Firstly, sorry for the late blog entry but, as im sure you have all been watching on the news Egypt has had a rather eventful few weeks, of which i will explain about later however, for now we return to where i left you last.
Arriving in Dahab, with myself aged 25 i left as a fully fledged 26-year-old, probably no wiser or any more handsome (except for a new haircut), but ready to tackle another year of fun-filled adventures.
The first would be to cycle the remaining 600 or so kilometers to Cairo in order to catch a train to Luxor before taken part in the 18th Egyptian marathon, not a bad way to start i think!. In all honesty though, we both felt our training had been somewhat inadequate, too many kebab’s throughout Turkey, Syria and Jordan combined with most of our training taking place amongst some of the worst traffic conditions in the world but, for us our biggest fear was, did we have enough miles under our belts?.
The ride around Sinai was slightly dull, this may have been brought on by our eagerness to reach the capital or most likely by the ugly, empty Egyptian holiday resorts which seemed to line km upon km of coastline.
Our arrival at the Suez canal brought on our only slight concern of the 6 day ride, in the form of a tunnel, not a problem you might think but, with varying reports of sketchy walkways and length’s which ranged up to 14km we didn’t have a clue how we would get through. Amazingly upon our arrival and consequential halt, we were instantly (with bikes) tossed in to the next available pick up, with the driver appearing to have little choice in the matter and driven through at lightning speed to the other side.
The next thing was dealing with the traffic in Cairo. Everyone told us “you will hate it” “it’s too busy to cycle” but, actually it was pretty easy, cars allowed us to cross the road when we saw our turning too late and most of the traffic was so slow that we could easily maneuver around it.
After spending a week in Cairo’s downtown we can honestly say we loved it. Taking up a pew along small alleyway’s with the three other cyclists we had randomly met (Richard from the UK and Willy and Julie from France who were on their honeymoon) to sit back, with a tea in hand and watch Egyptians go about their daily tasks, which actually usually reflected somehow our own. Food was never far behind our tea habit and Cairo seemed to boast some ridiculously cheap and filling options such as Koshari (pasta and rice mix with a tomato sauce) and the usual Falafel, Humous and Foul dishes.
Thinking ahead we also went about trying to obtain our Sudanese visa, in the hope that the we could pick them up when we returned from Luxor but, to our surprise we had them the next day which ment it would expire before we entered the country, kindly the man offered to extend it if we came back in a couple of weeks!!.
Full up on a few day’s worth of tea, we said our farewells to the others over a few Egyptian Stella’s before boarding the night train to Luxor, chosing to leave our bikes in Cairo . It was a long 10 hours as we rolled into the station and with our Parents arriving that evening we caught up on sleep in a nearby hostel, as the train wasn’t exactly leg friendly. As our family’s arrived with stories of a taxi’s which would barely pass as road legal and of course the weather report from the UK we were incredibly pleased to see them after almost 5 months. Tim and I gave them an introduction to our simple way of life as we ended our evening in a teahouse giving them a chance to puff on the sweet-scented tobacco of a water pipe, which i may add was much to the amusement of a few of the Locals.
The two temples of Karnak and Luxor were the following days activities. I was amazed by both and was left quite speechless by the impressive collums and statues which seemed to almost grow out of the desert floor. I thought to myself about the immense effort it must have taken to construct such grand buildings, marveling at the workmanship and the vision these ancient Pharos had in their journey to the after-life.
Naturally with the marathon now less than 48 hours away, we didn’t want to exhaust ourselves too much so we opted for the next day to be spent near the pool at our parents hotel but, sadly i had somehow picked up a touch of man-flu and spent the whole day in bed.
Next to arrive that evening was our elite runner Ash Dorrington, sent in complete with manager and trainer Tom (aka Gardnertom.com) plus a two month old hernia operation. It was great, just like when Russ joined us in Turkey to have our friends and family around.
The next morning we took up a trip to the Valley of the Kings to see the final resting place of the living Gods which had built the grandeur of Ancient Egypt although, upon our arrival it seemed that most of the tombs recommended to us seemed to be closed, “how about this one” “Closed” but the ones we did see were spectacular and brought back visions of my year six school project about ancient Egypt. The afternoon was spent on a doul cruising down the Nile at sunset giving those who weren’t running 26 miles the following morning a chance to sip on a few beers and our specialist sunset Photographer Ash to be right at home in his element.
Up at 5am after an early night, Tim and I were already stuffing bananas and strange forms of sweet bakery goods down our necks as the day we had all been training for arrived. I was personally starting to feel slightly better after a concoction of tablets and cough sweets, Tims back which had given him some problems seemed to be having a good day and Ash’s hernia well, we didn’t know but who cares, everyone know’s he’s a machine.
Arriving at the start by 6.40am at Hatshepsut temple on the west bank we huddled for a few quick photos as we described ourselves as the team of bodgers, fancy lucazade was non-existent so we made do with water down Coke cola. We certainly didn’t look as efficient as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia team who must have run half the marathon in the warm up but, we certainly had more character.
7am and we were off, four laps around Luxor’s west bank. Although it may not be one of the biggest or most famous marathons in the world one thing it was, was Egyptian!!!, as men sat in tea houses smoking on water pipes occasionally giving us a cheer, children would run along side shouting “what is your name?” “where are you from?” which after 18miles became actually quite a hard question to answer but, the strangest comment was “can i have your water please”. eventually just as the Egyptian sun was beginning to reach an intense heat we all crossed the finishing line Ash with a time of 3h:21m:00, Myself in 3h:35m:00 and Tim in 3h:42:00 which subsequently ment personal best’s for all of us!!!
We were really proud of our efforts and as you may have read before are trying to raise money for and promote the medical health charity Merlin. We hope you will show your support as they continue to provide medical relief to those caught up in conflicts, natural disasters and health system collapse by giving what you can through this simple link, even if it is a small amount it will make a difference.
Food was ordered and devoured back at the relative luxury of our parents hotel before the three of us descended into an afternoon nap. Whilst we slept peacefully Egypt was about to change forever as people began marching past the main square in Luxor, protesting against the government before police dispersed the crowd using teargas. Due to John (Tim’s dad’s) displeasure we had to spend that evening in the hotel for dinner before Tim and i returned to our hostel.
The next morning my mum and i jumped on a plane and headed towards the capital to see the pyramids and the museum, after a 7hour delay we arrived to a city in crisis.
Not managing to reach our downtown hotel due to the recently imposed curfew, we manage to find a reasonable hotel on the edge of the city but, this wasnt without our taxi having to turn back down numerous streets due to Military blockades and tanks refusing our access. The following morning we made it to the french run Orisis hotel on the twelve floor of an old building. The rooftop would prove to be a perfect vantage point for the following days as a nation stood up against its leader.
Fighter jets flew low over Tahrir Square to warn the already small hardcore which grew everyday. My mother and i headed down to the square and chatted to a few of the protests and for the first few days it seemed to be a mood of celebration after the initial violence, people handed out dates and shared food but, the looting which had now passed had left Cairo looking more like a war zone as burnt out car’s, government buildings and tanks now littered the main streets.
We made an effort to see the Pyramids of course, with me not wanting to disappoint my mother but, sadly they were also closed and a small rooftop was our only chance to see this ancient historical site. I personally became more intrigued with what was happening in Tahrir square as waves of calm and then uprising would sweep across the city and country.
The day after my mother left i managed to receive word from Tim and the boy’s down in Luxor, although our original plan was for Tom and Ash to come to Cairo it didn’t really seem worth it as the city had practically shut down and Mubarak seemed super glued to his seat. So, arriving in the morning having myself spent 4 days in Cairo visiting the demonstrations practically daily, Tim and i had to sit down to try to make a plan as to what we would do. With everything shut and all banks empty of money plus the uncertainty of the situation we decided firstly it was probably best to leave Egypt like most other people, with timings and Visa’s which we had intended to renew and collect in Cairo it ment our onward travel through Sudan ect would be not possible.
If we were to fly then we also only wanted to fly to somewhere we could continue cycling and traveling overland, so we opted to fly to Dubai or Muscat and wait for our Iranian visas in Oman before continuing up though Central Asia towards India.
Arriving at the Airport with no ticket and our bikes not packed for flying we headed around the various airline offices trying to find a good deal. Finding a flight with Emirates we had a destination and ticket to Dubai, now all we had to do was wrap the bikes, seeing the bin ladies carrying big black bin sacks i seized the opportunity and with a bit of bargaining we had some sort of packaging. All wrapped up we headed to the check in counters
“sorry your 18kg over you have to pay 200euros”
“What!!!”
“yes the bikes are check in luggage”
“No they are sports equipment”
“No sorry sports equipment is skiing, surfboards, golf sir.”
We pleaded with the check in staff explaining the situation and bargaining for about 10mins till we somehow managed to switch the weight and situation with us ending up paying nothing.
Smug we stepped on the plane.
Arriving in Dubai at 1am was a shock, tired we tried to sleep in the airport “sorry sir you can’t sleep here” rule, rules, everywhere. Slightly dazed we tried to find somewhere in town to rest our weary bodies, ending up in a park full of beautiful green grass . As the day progressed we needed a place to spend the night and after speaking to another cyclist via email we were recommended the beach. Arriving after dark we somehow managed to bump into five other cyclist who had just come from Iran and were also looking at sleeping on the beach. Luckily the day before they had found a decent spot to camp just in front of the tallest building in the world on a patch of scrub land. We spent the next few days cruising the streets and beaches of Dubai enjoying lazy breakfasts with our new companions Mascha and Matteo, Klaus, Kye and Miguel.
Managing to send off various bits of information via the internet for our Iranian visas, we left Dubai with Mascha and Matteo and headed towards Oman. Cycling in Dubai was a nightmare, with no small roads we were forced to use the big busy highways, the good thing was that the workforce of the UAE being mainly from Pakistan and India ment good cheap Indian food and Chai everywhere.
Arriving in Oman we enjoyed our first dip in the sea since Dahab before camping on the beach. Having company was great as the four of us took turns in cooking, washing up and watching the bike’s, well this was mainly so me and Tim could join in a bit of beach footy.
It took us four days to reach the Capital of Muscat as we weaved through small fishing villages and indulged in more food from the Indian Sub continent. Omani’s also are some of the most relaxed people we’ve met, no hassles just “Hey, welcome to Oman, do you need something” “No were fine” “Ok Bye” which ment camping just about anywhere was a breeze.
We made it to the capital and called up a couple we had met at the border called Ben and Sabina, Ben was originally from the Uk but had lived on and off in Oman since he was 14. They invited us to stay at their place for a few nights and with Ben pretty much being a walking encyclopedia of knowledge about the country, we didn’t feel like we would be scraping the barrel for something to do, Turtles nesting, Wadi’s to climb and sand dune’s were just a few things mentioned.
Excited with our new-found knowledge we hitched a lift into central Muscat the next morning to explore the city. Being friday ment most of the shops were closed so the more lesierly activity of sitting on the perfectly manicured grass outside the Sultans palace seemed to be the best thing to do. Enjoying a few drinks that evening with our host we had planned to leave the following morning untill Tim found an email from our old friend Neil Webb who had planned to join us again in Egypt untill we had changed our plans, the email said that he was arriving in Muscat that night, so we decided to camp on the beach and wait for him to arrive.
Our route followed the coast past the town’s of Quriyat and onto Sur. Stopping off at the locally famous Wadi Sharb, a small Oasis complete with palms and fresh water pools to swim in, it felt like a small paradise and instant escape from the heat which seemed to increase daily. The pools were also linked by a small cave which inside housed a plethora of fun, climbing down a rope onto a water fall we jumped off numerous time’s imersued in an almost Spielberg, Goonie adventure which made the whole day one of the best yet.
Leaving clean and smelling slightly better the five of us carried on towards Sur, with rumours of the Tour of Oman pro cycling race arriving in the next few days, after about 20km a convoy of cars rushed past full of bikes with all the top names such as HTC, Rabobank and lampre, this ment only one thing it was today. We rushed towards town but missed the start by 2 minutes. Seeking out the finishing line we got chatting to the race organizers who let us leave our bikes while we watch the race. The riders arrived quite late into the evening after a hard day in the saddle and lucky for us being the only foreigners there, Tim and I managed to grab and quick chat and photo with Mark Cavendish Pow!!!
As night fell we looked for a camping spot in the town centre, when we got chatting to a young Omani by the name of Basil, Living now in the U.A.E. he kindly showed us a place at the back of the Sur Museum in his brand new Dodge. Kindly he also offered to collect us for breakfast the following morning. The gargantuan feast that was laid out before us and subsequent Lunch of which we had kindly taken up the offer of sampling, left us all incapacitated as we lay about enjoying the fine carpets and cushions which lay in the living room.
That evening Basil and his cousin Abdulla drove us out to see the Green Turtles which nest year round on the beaches 46km south of Sur. In a group of 15 or so and our guide we walked from the welcome centre down to the shore line. treading as carefully and quietly as possible we could already make out the siloette of one of these magnificent creatures as it crawled up the beach. Waiting for a few minutes we were called to mound of sand, inside appearing incoherent of our presence was a nesting mother Turtle. The experience was unforgettable as one golf size egg followed another. Before returning the guide also found a single new-born, rushing towards the ocean as it fumbled its way around till it found the cool water of the sea and was ubrublty swept away to starts it life.
Leaving Sur the five of us, all now equipped with official HTC team hats headed towards our respected departure points, for us it was Al Ain in U.A.E and for Mascha and Matteo it was back to Muscat before they caught a flight to India, the good news was that mine and Tim’s Iranian Visas had come through.
The next few days we again enjoyed the joys of travelling and camping in a group amongst some unbelievable landscape’s, from huge seas of sand to barren rocky moonscapes, constant chatting on the bike’s, plus Matteo’s superb Italian pasta dishes made the days pass far too quickly.
Leaving each other at a random junction seemed to comply with the random beach we had met at three weeks prior as we wished each other well. Tim, Niel and I then cycled the headwind-tastic 250km up to Al Ain before arriving back to Dubai.
Today we handed in our passports to the Iranian embassy and in a few days should be on a boat to the land of poets, gardens and famed generous hospitality.
P.S if you haven’t already seen Rex’s superb video then here it is again!!!.
