The Cairo road turned onto the new highway heading west and
thus brought a tailwind.
Grinning from ear to ear we proceeded a few more kilometres before pitching the
tents, hoping the wind direction wouldn’t change during the night. That night, I
made sure to toast the wind and performed a little wind dance.
Desert Camp – Cairo – 130 km
The breeze was still in our favour the next morning, and I thought I should be
named the next Modjadji. Packing up was at the speed of light before the breeze
could change direction.
Cairo was reached after 130 kilometres and in rush hour traffic. No one wants to
be in Cairo with its 9.5 million inhabitants in rush hour traffic, especially not by
bicycle. It took ducking and diving through the horrendous traffic before
miraculously arriving downtown.
Being already late, the first budget hotel spotted had to do. So, following a quick
shower, we took off to a popular beer joint, which Ernest rightly deserved on
reaching one of his primary goals. Still, I didn’t think his celebrations would last an
entire week, but that’s Ernie!
Our days were spent trying to obtain visas to Europe, but it was a waste of time as
one had to apply in your home country. The next challenge was extending our
Egyptian visas, an arduous task. Finally, after filling in many forms and being
shunted from office to office, we were informed the process took ten days. Phew.
leana
(Leana)
#1