El Andalous - The Weather (and Mosquitoes, Again)

One of my Nastier Bites!

We had a bit of a heat wave when I first got back. At first, I was surprised at how hot I felt and I wondered whether I needed to (or even could) adjust back to the heat, but then when I passed one of the Egyptians on the way to the beach, he commented that it was hot (I don’t think he was trying to be funny). That’s when I knew it really must be hot and it wasn’t just me.

By “hot”, I mean instead of low 30s, it was low 40s. It’s a dry heat here, so actually it could be worse. Moreover, since it was still only Spring at that point (this was in late April / early May), the evenings were cooler. It was manageable and it helped the sea to warm up nice and quickly. The water was noticeably warmer within a period of two weeks; everybody was commenting on it. Therefore, if you are thinking of coming over for sea activities, I’d say come in late April or May rather than early April. You can still swim all year round, though. I’m just being picky these days.

It is kind of strange, though, having a heatwave in Egypt. In Europe, a heatwave basically just means that we're having good weather for a change. One day, it's cloudy and rainy and not so warm. The next day, the sky is blue, it’s not raining, and it’s summer, so it’s hot. It’s all quite logical. In Egypt, you wake up and you look out of the window. You see the blue sky, watch the palm leaves sway in the breeze, observe the cacti standing upright in the bright sunshine. Everything is just how it always is. But you take one step outside and you're blanketed in air that is ten degrees hotter than the day before. Why? What’s changed? It's completely unexpected. There’s no obvious logic to it (obviously, there is, but it’s not something you can see as an ordinary person just getting up in the morning).

Anyway, it was still fine to be on the beach as long as I kept in the shade, where it’s considerably cooler. There’s often a gentle, barely noticeable breeze, which also helps. All I’m doing on the beach is reading, so I’m not exactly exerting myself, so no sweat (literally). But another thing that I found quite bizarre was that, although I spent all my time in the shade (apart from when swimming), my skin very quickly tanned again. Within a fortnight, it looked as if I’d never been away from Egypt.

I remember when I first arrived here, it took quite a while for my skin to change colour (I had the broken foot and was in the shade of my balcony most of the time) – when I returned to Europe, several people remarked at how white I still was. This time, I’m as brown now as I was when I left after 18 months. I don’t know if maybe my skin has adapted (clever skin!)?

I’d totally forgotten that this climate encourages mosquitoes. If I’d ever built up any tolerance (last blog on this was 25 May 2015: Sahl Hasheesh - Mosquitoes, so this must be mosquito season), it has certainly completely worn off now. Even my mosquito repellent (“Off” spray) is only able to do so much. I’ve been bitten on my lip, by the side of my eye, in the middle of my back where I can’t reach, on the top of my head, under the hair behind my ear, all across the neckline where my hair is. I’ve even been bitten in my nether region. You name it, if I can’t spray mosquito repellent there, that’s where I will be bitten.

I can’t even put antihistamine cream in these places! Well, I did try, but it gunged up my hair and my eye stung, which is all fairly predictable. The gunged-up hair was actually worth the relief in itching; whereas the stinging eye was worse than having it merely itch and I had to wash off the antihistamine straight away. But it was worth a go. And, sometimes, of course, I simply haven’t used the deterrent or have forgotten to reapply it and then it’s a free run for the mosquitoes.

I might try the vitamin B complex again, although I don’t think it worked last time.

However, I have been given a new and wonderful tip – apparently camel milk is supposed to deter mosquitoes. Yes, camel milk – how cool is that?! I’ve only used it twice so far, but I haven’t been bitten on either occasion. Coincidence? Maybe. If it works, it will be great. The camel milk that I have is scented with Lotus Flower (so the scent doesn’t seem to stop it from working; rose was another option). It’s a lovely smell and the essence of Lotus Flower is associated with eternal youth. In addition, camel milk is a great moisturizer and was allegedly at least in part responsible for Cleopatra’s legendary beauty. So, I may not only become bite-free, I may also transform into an Egyptian goddess. I live in eternal hope!