I long for nature. An Egyptian friend invited to go to the coast for a few days.
A change of location takes place faster than expected.
04/11/2020 The highway called Desert Road leads us more and more out of Cairo. The streets are unusually empty for Egypt. Heading north at a constant pace. Less and less houses along the street. Much green. Date palms. Grape plantations. Funny buildings. Aha, these are pigeon houses.
How good it is to get out of the city. In a different environment. We grin and are happy. The joy of seeing the sea in a few hours is immeasurable. With every kilometer.
The landscape changes with every kilometer. It’s getting bare. Slowly it makes sense why this street is called Desert-Road. More and more sand around us. The plants are getting smaller. Sometimes a gas station appears. Sometimes you see a herd of camels being driven through the desert. Bushes and shrubs cover the ground. Pile of stones. A shepherd with his flock. Electricity pylons. A person on the roadside. And shrubs. Far away. Slightly hilly, but flat area. Monotonous landscape. A ruin. Long time nothing. Then a military station. Sandy soil covered by shrubs. Sometimes a radio mast appears. Internet access is not available anywhere. Every now and then a house. And big hills of sand far from the road. On the street, escaping again and again, the mirage. And another toll check. But not: “again”. Time just flies by. After all the mutual storytelling we arrive. A little over two hours later. That was really quick. So I had sometimes been up to one and a half hours in the car in Cairo to get from A to B.
A beach for us alone. Like in fairy tales. The sand, as fine as powdered sugar, sticks to your feet. A refreshing breeze. The sea is as if painted, with the most varied shades of blue in the world. The waves invite you to swim. I’m not going to be told that twice. And already the rushing water surrounds me. Get rid of all the city smogg. Makes the heart beat faster. Vitalized. A dance with the waves.
Back on the beach. Packed in clothes. We joke whether I am the only one in Egypt who has just been in the sea. For the Egyptians, the sea water still seems to be too cold. And we just learned that the government has banned people from staying on the beach. We feel pretty rebellious. We grin and are happy. And look out over the sea.
We look.
And breathe.
Easy times.
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The day is coming to an end.
The sun says goodbye for today.
04/12/2020 The beach for us alone. Like in fairy tales. Yes, wait. There seems to be a mistake. In any case, a uniformed young man comes up to us. What did he do in the fairy tale? I don’t understand the conversation in Egyptian. However, I understand that we are prohibited on the beach. Damn. I was just about to jump into the water again. The man leaves. And we stay seated. We watch him disappear from our field of vision. Then I disappear again between the waves.
Refreshed, packed back in clothes, we set off. For a walk on the beach. The body adapts the calm rhythm of the sea. Mind radiates with the sun. And the wind carries away useless thoughts.
After an extensive round, we leave the beach. Now I find out what the conversation with the man from the Navy was about: we should leave the beach. “We’ll do that,” was assured, “in ten minutes.” Egyptian ten minutes. A blessing.
