El Andalous - Christmas 2020

 

Pre-Dinner Drinks

I forgot to wish everyone an enjoyable festive season in my last blog, so I’ll say it now, even if it may be a bit late. It’s strange to think that this is my last blog for 2020 and, as everyone’s saying, let’s hope this coming year will be better, at least by this time next year (I guess the first few months are going to be difficult with the new highly-infectious coronavirus strain rearing its head and vaccines only just starting).

Anyway, a friend (hello Geraldine!) told me I really was living the dream and it does feel like that. I had a pretty good Christmas.

For the first time, they’d organized a Christmas Market in Sahl Hasheesh. Rather weirdly, it was held on Christmas Day but maybe they were thinking it would be good for the Coptic Christians. However, it was a good initiative and I really hope they hold it again next year. Sahl Hasheesh residents could have a stall for free, so I could have bought some of my own books and sold them, for example. However, we had only about a week’s notice.

But they did a great job of organizing it. There were food stalls, and if I hadn’t had a Christmas meal booked, I’d have eaten something. Two of my friends were selling items – one makes crafty items from shells and driftwood (I bought a shell ornament off her which I still need to hang on my wall) and the other owns a gift shop in the Old Town (SH) selling high quality items for presents. From her I bought a maroon antibacterial face mask and some fish serviettes.

Then I bumped into some friends and had a couple of glasses of wine with them, watching everyone enjoying the day, including a kid with a huge candy floss. After that, I met other friends as I was just leaving. It’s a small world over here.

An animation team dressed as elves, Santa, the Ice Queen, jugglers and probably more all roamed the street providing entertainment and added to the general festive atmosphere. It was a strange event to organize during the coronavirus, but it wasn’t too crowded, at least when I went there. However, it was good to feel fairly normal.

In the late afternoon, I went along for our Christmas Dinner at the Bar by the Bridge. Around twenty of us attended and I knew most people (all from Sahl Hasheesh, where we’re fairly protected from the rest of the world). The police turned up at one point – Christmas Galas are not allowed – but we got away with it (it was hardly a gala, and we all knew each other, so it’ was more like a gathering of friends).

Anyway, I had a lovely meal of mushroom soup, roast turkey and all that goes with it (no Brussel sprouts! I’ve heard they’re ridiculously expensive here if you manage to find them), and chocolate mousse. Christmas Day itself was a little cloudy, which is unusual, but with the Christmas Market and the meal, I’m not sure I’d have had time for a swim anyway.

All in all, it was a wonderful day, and very NOT 2020!

El Andalous - Bar by the Bridge

 

Dining Area of the Bar

One of the owners here has taken over the management of a bar just a few minutes away from our building. It’s a beautiful location, overlooking the sea towards the mountains, with the underlit pier jutting out into the water.

She somehow managed to persuade the bar owners (a local hotel) to let her run it on a commission-only basis so that she doesn’t have to pay rent. Her task is to bring it up to European standards and bring in guests. She’s not doing it for a career; it’s really something to keep her busy.

She was born in Egypt and lived in Miami, so she’s fluent in Arabic and English and switches from one to the other seamlessly.

As with everything in Egypt, there’s always a bit of wheeling and dealing, and you have to have your wits about you. There was a rumour that someone wanted to rent the bar and thus my friend would no longer be able to run it. We suspect it was a ploy to get her to pay for it so that the owners would get more money for no effort. She was alert enough to tell them to take the other offer and they ended up asking her to come back!

Similarly, the bar manager wasn’t so happy at having a woman suddenly come in and take over, so my friend has had to explain that she’s not wanting his job, or to take his money. Fortunately, the bar owner stepped in and supported my friend. On a related matter, she also has to ensure the tips get spread out equally among the staff and don’t go straight into one person’s pocket only!

Another problem has been that all of the hotels here are all-inclusive. Consequently, the staff are used to serving customers on that basis, and don't pay attention to how small or large the measures are. Similarly, they don't hesitate to water down the alcohol or buy the cheapest available. Now that it’s a bar for paying customers, they need to give consistent measures and price accordingly. And, of course, guests paying with their hard-earned money expect a quality drink. 

When I went there for the opening dinner, for example, they were charging me the same for my glass of wine as they did for my neighbour who had a glass twice the size of mine. I complained and they reduced the price, but I think they thought they were doing me a favour!

My friend is primarily catering for the residents, since all the hotels play loud music quite late at night. The residents, however, while sometimes wishing to party, don’t require the music to blare across the entire bay and prefer a quieter ambience during dining hours. 

She’s also set up a happy hour from 4pm-6pm (just extended to 7pm). This makes the drinks a reasonable price, so these days, if you fancy a drink, you can just pop along and almost always there’s someone there you know that you can join (or if you don’t know them, you can usually still join!). This was also part of the aim – to bring the residents together and to create a social hub.

She’s offering a Christmas Dinner on Christmas Day, so that’s where I’ll be this Christmas – eating turkey outside while overlooking some pretty exceptional scenery. How lucky am I!

El Andalous - Community Cocktails

 

Modern Whirling Dervishes!

Once in a blue moon, our resort management (ERC) organizes an event for residents. The last one that I remember was free lunch on the beach (mini burgers, fries, and other food items, plus soft drinks), plus use of the beach area for a day.

Anyway, we recently got an invitation to a community cocktails evening, which is quite surprising given coronavirus, although I believe there are no cases in Sahl Hasheesh (but who knows!). It was for residents only.

The advertisement described it as sponsored by the Tropitel and taking place on the rooftop at Sahl Hasheesh, so most of us assumed it would be at the Tropitel. However, it turned out the venue was the rooftop above Sailors’ Bar in the old town of Sahl Hasheesh. That was actually a lot more convenient as it’s in walking distance. I’d have needed a taxi to get to the Tropitel.

It started at 4pm with free cocktails. I wandered over with Karen, leaving El Andalous at 4pm, since I knew others were planning to be there for when it started. It’s a lovely location (as is most anywhere in Sahl Hasheesh). The Christmas decorations are now up in the streets and the rooftop overlooks the bay. I guess the timing was to coincide with being able to watch the sunset.

Anyway, when we got there, a group of our friends was already there with a reserved table (it was all outside). They ordered wine, but I should have been more alert, since we had to pay for wine (which was very expensive), but the cocktails were free. Between us, Karen and I managed to blag six cocktails (Sex on the Beach), but then they stopped us from taking any more. Fair enough, I suppose!

It's a small community, so I also knew the people who took the table next to ours, and in the end we spread out onto two tables as our group expanded. It’s almost like a village where everyone knows everyone else. Otherwise, there was plenty of distance between those who didn't know each other.

They handed out canapes, which were very nicely done. I had some small beef sandwiches and some chicken bites in a salsa sauce. If you like fish and cheese, there was a lot more choice. There were plenty on offer. I ordered a crispy chicken dish for 60LE (around 3 GBP) which was quite a lot of hot crispy chicken in bread, with coleslaw and some French fries. It wasn’t a bad price, but I didn’t see many other people order food. After three cocktails, I was in need of sustenance.

On top of this, they laid on entertainment – a saxophonist, a few whirling dervishes with a modern touch, and a belly dancer. Plus there was a DJ and music playing with a large area for dancing (and I did dance).

It was free entry. I was surprised at how many people were there (somehow, I always get the impression that Sahl Hasheesh is near deserted with very few residents). The organizer gave a quick speech and said he planned on organizing more events, so here’s hoping.

It was a lovely evening and well organized. Definitely more, please!

El Andalous - Security

 

One of My Snorkeling Areas

I feel safe in Sahl Hasheesh as we have security to enter the resort, various security cabins round the resort, and then security at reception in our building.

But amusing situations can arise.

One of my snorkeling places is at the beach set up for Paradise Gardens / Veranda (two apartment complexes here). The beaches are supposed to be available to all, but use of sunbeds belongs to the various resorts.

Anyway, I arrived at Paradise Gardens, put my bag on the sand near their beach. For the first time ever, a security guard walked up to me to inform me that the beach was only for the use of Paradise Gardens / Veranda residents. I argued that I wasn’t using their beach, I was beside it, and the beach was for everyone to use. I’m not sure he understood me, as he repeated that I wasn’t allowed.

I didn’t argue and told him that actually it was too windy and I didn’t want to stay. The sea is a lot calmer by El Andalous, so it’s often not until you arrive at somewhere further round the bay that you realise how windy it is.

At this point, the security guard did a complete turn and said it was okay, I could stay if I liked. I insisted that I didn’t want to, and he continued to explain that I could use the sun loungers, it really didn’t matter. He urged me to stay. I’m not sure if he wanted a tip (hard luck, as I never carry money with me when snorkeling) or wanted to ogle a female body. In any case, he was out of luck as I left.

On another day, I cycled to what I call the “slopey bit” which is opposite an unfinished building that looks like a replica of Hetshepsut’s temple. Again, I put my bag down on the sand and got myself ready to get into the water. A security guard walked over (for the first time ever) and said he’d look after my bicycle and my bag for me. I smiled and thanked him. If he wanted a baksheesh, he was out of luck.

I had a long snorkel and got back. The security guard pointed to my stuff and my bike and I gave him a thumbs up. I was about to apologise for the fact that I didn’t have any money on me (I did feel quite bad), but it turned out that all he wanted was a photograph of me with him. I told him he’d have to wait until I’d put my dress over my swimming costume. He kindly averted his eyes while I waited to dry off for a while and had slipped my dress over my head. We just stood side-by-side. All quite innocent.

It's a bit of a status symbol over here to be seen with a Westerner, which is why he wanted the photo. It was easy “payment” for having my stuff looked after.

El Andalous - Walking and Cycling

 

Solar Farm - Antenna in Shape of Palm Among Solar Panels

I wanted to keep fit while I was waiting for my mosquito bite to heal. I had mixed success. There were a couple of days where I didn’t go out, although for the most part I forced myself to either have a walk or to cycle somewhere. If I wasn’t in the mood, it would be just a short walk. The main thing was to get out of the flat and also to keep healthy.

It was quite interesting doing different things for a change. I had two major bicycle rides (for me). One time I cycled as far as I could go along the sea at Sahl Hasheesh towards Makadi Bay. It was good to have a change of scene and I’d never gone that far on my own before (I had done it in a buggy with other people on a few occasions). As I reached the end of the road (it just stops, leading nowhere), I turned to cycle back and two guys were riding horseback. It was lovely to watch them cantering by the sea.

My other major cycle was up to the solar farm in Sahl Hasheesh. I’d often wanted to take a closer look at it. It’s a bit of an uphill journey, so it was good exercise, too. I stopped where all the buildings were, but there was a security guard there and I felt a bit nervous. I parked my bike by the side of the road and stared up at the solar panels which were up on the hill above. The security guard was watching me and I felt a bit self-conscious. Here in Sahl Hasheesh, all the mobile phone antenna are disguised as palm trees; there was one of these sticking up in the middle of all the solar panels. The fake trees are quite convincing, but you can always tell because they are so much taller than the real palms.

I realized I could get a closer look at the panels if I went further up the hill, so I did that and parked the opposite side of the road. That way, I hoped the security guard wouldn't pay too much attention. I walked up to the panels, but the path beside them was blocked for entry, which I guess is fair enough. No-one was there to stop me, but I obeyed anyway. No point in potentially putting myself in danger. I didn’t get the full overview of the panels I wanted, but it was good to see it up close for once.

I had two longish walks towards Jamaran, the villa district in Sahl Hasheesh. Again, the road stops in the middle of nowhere and then you have to walk across sandy hillocks. It’s pleasant as the sea is beside you and it’s interesting to see how different the open sea is from the sea in the bay. There's a distinct line in the middle of the sea where the open water starts. The open sea is, of course, much wilder, with more waves, and a darker blue.

A group of Egyptian men passed me. One pulled off his face mask and said “Hello, Fiona!” I had no idea who he was but I greeted him back, pretending I knew him. I suspect he saw through my bluff, though!

On my way back, a guy on a bicycle appeared out of nowhere and passed me. He stopped, handed me a menu, and asked if I wanted to order a drink! I had no idea where from as we weren't by a bar or anything. That was most bizarre. I saw him the following day, too, when I took a short walk on the pier. This time, he was walking with his boss and they showed me their food menu. They were just opening a new restaurant, which explained the weird behaviour!

It was all quite pleasant and added to the feeling both of adventure and of belonging. That’s what’s so great about being here.

El Andalous - Mosquito Bite Gone Wrong

 

Beautiful Risbecia

I’ve been stuck at home, but not because of coronavirus. For me, it was an infected mosquito bite. It was one of those big ones with a lot of pus that I wrote about before. Somehow, this one burst twice without me intending it to. It was on the top of my right arm and I unwittingly banged it twice and wham! The bubble burst.

I swam, and I’m not sure if that’s my mistake. Anyway, the skin was still sore at the time, and it was hurting, so I gave up. I’m not sure if it was already infected, whether it got infected from my swim, or if it was never infected at all but just took a long time to heal.

Anyway, that was eleven days ago. I waited for it to heal, but got impatient so went to the pharmacist. He prescribed me an antibiotic cream, which I used diligently (actually, I used it one more time a day than I was really allowed, but I wanted it to heal and I wanted to swim).

It didn’t seem to get any better. I went back, and this time he added an oral antibiotic. I wasn’t too sure about this, although I had read that this was exactly the correct procedure. However, they’re always saying these days that people take antibiotics too easily and my bite wasn’t hot to touch. It was just sore and my arm was swollen.

Nevertheless, whether because of the antibiotic or just the passage of time, the wound did improve. I went in to ask if I could swim, and he advised me not to as it would hurt. That was what stopped me from swimming in the first place! He said to wait for two days. I did. It still looked a bit tender, but I thought I’d give swimming a try.

It was a failure on several accounts. Firstly, although it was fine when I first stepped in the water, as soon as I started really swimming (ie, as exercise rather than just moving slowly), I could feel the wound starting to hurt. Ugh. Secondly, I discovered that my goggles were leaking, so even if I wanted to swim, I couldn’t. I’m now hoping that part of the reason I kept stopping before really was because of leaking goggles and not laziness. I was never sure if I was using leaking goggles as an excuse to stop, but the leak is so bad now, it’s obvious.

So, I’ve spent most of my days working on my other novel (Time Tells). I’m feeling quite excited about it now. I should have achieved some extra things like cleaning my flat, or doing my tax return, but I was in too much of a sulk to do anything like that.

I was back in the sea today, this time for a snorkel as a slow introduction to me being in the water again. It was wonderful. Different days seem to be good for different fish. Today, there were a lot of cigar wrasses (what’s the opposite of “close, but no cigar” – “bullseye, I see a cigar!”). Excitingly I saw a beautiful risbecia, which is a type of sea slug, and I think it was mating. That was the first time I’d ever seen it (let alone seen it mating). So it felt like the sea was welcoming me back!

El Andalous - Shopping at Esmat's

 

My New Solar Lamp - Push Up and Lamp Appears!

Esmat, the taxi driver I used to use, has opened a kitchen and home shop. It makes sense, since he was previously focusing on trips round Egypt (Cairo, Luxor, etc) and, of course, these days there aren’t many tourists due to coronavirus. He said it was always in the back of his mind to diversify since tourism is so volatile.

He's very enterprising. Well, the Egyptians in general are enterprising, but Esmat particularly so. He has a FaceBook page (not sure whether he has a web page, though) and advertises every day on that, demonstrating items he has. You need that for kitchen stuff as often you see things and don’t have a clue what they’re for (well, that’s the case for me, at any rate). He states the price as well, most of the time, which is also good. As he says, it’s not a bazaar, it’s a proper shop with fixed and fair prices.

It takes quite a bit to start up a shop as you have to buy all the stock first as well as rent the premises etc. Esmat goes to Cairo once a week and says he is able to undercut the local big shop competitor here in Hurghada (I’m not sure which shop that is and I didn’t ask him). He also claims he is the first one to advertise online and have a physical shop and others are now copying him. It’s good to see him so ambitious and succeeding.

Anyway, he advertised a shelving set that I wanted. I’ve been looking for one for a while as I need to sort out one of my cupboards that has no shelves and could be better organized if it did. However, his shop is right at the other end of Hurghada and the taxi fare would cost twice the amount of the shelving. After a bit of back and forth, Esmat agreed to drop it off for 50LE next time he was sending a taxi to Sahl Hasheesh. I agreed, but then managed to persuade Kathryn to take me there after the woodburning workshop. She knows Esmat as well, of course. Everyone knows everybody.

His mother was serving, so it was delightful to meet her. The shop was packed full of stuff – waffle makers, glasses, two-sided tape, shoe racks, cleaning cloths. I bought two of the shelves and was delighted to find he stocked some solar lamps. My one disappeared from my balcony some time ago and I quite miss it. It’s useful during power cuts and also to have some light when it gets dark. This lamp had all the same functions (including the option to charge items via USB) but was nicer looking than my old one. Plus it doubles up as a torch. Perfect.

I also bought a fish sieve. It’s the shape of a long fish with holes in it that you hold over a pan to drain it; it saves getting the colander out. I never use the colander because it’s too much of a faff and so I usually use the pan lid to drain. However, I have one pan without a lid and then I use a strategically-placed knife, but this fish sieve should be easier than my old methods without taking up the space of a colander. And it was in the shape of a fish, of course, so what’s not to like!

Between us, Kathryn and I must have spent coming on to 1000 LE (around 50 GBP), which would have been good takings over here. So, it was a mutually beneficial transaction, with any luck.

He’s now opened a shoe shop just opposite as well, but I haven’t visited that yet.

El Andalous - Writing Critique Group

 

Alice in Wonderland in Sahl Hasheesh

I’ve mentioned that I’ve been sending my novel Space Shapes out to literary agents; unfortunately, all I’ve had so far is about twenty rejections. Although this is fairly normal, I’m concerned that I haven’t had a single agent requesting to see my full manuscript (I submit the first three chapters; next stage is to wait for an agent to be interested enough to ask to read the whole novel). I’m beginning to wonder if my manuscript isn’t sufficiently commercial.

I found this brilliant tool online called Query Tracker (QT). It allows you to keep a record of all the agents you’ve submitted to, their replies (rejection, request for full, etc), and the relevant dates. All the (anonymous) data are shared, so the more authors who use QT, the better idea you get as to where your query is in each agent’s queue. 

From the data, you get an impression of how many (or few) manuscripts agents are requesting to see. Some agents haven’t requested any manuscripts from anyone for three years or more! The tool also has links to the agents’ websites. You can sort agents in the database by genre, by who they represent, etc, to help you find a suitable potential home for your manuscript.

I paid for the full version (only 25 USD per year), which gives me access to additional data and reports (eg, which agents are currently requesting the most manuscripts, which agents reply the fastest, etc). If you like data, it’s fascinating. Sometimes you can see that agents read by genre (ie, they’ll respond to all the mysteries on one date, then all the science fiction novels on another date); sometimes it’s just unfathomable as to why they’ve jumped to reject one sooner than the other (was it super promising so they went to it first, was it appalling and easy to reject?). I love it!

There’s also an associated forum, so I posted my query letter, synopsis, and first five pages for public critique, which has been helpful. Of course, I’ve critiqued others in return. Anyway, an upshot of this is I was invited to join a small critique group of five, and we’re all critiquing each other’s novels. I’m not using Space Shapes as I am confident it’s sufficiently well-polished (that’s not to say I won’t change my mind at some point). However, I have another novel fairly far progressed (Time Tells), which I think might be more commercial than Space Shapes, so I’m having Time Tells critiqued in the group.

We have about a fortnight to critique 10,000 words from each of us (it took a bit of experimentation, but our novels all have different chapter lengths, so we settled on word count in the end), so that’s 40,000 words altogether. We’re a mix from Canada, US, and UK (me).

I’m enjoying it on several levels. First, it’s really interesting reading what others are writing (I’m loving all four of the novels!); second, we all have different strengths and weaknesses so it’s good to learn from that; third, it’s good to have a little group to share writer information, frustrations, and hopes; and fourth, I like to think I learn also by critiquing (it’s easier to spot things to improve in others’ work and then you realise that maybe it applies also to you).

We have the occasional zoom meeting for chit chat, but I’ve only attended one so far as my time zone is difficult for everyone else. We all lead busy lives in addition to writing (particularly the others). I think I’m the granny of the bunch, but that’s fine. The atmosphere is good as we all encourage each other while not holding back on the critique. Hopefully, at the end of the day, we’ll all win.

Anyway, it does take quite a bit of time to do the steady stream of critique. I’m feeling more like a proper writer now as I’m spending so much time either critiquing or writing. But that’s what I wanted to do and at the moment, it’s making me very happy, despite my current state of failure!

El Andalous - Woodburning

 

My Finished Product

I’ve run out of internet, so this blog will be a bit late this week.

Anyway, I’m back to doing my best to live the dream. I’ve been feeling the need for a change as my days are regularly taken up with swimming or snorkeling, writing or critiquing others’ works in progress (maybe that’ll be another blog), and reading when I can fit it in. As well as the daily items of cooking, cleaning, eating, etc. I enjoy all of this, but sometimes I need to do something different.

I saw there was an arts and crafts group in Hurghada and they were offering a woodburning workshop. I hadn’t come across this before; it’s basically burning a picture onto wood. I really loved the example picture in the advertisement, so decided I would sign up. Fortunately, Kathryn agreed to join me, so we were able to go in her car and at least I’d know one person there.

It very sensibly didn’t start until 11am. The person running it Linda) was Dutch, and the workshop was held in a flat she has for this purpose. Four of us took part. The other two ladies were also Dutch, but I don’t think Linda knew them. The small numbers enabled sufficient social distancing.  And, of course, this is Egypt, so even in winter, windows and doors can provide ventilation.

Apparently, in some countries, they do woodburning at school. I feel I missed out!

As always, it’s nice to be somewhere new. This was in an area called El Kawther (sometimes written El Kawser); it’s near the Egyptian hospital where I went when I had my broken leg all those years ago. There are several cafes and shops in this area and a popular apartment complex among Westerners called the British Resort is also there. I've been in the area before, but not the complex where the workshop took place (which was opposite the British Resort).

I need to live by the sea, but I can see the appeal of living downtown. It’s easier to get about, it’s cheaper (by quite a lot), there’s lots to do. The apartment had a large balcony, so it was lovely to sit there at lunch.

To my surprise, we used carbon paper (ha! Remember that?!) to trace the picture we wanted onto the wood. I supplied a picture of a lionfish but I think she already had some appropriate for tracing (there are special designs with the main lines only to make it easier to do).

After you’ve traced the picture outline onto the wood, you use a hot pen to burn the picture permanently into the wood, using the tracing as your guide. On a more advanced level, you can vary the pressure you put on the pen to do shading, so you get colours ranging from black to light brown.

Some people (well, everyone apart from me) colored theirs in for the final result. Since I was doing a lionfish, which is in any case brown, I didn’t bother, and I also wanted to keep the look of woodburning at the forefront. I’m a purist at heart!

The lady running it offered soup or sandwiches for lunch, plus coffee and cake mid-afternoon, so the pace was very relaxed.

Once you’ve finished, you use sandpaper to get rid of any stray marks of carbon paper, brush it with teak oil to enhance the look, choose a way to frame the picture (I used a wide cord strip), put felt on the back, and then her husband attached the chain to hang it. We returned the following week to complete these final tasks.

I’m quite tempted to buy my own equipment and do more at home, but I have writing to get on with as my priority.

El Andalous - New Laptop

 

B. Tech - Great Shop!

I had this idea of “living the dream” when I moved over here, but as this and recent blogs show, you can’t escape admin. The dream is an illusion!

Anyway, Lena told me that she was replacing her laptop because it was five years old. She uses her laptop for work and she didn’t want it conking out on her with no backup to hand.

The more I thought about this, the more it made sense. I also didn’t want to have to buy a new one in a panic or have to work out how to retrieve the information from my old laptop. With coronavirus likely to get worse rather than better, I didn’t want to risk having to buy one when shops had to be closed or when the population was highly infected.

Laptops are not overpriced in Switzerland, so it would have been good to get one there. Never mind.

To make things easy on myself, and to reduce infection risk, I thought I’d buy one in Spinneys in our local mall.

However, Spinneys no longer stocked laptops. They’d removed that section of the store and extended their selection of fridges and washing machines.

No worries. I went to Radio Shack in the mall. Shocked, I saw that the shelves were almost bare. No mobile phones, no laptops.

I looked in the shop that sells Apple items. I really wanted a normal laptop but maybe an Apple would do. However, they all had glossy screens and I need matt if I’m to be able to work outside.

Safi kindly volunteered to drive me into Hurghada to All in One. That’s the shop I bought my last laptop from, but I’d been avoiding going into Hurghada (due to the coronavirus). Anyway, Safi drove me there. Hurghada has two branches of All in One and neither branch stocked new laptops anymore. They only had refurbished laptops. Out of interest, I asked the price of one and it was the equivalent of 1000 GBP! I didn’t want to spend that much on a new one, let alone a refurbished one. Moreover, they were offering no guarantees (and this is Egypt).

I never thought it would be so difficult to find a laptop. I suppose it’s hard to import items because of the pandemic.

All in One said I could get a new laptop in a shop called B Tech. I’d been in it before, but it had since moved location. Safi very kindly drove me there (same trip).

It is a wonderful shop, not the least because they had new laptops for sale with a variety of specs. I don’t need anything fancy since I’m mostly using Word, Excel, or the internet. My old laptop still had plenty of storage; it was just running rather slowly, particularly for booting up and shutting down. And it had the occasional inexplicable glitch, plus the USB ports weren’t operating reliably.

Anyway, I bought a new laptop, pretty similar to my old one, for around 500 quid. That was more like the price I was expecting to pay. The service was great. I had to show my passport and visa, which is a bit strange, but I guess it’s general security.

The guy serving me was so good I tried to give him a tip, but he refused (not the refusal asking to be refuted, but a genuine “I can’t take it” refusal). This is coming to be more common over here and is perhaps the start of a slow change to the culture.

I went away a happy customer.

El Andalous - Flying Pigeon Gone Flat

My Poor Flying Pigeon!

I had the brilliant idea to pump up the tyres on my bike the other week. I’m never quite sure when they need doing, but whenever it feels harder to go uphill, I decide it’s about time. I pumped away, wondering how you can tell if it’s pumped too hard, but also deciding I surely didn’t have the strength to overpump them.

Off I went for my snorkel. The bicycle bumped along and I wondered if I’d overdone it, but reckoned they’d go down in time anyway, so no problem.

I parked my bike, went for my snorkel, dressed, got back to my bike to find it fallen on the ground with two flat tyres. It’s just as well I wasn’t going anywhere that evening because my fifteen minute bike ride turned into a forty-five minute walk.

I didn’t like pushing the bike with flat tyres, so I was lifting it a bit as I went, hoping to avoid further damage. The sun was beating down. I needed the toilet. I knew the walk was doable because people have walked right round to the other side of the bay; it’s just not what I’d choose to do and certainly not with a broken bike beside me.

I tried pumping up one of the tyres, but was convinced I could hear air leaking out from somewhere, so didn’t try very hard. I’m guessing I overpumped them as I read that air in the tyres can expand in heat and my bike had been in the blazing sun. However, perhaps I’d driven over something sharp? I’ve no idea.

I left it a few days before trying to get it fixed, but soon realized that I use the bike quite a lot. Walking to BestWay, which doesn’t take that long at all, seemed a nuisance when it was so hot. I went by foot to my old, closer snorkeling spot. Again, I used to walk it before but now it seemed a chore. And I had to plan out more time to do these things.

I fretted over how much it would cost to get it fixed. I had no idea what to expect or whether to haggle. I asked our local bike hire company if they could fix it. They said they could, but never turned up. I asked Ahmed, our manager. He said he had a friend and he’d let me know when the friend was in Sahl Hasheesh. It would be before Saturday. He never turned up.

I lost my energy until someone posted on Facebook asking if anyone knew where in Sahl Hasheesh to get a bike repaired. This inspired me to try again.

I phoned Esmat who said he would take me and the bike into town and back with his minibus for 500 LE. This was around twice the price for a normal taxi and I knew our local taxi service had a minibus and would do it for half the price. So I may as well just go to them.

I went back to the bike rental company (by text, this time, rather than in person; it’s the same company that does the taxi service, hence why I may as well just ask them again). They said they’d come the next day to take a look at the bike.

Minutes before they were due to arrive, they asked if I could go to them rather than them to me. I said it would be easier if they came to me. He’ll be there in five minutes, they said, sending me a photo of the guy who would come. Maybe twenty minutes later, he arrived on an electric bike towing a contraption to put my bike on. He said he’d let me know when it was done. Progress!

To my surprise, they contacted me an hour later to say it was fixed. I was really expecting them to take it into Hurghada. He’ll be there in five minutes, they said, again. I guess for Egypt half an hour later isn’t so badly off of the estimate of five minutes.

I’d asked via text how much it would cost and they said 100 LE (around £5). I had to read it three times to make sure I hadn’t got it wrong. I didn’t have any change for tip (which they truly deserved), but was happy to give him 150 LE as I’d been dreading an exorbitant sum and they’d brought the bike there and back for me as well, which had obviously cost them some effort.

The price did make me wonder what they’d done with it (maybe they did need only to pump the tyres up!), but the bike is working, so I’m really happy. I guess the true test will be when I next pump my tyres up (which I’m a bit nervous about), but even if it only lasts until then, I’m pretty pleased for now.

 

El Andalous - Fishy Stories

 

Surrounded!

Now is the best time of year to snorkel because the water is so warm. There have been times when I’m sure the shallow water must be something like 33 degrees.

I’ve seen quite a lot of unusual shoals of fish this year. Even after all this time, I’m still amazed by underwater life. Sometimes, I think I get mistaken for a fish.

I was in my normal snorkeling spot when a whole load of small silversides (which always swim in shoals) circled round me. I’m used to swimming through them, even seeing a ball of them, or a line of them like a traffic jam, but this time they formed all around me, deliberately (well, so it seemed). They were so densely packed I couldn’t see anything else; the only empty spot was where I was, in the middle.

I think they thought I was a big harmless fish and if they circled me, they’d be safe, because then they’d look like a super huge fish made up of me and them. That’s why they gather in balls, and with me, they were a super-human sized ball.

The only problem was, I couldn’t get to see any other fish. In a way, it was quite scary as I was effectively blind to anything else around me and I wasn’t sure what to do. I did swim through them in the end, very slowly, although they kept on trying to recircle around me.

Another time, I was on the return portion of my daily swim when this yellow thing kept on shooting up before me. At first, I thought it was a leaf or algae of some kind that had come apart from the sea bed. But it kept on flashing in front of me. I stopped, and to my astonishment it was a fish!

I’d never seen this type of fish before (it turned out to be a juvenile golden trevally). It was a bright yellow with narrow black bands. Anyway, when I stopped, it started to play around my legs, swimming about and enjoying itself. I maneuvered myself so that my legs were floating out in front of me so that I could get a better look at it. It was so pretty! I spent a lot of time trying to get photos of it, but it particularly enjoyed darting behind my knees, where I couldn’t see it.

After a while, I decided I should probably swim back. I arrived back near El Andalous beach and stopped. The fish had followed me! Again, it darted round my legs, seeming to really enjoy being there. By this stage, I started to feel responsible for it. Did it think I was its mother? Once more, I spent rather a lot of time taking more photographs.

Finally, I had to go back on land. I waded back to shore, only to find that the fish was swimming round my feet, following me all the way. I got quite stressed as it couldn’t stay with me forever. It was still there even as I stepped ashore. I checked the sand to make sure it hadn’t beached itself, but somehow it had disappeared. I stared out for a while to see if it was around, but I never saw it again. I often think about it, even now.

I later read that they often swim beside sharks (!), turtles, snakes, to gain protection. So, it had chosen me as its protector. I feel a bit sorry for it as I wasn’t really much help and I grew fond of it. Hopefully it will grow up and be a fine fish swimming in the open sea!

My New Friend (Bonus Photo!)

El Andalous - A Lot of Pus

Horrible Bite!

 

Sorry to put up such a disgusting photo, but I thought I’d return to the topic of being bitten by insects.

All sorts of insects bite you over here – mosquitos, flies, ants….

Ann (thank you if you’re reading!) gave me a very good tip for stopping bites from itching and that was to boil some water, put it in a teaspoon until the spoon gets scalding hot, then press the back of the spoon (without the water in it) on your bite. She said leave it for one minute, but actually the spoon never stays hot that long.

It’s a bit scary to do. Her advice was to put it to your skin as hot as you can bear it, but also be careful not to scald yourself. Apparently, this kills the histamine. The upshot is that I’m continually worrying whether I’m going to scald myself and if I’m not scalding myself, is it hot enough to be effective. It’s a lose-lose situation! She also said an alternative is to put the bite under a hot shower. Generally I haven’t done that because it’s harder to localize the shower water in the one place you want it.

It works and I feel as if I can sense the histamine reacting, like a finger crawling just under my skin. Sometimes I might need to repeat it the next day. At this point, I should say I am not a medically-qualified professional. If you act on anything in this blog, it is at your own risk and I am not taking responsibility. No guarantees are provided, either. I’m simply reporting my experiences.

Anyway, occasionally I get bites that come up with a lot of pus (as pictured). I’ve assumed it must be a particular kind of insect. The bites are always much itchier than a usual bite. They start off small, sometimes with a large red area round them, then over a few days the ball of pus grows, taking up the red area. The bite gets less itchy as the pus ball expands. At some point, the ball of pus feels very tight, as if it’s about to explode with the tension.

Sometimes, I treat a bite early with the hot spoon treatment and it immediately forms a tiny spot of pus. I’ve found (corroborated by others on another page I found, which inspired me to write this) that if I smear it relentlessly with insect-bite lotion (totally disregarding the packet of one of mine that says to use it not more than three times a day! My other lotion doesn’t have this precaution), the bite will die. Again, I’m not advising you ignore the prescribed limitations as there must be risks involved. I’m merely reporting what I did.

I can’t remember if I gave the one pictured the hot spoon treatment when I first got it (they start off small, very itchy, but innocuous-looking). Anyway, I obviously didn’t catch it properly. I took a photo because I’ve never had my arm actually swell before and the red area was half of my arm, which was extreme. I was a bit concerned that the ball of pus would grow to that size.

Once you’ve got a big ball of pus like that, though, it’s natural to wonder if you should just burst it and let it out (particularly if it’s got painfully tight).

In the past, I’ve found that if I sterilize a pin in boiling water and stab at the ball of pus, it will release the pressure as some of the pus comes out and then the pinpricks will heal over and more pus will come in and take the place of the stuff that’s leaked out (as basically all the pus has to come out and at this stage, it’s still forming and growing). The skin underneath (if you squeeze all the pus out and don’t have the ball reform) is red and sensitive. My guess is that the longer you leave the pus sitting, the less sensitive that patch of skin will be when you do get rid of the pus.

If you search the internet, you’ll find medical advice saying you should not pierce the area of pus from bites as it increases risk of infection. But I’m pretty sure they are thinking of normal, small bites when they say this rather than these humungous ones. Sometimes the large ones can just burst of their own accord without you realizing, but at times they are so tight, it’s really hard to resist the temptation to reduce the pressure.

Others report putting gauze over these bites after bursting them (as the rest of the pus still has to come out and you have to try to ensure you don’t get infected). Again, this is not medical advice. If you do this, it’s at your own risk. I imagine it’s pretty horrible if you get infected.

Anyway, this time, I had this massive swelling. I decided to use the hot water treatment in the shower, as I was worried that the pus ball would grow to be the size of my arm. I put the water on to its hottest, and sprayed my lower arm in bursts of one second (that was as much heat as I could bear) repeatedly over a few minutes.

To my complete astonishment, ten minutes after I’d done it, the swelling had completely gone. The ball of pus was still there, but my arm was no longer red and swollen. That was a massive improvement. I was also taking antihistamine tablets, so maybe it was a coincidence with that, and you can’t conclude anything from a sample of one. However, I was hugely relieved.

It's now almost better (I did puncture it after a while, let it reform, and then fully drained it after it got a bit saggy and remained so for a few days).

There should be more research on how to handle these types of bites!

Zurich - Out and About During Coronavirus

 

Dining Out in Ruschlikon
(Actually this was closed, but still got the view from the window!)

I made it to Zurich just in time for the relaxed restrictions and before, well actually, during the time when restrictions started to be strengthened again (during my stay they increased mask wearing from public transport only to all shops and enclosed spaces). This was my rationale for coming over at this point in time – get across before everything changed for the worse and before travel wouldn’t be possible. To this extent, the trip was a resounding success.

The first two days were really hot – temperatures must have been in the mid-30s, and I was missing my air conditioning in Egypt (another reason for coming over just now was to escape the heat!). The hotel didn’t have any air conditioning. So, I went for a swim.

I’d hoped to try out the refurbished pool in Opfikon, but due to coronavirus, it delayed opening until September 1^st, by which time I would be back in Egypt. That was a shame and immediately botched up my plans for a daily trip to the pool. I did manage a swim in the outdoor pool at Seebach (an old haunt of mine).

I couldn’t see any rules in place, but I was exhausted as I swam. Not really sure why, but maybe it was lack of sleep (due to the heat). I didn’t even do one kilometre and got out once there were more than two people in my lane for safety reasons (I didn’t want them breathing on me, or me on them, given coronavirus). Maybe my underlying nervousness was also taking away from my overall energy. However, to compensate, I did go in a second time.

Most of my other highlights involved eating and drinking. I made it over to Basel to visit Steph (we ate and we drank) and then she came down to Zurich (more drinking and eating). We went to Haus Conditorei Schober in the old town. It’s lovely, very quaint, wonderful cakes, but it was packed. I was shocked at how many people they allowed in. No-one seemed too worried, but I fretted. As per regulations, one of us had to register for the track and trace in case any coronavirus was reported there. It was the only place I felt uncomfortable.

I met up with Yuen and had a vegan burger (hello Geraldine, I hope that made you happy!) in B. Good in Oerlikon. It was the first time I’d been there and the burger was great. Again, we had to register, but we were able to sit outside and the tables were distanced.

I saw Lena twice – we went to Ruschlikon for dinner with a great view over the lake (that’s what you come to Zurich for!) and then to our old haunt Café Felix on another evening.

On my last day, I met up with Hye-Youn and Candice in Terrasse; I’d managed to see Hye-Youn when I first arrived for a meal in a Korean restaurant, which was new to me. It was good to be trying new places while I was in Zurich!

Another evening was occupied with catching up with Nick; that was my chance to have my Zuri Geschnetzeltes – the local dish. I’d had it on the plane, actually, but it was good to have a “proper” one as well.

Even with all of this, I did manage two trips to the KFC in Zurich airport.

Huge apologies to those I didn’t get to see – Peter, we’ll definitely have to meet up next time I’m across, but at least I can see you on FaceBook! Rajashree, I don’t think you read this blog, but if you happen across this, also sorry I didn’t catch up with you. Gerard and Muriel – tut, tut, no reply!

I did want to do at least one cultural thing while I was across, but I didn’t make it. I went to the Kunsthaus, but was thirsty when I got there, so had a drink in the café (outside). And then I didn’t have time to go in!

So, all in all, a bit of a whistlestop tour, but really great to catch up with people and have a little taste of freedom.

Zurich - Admin Issues

 

Attacking my Finances

I wanted to sort out a lot of admin when I was over in Zurich, but it all failed miserably.

Here’s the list:

1. Change the address on my Swiss bank account

I know that I have to pay ridiculously high charges to keep my Swiss bank account when I’m living abroad, but I’d decided it was probably cheaper than transferring the money to my UK bank account. With Brexit, sterling is likely to fall and I’d lose money by transferring it.

You’d think it would be easy to change your address, particularly if you appear in person with your passport and bank card. But no! They advised me against it, saying the charges would be very high. I said I didn’t mind, so then they informed me I’d need to close the account and open a new one. What?! All I wanted to do was change my address - why is this so difficult?

I went back into the bank and decided to say I was just moving within Switzerland (I’ll just use a friend’s address, I thought). But they wanted proof of the address (and also said there was a note on file that I’d moved to Egypt – whoops!).

In the end I gave up. I’m not earning, so I wasn’t sure a new application would be accepted. I need to keep the bank account open until my credit cards are paid off anyway…

2. Change the address on my Swiss credit card

It’s a credit card with Swiss airlines. They fly all over the place. So surely it’s okay to have an address that’s not in Switzerland? Apparently not.

They too said I had to close the credit card. The expiry date was end of August anyway and my new one had got lost in the Egyptian post (typical). I said they had to let me use it until September 1st as I was using the card to pay for everything. With the pandemic, everything has to be paid contactless, so my Swiss credit card was a lifeline (my bank card was out of date). It would be daft to pay in sterling when I had money in the bank over here. That wasn’t a problem and they said they’d phone me in case they found a way of me keeping the credit card.

When I realized I couldn’t keep my bank account, I decided I may as well just cancel the credit card for Sept 1st. I phoned but they said I couldn’t cancel the card until they’d phoned me back as originally agreed. Gawd.

They phoned me back when I was on the train. I’m not comfortable on the phone at the best of times. We agreed I would cancel the card, but I forgot to ask about the associated travel insurance that went with the card. Yet another phone call before I could sort things out. Sigh.

And then there was a final call when they wanted to double-check that I'd keep my bank account open long enough for the direct debit to go through to pay my credit card bill. Ha ha. If they only knew how much I'd been joking all week about doing a runner!

3. Cancel my Half-Tax railcard

It was a fortnight before my half-fare railcard was due to be renewed. I asked for it to be cancelled. Not possible. You have to cancel one month beforehand. I said I no longer lived in Switzerland and hadn’t received the letter asking me to cancel. Still not possible. 

It’s all a huge con. It’s all electronic. All they have to do is change a date on their system. Why does this need a month’s notice? It’s not to do with making more money from those who leave it too late, is it? Surely not?

4. Change my address on my UK credit card

This was easier to do phoning from Switzerland when I’d bought an unlimited calls SIM card than from Egypt. This actually went fairly easily.

However, I registered the address on my credit card without a postcode. They don’t use postcodes in Egypt. But Amazon won’t accept an address without a postcode, so I made one up. But now the two addresses conflict and I’m unable to make online payments. 

I need to phone the credit card company again, now from Egypt, but I ran out of money today trying to get it sorted (in part because my first lot of phone credit was automatically swallowed on renewing my bundle instead of towards calls, which is not what I wanted to happen – I hate phones!!!). It will likely cost me around ten quid just to do this (I'm having to spend money in order to spend it, how ridiculous is that!). Ugh.

I will speak about happier things next week!

Zurich - Accommodation Problems

Basel (I needed a drink!)

I arrived safely at Zurich airport. My plan had been to have a KFC on arrival, but in the end decided it was better to arrive a little early at the studio flat I’d booked with AirBnb. The host had never confirmed that it was okay if I came a  little after 6pm, and since the flight arrived early, I had a chance not to take any risks.

After a little dithering, I did find the flat easily enough and there was a bell with his name on it. I rang it, but nobody answered. It looked like the top floor flat from the photo and I made a mental note to myself to check that a lift was available next time I booked anywhere.

I trudged up the stairs with all my luggage. Nobody was around. The flat had another person’s name on it and I saw a girl (who was presumably not called Davide) enter. I waited and waited, peered downstairs every time someone entered the building. It was opposite a psychiatric clinic, so I felt a bit conspicuous.

After half an hour, I tried to phone, but his number was not a valid number. I tried texting a different number, thinking maybe there was a typo. It was a valid number, but no response.

I ended up eating at a restaurant round the corner, my luggage piled up beside me, still hoping he’d arrive. Finally, I had a text from the other number saying it wasn’t the person I was looking for.

Eventually, I had to give up. After searching on my phone for a cheap hotel, I decided just to go to the hotel on the corner where I used to live. It had the advantage of being close to the airport (aka KFC), which would be handy for my leaving day when my flight was very early.

I was quite proud of how Egyptian I’d become. I went in and had to phone at reception to speak to someone. I enquired how much one night was and then asked for a “special price” for ten days. It turned out to be the same price as my AirBnb in the end, which was a relief.

With coronavirus, hotels are no longer providing room service. If I wanted clean towels, toilet roll, etc, I had to bring the old towels to reception and ask for replacements. It was a bit of a pain, particularly since I didn’t like advertising how much loo roll I was using! Due to corona, buffet breakfast couldn't be offered (the main reason for staying in a hotel, in my opinion!), just a brunchbox. The free (but not refilled) minibar was stashed in a fridge in the room, so I just bought a bowl and a spoon, and kept milk and cereal for my breakfast. That was a treat as there's not many of my usual cereals in Egypt. I was so grateful for that fridge.

There was a big sign in the foyer to the coffee machine, so I helped myself liberally and didn’t discover until the third day that I was supposed to pay for it. Oops.

I spent ages on the AirBnb site (which I could access only via my laptop because I didn’t know my password [as the password was automatically saved on my laptop] and I no longer had the phone I registered with, which I needed to retrieve my password). From the rules, I decided I needed to apply first for a refund via my “host”. I was skeptical since he seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth. 

After waiting 72 hours with no reply, as dictated by AirBnb, I needed to phone AirBnb. They were discouraging people from phoning due to the many phone calls during coronavirus. I gave up the first time as they wanted to confirm who I was via the phone I no longer have. Am I the only person who changes phone numbers regularly and finds this a real pain?

But it had to be done. I logged in via my laptop (to think I nearly didn't take it with me!), changed my phone number on my profile, got my new number confirmed. Then I phoned the helpline. Phew. After about forty minutes, even the holding music stopped and I was left with silence. Should I stay or hang up? My phone was still flashing, which seemed to indicate the call was still ringing. I carried on waiting. After another five minutes, the phone was finally answered. Hurrah.

Upshot was that I got a full refund. Once I got through to a person, it was fairly smooth, but getting there in the first place was an issue. It wasn’t how I’d intended spending my time in Zurich. 

Hurghada to Zurich - Flying During a Pandemic

 

Arriving into Egypt

Whoops, sorry, I forgot about last week’s blog. I flew back to Zurich early Monday, meant to write it as soon as I got back, but in the end I was just too tired.

Anyway, I booked my flight to Zurich with a plan to stay there for ten days. As soon as my taxi arrived at Hurghada airport, a porter took my trolley and pushed it to the airport building (maybe 200m). Then he asked for a 50LE tip! I ended up giving him 20LE, which I still thought was quite generous, given I didn’t even want him to provide me with the service in the first place.

My luggage was scanned; I don’t think distancing was too much enforced (but not too huddled either), but everyone was wearing masks (compulsory). I checked in, then had my luggage scanned again. They made me take my laptop to an additional desk where it was swabbed for bomb detection (that was new!) and then I had to sign my name on a list.

Once into the gate area, I was thirsty and thought I’d buy myself some water. However, when I went to the café I usually go to, their water was on “special offer”, down from 90LE to 60LE for 500ml, if I recall correctly. The normal price is about 5LE, at the very most 20LE if you’re dining out somewhere expensive. There was no way I was paying those prices, so I decided to remain thirsty and grab a drink on the plane (I was in Business, so it was all included anyway). A cup of coffee would have been cheaper, but I didn’t want coffee.

On the plane, I had two free seats next to me, an aisle, then two free seats, then another person. Two people were sitting in the row directly behind me. I felt pretty safe, and we had to wear masks whenever we weren’t eating or drinking (Business class still served hot meals and as much as you wanted to drink). They gave a nice explanation that the air wasn’t being recirculated, so with that and the mask wearing, experts had deemed risk of infection as very low. I found this very comforting and felt very safe during the flight.

Before they showed the safety video, they added that if the oxygen masks come down, you should take off your face mask! All these little things they have to think about.

For some reason, I took my mask off to go to the toilet. The air stewardess looked at me a bit strangely, but didn’t say anything. Afterwards, I read that someone got infected by not wearing a mask in an airplane toilet, but I don’t actually believe that (my theory is that the person didn’t adhere to quarantine strictly; they didn’t show symptoms until day 14 of quarantine). Anyway, I do think I should have kept my mask on, so that’s something to bear in mind if you are going to fly!

Wearing the mask didn’t bother me too much. I was wearing my summer clothes and I’d forgotten that sometimes planes can be cold, so I fretted for a while about that, but in the end I was fine. Over here, wearing the mask makes me ridiculously hot and I find it very uncomfortable because of that, but that wasn’t a problem on the plane as I wasn’t in a 40 degree heat.

On my return trip, my flight was very early (06:45), so the business lounge wasn’t even open. I was delighted to see that a Pret A Manger had opened in D gates and was open, so even though I’d had breakfast, I took a coffee and a chocolate croissant. I’d forgotten just how heavenly that combination was; I’m so glad I added that into my culinary experience of being in Switzerland!

The return flight was fuller since in the mean time Egypt had brought out a ruling that from September 1^st, everyone entering Egypt had to have a PCR test to show negative for coronavirus. The regulations are continually changing with countries changing (mostly adding) countries on their quarantine lists daily, it feels. That’s a major stress of travelling just now; will you be able to get back? My return flight was 31^st August, so I was extremely lucky with my timing. I guess many people rebooked to my flght to avoid the expense of having the test done. I did feel less safe with more people on the flight (particularly since the woman (next to one) beside me kept on shouting back to her husband behind her – I’m sure her breath must have been coming out that mask!), but it was fine. Again, everyone wore masks, of course.

On arrival into Hurghada, I was proud of Egypt, since they sanitized all the luggage handles as the bags dropped onto the conveyor belt. I got a wet hand grabbing my luggage, but I’m happy that it was a safe hand and a safe piece of baggage.

I’d ordered a taxi and requested the driver wear a mask. He was there waiting for me and wearing a mask with the company logo, so, again, I was impressed.

All in all, traveling wasn’t such a bad experience. The uncertainty of constantly changing regulations is probably the biggest stress.

El Andalous - Hair Cut

 

Old and New Hair Style 

I finally plucked up the courage to get my hair cut. The pandemic struck just as I’d been avoiding making the effort to go the hairdressers, so my hair was already needing a cut before all this lockdown malarkey began.

I’ve been cutting my own fringe, but my hair was starting to annoy me as it had got down to my shoulders and each time it brushed against me, I thought it was a mosquito trying to bite me. I’d got quite used to having it longer though, so for a while I delayed going to the hairdresser just out of sheer indecision about what to do with my hair. In the end, I thought I’d go for something similar to my passport photograph but a little bit longer. It was also taking quite some time to push all my hair up into my swimming cap, and it would float around and get in the way when I was snorkeling. So, shorter was definitely more practical.

Since coronavirus, I haven’t really been into Hurghada, so I was a bit nervous about it. We have a new taxi service in Sahl Hasheesh, which is reasonably priced and pretty good, so I used them to go there and then wait for me. The charge for waiting is only 10LE for half an hour (50p), so it was nice not to have to worry about phoning and waiting for a taxi once I was finished.

It was all very safe and I needn’t have worried. They were allowing only one hair customer in and one nail customer in at a time (and there wasn’t anyone there for nails when I was there). I wore a mask throughout, as did my hairdresser. I was rather astonished to find out that they’d been open since about April. I could have gone so much sooner!

I was so emboldened that I even decided to undertake two errands at the same time. I’ve been here almost seven years and have never done that before. I asked the driver to take me to the bank and then wait while I enquired about a savings certificate. Usually, I don’t like doing two things at once because it opens the door for you to be overcharged by the taxi driver and I start to worry. However, this car had fixed prices and I was going only up the road, so I knew the fare shouldn’t be that much. And the waiting fees were fixed, so that wasn’t a worry either.

The bank required masks to be worn as well with limited people inside, so I had to sit on a chair outside until I was served. Fortunately, there was some shade. I kept on jumping up to see if my number was called and then worrying that someone would take my chair, but I was being over-neurotic. Again, it all felt very safe and well-organised.

Anyway, it was all very successful and so much cheaper to do both errands at once (and saved me time, of course). The driver was very transparent and split up the costs for each part of the journey and waiting times for my agreement. He looked a bit as if he thought I was going to argue with him, but it was all within the range of what I was expecting and I had no argument at all.

All in all, it was a pretty good experience of going out again in the wider world!

El Andalous - Visa Recap

My Identity Card

Time flies and regulations change weekly; it’s hard to keep up. Actually, since things have started to relax, there haven’t been so many changes. Nevertheless, it’s back to thinking about my visa yet again (oh how I long for a year’s visa!).

I think I never updated on my visa situation last time. Anyway, after applying, I went back to collect my visa on the allotted day only it wasn’t yet ready. We were told the post had been delayed and to come back in the afternoon. This isn’t really practical when you live half an hour’s drive away.

I ended up going back two days’ later and it was very quick. I am now the proud owner of an Egyptian identity card of sorts. It has my visa expiry on the back and my photo on the front and each person is given their own unique identification number. You don’t need to carry your passport with you now; your visa card is enough. It’s a good thing as the old visa stamp took up a lot of room in the passport and before you know it, you’ve run out of pages. I had to renew my last passport about five years early.

A few people reported that their photographs were refused because their hair had grown so much during the coronavirus (and they’d not been able to get it cut to how it used to be). Fortunately, because I was there on the first day, the woman merely laughed at the photograph of me with short hair but didn’t turn me away because of it. Anyway, they took a separate photo for the visa card, so my visa card has me with long hair.

And now, already, it’s time to think about renewing it. It’s due on 5^th October and I have to exit the country this time in order to renew it. I didn’t really want to travel during the pandemic, but in the end decided that maybe sooner would be better than later.

I believe Hurghada flies direct only to Ukraine, Belarus, and Zurich just now, although Istanbul has recently been added. Anyway, because there was a direct flight to Zurich, and because both Egypt and Zurich aren’t too bad for coronavirus (touch wood!), I thought I’d go while I could. It was also a chance to escape the very hot weather over here (I can’t use my balcony at all just now). I’ve somehow got less nervous after booking – not sure why. I did contemplate doing what they call a visa run to Istanbul – where you fly in one day, stay in the airport, come back the next day, just to have the exit and entry stamps in your passport to enable you to renew your visa – but going to Zurich will let me get quite a bit of admin done. And I can visit friends, and see some cultural stuff, and have some proper coffee.

I didn’t want to leave it until late September, in case there’s a second wave of the virus and airports close again; also I wanted to go to Zurich while there’s a chance of good weather and I can miss the hottest weather over here. And I need to be back before October 1^st as that’s when my maintenance money is due (and if I go to Zurich, I’ll be able to get some Euros). So, it’s a quick dash over for ten days. I’ve rented a studio in town. I had 40% discount, but it’s still pretty expensive. However, it’ll be nice to have my own place. I’m flying business so that I can have the seat next to me free on the plane and hopefully drink enough alcohol to kill any virus floating about.

Having to go through all the rigmarole of getting the visa again makes me feel tired, but I suppose it’s a small price to pay for the joy of living over here!

El Andalous - Re-opening of Restaurants

 

Dining at Sailor's, Sahl Hasheesh

Restaurants here re-opened a while ago at 25% capacity (it may be 50% now as it was scheduled to increase at some point). I’ve missed eating out every now and then, but even now there’s always the anxiety of coronavirus on the table close to you.

Anyway, I’ve eaten out twice since the rules relaxed. 

The first time was for Independence Day when Sandy was here (she’s from the USA, so it did make kind of sense for us to celebrate!). We went down to Sailor’s. It’s a bit expensive for what it is, but the location is great. At the time, it was about the only place in Sahl Hasheesh that had opened up.

We booked, but it turned out that we were the only people there, so safety worries were zero. The restaurant is on the beach and the moon was shining on the sea; it was pretty magical. Due to coronavirus, they’re using plastic knives and forks these days to avoid contact (the virus isn’t doing much for the planet in terms of reduction in plastic use!). The menu was also severely reduced, which isn’t surprising, given that we were the only customers. We all had beefburgers, although Sandy insisted on calling them hamburgers. For the sake of authenticity, perhaps I’ll concede for this one occasion. Anyway, the hamburgers were served in a polystyrene box rather than on a plate. So it was like having a McDonalds in a setting worthy of a Michelin-star restaurant! It was a fun evening and a stunning location.

The other time that I’ve eaten out fairly recently was for a birthday celebration (not mine!). A group of us went out to Bus Stop, which has only just opened again. The food at Bus Stop is pretty good and they seemed to be keeping a full menu. Again, we booked.

Well, at least, I went in to book the table and then realized they hadn’t asked me what time. Amanda volunteered to double-check the booking for me and they recognized her as Madam Fiona, saying that they knew about the booking because she’d been in the other day (but that was me! We look quite different – I’m brunette and she’s blonde – although we are about the same age, so maybe that’s enough). She asked for balloons to be tied to the table, which they said they’d happily do.

Anyway, as in Sailor’s, we got there and actually, since no-one else was there, we could have sat anywhere we liked (as we did, since none of the tables said they were reserved). However, this time, as the evening drew on, Bus Stop actually got quite busy. We were sitting outside, so from a safety perspective, we were fine. I had their steak, which is their signature dish. It was the usual great standard. About half-way through they remembered the balloons (or maybe they were reminded, I’m not sure). This is so typical of Egypt; it all come out okay in the end, but it’s never quite what you expect.

This time, we’d brought proper cutlery with us, but it wasn’t needed as they provided metal knives and forks (and  proper plates). It was another lovely evening; wonderful not to have to cook or wash up, great to socialize with friends, and a relaxed, convivial atmosphere.

Life is slowly starting to feel a bit more normal (famous last words…).