El Andalous - Party Time!

A Get-Together in Bus Stop, Sahl Hasheesh

One thing I like about living in El Andalous is that everyone here is very sociable. In Switzerland, it’s quite hard to meet people because many of the Swiss keep themselves to themselves; I was fortunate that my last landlady in Switzerland was an exception (I must get back in touch!).

Anyway, I guess it’s a bit different over here because most are here on holiday with maybe a view to spending more time in Egypt once they reach retirement, and we’re a select group of people willing to take a risk on property in Egypt, which probably means we all have something in common.

Everyone says hello when they see you and I’ve mentioned before that I usually know a few people when I go to the beach. January has been exceptionally beautiful this year (sorry, I don’t mean to rub it in for those who are suffering from lots of snow!); unfortunately, I’ve been too busy to take full advantage.

However, I don’t know if it’s the weather, or the time of year, or just one of those phases, but we’ve had a sudden spate of parties. It all started off with a get-together in Bus Stop, the new restaurant / bar in Sahl Hasheesh. I would say about twenty of us turned up in the end; the place had probably never been so busy. Some people also came along from Sunset Pearl, which is another resort / block of flats just up the road. It was originally disguised as an owners’ meeting, but it turned out just to be a reason to socialize, eat, drink, play pool…

We have recently had a few new owners joining our ranks and one of them is a professional DJ. He was keen for us to have a party up on the rooftop and he promised to bring some equipment along. So, three days later, I spent Sunday afternoon partying on our roofop instead of snorkeling! Everybody brought along food and drink and we all shared. It started at 2pm, and at 6pm one of the other owners invited everyone to continue in their flat; I opted out at 10pm, but it was still going on by the time I left. She managed to produce vegetarian and meat chilli con carne at a moment’s notice; there’s no way my flat would either be tidy enough or with enough food in stock for me to be able to make such a spontaneous offer. Fortunately I wasn’t hungover the next day, although quite a few people were!

And then the following week it was Stephen’s birthday, so again a large group of people were invited round to celebrate. Food was stacked high, cocktails were flowing, and the chatter got louder as the evening went on. The Russian neighbours made a string of balloons and each balloon contained a “wish” for the year ahead for the birthday boy – it was something I’d never heard of before, but it was a lovely idea.

The best thing about parties over here is that we are all living in the same block, so going home means walking down the stairs and along the corridor. It couldn’t really be easier and it’s almost like we’re re-living student life again.