Crazy Cairo

All we needed were two bottles of drinking water to insure that we had no more issues with nasty bugs during our travels.  Here’s our story….

To set the scene:  It was a night time arrival in Cairo, a city with close to 20 million people, but no one really knows for sure.  We’d just had peaceful stay in Delphi, Greece which has just over 500 people…..if that.  So it was, yet another, major culture shock.  After checking into our hotel, we made our move to get bottled water.  No way were we going to pay hotel prices.  Little did we know that the inexpensive water we had yet to buy would cost so much.  In stress. 

The first challenge was to get past security.  Even to leave the hotel we had to pass bomb sniffing dogs and multiple guards with automatic weapons. 

Next we had to fend off the aggressive vendors trying to sell us taxi rides, Egyptian Ferrari rides (you guessed it, a donkey pulling a carriage), and miniature versions of a pharaoh, queen or another ancient deity. 

We spot a late night convenience store on the other side of the Nile, yes THE Nile.  The one we’ve heard about all our lives.  This little errand might be kind of fun after all.  Except that the store is across an eight lane street with no pedestrian walk ways nor lights.  Holy S%$t!  There are wall-to-wall cars and NO lanes.  To us, there is little, if any, discernable order to where the cars should be.  The road is full of vehicles and it’s 11:00 at night!  Do we really need the water this bad?

We decide to use the locals as teachers as well as shields.  They make it look doable, so with steely nerves we step out into the oncoming traffic that only  slows down at the very last second, if they really have to.  At least if anyone is hit, we won’t be first.  We make it half way.

Teetering on the very skinny median in the middle of this madness we question again if we need the water this badly.  Yes, we do - it’s $5 for a half liter bottle!  One more time we wait for the locals to move.  We are right behind them.  Ready?  Go…now.  We make it across. 

We had no idea that we were going to take our lives in our hands, but we did make it, one way, and bought two big jugs of fine Egyptian bottled water.  We will not go thirsty nor get giardia again.

It’s hard to believe that we have to repeat the bloc and shield technique to get back to our hotel.  Once more we line ourselves up with the locals.  Ready….set…..go.  To the median first then quickly to the other side.  Whew, we made it.  Oh oh, something is missing.  WHERE THE HELL IS AMY?  Wasn’t she right behind me?  One of the first rules of travel is don’t forget your wife.  For a split second I forgot mine.  She’s all the way on opposite side of this ridiculous street.  I look at her….she looks at me.  She doesn’t look happy.  This is not good.

I watch as she tries multiple times to get through the fast cars, but the traffic is non stop and there are no locals in sight.  And she’s pissed.  Fortunately I find another local, repeat the process, and finally get to my honey.  She’s not a happy camper to say the least.  So….once again we shadow the locals (with Amy on my hip)…..and make it across.  Eventually she forgives me.

The next day we tell our guide, who is from Cairo, what we had done.  He said that even he would not attempt to do what we did, and that Cairo’s streets are completely insane. Especially for pedestrians.  Yes they are.  Couldn't he have told us that before?