Egypt

After 11 days and stopping at 3 different places to anchor and wait for the wind to die down, we finally made it to Egypt. We were all very happy to arrive in Port Ghalib. Many of us are out of fresh vegetables, fruit and eggs, so it is great to be able stock up (to some extent). Port Ghalib is a relatively new tourist area and there is not much else here other than the marina/hotel complex so there is only one small store for food shopping. The complex here is a lovely facility with a focus on attracting divers, but with the current economy and reduced tourism in Egypt lately, there are not very many guests.
We spent our first full day here on chores. The boat needed to be cleaned,  the sand from the places we anchored was all over everything and we have access to water and a hose at the marina. Laundry needed to be done - it is amazing how often you'll wear the same thing on a boat to minimize the amount of laundry you have to do.
We just returned from a whirlwind, 2 day trip to Luxor. After a 5 hour bus trip, in a day and a half in Luxor, we saw  the Valley of the Kings, Al-Deir Al-Bahari Temple (tomb of the female pharoah Hatshepsut), Luxor Temple, Karnak Temple (which is actually a number of temples), and Luxor Museum. Words can not describe what it is like to walk through these places. The magnitude and detail of the temples that were built over 3000 years ago is amazing. I will have to come back to Egypt some day to see more antiquities.

We plan to leave tomorrow (23 April) for the next port which will put us near the southern end of the Gulf of Suez.

Cleaning a fish while trying to hold steady in bouncy conditions

The Wreck of the Umbria

The Wreck of the Umbria

On the Wreck of the Umbria

Anchorage at Khor Shinab

On land at Khor Shinab

Sunrise  - leaving Khor Shinab

Pufferfish from dive at Gezirat Wadi Gimal (3rd anchorage between Suakin and Port Ghalib)

Gezirat Wadi Gimal

 Trash washed up at Gezirat Wadi Gimal - you see it everywhere :(

Tomb of female Pharoah Hatshepsut

At the tomb of female Pharoah Hatshepsut

At Luxor Temple

At Luxor Temple

At Luxor Temple

 The following group of pictures are from Karnak Temple (which is really a number of temples). Pictures can not convey the scale of this place.