14.

Welcome to Alexandria!

12th March

At 6 am we go downstairs and there he is, Khaled is already having a warm coffee. We greet each other with joy and once we are all ready we say farewell to Salama and Hemaed, but not before buying some date syrup, olive jam and olive oil at the little shop which belongs to AlbabenShal, our Guest House for the last 5 days.

At 7 am we are all packed and ready to go. Other than the guard at the exit of Siwa wanting to rummage through all of our belongings, the first hours of our 600 km journey are uneventful.

Round about midday, Khaled calls Siwa, just to let everyone know we are fine and to find out how things are going there and believe it or not, about an hour after we left, the storm hit Siwa and the rain is now thundering down heavily, though where we are at right now, there is none to be seen.

But it does eventually make its entry, round about Marsa Matruh, Khaled’s hometown. We take a short stop there because Khaled wants to show us the colour of the sea, and though it is raining, it is still not so heavy that we can’t go outside and admire the incredible turquoise blue that he is so fond of. It is indeed very beautiful. A pity we can’t actually go and bathe in it, since the weather is not exactly inviting at the moment.

The remaining 300 km towards Alexandria are all on the coastline, which is impressive to say the least. Not because of the natural environment, but because of the successive holiday resorts of varying degrees of luxury, including a whole new marina called El Alamein, that is incredibly similar to Dubai. I am amazed at the contrast. There is so much poverty in this country, and yet there are over 300 km of high-end resorts colouring the beach scene with all of the holiday fun, food and fantasy that one can dream of. A true idiosyncrasy, to say the least. I smile. And so goes the world of illusion.

The rain has meanwhile gotten stronger, but not a full fledged storm that cannot be travelled in. Khaled is an excellent driver and remains calm and centred. We are so lucky to have him as our escort.

We get to the Hilton Alexandria Corniche at around 4 pm and Khaled is still pondering whether to stay at a friend’s place in Alexandria or whether to head back home to Marsa Matruh all in one go, which is what he ends up deciding. Trust. This man has deep trust and it serves him well, for he gets home tired but safe and sound, enjoying the warmth of his family once again. We are ever so grateful to him! We still exchange messages to this day, a year and half later just to say “hi, all is well here, what about with you?”. The richness of travelling are the people. Definitely.

We check-in at the luxurious Hotel where we have been given a special room for a special price, thanks to Cécile’s connection with Mansoura Ben Soltana, whom we meet shortly after having got our luggage into the room and relaxed for a while after the long journey from Siwa. The room has a balcony facing the beach, but with the rain pouring down, we are not about to sit outside, for sure. It is cosy and comfortable inside, and we feel so very blessed.

Meeting Mansoura is again a sweet gift. I get to polish up my rusty French and Joana, who was born in France, joyfully embraces communicating in her mother tongue. Mansoura manages the SPA, she is a beautician and Massage Therapist from Tunisia, and is still getting used to life in Egypt, where she has come to live by way of marriage.

After a warm tea and a friendly chat at La Gourmandise, the beautiful (and delicious) French Salon the The at the Hilton, we go back to our room and look outside. The rain taps gently on our window, letting us know it is still around, though not heavy. We do not have appropriate clothes or shoes for it, so we decide to stay in for tonight and choose to have dinner at the Greek restaurant called Santorini, right here in the Hotel. Actually, there is also a Lebanese Restaurant, which is equally inviting, but for no particular reason we choose the Greek.

Funny thing that we actually had to speak French, whilst sitting at a French tea salon in Egypt, in a Hotel that is originally from Texas, US. A person born in Tunisia (Mansoura), another born in France (Joana) and me born in Zimbabwe, both of the latter, Joana and I, now living in Portugal. And so goes multiculturalism and the global village :)

Back to the Greek restaurant. It is not only beautiful, but the waiter is very nice and the food is delicious so the price is well worth it. At the end of the day, we sincerely appreciate excellent quality, comfort and beauty. So thank you!

We turn in for an early nights’ sleep, in our extremely cosy and queenly beds, slipping into the valley of dreams with a smile of grateful satisfaction on our faces. Life can be so generous, when allowed.

Meanwhile, back in Cairo and in many other places in Egypt, the heavy unexpected storm is wrecking havoc, destroying houses, roads, railway lines… you name it. This is the thing with living by clear and conscious choice. We never happen to be wherever we are not completely safe and well cared for. And for this I am unspeakably grateful. Living in surrender to my Essence is like travelling on Earth in a magic vessel that only takes me to Paradise, over and over again. And I can guarantee it never ever gets boring, though in the past I might have thought that a little bit of drama was essential to spice life up. But it isn’t. At all.

💙💚💛💜💗

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