Somewhere around 1:30am the ferry finally moved and we were on our way to Egypt. Following a certain amount of contortionist moves, we managed to find a marginally comfortable way to lay on the seats and drifted off at about 2am. By 5am we were awake and the ferry had stopped just outside the port. While we were waiting we had some breakfast and availed ourselves of the frankly disgusting toilet facilities. Bearing in mind that the ferry ticket for a foot passenger is $60, you would think there might be somebody who actually cleans the ferry.
Somewhere just before 6am we were allowed to disembark. We retrieved our bikes and headed down the ramp and into the equally un-signposted Nuweiba port. Eventually we found the customs area and had a bit of a shock when we had to remove all our bags and put them through the x-ray machine.
By 6:30am we were reloaded and on the road in Egypt. By 6:35am we were reflecting that 3 hours of sleep on an uncomfortable chair wasn't the ideal preparation for the 70km ride to Dahab, especially as the first 20km was climbing! At least being early the traffic was light and the temperature wasn't too high.
Eventually we made it to the top and stopped for a break before the long descent to Dahab. During the break we learned what could be a valuable lesson while riding in Egypt, the edge of the road is deep sand. If we slide off the road, the chances of remaining upright are slim.
After our last promised downhill turned into something of a disappointment, we were thankfully rewarded this time with nearly 50km of downhill or flat road. With a helpful tailwind we raced along until we reached Dahab, encountering the first check points of our trip along the way. These are quite common in Egypt, although the ones we encountered today were content with just knowing where we were going and where we were from.
The last few kilometres into Dahab were against the wind, but driven on by our desire to get to a hotel and have a sleep, we soon got to the town. We needed a bit of help to find our hotel but it wasn't long before we were checked into our home for the next week the 'Dahab Plaza Hotel'.
The late night and cycling caught up with us after we checked into the room and we both fell straight asleep. It will be really nice to have nothing to do for the next week, other than eat, drink, sleep and do some planning for the road ahead. Unless something really exciting happens I will write one blog for our time here. Take care all, the pool and a beer beckons!
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