El Andalous - Same Old, Same Old

Monkey Business in El Andalous

Coronavirus has finally reached Sahl Hasheesh as we had our first case recorded yesterday. It was an employee of the company that runs the resort. He’s head of the electricians and was working night shift since returning from holiday, so fortunately he hadn’t had too much contact with other people. All the workers tested negative and are in isolation. Everything has been thoroughly sterilized.

I’m hoping this might inspire the resort company management to be more strict about implementing the rules they’ve put down. I’ve already mentioned that we have short-term lets that aren’t allowed, people flouting curfew, and nothing is done. We suspect that the lack of action may be due to money exchanging hands. Egypt is not a wealthy country, so many people are struggling to survive (literally) when there’s no money coming in and the government cannot afford payments to its citizens like the wealthier countries. So, perhaps it’s not surprising that people flout regulations and try to earn a bit of money by organizing or allowing short-term lets and day passes. But, at the same time, Sahl Hasheesh can’t afford to let coronavirus run rampant within the resort. Flights are beginning to resume soon and they’ll need a top record.

Even our (El Andalous) management company is trying to get us (the owners) to help finance them as their hotels close and they have debts to pay. Meanwhile, we get annoyed because we paid our maintenance up front for the year and now they’re trying to tell us that there isn’t even enough money for a can of paint. Really? What exactly happened to that maintenance fee we paid back in January – it’s enough to pay for seven years (as we are paying over the odds) and somehow there’s nothing left by June. This is despite the fact that they’ve reduced the wages of our staff by fifty percent (so the rumour goes). We don’t want our staff to suffer (they are not paid much in the first place!), especially not just to fund the management company’s fancy lifestyle.

I can’t complain too hard as I’m happy and still feel blessed to be here. The pools are operational, the building is being maintained (apart from the paint), and I’m leading a relaxed life. We are in continual arguments with the El Andalous management company as to how they spend our money and the lack of transparent accounting, so in a way not much has changed. It’s always the same problem in some guise.

But, nevertheless, the effects of coronavirus are beginning to bite, as these issues demonstrate. There are quite a lot of people here stranded because they cannot fly back, which is also why it’s busier than usual, even without the added short-term lets and day guests, and everyone using the pools because the beaches are closed. But it’s still not rush hour in London!