Customs in Nuweiba had provided me with an address, written in Arabic, for the Automobile Club of Egypt for me to show to the taxi driver. I showed the driver the address, and we agreed on a fixed rate to drive me there. Addresses in this country are often spelt in different ways, and can make it difficult to find a place, a problem I have with my GPS as well. The taxi driver just couldn’t find the place, and stopped several times to ask. He eventually found someone who knew, and we ended up going back to a place within walking distance from my hotel. Needless to say the taxi driver insisted it was my fault, and not his.

I had been given a name of a person to contact at the office. He arrived about an hour later, and got to work on my papers immediately. Very helpful guy. I paid 1.000 Egyptian Pounds (€ 65) for the authorization, and he told me to come back about 2 hours later and fetch the letter. 

The world famous Egyptian Museum was within walking distance, so I spent a couple of hours there. A vast place, housing some 120.000 pieces from ancient Egypt. I am not really a museum person (although could classify as a relic myself!), but this is special. On entering the museum you immediately get transported into another time zone - like taking part in a Raiders of the lost ark, movie. It’s a dusty and worn place with artifacts displayed in old wooden cabinets, unopened and partly opened crates of different sizes standing all around the place. A large collection of items relating to King Tutankhamun - including his golden death mask - is the big attraction. 

When buying my entry ticket for the museum at the ticketing office I paid with a large note. I was handed a bundle of notes in return and the cashier moved away from the serving window. Something made me check the change, and sure enough, I had been shortchanged considerably. I called the cashier back. Without a word he just put the amount I had been shortchanged in my hand, and left. Wonder how many times he succeeds every day - sad indeed.

The museum is located a few hundred meters from the Nile river, so I took a quick stroll to watch the traffic on the river, and all the river cruise vessels that take tourists on evening trips along the river, complete with wining and dining. Some other time for me, perhaps.

Back at the Automobile Club my all important letter was ready, and I could begin my 12 hour bus trip back to Nuweiba, across the Sinaï and all the police and army checkpoints. At least I would be familiar with the route, as I would be travelling along the same road for the third time, the following  day, on the X-Country.

Arriving in Nuweiba around 16.00 I went straight to customs at the port, hoping I might be able to get the bike cleared right away. No chance, come back tomorrow at 08.00, the official told me.

In Nuweiba I had booked a room at the Coral Reef Resort - one of the many resorts, desperate for  business, almost giving their rooms away just to survive until better times arrive. The resort was situated right at the Red Sea. Just after arriving I walked down to the beach and had a refreshing swim in the sea. Walked back and jumped into the enormous pool for another swim. I would estimate there to be 20 visitors when I was there, in a hotel capable of accommodating hundreds. The manager told me the resort was built 25 years ago, and that things had been great until the demonstrations at Tahrir in 2011, and the subsequent shooting down of the Russian airliner by ISIS in 2015, which put a halt to foreign visitors. Tourists visiting Egypt had declined from around 15 million in 2010 to around 5 million now. In 2017 Egypt saw an increase in visitors for the first time since 2010. The manager was hopeful that things would improve from now on. Hopefully there will be money again to give the hotel a much needed coat of paint, and a general overhaul. The location is absolutely fabulous.

Tomorrow, hopefully, I will be reunited with my bike (and Hector).