January 22, 2023
About 3:00am we entered the Suez Canal on our way to Egypt!! The day started out very foggy and at first I thought there would be no sunrise then at the exact right moment the sun started peaking out and developed into an incredible sunrise!!
The Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The 120.11 mi long canal is a popular trade route between Europe and Asia. The canal officially opened on 17 November 1869. It offers vessels a direct route between the North Atlantic and northern Indian oceans via the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, avoiding the South Atlantic and southern Indian oceans and reducing the journey distance from the London to the Arabian Sea to London by approximately 10 days!! Image how that changed trade when it opened!!!. In 2021, more than 20,600 vessels traversed the canal (an average of 56 per day).
The captain shared with us that QM2 paid one million dollars for the privilege of using the Suez Canal for our voyage. Each passenger was charged $1,000 for the privilege (didn’t see that in the fees but I am sure it was there)!
Tugboats and pilot boats controlled our passage to ensure we didn’t go off course! It was interesting that the left side of the land was mostly sand and the right was green and had most of the civilization.
There is one bridge that crosses the Suez Canal called the Egyptian–Japanese Friendship Bridge. a joint effort between Egypt and Japan. As we approached the bridge it was covered in fog an as we got closer we were immersed in fog and the temperature dropped . My first thought was “this is when things start going wrong in the movies” but alas no pirates or monster emerged from the fog….whew!!!
As the day evolved the fog cleared and we could finally see the one ship ahead of us and ones behind us while enjoying the communities on the banks along with a few monuments.
The trip though the canal took about 13 hours and when we got to the Red Sea there were lots of ships queued for the voyage to the Mediterranean Sea.
Egypt tomorrow!! Adventure awaits!!!
Hi! I love the shots of the bridge peeking above the clouds. I hope you take lots of pictures of Egypt. Mac and I are going with Olivia the end of this year and I would love a preview. What an incredible adventure!
By far the best pics I have seen posted. What you would call suitable for framing. Really nice, really nice.
I’ve been to Egypt and am anxiously waiting for your post form there. EXCITING!!