This is a good time to explain how the passage through the canal works. In basic terms, passage is set up in “caravans,” one coming in from the North, one from the South. We are coming from the South in a caravan of about 24 ships. We are #4, behind the Queen Mary 2, the Oceania Nautica and another smaller cargo ship.
We sail northbound through the original old canal starting at the town of Suez, then enter Bitter Lake. Once through Bitter lake we use the newly dug canal, while the southbound ships use the original canal off to our port side. This means we’ll eventually see the tops of the ships over the sand dunes that are passing us off to our left. Before the new canal was dug, all ships passed though one canal, sometimes having to pull to the side in “passing lanes” to allow the oncoming ship passage. We sail under our own motor – completely different from the Panama canal where you are pulled through by the trains on the banks of the canals. Another difference is that there are no locks in the Suez Canal. It is one continuous (well 2 now) canals, with only 4 feet of sea level difference from one end to the other.
Fascinating.
We continue on our journey, although now the only thing we see is the huge sand dune that has been created by the dredging of this new canal. Eventually, we are able to spot the ships passing southbound – but they are hard to distinguish above the sand dune.
We pass ferry stations, which are crazy when you think about it. These cars have to ferry across the original canal, drive a minute or two across the sand dune, then ferry again across the new canal. To get to desert on the other side. It is sort of like the old joke “why did the chicken cross the road?” “Why are these cars crossing the Suez Canal?” We’re mesmerized.
We pass some sort of visitor center that is in the shape of a ship, with every nation’s flag flying along the banks of the canal. Although, wait, not every nation. There are empty flagpoles – and – well – there’s no American flag. Hmmmmm…. Regardless, it’s a cool artistic display as we sail past the building, the flags and the great statues that appear to be celebrating the new canal.
On and on we sail. We sail past u-turn like canals cut in between the old and new canals, and these roads to nowhere – well they go from one canal to the other, but still….
We spy more southbound traffic above the sand dune.
We wander a bit – hit Reflections and sit and look out the window to the bow of the ship. Go back to the cabin. Sit on the balcony. We go to lunch. Then the announcement comes that we’ll be sailing under the Suez Canal Bridge in 5 minutes. So, we hurriedly finish lunch and run upstairs to watch the spectacle. Ok. So it’s really about 20 minutes, and we’ve sailed under plenty of bridges before, but if we’re doing the Suez Canal – we’re doing the Suez Canal. At any rate, it’s a lovely day, and we enjoy hanging around up on the open deck, watching the desert slide by on the starboard side, the bridge approach overhead.
It is a totally cool looking bridge at least. Even if it does look like the bridge to nowhere. And what’s with that wall? Who laid out that thing and how much did they have to drink?
Under the bridge we go – with little room to spare.
And then we’re gone. Looking back past the bridge to the enormous freighter following along behind us.
Then it’s back to the scenery – although wait – are those tanks out there in the sand of the Sinai? Yes, I believe they are…well, at least we feel protected.
After the bridge, we enter into the last leg of our transit, sailing back into the original canal. As we sail past the towns and developments,
there is a highway that parallels the canal itself. We are hanging out on the balcony when we notice this black car/truck vehicle that is traveling along the highway at the same speed as us – about 9 miles an hour. Odd.
He’s always there, just tootling along. We go up to the Reflections lounge for a bit and we notice another truck doing the same thing at the front of the ship. Hmmmm….Back on the balcony – our little truck is still there. Then we watch him stop next to a car that is parked alongside the highway, and after a few minutes interaction, the car pulls off and speeds away, but the truck maintains it’s 9 mile an hour pace. Guess we have an escort all the way through Egypt on this highway. Again – this really puts perspective on the area, the situation and how incredibly lucky/spoiled we are in our country when it comes to terrorists and military presence.
Soon it’s time to branch off into the Port Said Fork and make our way to the Mediterranean sea. We turn following the QM 2 (bad photo through the windows of the Reflections lounge)…
…and as we sail through, we notice this line of trucks waiting to board a ferry to cross the canal. Holy cow. This photo does not even do this line justice. There must be 200 vehicles waiting to cross and we can not even imagine how long it will take – days possibly. Incredible!
And just like that, the pilot is leaving us….and we are out…into the Med and onto our final EU ports before winging it home from Rome.
What a great day. Long day, yes, but really interesting and well worth the early morning wake up call. We’ve had hourly updates from Mickey, explaining our progress, the history and the operation of the canal. We’ve had beautiful weather. And overall, a unique way to spend a sea day transiting the Suez Canal.
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