Day 33 Suez Canal
Over 1 ½ million people worked on digging this manmade canal from 1858 to 1869. From the time it opened, the Suez Canal had enhanced international shipping by reducing the sailing distance between Europe and the Far East. For example, travel from London to Mumbai saves more than 5,000 miles at sea.
We awoke early to witness the commencement of our transit through the southern entry point of the Suez. The sun glowed through the early morning mist as is rose over the desert and lit the scene. DP led the second northbound convoy. Most of the interesting sights were on the portside of the ship, whereas the starboard's vistas consisted mainly of sand, sentry towers and the occasional abandoned, rusty dredging pipes.
By around lunch time we approached the Suez War Memorial then further along the longest swing span bridge in the world, El Ferdan Railway Bridge. I positioned myself on a deck chair on the portside for most of the morning just watching the farms, small towns and many date trees slowly enter and leave our view. We were cruising at about 8 knots.
Poor Paul wasn't travelling too well. He spent most of the day in the cabin unable to walk. An angry red spot appeared on the top of his foot which had me worried but a trip to the doctor confirmed he had gout! A couple of tablets later he was back on track. All the rich food selected from our dinner menu has not helped.
By 4pm we had approached Port Said, the end of our transit through the Suez.
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