We were up early and all ready to go when we found out that we weren’t allowed to leave today, after all. An American military ship was transiting the canal today, and anytime there is a military ship going through, small boats are prohibited from entering. The big boys can still go through, but not the little guys. We begged the agent, explaining that it should be OK for an American boat to pass an American military vessel, but it isn’t his decision. The worst news was that a British military vessel was transiting tomorrow, so we couldn’t go tomorrow, either.

Since we weren’t leaving ASAP, the yacht club asked us to move the boat from the dock to a near by mooring so other boats could access the hose. We were delighted to do this, because it would make it a little harder for Sayeed to harass us. BTW, he had been harassing us non-stop since very early in the morning.

Once situated, we decided to head into town to look around and have lunch. From what we saw last night, we thought we’d like Suez City. Fortunately, the yacht club staff will ferry you to and from shore, so we didn’t have to get the dinghy down. The yacht club guy was really nice and didn’t hassle us for money at all. We had a good chat with him.

The yacht club is apparently a member’s only club where none of the members have yachts. There is a nice yard and playground for kids, some covered open air seating along the waterfront, and a wall has been converted to a big screen TV for sports and movies, so it is a good family environment for the locals. Outside the yacht club there are what appear to be old, stately mansions from the 20’s in various states of upkeeps, with a couple tall, blocky buildings interspersed between them. One of the tall buildings is a hotel.

We walked out to the main road. Most everyone we passed stared at us, and when we smiled, they would say things like “welcome” to us. On the other side of the street was a strip mall with a mini-mart, mobile phone store, and the like. One of the entrances was for a public pool discreetly hidden behind the little shopping center. We turned and headed for town, trying to catch a bus. There were full size busses running, as well as little bemos (mini-vans). The bemos came by often, and to flag them down you simply stood on the street and gave a little wave. A few bemos passed us by that were full so full that people were literally hanging on to the exterior. Within a couple minutes, four boys ranging in age from 10 14 approached us and asked for money. We said no and kept walking. They followed us. At first we were leery, but they seemed to genuinely want to talk with us, so put aside the skepticism. The boys are learning English in school, and though they didn’t know much English, they knew enough for basic communication.

We had a nice time talking with the boys. We asked each other questions and they tried teaching us some Arabic. They were pretty excited to meet Americans. We took photos, which they were thrilled about. The boys put their arm around Christi for the photos and they were visibly excited by the physical contact. On a side note, in many of the countries we have visited, male-female contact is frowned upon, even among married couples. However, open affection amongst people of the same gender is socially acceptable. You often see men holding hands or with their arms around each other, a behavior that is taboo back in the US. We walked all the way to the outskirts of downtown with them. They directed us to a park across the street, and said they had to go. One of the boys gave Christi a European style goodbye, with a peck in the air near each of her cheeks and all the other boys gaped in amazement. They lined up to kiss goodbyes, too. Here is Eric and the boys.

In the park, we strolled to an ice cream vendor and were immediately surrounded by a huge group of teens, probably 30. They were also excited when they found out we were Americans. These kids didn’t speak English, and tried in vain to communicate. It was hard to talk to any one person when there were so many around all vying for our attention. They all wanted their pictures taken, especially with us. One of the kids had a motorcycle, and he took Eric for a quick ride.

While they were gone, one of the boys put an arm around Christi and a swarm of girls immediately made a protective circle around her to keep the boys away from her. Up until that point the ice cream vendor had been watching in amusement, but apparently a line had been crossed, and when Eric got back, the vendor shooed the kids away and ushered us into a cordoned off area with tables along the canal front. We ordered beverages, and within a few minutes, a group of 7 girls came in to gawk at us. We invited them to sit down. The girls spoke almost no English, but we had a lot of fun with them none-the-less. They sang for us, and we sang and danced for them. They didn’t even complain about how bad a singer Christi is. We managed some communication. Here is Christi and the girls.

Eventually they said they needed to go, and we left, too, in search of a restaurant. There was a restaurant on the other side of the street and the girls watched us go in. The menu was in Arabic, so we ordered schwarma, and got two sandwiches. The girls hovered outside for a long time, meekly popping their heads in several times to look at us, then eventually came in and sat down at the table next to us. We went and sat with them. The kids had pooled their money and ordered three sandwiches for the 8 of them to share. We bought their lunch, and were surprised that all 5 sandwiches and 2 bottles of water only came to USD$6.00.

After lunch we said we were going to go back to the boat. Two of the girls started asking for money. We were confused at first, not expecting these girls to harass us for money like so many other Egyptians we have met. But, it was quickly clear they were. Sigh. All of the girls had nice, new clothing in the latest fashions and were well fed. None of them looked like they were hurting financially, and for that matter, none of the boys that had hit us up earlier looked like they were hurting for money. What is interesting is that one of the girls asking for money seemed to be better off than most of the rest. She had a cell phone, we saw her flashing cash in the restaurant, and if we understood her right, said her dad is a canal driver, which means he makes incredibly good money by Egyptian standards. The other girl had been a bit more aloof than the rest of the girls in the group, and we don’t think she would have been hanging around us if it were not for all her friends. We have never been in a country where a rich person begged for money before. In fact, in most countries, even the poor people are too proud to beg for money.

We said no and walked off. A couple minutes later, two of the girls came chasing after us and apologized for their friends’ behavior, which we thought was an incredibly sweet gesture.

We went back to the boat until dinner time, and then went back into town in search of a restaurant one of the yacht club staff had recommended. We caught a mini-bus as soon as we got to the main drag, and got off at the same corner where we had lunch so we could explore the rest of town by foot. The restaurant was only a block away. We weren’t sure what the fare was, but we figured it was no more than USD 20 cents each. Eric gave him an Egyptian note that is equivalent to USD$4.00, the smallest local bill we had on us, and asked for change. The driver insisted that it wasn’t enough money, that the fare was USD$10 total for the two of us. Eric was irate, but tried to stay calm. He yanked the Egyptian bill out of the driver’s hand and replaced it with an American $1.00 note. Eric’s manner clearly said “this is all you’re getting, buddy”. The driver seemed very pleased with how much money he had just scored off us. We found out later the fare is only USD 10 cents each.

We walked over to the next block. The yacht club guy had told us we would need to ask for help finding the restaurant since the sign was in Arabic, but we couldn’t remember exactly what the name of the restaurant was, so we gave up on going there. We wandered down the street until we found a pizza place with a sign in English. Even better, the menu had English, too.

After dinner, we walked around a little bit before heading back. The section of downtown we explored looks pretty much exactly as what we saw yesterday and just as many people were out tonight as last night. It definitely feels safe and family oriented, and many people greeted us warmly when we smiled at them. It is in no way a tourist town, which we find odd. With so much boat traffic, you’d think they’d see a lot.