Part two of our transit through the Suez Canal picks up where the first part left off and if you’re an avid reader of this site you already know that this means the Great Bitter Lake. But since in all probability you’re not an avid reader of this site then you can read all about the northern half of the Suez Canal and our experience cruising through it on Marella Discovery here – Fog And Flies In The Suez Canal – where you may or may not be surprised to discover we encountered both fog and flies in the Suez Canal depending on your ability to comprehend English words in sentences.
Let us start with some more photos from the starboard side of Marella Discovery since that’s where our cabin and its balcony were and it’s where we were too at this point of the trip. Using the power of your mind to picture the cruise ship pointing southwards and flicking through your mental dictionary to the definition of starboard (“Left. No, the other left”) you can tell that these pictures are generally facing eastwards and, like the majority of photos shown in the previous post, the eastern side of the Suez Canal was desert-like. Desert-like doesn’t mean uninteresting, though, unless unending flat areas of sand occasionally punctuated by sand-coloured buildings doesn’t excite you, in which case then, sure, go ahead and file this under uninteresting if you must.
The occasional artistic monument could be spotted as we floated along quietly. Artistic? Maybe not. If you’re in Egypt and you see rings with decorative markings on them and your first thought isn’t “Is that..? Have they..? So, is the Stargate actually real!?” then you’re definitely not me.
The final photos I took before we decided to grab something to eat for a late lunch and see what was happening on the other side of the ship was of a building and what appeared to be steps down into a football field-sized area. What it was really for, I’ve no idea, and searching on Google hasn’t even produced as much as a name for the place that’s visible in satellite imagery. It’s a mystery of the Suez Canal!
We grabbed some food in the Snack Shack (if you’ve read earlier content in this travelogue series then you’ll know how much we raved about the quality of the fish in Marella Discovery’s complimentary snack area near the main swimming pool) and decided to brave the swarms of flies for a circuit of the top deck in order to gaze out on all sides of the cruise ship as it neared the end of its canal transit.
Irrigation on the more highly-populated west bank area of the Suez Canal had transformed the desert landscape into gloriously green farmland. A patchwork quilt of ordered areas growing food was protected by walls, towers, and what appeared to be regular patrols on foot and in vehicles. To keep people out or the vegetation in? The former, obviously. Let’s not get too crazy here.
It was interesting to see how many people switched off from the views we were getting. This is one of those areas of travelling where our own experiences have changed how we feel about people like this. In the past we’d have been far more critical because the point of travelling on a cruise ship for us wasn’t to lounge about by the pool and eat all day long; it was to see new things. And, of course, as younger people who’d not even ventured outside the country together before, everything was new. When we’d done our first cruise – our honeymoon and you can read all about it here: Far East Cruise – back in 2008 we were awake at all hours, we were watching the sail into industrial ports in the rain, we were making the most of every moment we could, and we were amazed by how different that made us; we would see some people wouldn’t leave the ship at all and we were incredulous that anyone would spend their money to travel but not to experience anything. And then age and wisdom crept up on us, and we realised that some people would have seen these things already, maybe many times. And for some other people it’s the shipboard experience they crave. We still don’t fully accept that it makes total sense but we can at some level appreciate it. A little bit.
We more-or-less followed the walking/running track around the top of Discovery which is a decent size although for those who like to stay healthy it does involve passing through the cloud of cancer from the designated smoking area at one point. Scenery along the east and west sides of the Suez Canal followed a simple rule at this point south of the Great Bitter Lake: desert to the east; greenery, buildings, and an increasing number of docks to the west. You can see that quite clearly in the photo from the forwardmost point of the ship’s deck below.
It was early afternoon at this point and it was hot on the exposed top of the ship. We like a bit of sun but the sun doesn’t like us. I’m half-Irish while my wife’s genetic lineage comes straight from the Viking hordes (or day-trippers) piling out of Scandinavia. We’d put some Factor 30 on before we’d headed out from our room because we’re sensible like that but we also know that this gives us limited protection regardless. My wife’s been slathered in Factor 50 before and needed three days in bed off work following a few hours out in the sunshine and still getting sunstroke so we’re incredibly cautious about any time exposed to UV especially when we venture closer to the equatorial regions of the planet.
All of this preamble is part of the reasoning behind us choosing to head to the Live Lounge on the ship. Firstly, it was in the shade because it was inside. Secondly, it was quiet because nothing was going on in there and that meant we could take our books for some reading. Thirdly, it was possible to see through the windows on either side of the ship and spot anything of interest. Fourthly, it was easy to simply walk through the exit on either side of the forward part of the lounge and step out onto the promenade deck to take some photos if something interesting popped up. Fifthly, there was a bar so we could have some drinks. New readers won’t know this but we have been known to have the odd tipple.
Thus the final stretch of the Suez Canal aboard Marella Discovery involved me mostly having a swig of my drink, reading half a page of my book, putting down my book, walking out to one side or the other of the ship, taking a photo or two, then wandering back to where my wife was with her Kindle and repeating the process all over.
Eastern Egypt was still the arid, barren landscape of not a lot but sand, but I found an electricity pylon that posed nicely for me against the clear blue sky and probably drew a few puzzled thoughts along the lines of “Has he never seen a pylon before?” from fellow passengers out on the deck watching the world pass by.
Western Egypt gradually became far more visually arresting, though, as signs of civilisation increased; buildings, yet more docks, cranes. We were approaching the end of the canal and the location of Port Tawfiq (a thousand variations of the spelling exist).
When you pass the gorgeous-looking mosque at Port Tawfiq in Suez then you know you’ve completed your transit of the impressive waterway. For us this was a chance to mentally tick off a couple of achievements: we’d done the Suez Canal and we’d now found ourselves in a new stretch of water of the world, the Red Sea.
Port Tawfiq is a very important part of the Suez Canal waterway. In order to reduce the draught of some vessels on account of its depth limitations at points it is necessary for some cargo vessels to offload a portion of what they’re carrying at Port Tawfiq or Port Said then transit the route by water while the cargo travels overland to be reloaded. As with any important port around the world the surrounding area then tends to explode with human life and its necessities such as schools, housing, recreation, etc. Plenty of trees and bushes and grassy areas made the port look very appealing especially when the greens came together with those azure skies, teal water, and golden sand colours.
Marella Discovery’s emergence into the wider waters of the Suez Gulf coincided with the arrival of a boat from ashore and the excitement that comes from seeing people leap on or off smaller vessels alongside cruise ships while they’re both moving. Do you know that bit in The Last Starfighter where Alex wins the game and gets invited to fight the Ko-Dan Armada for real? Well, fairground funhouses with moving floors are exactly the same thing. Behind those mirrors are people waiting to see who can walk easily between the sections with the most able then approached for a life on the water stepping from small boats onto bigger ones. Sure, fighting a space armada sounds more interesting but you’re more likely to be killed and not everyone can pull off beige spacesuits.
Discovery kept its gentle speed going and drifted past the last buildings of Suez’s port area.
We had expected the cruise ship to simply carry on through the gulf now that it had completed the Suez Canal portion of our journey but it quickly became clear that the ship, like several others in the vicinity, was coming to a halt. We weren’t sure if this was for legal reasons, for reasons of shipping lane management in the area, in order to take on supplies, or to take on fuel, and no explanation was forthcoming (or we missed it; quite possible). One interesting view in this part of the world was of a capsized ship just south of Port Tawfiq. If you’ve come to this page in search of the name of the vessel on its side then I’m sorry to disappoint you but I’ve no idea what it is. If you know anything about this ship then please leave a comment.
With nothing new to see we took a break for a few hours in order to participate in some of the quizzing going on around the ship (where we did atrociously) then freshened up with a shower and a change for the evening on the ship. Ahead of dinner we then enjoyed the never-gets-boring spectacle of a sunset at sea, or a sunset in the Suez Gulf in this case.
It’s difficult to describe to someone who’s not experienced it, the sense of peace that comes from watching the sun dip below the horizon or beyond a distant strip of land when you’re on the water gently bobbing up and down with the waves. The quiet hum of human and ship activity while the colours of the sky deepen and shift towards the purples and reds, the feeling of not being quite still, that tiny movement that makes you more a part of the whole planet rolling around its solar orbit, and the gradual appearance of pinpricks of terrifyingly distant light in the heavens that make you feel so small in such an immense universe all come together to soothe us and remind us that we’re not important, we’re less than atoms on the cosmic scale, so just enjoy this fleeting moment called life.
After spending time feeling small there’s nothing quite like feeling huge and on a cruise ship that means hitting one of the restaurants and eating until you come close to bursting. Other than the first couple of days where we’d tried the speciality dining venues on Marella Discovery and excluding the previous night when we’d got absolutely rat-arsed and skipped eating altogether, our evening meal location of choice was the upper tier of the main dining room and its Italian menu. We’d checked the main menu every day but in each case had decided that our tastes were better served with some Italian dining instead.
Another very good meal. As I’ve stated before in these travelogues the quality of food wasn’t to the same standard as, for instance, Princess, but you’re paying a lot less overall and there certainly wasn’t anything to complain about. Service was as excellent as ever, lots of humour, just the right amount of attentiveness. Our experience of Marella throughout this week-long cruise was that the staff seemed to be happy and that’s a good sign for the cruise line as a whole.
After dinner we enjoyed some entertainment in the Squid and Anchor pub, firstly with some music from the party band New Generation (lead singer’s vocal range was pretty spectacular) and then with a gameshow called Spies Like Us. This show was a little too much like a highly-rehearsed theatre piece than any form of game for our liking but it had plenty of humorous quips and was flowing over with double entendres. You can see a little of both types of entertainment in the video below.
We like to finish off an evening on a cruise ship in whatever its late night disco location is so for Marella Discovery that meant Bar Eleven. As the elevator started to rise and we gazed down at the atrium and the people gathered there we caught the eyes of Paul and Carole with whom we’d gotten bladdered the day before. I gestured that we were heading up and tried to flash eleven fingers at them before remembering I’m not a mutant but we weren’t sure if they’d got the message or were with other people. However, about a minute after we’d arrived in the club the pair of them stepped out of the elevator too and a few more hours of drinking and dancing began. You can see a little bit about it at the end of their video blog here – Suez Canal Transit Vlog – and you can see some of the spectacular dance moves taking place in Bar Eleven in this video below.
We ended up drinking beyond the time limit that the drinks package covers. If you buy a drink after 02:00 then you have to pay regardless of whether you have a drinks package or not. Nope, I have no idea why. The important thing, though, is that the drinks prices are excellent on Discovery so who cares?
We were seeing elephants by the time we rolled into our room. Well, one elephant, and it was white not pink.
In the next part of this travelogue series we’ve got one more day at sea aboard Marella Discovery heading down the Gulf of Suez, past Sharm El-Sheikh, then up the Gulf of Aqaba to our final destination. It will be a day of taking photos around the ship (because you can never take too many) and going behind the scenes at the theatre.