Wonders of Egypt

The story · 1 days

First time in Egypt, first time in the Red Sea. We had travelled tropical seas near and far and it seemed necessary and right to go at least once to the nearby Red Sea. The first goal was to avoid Sharm with absolute determination because we didn't feel like, given the Ferragosto period, running into hordes of loud and rude Italians. For this reason we opted, also thanks to a rather convenient last-minute package, for the lesser-known resort of Marsa Alam. We opted for a non-Italian but international resort. In the end it seemed a good solution to us and we can say without hesitation that we spent a week of relaxation and fun without particular problems (but not entirely without!). We flew with Livingstone departing from Fiumicino and heading to Marsa Alam.

The outbound flight was rather punctual and after 4 hours of peaceful flight we arrived at night at the private airport (owned by a Kuwaiti sheikh) of Marsa Alam. The tour operator we relied on was Alpitour (it is not possible to go to the Red Sea resorts without a tour operator, also considering the absence of scheduled flights. Customs formalities are quick even if the staff are not very friendly. Once through immigration the suitcases are already coming along the belt (!) and a girl from Alpitour is waiting for us and directs us to our coach. The destination we chose is the Marina Lodge at Port Ghalib, a few minutes by bus from the airport. For example the Veratour village is about an hour's walk away. The resort seems quite new and reasonably maintained.

Check-in formalities are rather quick even though in the enclosed spaces the air conditioning is truly too high and the temperature swing with the outside is very strong (and causes bad stomach aches!). The facility has a gym, two rather large pools plus a pool used for the diving school, two bars, a restaurant area, a terraced area where you can have a drink while admiring the view. For entertainment there is a billiard table, darts and several shops (many of them closed, they seemed rather abandoned). The rooms are quite spacious with a large relaxation area that includes a small sofa, a television with Italian channels too, a small desk, a minibar (whose drinks are not expensive...1,5 euros for half a litre of water, soft drinks 2 euros). Bathroom separate from the washbasin, shower.

The only flaw is the absence of a wardrobe even though there is an area for your clothes with hangers and shelves but it is not enclosed. There is also a handy safe, air conditioning and a telephone. The finishing touch is a small balcony which, as far as we were concerned, overlooked the main pool. The main meals are buffet-style: breakfast from 6.30 to 10.00, lunch from 12.30 to 15.00 and dinner from 18.30 to 22.00. Very abundant food but rather repetitive. A couple of times they lit the barbecue but in the end they only cooked sausages and liver. Inside the restaurant there are two cooks who prepare pasta to order and a few special dishes: sometimes kebab, sometimes grilled chicken or pizza (rather pitiful). Good choice of desserts, always very tasty. We had the all inclusive and so all drinks were included even at the bar.

In particular you could have all soft drinks and local spirits (such as rum, vodka or beer) or some simple cocktails (cuba libre, gin fizz, etc.) Water, on the other hand, is available from the dispensers placed here and there. Drinks are offered only by the glass while bottles or cans are only for a fee. This is a bad thing because we observed during our week that the glasses, even the plastic ones, are rigorously recycled, simply washing them with a little water...and when I say recycled I mean I saw them take the glasses thrown in the bins and wash them to use again...so from that day on we broke the glasses before throwing them away... The room is cleaned at least once a day and the towels are changed on request (just leave them on the floor) while they never changed the sheets.

The resort also offers beach and pool towels: the yellow ones are for the pool and are taken near the bar while the blue ones are for the beach and are taken directly on the beach. To get the towels you just have to show the special card that is issued at reception at check-in. To reach the beach you just have to leave the hotel and walk about 200 metres under the scorching sun, or take the hotel's free shuttle which only runs on request (just tell reception). The hotel beach is not very big but the sea is very beautiful. On the beach there are about twenty umbrellas and two sunbeds per umbrella. They are all on a first-come, first-served basis and the rule of "first come, best served" applies. Considering that it is really hard to resist direct sun, many go to the beach quite early so by around 8.30 it is all "sold out".

In reality we saw the very Italian practice of a little group of Milanese (all women around fifty) who tipped the beach boy to have sunbeds and umbrellas occupied with towels, fins and fake masks...incredible, we even had an argument and they denied the obvious...a truly shameful scene! on the beach there is a shower, the bar where the all inclusive applies (from 11.00) and the toilets. To access the sea I strongly recommend reef shoes otherwise you will hurt yourself. You can do wonderful snorkelling on the coral reef quite close by that marks the deep waters of the channel that allows boats to access the port of Port Ghalib. Snorkelling is possible until 13.00 when the tide recedes quickly leaving the whole inner stretch exposed. Swimming becomes really difficult and it becomes dangerous to return from the reef if you are outside. So be careful.

On the beach there is also a football pitch and a volleyball net...but the sand is like hard rock and playing without shoes is really difficult. I recommend using very high protection (at least 50) if you don't want bad surprises in the evening: the sun is tremendous and the steady, continuous wind weakens the direct heat but you can get burned. The air temperature during the day is about 47 degrees and in the evening around 30. The heat is dry and therefore quite bearable even though in the central hours you will always be in the water! To avoid getting stuck in a rut we did a few excursions organised by Alpitour even though the times to meet the tour operator's representatives (the only way to buy) are really absurd: often in the middle of the day and they are normally anything but awake.

Making a booking takes ages and you often have to wait for them to finish the welcome "briefing" for newcomers....it is really annoying and I don't understand why they didn't put a book at reception to register for excursions as foreign tour operators have done instead...

Day 112 Aug 2010

Second part

Among the excursions they offered us we did: - Super safari. Cost per person: €55. It lasts half a day, you leave around 13.30 (in an abominable heat) and first do a jeep tour in the desert (all rocky). The guide speaks Italian and explains the various things about the desert: the acacia tree, how water is found, the Bedouin constructions. Very interesting even though the heat is truly unbearable (bring a hat, water and creams!). The tour lasts about an hour, maybe a little more. Then you arrive at the Bedouin village, very very spruced up, don't worry. There they even serve water from sterile dispensers! In the centre they light a fire and offer you tea and coffee (with cinnamon and/or ginger), very good, and the famous cold kakadè, very thirst-quenching and refreshing.

Meanwhile the guide keeps explaining various customs to you and then you set off for a quad bike ride (too much fun!) and then a camel ride (also really cool!). Be careful because for the quad bike ride they'll tell you there's lots of dust and they'll offer you a keffiyeh but they'll charge you €5 for it (an outrageous price). Each ride lasts about an hour and they are very fun. You arrive at sunset, watch a short documentary (pointless) and then a little shop (they pester you to buy something) and then dinner arrives, which is certainly not authentic because it's brought by a catering service from a nearby hotel. In the evening you stay to watch a (shameful!) Bedouin show (it really seems improvised, just to ask for a tip afterwards) and to see the stars in the darkness of the desert. You get back to the hotel around 21.30. - Sharm El Luli and Awlad Baraka. Cost per person: €45.

You leave around 8.00 and return around 18.00. A trip for those who love the sea. You do about an hour by bus (at crazy speed!) and if you arrive safe and sound at Awlad Baraka a rubber dinghy awaits you to take you on a tour of the coral reef, and the return is done by snorkelling (about an hour, not strenuous). There's always a guide with you and the dinghy is always nearby in case anyone needs help). If you don't have equipment you can rent it at modest prices (€6 for the full set) and moreover sun loungers and umbrellas are provided for free use (in greater quantity than at the Marina Lodge!). There are two free soft drinks and around 12.30 you eat buffet-style (with the same identical precautions as the Super Safari).

Then half an hour in the minibus to reach the marvellous Sharm El Luli (also known as Blue Laguna)… it really feels like being in the Maldives, and considering that it's a protected area, building is not allowed and entry is limited daily… there were 20 of us on the beach …. a marvel. In this case there are tents to provide you with makeshift shade from the sun and there are young men who offer soft drinks for free. - Abu Dabab. Cost per person €17.00. The trip lasts half a day and by lunchtime you're back at the village. The aim is to swim with the turtles and try to see the dugong. After about an hour by bus you arrive at a very beautiful beach but COMPLETELY CROWDED, truly unbelievable! You are forced to rent the life jacket (at a shocking cost of €4!). I advise you absolutely not to rent equipment here because the cost is €4 per piece, a truly too-high price.

You go along the coral reef, perhaps the most beautiful and the richest in fish among those we saw in Marsa Alam, but you certainly have to be careful not to hit (or receive) a fin kick from your neighbour… there's an indescribable crowd even below you with a coming and going of divers doing courses… then you go into the middle of this inlet to see the turtle, which, in its kindness, had decided to take a breath of air and nearly ended up violated by the barbarian horde waiting for it on the surface… obviously the dugong, with all those people, will have preferred to emigrate to the Seychelles! A soft drink is offered and then you're hurriedly taken back to the hotel to make room for the other hundreds of people… a truly chilling thing.

A shame, because the beach and the sea are truly beautiful! At the end of every tour, shamelessly and even with nerve, they'll pass around a waist bag or an envelope asking deliberately for a tip. Sometimes we gave it, other times we pretended to because honestly it's just not acceptable given the prices at which the services are offered and above all in some cases (Abu Dabab above all) the guide seemed truly pathetic to us (he weighed 150 kg and acted as the expedition leader for the snorkelling, alone without a life jacket and he didn't even know how to use fins…) A few words about Port Ghalib You can't reach it on foot because the port is not connected except by canals. There's a free water taxi offered by the hotel that shuttles between Port Ghalib and the resort every 10 minutes until one in the morning.

Very convenient, it really takes 5 minutes for a very simple crossing of the main canal. Port Ghalib has absolutely nothing to offer except a couple of places to eat / drink something (prices are anyway affordable but be careful that if you pay in euros they give you an exchange rate that's armed robbery!) and then there's a truly squalid souk where they sell real junk at prices you absolutely must haggle over (shamelessly, I tell you!).

In short, Port Ghalib is truly nothing, we often stayed at the hotel to watch the little show (the only one of the day) offered by the entertainment team, at times even quite nice! I must say that because of the temperature swings, the glasses and perhaps some food (although we carefully always avoided raw vegetables) we got a nice intestinal problem but fortunately on the last day… Imodium (essential, like the sunscreen!) and also a preventive course of Enterogermina (which, however, didn't solve the problem for us…) are strongly recommended. Inside the Marina Lodge there's a small and squalid SPA (that's what they call it). The prices for a one-hour massage are €50 but there are packages (3x4) and also other shorter but cheaper massages. The guy who runs it is truly unsettling (we nicknamed him Scampia) but the girls who work there are nice and we even gave them a tip.

My advice? Forget about it. Interesting instead is the Emperor diving centre located inside the hotel. It seems to be very well run, the people working there are all English and all excursions leave at 8 and return at 16. There's also the possibility of taking diving courses for almost €500 (equipment included); you can get the official PADI Open Water certification. They gave me confidence and they also offer numerous trips and also advanced courses. Have a look around to get information Payments all in euros or, if you want, you can exchange into Egyptian pounds (but you can't take them away so you have to spend them all during the holiday). If you pay in euros they'll give you your change in euros; the only thing to watch out for is checking what on earth exchange rate they use and, if need be, haggling (they always haggle, don't let yourself be intimidated).

The return flight scheduled for 20:00 left at 03:00 but fortunately they spared us the tragedy of waiting at the airport and let us stay at the hotel (paying €20 for extra time in the room).