El Andalous - Back in the Sea

Longfin Spadefish

Well, I can’t really not have a sea-swimming blog while I’m over here! I was back swimming in the sea after about 5 days after my arrival, so the sea warmed up more quickly than I thought it would (or the coldness really was in part tiredness on my first day). Now that I’ve been here almost four weeks, I’d say it’s about the temperature I was expecting it to be when I first arrived. It’s really quite warm; a bit cold when you first get in, but I can get in straight away without any drama; my guess would be that it’s around 26 degrees .

We’ve had a heatwave since about Tuesday and I think it will last until I leave. This means temperatures of around 40 degrees here and over 50 degrees in Cairo. Here, it’s quite manageable as long as you sit in the shade. Temperatures at night are around 31 degrees, but I’m sleeping well (with my fan on).

I’ve had to change my swimming direction, since the route I like to swim is currently blocked with jellyfish. When I tried going in that direction, I could have sworn that the jellyfish were all ganging up on me. One seemed to cling to my armpit, they kept on banging into my face, and if I swung to a different direction, they just seemed to follow me. I didn’t think they stung, but after a few days I had a swollen lip and a swollen nose with what looked a bit like bites, and I think that was from the jellyfish. It didn’t hurt at the time; it was just very annoying and constantly alarming as they magically drifted right towards me as if I were some kind of magnet.

Maybe I’m attractive to fish? Maybe they think I’m a big superior fish to be adulated? When I swim in the other direction and look at all the fish hovering underneath the old dock, the rudderfish also make a beeline for me. Normally, I like being among the fish, but these ones zoom right towards me at high speed and it’s quite scary, even though they are small. It’s like a game of chicken as at the last minute they always divert round me, and then swim back and do it all over again. I try splashing about a bit to try to deter them, but they still persist. I’m not sure if they are expecting food (since if I swim away, they seem to follow me fairly placidly as if I’m one of their shoal, so it doesn’t seem that they are warning me away, but maybe they are and they are just seeing me of their premises) or what it’s all about.

The other fish are more placid. At the moment, we have some beautiful longfin spadefish (also known as batfish, see photo) hovering under the old pier. I’ve never seen them before, so it’s always a treat to watch them (they don’t really do much).

I also saw a huge turtle maneuvering itself to grab hold of the coral and bite a chunk off. I have a tendency to blame the tourists for broken coral, but the parrotfish and, apparently, turtles, are also guilty. I went over once to the Tropitel to snorkel there, but they’ve now cordoned off their reef so that you can’t get too close to the coral. I guess this is good as some of the tourists did used to stand on it, despite warning whistles from the guard, but it’s a shame as you can’t get such a good view any more. Still, it’s good to see they are trying to protect their underwater heritage.

As for my swimming, I was quite pleased as my speed in the open water seems to have got a bit faster since I was last here; however, I got someone to take a video of me in our swimming pool and I posted it on a swimming forum for some expert advice on my stroke. After that, while I’ve been trying to correct my stroke further, my speed has once again gone right down and is now worse than it was before, presumably because I'm struggling to do it correctly. I will just have to keep the faith that in the end, it will indeed help.

El Andalous - Getting Sorted

El Andalous Beach

The day I arrived back was also the day when our free bus runs to Senzo Mall. It’s good timing for me as I can then get my internet sim and my phone sim on the day I arrive without having to do a detour with the taxi on my way back from the airport. Having said that, you can actually get sim cards now at the airport, but I’m not sure the deals are available.

This time, I was in any case going to re-use my last internet sim card that I’d given to Nicole when I last left so that she could use the remaining credit while I was away. Even if the credit had expired, reusing the sim might save me the expense of getting a new card. I popped round to Nicole’s to collect it, we had a brief catch up (but I was itching to go to the beach), and we agreed that I’d get the maximum possible credit on the sim and then she’d pay me for it and she’d use the excess again once I’d left.

It’s not always easy to know what deals are available. However, the guy at the etisalat kiosk knows me now (as does the guy at the KFC) and he always gives me good service. However, the systems are fairly slow; it can take up to 30 minutes, if not more, to get the contract, get the card activated, have your passport photocopied, and wait for the computer system to accept all the details and spit out the receipt. The delay mostly seems to be with the computer systems, which is perhaps not a good advertisement. Added to that, there is also almost always a queue.

It was no different this time. I’m pretty sure I ended up with a new sim card after all that, but to my delight, I got a two-for-one offer meaning that I got 150GB of data lasting over 6 months. When there’s so much data as credit, it’s almost like having broadband, because I really don’t need to worry each month about whether my usage limit is almost up.

I use the internet to stream UK TV, so it’s always difficult to ascertain just how many gigabytes I need each month. Anything I watch on YouTube also adds up (I go through phases where I incessantly watch swimming videos). If you’ve only ever used broadband, you have no idea how lucky you are to be able to use the internet without a second thought.

Purchasing my internet was a bit fraught because, as usual, we got so far in the process of purchasing the internet sim only for him to inform me that I needed to come back in 30 minutes because the system would take that long to do it. This is OK if you have unlimited time, but I only have 90 minutes at the mall as the bus leaves again at 9pm sharp, and my first 30 minutes is usually spent in the KFC (which takes priority).

For some reason, I always get my phone sim at Vodafone rather than etisalat, and this time Vodafone was surprisingly empty, so I dashed in, thinking it wouldn’t take too long and it would be a good way to spend those 30 minutes. However, it seemed to take for ages.

First of all, the guy servicing me was helping the colleague to his left who was having problems sorting things out for her customer. Then his colleague on the other side had a customer shouting at him, so my guy just stopped and listened in.

After that, it was my turn to take up everyone’s attention as my customer service guy couldn’t locate the visa in my passport. I panicked.  I’d noticed that the passport control officer had stamped my new visa right under my last 6-month visa and I was a bit concerned that maybe he’d merely stamped a re-entry by mistake (which would be invalid) rather than stamping the new visa that I'd required. However, after consultation with his colleagues, the vodafone guy found the visa and he decided it passed muster. Phew. Eventually, I was equipped with a new sim in my phone.

I was now left with little time. I went back to get my internet sim, but my chappie was no longer there!! His colleague assured me he would be back soon and then I spotted him on his way back. Again it all seemed to be taking up so much time. I explained I had to get the bus at 9pm and I was getting in a bit of a panic; to clarify I waved my hands in the air and said “panic, panic, panic!” and we both laughed and he told me there was plenty of time. There’s always plenty of time in Egypt.

At the end, as last time, the guy serving me wrote down his name and phone number, asking me to phone him if there’s a problem. I’m always a bit worried that he might deliberately fix the sim not to work just so that I'll phone, but I’m doing him a complete injustice, as to date it always has worked just fine. This time, he even said that he’d give me an even better deal next time I was back. I smiled and thanked him for being so kind. I have never used the number….

El Andalous - Trying out the Pool

El Andalous - Larger Pool

Well, it seems that 2019 is all about trying out different swimming pools. Hmm, I guess you could use that as a metaphor for trying out different things in life, since it seems that many people around me are going through a year of change this year.

Anyway, I arrived back in El Andalous and went to the beach (as you do). I’d been looking forward to swimming in the sea and revisiting all my fish friends, but as I dipped my feet in the water, it was just too cold. Either that, or I’m becoming more and more of a wimp. Or I was tired after my flight and not able to stand the stress of submersing myself in water that was less than warm. It was disappointing because I’d come back in May specifically because the sea is usually warmer by then.

Later in the week, Nicole informed me that temperatures had been only 22-23 degrees in the preceding weeks, so I guess the sea hadn’t had time to warm up. On the day of my arrival, and every day since, it’s been around 30 degrees each day, but the sea is a large expanse and won’t warm up immediately. The lake in Zurich can quite often be warmer in the afternoon than in the morning, but that’s not really so with the sea.

So, on that first day, I just sat and read on the beach instead. On the way back to my flat, I dipped my foot into the water in our pool, and it felt OK. The following day was a bit cloudy and I couldn’t come over here and not swim, so I decided to try out the pool.

I’ve been here almost 6 years now and I’ve never used our pool. Now I think about it, that’s quite astonishing. People have recommended it to me, but I’ve turned my nose up at it, saying it’s too small for a proper swim. But now I needed to swim, I didn’t want to try the sea again if it was cloudy, and so I decided that even though the pool was small, I could still use it to do drills and to perfect my technique.

The water was a lovely temperature – I’d guess about 27 degrees (heated by the sun). And, to my surprise, it ended up being a lot larger than I thought it was. I used GPS on the first day to measure how long it was, and the GPS seemed to indicate it was about 24 metres long. The next day, I set my watch to pool setting (setting the size at 24m) rather than open water swim setting. However, my swimming statistics were way out so I decided that my 24m estimate must be wrong. Eventually, I settled on the length being around 30m; my strokes per length and speed were then roughly in proportion to what I swim in a 25m pool. Wow, 30m. That’s bigger than my local pool and the Kloten pool! All these years I’ve been maligning the pool as inadequate for my purposes and actually it’s been ideal.

So, I’m now fully converted to using the pool whenever it’s cloudy or rather windy. I’m loving the extra flexibility of choice. Even better, I often have the pool to myself, which is a real luxury. Its shape is rather curvy (which probably makes it look smaller) and there’s no line on the bottom, so it’s a good place to discover whether I’m managing to swim in a straight line or whether I have an unbalanced stroke. I often end up careering to one side or the other, so it really is useful to try it out and spot my deficiencies in my stroke.

On some days, there are people there and it’s been a place also to get talking to some other people. I met the wife of our accountant in there and got talking to a doctor (who I already knew) who owns a flat here. However, it’s always empty at some point in the day and even when it’s cloudy here, it’s perfectly warm, so I can swim and dry off with no problem. It’s also just outside my flat, I can go from my flat just in my dressing gown as I don’t leave our building’s premises, and I don’t need to wear my swimming shoes / Crocs. It’s absolutely perfect. What a discovery!

Zurich to Hurghada

El Andalous from the Plane

I’m back in Egypt for a month. I think I had the smoothest journey back ever.

Since I’m thinking of returning to Egypt full-time from October this year, I effectively started packing for my removal from Zurich. Of course, many things I still need in Zurich from June onwards, but I packed some of my ornaments (although I wasn’t quite sure where they’d go in my Egypt flat, as it’s already quite cluttered), my European summer duvet (in Zurich I’ll make do with blankets if I need them), and most of my winter clothes (including shoes). It was quite surprising just how much fitted into my suitcases. As last time, I had to take three laptops with me (which will also have to come back with me, ugh). In my hand luggage, I sneaked in a couple of boxes of cereal so that I could treat myself while I was in Egypt to my creature comforts.

I went to the airport to get clarification on what was allowed in your luggage and the restriction on laptops had lifted, so I was allowed to put them in my suitcases rather than my hand luggage. That was already a big improvement over my last journey. Also, the flight was at 0650 which, although horribly early, is still much better than 0610.

I fretted a bit about all the electronics I had with me in my hand luggage (3 phones, my TV streamer, my camera, my tablet, my alarm clock, my kindle, and one other item that escapes me just now). I’d read that you were allowed a maximum of 6, but hoped that they wouldn’t count or that I could take twice as much on business.

I trundled with 2 suitcases and 2 pieces of hand luggage (a rucksack and a handbag) to the bus stop in good time (the pre-dawn buses often arrive early). I must have looked suitably laden down because a guy with a gammy leg and a walking stick offered to help me on the bus with my luggage. I declined, but he insisted and grabbed the largest suitcase (which, unknown to him, was actually the lightest) and heaved it on to the bus for me while I lifted the other one and my hand luggage. I felt a little bad about it, but was also very grateful and persuaded myself that actually he was probably happy to feel useful and not handicapped. He helped me off the bus as well, so really it was all super smooth.

I’d put all my electronics in a plastic bag so that I could just tip them out into the tray as I went through security, but it turned out that they only counted my kindle and my tablet as electronic items anyway, so I needn’t have stressed.

There was enough time for me to go into the business lounge briefly and get some cereal and a coffee. I had no apprehensions at all about returning to Egypt this time. I was happy to be returning and my heart was light. I think this means I’m fully settled!

For the first time ever, I was the only person sitting in business, so that felt a bit odd. I wasn’t quite sure I wanted all the attention, but I did feel like royalty with the whole cabin to myself. The early morning business fight is never as good as the later return flight – no fancy chocolates, smaller meal, and I’m less in the mood to drink alcohol (although I do get to use the business lounge on that leg of the journey)! I had a couple of glasses of champagne and that was it. The mid-morning snack (after breakfast) was a cheese thing, so I couldn’t eat that. But these are minor things; the fight was pleasant and smooth and it went fast enough.

On the return flight to Egypt, they always announce “enjoy your holiday”, and each time I think that this doesn’t apply to me! It always makes me feel a bit special to be living there, though, and not just going for a vacation.

Being the only person in business also meant that I was the first person to leave the plane. I had bought my visa in advance online, so I went straight to passport control. I didn’t dare look behind me to see if anyone just blindly followed me (presumably most of them would need their visas at the airport or from their tour rep). The guy at passport control said something to me twice that I didn’t understand, so I’ll just have to hope that it wasn’t anything important.

I was stopped by security on the way out – they were a bit suspicious of my three laptops and wanted to be sure that they weren’t new. I assured them they were old. They also queried my Jabra, which I use for speaking over the internet on calls. They asked if it was a music box, so I decided just to say it was rather than have to try to explain. You might be able to use it to play music; I’m not sure. And then I was let through.

We arrived early and I’d booked ABC Taxis rather than Esmat – I’ve had problems the last few times with meeting the person that Esmat has sent to collect me and also Esmat’s fares have gone up quite a lot. It was also in part due to the fact that I had a new phone and couldn’t access Esmat’s number (another blog, maybe). Anyway, the guy from ABC Taxis was maybe 5 minutes late, but I met him easily enough and the drive was pleasant and 75LE cheaper than Esmat (125LE instead of 200 LE).

I received the usual “welcome back” from the staff at El Andalous and my flat was clean (with a few things out of place, as is normal). It was the first time that I’ve entered the flat and actually thought it looked like a nice flat (I’m usually aware that it’s a bit over-cluttered), even though there was nothing different about it. Maybe it’s just because psychologically I’m gearing up to this being my main residence again.

All in all, a good trip, though!