23 days after arriving, i was finally able to convince myself it was time to leave dahab. before getting on the ferry to jordan, i thought i would spend a few days in nuweiba, but 3 days turned into 4 when i missed the first ferry.
nobody really knew anything certain about the ferry. there is a slow ferry and a fast ferry and apparently the fast ferry is in tunisia picking up egyptians who are fleeing from libya. the slow ferry is still running every day, but its schedule is unknown. on monday we drove to the port and were told there would be a 10a.m. and a 4p.m. boat on tuesday. great. i arrived at 8a.m., bought my ticket and then was told that there was only a 4p.m. boat. so i took a taxi to the little prince coffee shop where I had been the day before. after tea, cake and much chatter i returned to the port by 2p.m.
went thru customs, got stamped out of egypt, waited a bit in the near-empty waiting room and then we were put onto a bus which took us out to the ferry. the bus stopped at the ferry, opened the doors... and then closed the doors, turned around and drove back to the waiting area. i stood up, looked at the men on the bus to try to understand what was happening. one guy chuckled and said 'tomorrow'. huh? i jumped off the bus and ran back to the ferry, to see it pulling away. it was only 3p.m.! i walked back and was told i could wait for the 10p.m. ferry. nope, didn't want to chance the wait in a dark, dingey building... so i got stamped back into egypt. much more complicated than getting stamped out and seemed to involve everyone.
i stepped outside... 'welcome to egypt. taxi?' i went back to the bassanova camp on the beach.
next day got a ride to the port for 11a.m. this time there was a huge line at the customs counter, but the men motioned me to the front, to an empty window, just for me. got stamped out again, and smiles from all the men who knew me from yesterday. stepped into the very crowded waiting room, looked around and spotted a partly empty bench way over by the door. i felt a bit like a flashing beacon sitting there in that room full of men, and soon enough someone came over and directed me to the area where women should wait. there were just a few of us, and just as i had set down my bag we were up and off to the bus that would take us to the ferry. this time the doors opened and we got off.. the men lined up in a very long line and us few women lined up separately and were the first on the boat. it was only 11.30a.m. and i was already settling myself on the upper deck... and the waiting began.
like the buses, the boat would leave when it was full. at 5.30p.m. we pulled away.
after sundown it got cold and windy on the deck so i took a wander around the boat. as i was going up some stairs i heard 'excuse me, excuse me' i turned around and a guy standing in a very long line of men (i had assumed waiting for the toilet) asked if i had a jordanian visa. not yet. he motioned me towards an empty window, just for me. i gave away my passport in exchange for a tiny piece of paper that i would take to the immigration office when we landed. nice of that guy to have alerted me.
went back upstairs to find a seat out of the wind. while looking around, someone knocked into me as he ran by, spraying puke as he went. luckily it all missed me, but left me confused and wondering what had just happened. so, back downstairs, where i found a quiet hallway. a boat attendant noticed me and asked where i was from, and why i as waiting there.. 'follow me' and he took me to the empty first class restaurant. 'don't worry, wait here' and he gave me a table.
and from then i had very personalized service for the remainder of the journey.
at 9p.m. i was off the boat, on to a bus and into the customs building and was asked to wait outside the visa office. i was the only non-regional person on the boat that day. it seemed everyone knew who i was.. all those who passed by said 'canada' and smiled. then i was passed on to a very tall, dark and handsome man who took a quick look at my passport, bent down, looked into my eyes and said 'hello brenda'.
wow. i am madly in love with the egyptians, but it looks like jordan will be a treat too. we sat in his office, he asked me my plans, stamped me in and with a very warm smile, welcomed me to jordan.
i took a wrong turn trying to get out of the building.. probably dizzy from all the attention... but they caught me, redirected me and now i am in jordan.
