Monday — Off to Ain El Sokhna

The morning comes and it appears I am the first one up. About 5 AM I woke up and did my regular morning things and laid back on the bed. About 6:20 Bonnies phone started buzzing. She had set a wake-up alarm but she did not hear it. I turned it off and about 5 minutes later rousted her out. I was the first to go to bed last evening and after I turned in it was decided to take all of the luggage to Sokhna instead of just what was needed for the trip. Secret plans are in the making and we have no idea what they are. Bonnie finished getting everything repacked. We had a quick breakfast and then began packing the luggage in the vehicles.

Megan and Ephraim with additional help got all of the luggage out to the cars and began the process of fitting them all in the trunks. It was certainly a Tetris game to make it all happen. They did get the bags for four people traveling internationally and two locals in the trunks with no luggage in the back seats of the vehicles. It was an amazing feat.

With the luggage all in we were off to Ain El Sokhna. I was told it was an hour and a half drive but then I forgot that Egyptians don’t really know how to tell time. Three hours later we pulled into The Coral Sea Beach. It was 100+ degrees on our arrival. We got the luggage out of the cars and it was carried in for us. Then for some reason everyone wanted to stand around in the heat to wait for the drivers to park the cars. 70 degree temperatures were only a few feet away and we were standing in the heat. I suggested we go inside and finally we did.

Ezzat began the checkin process and it turns out that check in time is 2:00 PM. We arrived at about 12:30. While we were waiting for our rooms to be prepared the check in process was completed. I asked about internet access and it is not included in the room price. it’s 50 Egyptian pounds per day per device. That’s roughly $7 a day. It certainly is in line with costs in the U.S. but I think it should be included. So we sat around and roamed around to kill the hour and a half we had to wait.

Once we got our room assignments we spent most of the afternoon napping, reading, watching TV, or playing Words with Friends. Much more napping was done than anything else.

We got together for the evening meal at 7 PM. By 7:30 everyone had arrived. We did not wait for everyone before we got into the “buffet” line. There was an incredible amount and variety of food. There were way too many choices and everything that I had was very tasty. The meal was excellent and so was the company.

Forty-five minutes after the evening meal we all got together in Ephraim and Kaja’s room for a kind of gift opening. Melanie and Megan gave Nana and Ehab our card and the card from the people at church. She was very appreciated both very much. Kaja gave Nana and Ehab the gift from her parents. It was a nice fondue set. Nana and Ehab had no idea what it was or how to use it but they like it just the same. Then Kaja gave Bonnie and Susan some natural body cleansing solution for showing that was made by one of the people she knows in Poland. It was very thoughtful of her. Then Ezzat and Susan got a special photo album from Ephraim and Kaja that they just loved.

Everyone had a great time. There was much laughter, hugging, and talk. We found out that for an Egyptian couple to spend the night in an Egyptian hotel in they same room they must be able to present a marriage certificate before they will be permitted to share a room. It make no difference of age or if one person is a foreign national. If a man and a woman want to share a room in an Egyptian hotel and one of them is Egyptian they must be able to prove they are married. If you are both foreigners it’s not a problem. Bonnie and I didn’t have to show proof but Ephraim and Kaja did as well as Ezzat and Susan. A strange but true fact from Egypt.

A good time was had by all and now off to bed.