Bay of Bengal to Port Said, Egypt.

Wednesday 30th January 2013 (continued)

We head down one level to the indoor/outdoor area which we saw previously and there's a pig, a whole one, suckling, being turned by hand, over roast coals from a slow wood fire. It has been cooking since 1am. I didn't smell anything. All afternoon there has been a squeaking, creaking noise that I could not identify, now I realise it is this rotisserie. The skin is splitting and the fat dripping. It smells amazing and I am fascinated by this full animal, skewered and turned to gently cook. The chef, Sammy, and Dario are in charge of the final decision. 

Roast suckling pig rotisserie on E Deck

The Captain comes down and Roy has finished his own beer. He is offered another Tsingsang which is a large size. There are many beers made available. We chat to the Captain. He tries to find out about Australia. He works 84 days then stops before taking another duty tour. But he doesn't get paid while off. Perhaps he has another job. When the spit is ready, the chef and Dario, with help, remove it from the fire. The coals are taken upstairs to the other bbq on our deck. With a sharp knife Sammy chops the pork up. I tell Roy we should go up. I want to sit at the back of the ship. Salad is brought up from the galley, and cooked rice salad, macaroni salad, baked jacket potatoes and more beers. The tables are covered with red cloth, lots of plates and the bbq on our deck has prepared sausages, squid, and pork belly. More and more men arrive. I notice they all drink mountain dew or coke. Don't they get beer? The chief engineer, Zoran, is the first to fill his plate. Roy mentioned that he won't meet his eye. We had discussed why this might be. At table Roy makes a point of introducing himself, shaking his hand and introducing me. Zoran acknowledges us. We are then offered wine, red Merlot and later Cabinet Sauvignon. I watch as everyone eats. The excess of meat is quite amazing and everyone has plenty. The Captain makes conversation. Apparently the pool has been filled. Ginette has been brought and a chair is brought for her to sit at the top end. I am content to watch, at first. Gary brings me some squid and later a piece of pork belly. I thought the first squid was filled with rice, the second was empty and had some black ink. Much later I realise the first squid was filled with eggs. The tentacles are the tenderest. I take some photos and the crew do, too. There doesn't appear to be any fear of the Captain but there's no idle communication either. We see Ariola sits with the men and Joey, too. Their common language binds them. The officers often drop into Croatian. Ginette doesn't speak and Gary serves her. There is loud music playing to create a party mood. Soon, as we head northward, it will be too cool for this. I stay to watch for a while. This wine is from Chile not Lebanon, and is excellent. 

Bbq on F Deck - crew

. . . and officers with passengers

Two officers leave soon, They are 'not well' according to the Captain but he laughs. This appears to be a euphemism for something else. The heavy food, plus sitting too long, causes me discomfort so I excuse myself. Ginette went much earlier. We watch as the men feed themselves and relax some more.  :::: Roy stays to talk with them. He likes to chat with people. I pull down the blind and lay down on the bed. I wake at 9:30pm and Roy isn't inside. I check through the window and see him chatting to one of the crew. There is just the two. I wonder how many beers he has had and I hope he isn't staying out there on his own. It is on a ship, after all. After only 10 minutes they shake hands and Roy comes inside. The crew member turns out the light outside. He had come for his allocation of a beer and a meal presumably because it was his watch while the party was on. Roy seems to have enjoyed his chat. I undress and catch up with my diary. Roy sits up to read and is surprised how early it is. He thought it was closer to 2am. Soon he comes to bed and we both settle down.

Thursday 31st January 2013

Day 6

I wake at 4:30am wondering if the clocks have been set back again, but the wall clock tallies with my watch. There is a sms message showing and I wonder...? It is an automatic roaming invite. It is from Sri Lanka so we must have passed close enough to connect to their towers. There are no bars showing now on the mobile. I am happy to send another email today and maybe I can compose one to my sister for her to share with the family. The songs of Les Miserables keep playing in my head. I hope to use the pool today. Maybe Roy will come, too. :::: We lie in until almost 7am. It is only just getting light. Without the clock retard, but still moving westward the sun rises later. I get ready quickly while Roy shaves only. We have set our routine for breakfast. I wouldn't mind a change but how do you ask for more when we get adequate? After we have eaten I ask the captain if I may swim. He says the pool must be cleaned first. We return to our room and I connect my mobile phone. Roy lies down and I go up to the bridge. I watch the navigation charts but there is little to see. Only one ship is in view. I check the paper map to see our route because it gives a wider expanse. I see we have just glanced the southern tip of Sri Lanka. There are pencil marks along the planned route at hourly intervals. This is the captain's plot. I can see our projected route which will pass over the northern parts of the Maldives. I note the exact island that we will pass south of, Minicoy Island through the Eighth Channel. I cannot remember the spelling of the southern island or the local name for this sea. Joey talks about his life and asks about ours. He tries to discover Roy's work and I don't try to explain his earlier rigging work but concentrate on his furniture restoration and antique collection. He immediately understood my mention of Nuclear Medicine as his wife had a kidney problem, and she had a renal scan. I am a bit confused because he says he has two girls 2yo and 18 months old, but also two boys, one 18yo at uni studying hospitality and culinary arts. At one point an urgent call gets both the Captain and Zoran on alert, checking the bilge images and then they stand down again. It must be a constant state of attention. Joey is busy cutting up papers into scribble pads. I go down to G deck to write an email to the children. I add my sister as a copy. At one point the Captain comes into the office and I wonder if he needs the computer. There are a few incoming emails. He waves me on. I continue to compose some details about the tour on deck, the barbed wire, the stunning pool and last night's party. I ask that they send on the email to our family. It is expensive sending shipboard emails. I suppose it would be against etiquette to send 50 to family and friends. It was a welcome response that we received yesterday. When I have checked the spelling, I send this, too. I thank the Captain and ask about the pool. He will let me know by calling our room. I return and Roy is fast asleep. He sleeps a lot. I lie down and do some puzzles. When it is almost 10 o'clock I call up to the bridge to request permission to swim. I checked it on the way up and it is pristine. So clean and clear and it is fairly warm. I am surprised at the clear water. Joey answers and gives the OK. Roy has stirred and he comes with me. I put on my bathing suit, cover with my sarong, take the viscose towel and Roy comes too. We are alone and Roy just stands and waits looking out of the open porthole. It is uncanny to watch the water moving in time to the ship's roll. It travels a good foot or two up each side. I lower myself into the deep, deep pool using the ladder. I adjust my exercise routine. Firstly I do an upright swim twice around the edges. It means that occasionally I feel I am swimming uphill as the contained water sloshes higher than the actual roll. I also repeat the twice circuit backwards. Roy passes me my bottle of water which I remembered to bring. Then my stretches as best I can. The pool wall is a foot in from the bars that are attached all around the pool. This means my lateral stretches are much more curved than at home's pool. Also as the ship rolls it add an extra stretch to my static pose. I really like this dynamic exercise. The forward bend is likewise changed to exert constant extra pressure. I cannot do my over arm crawl but add some extra leg swings on the ladder. I shall concoct some other interesting additions, because of the pool configuration. Roy claims he will do some gym work next time. I plan to come daily while the weather and warmth lasts. If it becomes rough the Captain will refuse to allow swimming. We will do alternate day walks. We check the locked door which turns out to be a toilet out of order. 

The swimming pool with Bay of Bengal water.

We return to our room meeting Gary on D deck as we enter the elevator. Roy sits outside and I shower and dress. Roy has opened our porthole. This is much nicer than being locked in air con. It is nearly lunchtime and Roy won't be eating. He feels he doesn't need the midday meal. I go on my own. Ginette is already at table. Ginette and I have some limited conversation. The sea is becoming slightly rougher and Gary tells us this is good as pirates are less able to board in rougher seas. The Captain comes to table and then Vido, the engineer. Gary takes a call and there's an alarm registered in engine room. Vido leaves and eventually so does the Captain although it is settled. Their job never ends. Vido returns for his soup. I check out the alarm box on the wall of the dining room. They were all looking at this. It shows the alarms and then the word Gone!! When I have made Roy and I tea, I return to our cabin. Ginette it's trying harder to communicate. She assumes Roy has an upset stomach. I indicate that it is large and we laugh. He doesn't want all this food. It is too much. She asks Gary for some cake. He promises some tomorrow. I find myself translating between them. My French is not good but it is good practice especially as Ginette proves a difficult conversationalist. I find Roy sitting outside on the deck by the open window. He is drinking beer. Later he comes in to play cards and I do Killer Sodoku. I fall asleep. He goes out to get a coffee. I start to watch 'Life of Pi' and watch until he is on board the freighter. I don't want to watch anymore and stop the movie. I lie down on the bed to catch up diary. Roy comes back. He sits outside drinking a beer and he pours me a gin and tonic. We receive another email printed, brought by Joey. Everyone is interested in this adventure so I shall let them join in. :::: Roy says our emails will be slid under the door so as not to disturb. We both go down for dinner and Roy has ordered four packets of nuts. Ginette only barely touches dinner and Roy doesn't want any. We eat because it breaks up the day. It is really too much meat especially since we have avoided meat for so long. When we return to our room it is already getting dark. We settle down in bed and I put on the recording of the audio book Shantaram. It is in many parts. Unfortunately I doze off occasionally and miss quite a bit. We are both sleep before 9pm. I wake at 1am and hear the clock turning back.

Friday 1st February 2013

Day 7

I wake again at 3am and read for a while then doze until 6am. I get up to do my teeth and use the ball-in-the-bag releases add there is tension in the neck and shoulders. Probably from swimming. I shall build up slowly. I gather our washing and set off a load. We get ready for breakfast. Ginette doesn't come while we are there. Afterwards Roy sits outside with our window/porthole open. It is much nicer with the fresh air. We head up to the bridge at about 9am to check our position and any news. Joey chats and then Milos the chief mate tells me that he and two other officers are unwell with the flu. He asks if I have medical training. I explain my Nuclear Medicine background. He knows of this as he is actually a doctor. Apparently the ship took on two new crew members and they have brought the flu. Now three officers are sick. They can only use paracetamol for treatment. He says they have blood tests to check for drug use. These are random and arranged by owners and ship’s contractors. Alcohol leaves the system in 24 hours but other drugs are much longer. This is no different to on-site mining work. This is supposed to be a dry ship. He is still on duty but keeps his distance. We don’t want to catch it. Joey plots our latest position on the paper chart. Then we watch the screens. Suddenly a sensor has gone down, the ship stops and swings to face due north. I look at the compass and we return from 310 degrees to 360 degrees. We leave the bridge and return to our room. I will make the call when we go swimming. We rest for an hour then Roy changes into gym shorts and I put on my bathers. We check the washing and call the bridge to notify them. Roy works out how to reduce the load on the bike. I slip into the pool. I do two circles forward, two backwards and wall exercises. Two sets again and more stretches finishing with an alternating over arm and forward breaststroke. It takes about 20 minutes which is plenty, to start with. We return to our room and I shower. My feet are black from the rubber floor mats. I clean them and use lotion. I check the washing. I do Sudoku to relax. It is challenging but satisfying when it gets solved. I have to cheat with The Telegraph Toughie crossword as it is so new. Soon it is time for lunch. I get the washing and stow it. Roy has eaten nuts because he wasn't coming to lunch but then he comes anyway. We don't go for a deck walk today. An announcement states that toilets must not be used between 1 and 3pm. I checked with Gary. Roy falls asleep on bed. After a long break I do TaiChi. Then rest again. I am again in pain. I feel a roughness in my throat and stiffness around the neck and jaw. Am I getting this flu too? It seems likely. I go to the office and respond to received email. It takes me quite some time to compose. The Captain sits in his office. I return to our cabin and Roy is having a beer. I watch the end of 'Life of Pi' the movie, on laptop. It is hard to watch the sinking scene as it is so similar to this ship we are on. It is very close to the book but the book is better. Roy tells me he is now reading the book, too, on his iPad. We have a glass of red. We head down to dinner at 6pm. I think I might have the flu. Ginette does not come to dinner. Roy leaves a €50 note under the water glass. It is one week since we came aboard.I also carry some boiled water for a second Neti pot. He sits outside until it is dark at 7:30pm. I change for bed. We want to sleep with the porthole open but I don't like being on view. I pull the curtain but the weights in the bottom slap annoyingly in the wind against the metal bulkhead. Roy asks what it is and I explain. I am up to date with the diary. :::: I partially shut the porthole window and pull down the blind which gets sucked against the sill. It gives privacy as it gets dark. We both read and are soon listening to the shrill whistle that I discover is caused by the air pushing past our door frame. The porthole screws need tightening. I try reading some Timeshares short stories on my smartphone. The moon is at quarter. I fall asleep.

Saturday 2nd February 2013

Day 8

I wake in the night and Roy has fastened the porthole shut but lifted the blind. There is no clock set back, or retard as they call it. I definitely have a very rough throat and aching body. I settle back to sleep after reading another story. I wake at 6am. It is very dark outside and as I look out I see a crew member cross our deck. I pull down the blind. It must be how the crew climb up to the bridge. I cannot sleep any more. It is already 11 hours in bed. Roy has a shave and we prepare for breakfast. Roy says he also has a rough throat. Sammy comes to the dining room to acknowledge the tip. Gary asks if we would like to have hot water in our room with tea and coffee? This is excellent as we can at least drink our hot drinks without going down each time. We return to our cabin and rest. Gary comes with a large jar of coffee, a 200 box of tea bags and a pouring thermos with boiling water. We are all set. I make us a tea and it is fine, from the thermos. Roy goes down to collect some milk. He sits outside on the deck for hours and I puzzle. When he comes in he makes himself a coffee. I join him outside and he has taken his shirt off. We watch flying fish which go for a very, very long way over the top of the waves. They look tiny but there are whole schools of them being disturbed by the bow wave. We head up to the bridge to check out our position. Joey is just marking it on the paper map at 62 degrees east and 12 degrees north. We have made good speed. The daily log shows about 80 nautical miles per 4 hours. We did about 2250 nm (nautical miles) yesterday. It varies but yesterday we had a stop and the ship spun round while they fixed the sensor. We are shown the pirates report and Joey prints off the daily ships' news at sea. Roy checks the silver price. The noon report also logs that we are 5 days out from our last port. Joey shows Roy how we will follow other ships onto the recommended international corridor route once we enter the Gulf of Aden. It is surprisingly narrow. The navy escort usually hangs in behind. Not always good to be up front as, if attacked, the escort must pass all the others in convoy to come to assistance. I study the map and we are crossing the Owen Fracture Zone. The narrow strait where we enter the Red Sea is between Djibouti and Yemen. There we will see both land masses. We stay on the bridge for a while and Joey asks about Nuclear Medicine and I ask about his career. It is sometimes difficult to grasp exactly what he means. He does some teaching for navigation students when he is at home, in the Philipines. Initially he studied BS economics but added navigation studies when it seemed glamorous to sail the world and be paid. In the end, after 13 years, it is a job. He laughs at the engineer’s complaints about working whilst ill. Milos always tells visitors the same story. We head back down and sit to watch the ocean. It is nearly midday and we are hungry. He will bring us more boiling water, as well as drinking water bottles. We return to our room where Roy falls asleep. When Gray brings the fresh bottled water plus thermos jug, he also collects the rubbish. All the beer bottles and tonic cans plus the empty water bottles. Roy wakes. We ask about fresh sheets and towels and tomorrow our cabin will be cleaned. When Gary has left we shut the door and open the porthole. I start my TaiChi 85 form. I lie down and rest. Catch up diary and do some puzzles. :::: After an hour of rest I encourage Roy to come for a walk. He agrees. We go down to the upper deck, don our safety helmets, I call the bridge to notify them off our intentions and we step outside. There is a rope across the exit. We guess it is because of the patches of paint, which cover the grinder marks. When we try to re-enter the forecastle the door is locked. It has a number pass but we don't know the code. We slip under the rope and head forward. There are indeed lots of painted patches, still wet. We take our walk, hop scotch stepping between the wet paint. Only once does my clog step wrongly and there is wet paint on the sole. About half way to the bow we find the whole deck is a mass of paint so we decided to cross over to the starboard. It was very sunny and hot on the port side anyway. It is very different crossing between the container hatches. There are containers rising up to the heavens, with steps and hatches to negotiate. We continue our walk to the bow, on the starboard deck. Roy has already pointed out the flying fish from our deck but up here, near the bow they are magnificent. Looking straight down on them we can see how they spread their wings, bronze in the sun and going for such a long flight before slamming into the sea. It is impossible to gauge their actual size, as the hull is so high. We watch for a long time. We go to the very front and one fish precedes the ship, like a mascot. I dare to lean out slightly to look down into the leading edge of the ship and see the forward facing prow, that bulbous nose sticking out just beneath the ocean surface. This is amazing and Roy also looks down. We stared for a long time but it is hot. We remove ourselves into the shade. When the crew workers start to arrive, to work the metal deck surface, we make our way back to the stern. We greet each man as he passes. I am sure they identify us more easily than we do them; they have overalls and masks on. We go all the way to the stern without descending to the lower deck and then watch the churning propellor. It is so fascinating like watching a horizontal waterfall. We are awed by the incredible power of this pushing that takes us at 21 knots and which leaves a surging wake that is mesmerizing. Both Roy and I watch in silence. The centre of the wake is almost raised and appears stationary but close examination shows it is moving to a different pattern. Perhaps the overlap of the two lateral washes cancels out the middle. Eventually we move on, stepping cautiously over each metal segment along the stern passage of the ship. We find the entrance to the forecastle but again this door is also locked. I see a crew member in the workshop, and Roy asks for help. It is Rauol from the bridge, one of the engineers. He shows us the combination. He tries a few times but the door is stiff so you have to pull hard. We place our helmets back in the office and I notify the bridge by phone of our re-entry. All good. I need to lie down. As we return to our owner's cabin, Ginette comes up behind us, from her room. She is talking in French and suddenly she begins to cry. I am sorry to see her upset but don't know why? I hold both her hands and ask her. I vaguely understand; she is so alone and she has no-one. We invite her into our cabin and settle her down. We had no idea that she wanted company. She has no reading matter on board, no common language with anyone. I do my best with my very limited French. We try to understand and I use pencil and paper to convey some ideas. She says her husband has left, though I don't know when. She says she lost her son, at 34yo to a motorbike accident in 1995. She loved him so much. This causes her to cry again and though there is nothing we can do we show our sorrow for her. Roy, in his usual fashion, offers her a drink. Gin and orange juice mixed with tonic. We all enjoy this then he slips outside. Ginette and I chat about all sorts of things in our limited common language. I decide to show her some of my images on the laptop. This is much easier because pictures are immediate conversation foci. We chat about where my family are in Australia, I have the group photo as my desktop image. Also show Roy's family in the UK, some from last year. Then I find our home pictures and back garden. It all helps to pad the time. Ginette is much cheered and seems to enjoy just being in company. At 5 pm she says she wants to rest before dinner so we agree to find a French movie to watch together tomorrow. One with English subtitles. I will select one from the library in the Captain's office. We meet again at dinner. Gary has found the corn flour and says to ask him for some when I want it; I intend to make thickened hot chocolate. I am missing my sweet treats. Tomorrow he will come to clean our cabin, change sheets and towels. We both retire early as after dinner we always get tired. We read our books. Roy decides to watch the film, 'Life of Pi' though he hasn't finished the book yet on his iPad. I did exactly the same. I am reading 'Les Miserables' having found the point where I'd left off a year or so ago. The modern movie is constantly on my mind and the words resonate with the songs. It is more poignant in the book although the songs bring out the tears. I finally start to doze and set it aside. We have blacked out our windows as we are in the High Risk pirate zone. Roy decides to lie down outside on the foam mat to check the stars. I hear him return.

Sunday 3rd February 2013

Day 9

I wake at 2am and hear the 1 hour retard. I have already changed my watch. When I cannot sleep I read for an hour. Eventually I meditate back to sleep. Waking again at 4:30am. I have slept enough and go out on deck. I see the Scorpio constellation. I check to see if the Southern Cross is visible and although we are north of the equator, I see it just between the containers across the ship on its port side. I can just identify the pointers too. As I watch they suddenly swing away to the bow and I realise we have changed course. What perfect timing! I presume we are now well into the Gulf of Aden. The sea is so very, very flat and unruffled. The usual choppy waves are totally absent. It is cooler this morning and I return inside. I use the ball-in-the-bag to work loose all the tight spots on neck, shoulders, along arms, spine and into buttocks, including the sit-on release of the pelvis. This is such a long process with concentrated relaxation of bunches. I return to bed to do a full meditation and only get up again at 7:15am when I wake Roy. He shaves. I empty the remaining warm water into the sink. We take this back for a boiling refill. Roy goes on ahead. I join everyone for breakfast. The flu symptoms are much abated. Ginette must already have eaten. We are a bit later than usual this morning. Gary will bring our boiling water when he comes to clean our room. Sammy, the chef, comes to greet us. We return to our room and I suggest to Roy that we go to the pool this morning. He will accompany me for my swim/exercise. We rest for an hour and Roy sits outside to watch the ocean. It never fails to fascinate and I join him. We decide to visit the bridge using the outside approach. We are currently in the Gulf of Aden. Joey shows us the convoy exiting the IRTC (International Recommended Transit Corridor) which is patrolled by the combined security forces. There seem to be a whole fleet moving together off to our starboard. Their radar trace show they are all moving eastward, so have just exited. We are just about to enter the corridor. Joey explains that the line before each ship shows their six hour vector and the red shadows are their six hour trace, where they have been. Rauol is looking intently through the binoculars and the screens are being monitored constantly for pirates; anything suspicious. The Captain is also on watch. It is serious threat and they investigate every shadow. Roy has received another news@sea printout. We ask about a French version for Ginette but this is not available. The Captain is regretful but he thinks she should have chosen a French speaking ship. For us we knew that the common language was English. Roy heads downstairs while I remain to watch for a while, studying the charts and looking at our progress. Today's map is a much larger scale with the IRTC at the centre and we enter it. Looking at the paper map of our overnight route I see that at precisely 5am when I was on deck the ship changed course to a due west heading. So I was correct when I saw her swing. The Captain remarks on my early rising, so he must have seen me. I return to our cabin. Roy asks to wait for an hour before my swim. I sit out on deck. I watch various items float past but cannot identify them. We pass many ships. Roy is reading then sits outside for half an hour. He sees a turtle. At 10:30am I encourage him to come. He can’t work out despite the obvious benefits. He complains of aching elbows. I personally want to swim and he feels I should not go alone. He will sit on deck and watch the ocean. I change into my bathers, wrap up my sarong and we head down. The pool is not rocking from side to side, just has a gentle shimmer on the surface. I slide in, initially it is cool but I soon warm up. I do two upright breaststroke circuits and two reverse. My wall stretches, the leg paddles, two more upright breaststroke circuits with an over arm crawl. Side bends in water, forward stretches and camel pose in water, followed by two more upright breaststroke, one reverse and an over arm crawl circuit. Finally I am finished and Roy has been sitting watching the ocean with my viscose towel over his pate. His head is a little burnt from the other day when he stripped off to get some colour. It is time to shower and rest before lunch. I feel good after this. We arrive on time. Ginette also comes and I ask her to join us to watch a movie this afternoon, in the passenger's lounge. She is keen and I hope to get either French with English subtitles or vice versa. The cover says both. We rest in our cabin until 2pm. I go into the lounge to set up the movie but I have trouble. The only subtitles appear to be in Arabic; despite the menu saying French and English. I try it with French audio which is fine for Ginette but then we cannot understand it. And in English it is useless for her. Frustrated Roy returns to our room. I try to watch the French but it is too difficult. Then Ginette explains she has colic and leaves for her cabin so I switch it off. It is a shame. I also return to lie down and puzzle, first Sudoku and then The Telegraph Toughie cryptic crossword. Roy has a beer, then two gin and tonics appetizers, before we head to dinner. Ginette comes down with us. We return to our cabin and I suggest we go up to the bridge to check when we will be passing into the Red Sea. I really want to know in case it is during the night.  Milos is on duty with two Filipino officers. He shows me how they work out the expected arrival at the turning point and entry into the strait between Djibouti and Yemen. It will be about 2pm tomorrow. As we are chatting about these calculations, there is a sighting of a small ship off to port. It also shows on radar. We can all see it. Milos checks the radar information which doesn't tally with the sighting; it is reported as 173m long but it is just a small boat. This makes it suspicious. Both officers train their binoculars onto the boat. When it continues to come closer, Milos turns our ship to starboard, evasive action. He prefers to be cautious. The other craft should veer away as a courtesy and acknowledgement. The small boat turns towards us, to their port. This again is suspicious behaviour. Milos explains that some pirates come close then let down fast skiffs to overtake and board the vessel. He and his men watch the boat out of sight to our stern. They remain vigilant. It doesn't mean it isn't a pirate only that it hasn't attacked us: Thalassa is too big, too fast. The tension with the officers is apparent and for us it makes the threat very real. The risk is there. Milos explains on the last trip out they saw a larger ship also suspicious and coming closer. He jokingly called them and announced that he was navy security forces and asked for their ID. The ship turned away and they watched a smaller ship leave from its side: it might not be pirates, maybe smugglers. As he speaks another blip on the radar screen shows an approaching shadow. He gets his men to check it out using night vision scope, as it is now dark. This turns out to be nothing. All internal lights are turned low. I presume to improve their night sight. We can see how vigilant they must be. Roy seems to want to be on the thick of it, with his binoculars, rather than watching from the sidelines. I stand back.

All binoculars are in use, in search of possible pirate attack.

 As the tension eases, Milos comes back inside and chats about his two daughters in Croatia. One is 31yo a doctor specialising in physiology. The other is 29yo doing nursing also specializing, in social work. No time to have children yet. We chat about Perth, family and Roy joins in. It is nearly an hour later that we leave them on their watch. We go down the outside stairs and they light the way with a torch until we reach our F deck. We draw our blinds for the black out. This is for the ship's safety and therefore ours, too. We relax but Roy needs fresh air and sits out on deck. I go to bed. I write up my diary and Roy comes inside. He watches 'Les Miserables' on the laptop. I would like to listen but he says the speakers are not loud enough. So he puts in the ear plugs. :::: He watches for a while but it is too distressing. He puts it away and settles to sleep. It is early but there's nothing else to do. I read 'Les Mis'. It is reassuring to know the officers are alert and watching above us.

Monday 4th February 2013

Day 10

We wake again in the night. This is now a habit. Roy tries to make tea but the thermos water is too cool. We read for a while then sleep again. I wake at 5am, use ball-in-the-bag and release all my knots. I then lie down to meditate and wake just after 7am. No hour retard. Roy has decided to fast today. I suggest he takes just fruit but he is not hungry. I dress and go on my own. Ginette has already been down, so I eat alone. Gary prepares the thermos with boiling water. The Captain comes late to breakfast, he holds the door for me as I leave. I return to Roy and we decide to check the bridge. We are welcomed and watch the activity. At this time we are staying well within the IRTC (International Recommended Transit Corridor) and the watch is constantly checking on all other craft. There are ships being passed all the time. It is estimated that we shall cross into the Red Sea at approximately 1400 hrs. Roy returns to our room. We initially sit out on our deck and Ginette joins us. She is lonely. We are suddenly showered with black soot from the ship’s chimney. So we go inside. I try to ask Ginette if she wants to watch that film in the passengers lounge but I think she misunderstands. I put it on for her again, but she waves it off. Not interested in watching it, on her own. I take her up to the office with me to check the other available films. I show her the large selection of DVD films and attempt to replace the others back into their respective folders. She is not very enthusiastic. I next access the emails at the Captain’s computer and she sits with me to watch. It is nothing to her, as she is not computer literate, except she can see how it is done. Does she want me to help her to send an email? Maybe her brother or sister has an email address? Yes, her brother does, at work; but no, she doesn't want to. In the end she heads away downstairs to her room. I am just being sociable. It takes me a while to write my emails. Afterwards I return to our cabin but Roy sleeps the rest of the morning. I do puzzles lying on the couch. Milos calls me as he is passing. 'Madam, the swimming pool will be emptied and refilled later.' That sounds fine. The waters of the world must not be mixed indiscriminately. It is a quiet morning. When it is lunch time I wake Roy but again he says he is fasting. We are served too much food on board. I don't disagree but explain that fasting causes the body to believe it’s in starvation mode. This will always lead to overindulgence later. It has been explained, again and again. Our body, but not our mind, is in control. Still I go to lunch alone. Ginette joins me. Afterwards Ginette returns to her room and I take the stairs to D deck. The pool is, indeed, empty. I step outside because I know I can check both port and starboard sides, crossing along the rear of the forecastle and the deck wings stick out further. I watch and the ship is weaving sideways. I can see it in the ship's wake. I don't have the binoculars nor camera. Eventually I return to our cabin and Roy is sitting outside. We have an extra folding chair which Gary has found for us, yesterday. He also brought this other one, when he had cleaned and vacuumed our room, plus changed sheets and towels. He left a folded sheet on our divider which I returned to him at breakfast. We sit quietly until 2pm when we head up to the bridge. There are three new officers on watch, Ricky, Ariola and Victor. We are keen on seeing the entrance into the Red Sea. 

The turn into the Red Sea.

I note on the map that we swing past the island of Mayyun to our starboard before entering the Red Sea. This area is particularly dangerous for pirates and the watch is intensely vigilant with binoculars trained on every small boat. I make a note at 1400 hours that our position is 12°24'N and 43°48'E of GMT. This strait that crosses into the Red Sea is called Bab el Mandeb. We see land emerge to our port. Just small humps and I check the map. There is a small group called Sawabi. Each island is named; northern-most is Kadda Dabali (It has two high elevations) and smaller island is Horod le Rhale. They are quite high. Then the mainland emerges to our starboard. I check the map and the tallest mountain is 270 metres high. The small island of Mayyun also appears, though from the sea it is difficult to separate it. The Captain also arrives on the bridge. The security level here is raised to Level 2. I go downstairs to fetch our binoculars and camera. We also keep watch. The Captain suggests, laughing, we should ask for a discount, as we assist in vigilance. Roy makes himself a coffee. The facilities are freely available to all. There are many, many small boats. We are told that most are smugglers. Indeed we watch as two boats meet, and exchange items, to our starboard. The island of Mayyun is fascinating as it emerges. At first it is dim and unclear, but gradually it clears. Unfortunately, it is impossible to take pictures. It is a very desolate island, mostly very low vegetation and barren, and yet it has a beautiful beach and central lagoon, deep blue and very attractive. On land there is a lighthouse. On the two most prominent heights there are possible mansions, at least quite substantial residences. There are two minarets/lookout posts which are prominent in their isolation and sand colour with a path between them. The rest of the island's buildings look like warehouses, plain concrete/mud rectangular blockhouses, surely very functional. On one prominence of the island is a group of buildings, small squat dark material squares with a main central castle or fort. It could well be an old crusader defense stronghold. Surely this strait is as important as Singapore or the Suez? But maybe it doesn't have the world power. It is hard without internet access to research what we see. We watch as we pass and then at 1530 hours we turn our heading to the north and we have entered the Red Sea. We continue to watch but as the land slips away into the distance, it is just ocean again. It is surprising how large this ocean is and how little land there is to see. We leave the bridge and return to our cabin. We calculate perhaps a couple of days before we enter the Suez. I was not able to get good photos of this desolate yet fascinating area. The binoculars are wonderful though for close up views. Roy suggests a game of canasta and we play a game. We try to remember the rules. I manage to play the first set then have to lie down. Rauol is using the ship’s hose, washing down the upper G deck and then our F deck too. Our portholes are only just pulled to, not locked, and the water comes onto the internal windowsills. Luckily there is a drain hole. I lock it and wipe up. Roy has a beer and I finish the white wine and orange juice. Roy is hungry and has snacked on the mixed nuts. We settle down for the night even though it is very early. There is little to do but read. Roy sleeps early and I have remembered the offline crossword and Kakuro puzzles which I’d downloaded onto my phone. They are a bit of fun. I also sleep early.

Tuesday 5th February 2013

Day 11

I wake at 3am. We have a retard of one hour. It is already 7 hours of sleep. I rest another hour until 4am and Roy is also awake. I make us tea. Roy decides to go up to the bridge. I read back some of my diary entries, from our last days in Perth. Roy comes down and all is very quiet on the bridge, no lights, no land. We are out of the pirate danger zone. I catch-up my diary and Roy sleeps. It is nearly 6am. Roy wakes enough to request another tea but sleeps without drinking it. Today I must do another washing load as Roy has used all his shirts. Since Sunday I have taken care to water the plant in our cabin. It is a type of very thin cane. I hope to see some new growth appear before we arrive in Southampton. Perhaps it needs fertilizer too. On checking the map on the dining room wall and on the bridge, I see we will head a long way north to Hamburg after our port stop at Le Havre. I presume we will have some hours ashore during the stops at these cities and also Bremerhaven, Rotterdam and Zeebrugge. I told Roy I would send his brother, in the UK, an email today. :::: I write this document on my smartphone and is beginning become too large. I shall transfer this to the laptop for safe keeping, today. We went down to breakfast. We return to our cabin. Ginette must have eaten earlier. We carry back the hot thermos and make tea in our cabin. I sort out a load of washing and set it off. We put on fresh everything. After putting this on I head up to the Captain's office and compose an email. This takes me till nearly 10am. There is no received email from Western Australia. We do receive the news@sea under the door. Both Roy and I have been outside. Ginette came to join me for a while but she found it too hot. Although we don't talk much it is company for her. She soon goes inside. Because we are heading northerly, the sun rises outside our window, on the starboard side. The sun on the water is so wonderful, like molten silver. I spend a good hour just watching the sparkling silver through the binoculars though the roiling strands, seen in the Indian Ocean, do not develop. It keeps me well entertained. It is pleasant because of the breeze but I am in the full Arabian sun. I head back inside. I finish the washing. It takes a few visits. I want to wash my hair but hope to swim first. The pool has been filled again with water from the Red Sea. I will wait till after lunch. I lie down and puzzle. I alternate between Killer Sudoku, grandmaster Sudoku and The Telegraph cryptic crossword. They are all challenging. After a while, I remind Roy of my desire to swim. He sits while I do all my exercises reading his iPad. It is difficult at times but worth keeping fit. Afterwards I take the stairs to our floor, from D to F deck. It is a good exercise, though hard on the knees. I shower and wash my hair. I have no puff left to do the hair conditioner so lie down for half hour. Then I treat my hair, get dressed and lie down on the bench on the sun deck to dry my hair naturally. It only takes half an hour. Roy suggests we listen to the next installment of Shantaram. It is very pleasant. We stop at 6:15pm to go down to dinner. Ginette is already there and has eaten. There are six officers at the Captain's table. Ginette has a long conversation most of which I don't understand but she needs to chat. Something about a wind coming up, she mentions her son Jean Claude, Marseille and emails. I listen carefully but don't understand it all. We take our grapes to our cabin. Roy is reading, sitting at the open porthole. It is dark very early. This will get more so as we head north. Short days and long, dark nights. I lie down and catch up on today's activities in the diary.  I will transfer the last entry to the laptop. I settle down to sleep. It is still so early, 8pm, but we have very long days.

Wednesday 6th February 2013

Day 12

I wake at 3am. I check the clock and there has been another retard. I don't remember hearing an announcement about it. So there are many hours yet till daylight and I read 'Les Miserables' for a few hours. I check the night sky which is clear but it is cool outside. I try to sleep. At 5am, I go down to make us a tea, since Roy is also awake. Ginette sees me on my return but it is too early to be sociable. I use the ball-in-the-bag to release the tension from my swim, yesterday. The sunrise with the low lying mist to the east over unseen land is spectacular as one can look directly at the sun, filtered as it rises. I try to capture it on camera but it isn't as gorgeous as seen by eye. We both get ready for breakfast. We eat and return to our room. I ask Ginette if she would like to go up to the bridge to see. She says she has not been up there yet. Roy always has to sleep after he eats. I ask if we can go for a deck circuit and he doesn't want to go. It will soon be too cold or rainy. I puzzle and leave him be. I step outside for a while and watch the last of the warm weather heading away south. There is already a chill in the breeze though it is still quite pleasant. After a good two hours I ask Roy if we can go up to the bridge. Ginette declines as we pass her room. Joey is on watch with Rauol. We ask when we will start heading into the Gulf of Suez. Joey uses the dividers and calculates the approach at about 1530 to 1600 hours. We will then anchor and wait for the exiting convoy. Movement is only one way at a time through the Suez. We must wait till midnight, gathering all the other northbound ships before heading north in convoy. There will be a pilot to escort us northward with a change of pilot maybe four times in the whole length. We will return to the bridge later in order to watch. Again we descend to our room. Roy sits outside reading his iPad. We go to lunch. Again Roy reads and I puzzle. The Red Sea surface and waves are much choppier. It has changed again. I spend some 15 minutes just staring through the binoculars at the other side of the ship through the gap between the containers. The altered surface of the sea, with the afternoon Sun, just sweeps me away. It is molten silver, sparkling with indescribable beauty. It is impossible to capture an image of that thick, vicious silver with an element of oiliness, that wasn't there before. The sun causes this reflection but it is my eyes that interpret it. At 4pm I suggest a visit to the bridge to see if there is any land close by. Milos is just changing watch with Ricky. Ariola is also there and Victor. We see that we have land, Egypt to our port. It is a surprisingly high elevation. We are just entering the Gulf of Suez and I take some images of the paper charts, radar map and other ships’positions. Roy asks me to make him a tea. We stay and watch for 45 minutes and then I head down to E deck, to send an email to the kids. Captain Darko is at the keyboard, so I shall return later. Roy is reading at the window. :::: Suddenly he calls to come and look. A white, very pretty cruise ship is being passed and I take an image. There is also an oil rig and behind that, the shore. It is almost dinner time. Just before 6pm, I go up to the office again. I compose a quick update to the children wondering if they are receiving this news as I’ve had no reply. Roy has gone to dinner and I met him there. The six officers are also at table. We have a glass of red wine. When we met the Captain in the lift this morning he mentioned he had fever overnight. Maybe it is his turn for the flu. We don't stay long in the dining room. Once we settle down in our cabin, though it is only 7pm, the evening is for reading and sleeping. Outside we watch as we are still moving forward. Finally we see we have stopped. We don't know exactly when we are moving on again, but it will be in convoy. It would be good to check the bridge, once we get moving. Since we have reception I decide to send our son an sms message, in case they are not receiving our emails. There is no reply. I fall asleep but wake just after midnight. We have ships, all lit up, all around us. We are stationary.

Thursday 7th February 2013

Day 13

Wake again at 3am, Roy too. We read and wait. When it is 4:30am I check outside and we are at anchor with ships at anchor all round us. I try to take pictures but it is impossible to capture, with just lights showing. I go down to make a tea. Roy wakes to drink it. I return to bed and eat the leftover grapes. We discuss the possibility that there is bad news at home. I send an sms to our daughter, as we have mobile reception. She responds. Thank goodness! All is well and she will write an email today. At 6am, I suddenly notice that we are moving. :::: I get dressed early and step outside. We decide to head up to the bridge before breakfast to see what is happening. We watch the sun rise and also we are present as the Arab, Egyptian pilot arrives on the bridge to direct our ship into the entrance of the Suez Canal. This is happening on all the ships waiting at anchor around us. We watch, as one by one each ship is visited by the pilot boats and a pilot is transferred. 

Egyptian pilot is transferred onto gangway.

Roy and I watch as the land on the left (port) becomes visible in the morning mist. It is surprisingly high and mountainous but very barren. The other ships are all manoeuvring for their designated convoy position. It is not easy to distinguish where the entrance to the canal is exactly, though I take a picture of the map and our current holding position. I hear that we shall be moving towards the canal in 40 minutes and I suggest to Roy that we take the time to have breakfast. There are five officers on the bridge, more than usual and all senior. The Captain and all the officers are in their uniforms with epaulettes. 

Our captain, Drako Cetkovic.

It is quite chilly outside and I have luckily put on my jumper. We return to our cabin to drop off our binoculars and camera. Then we go down for breakfast. There is a sense of urgency as we don’t want to miss the excitement of the transit. It is a first for us. For the Captain and his men it is something they have done many times. We are keen to return to the bridge so we head back up to our cabin to collect our binoculars and camera again. We are in perfect time as we start to move, to pull in behind the Hamlin line MCS Genova, container ship. As we move forward we watch as the two ships ahead in our convoy line up, turn towards the starboard. There is a floating dock near the entrance of the canal, with a ship loaded. It looks cut in two halves across its mid-section. Behind this are two white cruise ships one called AB something. I cannot recall all the names which I tried to note at the time. Many of the ships have just exited the canal from their southerly transit.  We follow the Genova and we finally spot the entrance. 

We follow Genova into the Suez Canal.

The town to the left is called Suez. It is spread along the left spit of land at the entrance and many high rise buildings can be seen at a distance. Surprisingly to the starboard, the eastern bank, there's is nothing, just sand and more sand. This persists the whole way from entrance to exit. Occasionally there is an isolated guarded military post with a compound, well fenced but on the whole the eastern bank of the Suez Canal is just desert sand stretching into the distance, seemingly forever. The western bank, on the other hand is a hive of activity. The town of Suez has lots of green market gardens, well watered with trees and palms. There are numerous, endless farms fronting the canal and as we pass we have a bird's eye view of the activity of the locals: without the overseas travellers’ hassle of interacting with them. This verdant strip of agriculture doesn't seem to extend to the horizon; just for a mile or so inland. 

Captain on the port bridge deck.

The mosque and harbour in Port Suez.

One can almost touch the shore!

We are curious how this narrow band is watered in this dry barren land. We are shocked at the poverty that is laid out before us. We can see, an exclusive view, into everyone's external living space. The houses are dilapidated and poor looking, yet the richness of the livestock, agriculture and relative productive harvest is a contradiction. The women all dress in the full burquas. I am fascinated by the activities. I watch as a woman with a small child, toting two plastic bags, presumably shopping, is greeted by two older children who come running to welcome her home. Maybe she is a welcome visitor. They all four slowly walk to the house, the young ones bouncing and chattering. Further on, we watch as farmers tend their flocks; large numbers of more than twenty. Either goats or sheep, others have cattle in corals, donkeys and even horses. I am thrilled to have this opportunity to observe without restraint. The binoculars are a boon. The eastern bank is barren. 

The prosperous western bank of the Suez Canal.

The dry, barren eastern bank. 

On the West, men are in the fields, weeding or harvesting. Our ship follows at a steady pace behind our leader. We can only distinguish two other ships before us. Along the road that runs alongside the western bank are many staged military posts. We watch as one after the other are passed. Nobody bothers to look up at the ship. Some soldiers are washing and hanging their clothes, some sit in the shade. At various points we pass the sentry posts and Roy recognises machine guns, wrapped in cloth. All the men carry guns. Further along I watch as trucks are stopped at checkpoints and searched by the sentries. The security of this canal is taken seriously but nobody watches the ships themselves. We are almost invisible. We see a ferry pull away from the western bank, wait for our passing and cross behind us heading to the east bank. It is carrying three large road trucks, perhaps petrol tankers? On the eastern bank we see a long line of vehicles waiting and a closer examination shows these are car carriers, waiting to cross to the west. Where have they arrived from? We can only see desert sand off to the east intersected by the road. There are fishermen on the canal but again nobody bothers to look up at the ship as it passes.  We are thoroughly fascinated by the lives that are spread out before our eyes. But after a good 2 hours of being upright, I am suffering. It is only 9am, and I realise I haven't taken my painkillers. My neck has seized up and my back is beginning to spasm. I leave Roy to watch and have to return to our cabin to lie down. I lie down on the couch after taking my painkillers. Unfortunately our cabin faces starboard, and although I continue to watch while lying down, the endless, barren, desolate sand goes on and on. The charts show we have passed through the Little and Great Bitter Lakes. The log notes our passing of Devesoir. Later I do try to lie down on the bench outside and watch to port, through the gap between forecastle and stern containers. The scenery is so much more interesting on that western bank. There are foreground bulrushes surrounding the side channels, still endless palms and greenery stretched into the distance. Eventually I am recovered and return to the bridge. I make Roy a tea. It is nearly 11am and I take an image of the maps on the chart table. I also image the written log which notes every action demand of the pilot. Joey gives me some information about the projected transit.

Joey, 3rd Officer, on bridge.

The Egyptian pilot imperatively orders a course adjustment and Joey immediately obeys. We have quite a way to travel and we both need to get our heads down. It is exhausting watching all this activity. The Captain stays on the bridge all day. We return to our cabin and rest. At 12:30pm I wake Roy for lunch. We are both rested now. Roy goes back to our cabin early. I go back to our cabin to collect the thermos for a refill. I also make myself a thick hot chocolate. I take back a mandarin for Roy but he isn't in our cabin. I lie down for a short while, drinking my chocolate but then I also go up to the bridge. We quickly check the chart first and see we are just entering a much wider section near a town called Ismailia. It is called Lake Timsah. This is also where there is a change of pilot. The current dour, terse pilot, the sea pilot, is collected and now there are two new men on the bridge. One of them is much more communicative. Later I note he has been designated electrician in the log. The other is the canal pilot. There has been Suez canal inspection as well as quarantine onboard. The Captain hands me an email, printed out. It is a wonderful newsy email with all the happening from the children’s weekend. No problems for us to worry about. I am very happy to hear all the news. We watch as we negotiate the next entrance to the northerly canal. There are sand banks and lots of commercial activity here. There is a War Memorial here and the eastern bank, has some elaborate Welcome to Egypt signs. 

The Egyptian War Memorial at Lake Timsah.

. . . with Welcome to Egypt signage.

We enter the next section and travel on. Again we return to our cabin for a rest and both of us fall asleep. We sleep soundly for two hours and when I wake the view outside continues to be stark and barren. We don't want to miss the exit of the ship at Port Said into the Mediterranean. Up on the bridge, we notice that we will be exiting the Suez Canal via the starboard side, western bypass canal. Up ahead there is a dredging machine clearing the canal. There is a container loading dock to our starboard. We recognise a Maersk ship and wonder if it is the one with the damaged stern thruster, which has been disabled by an accident. This was mentioned in the newsletter. It is still to be decided what can be done for her. She needs raising but development of rust, on exposure to air, is a big problem. She is fully loaded and her seamen are all being sent home. It will be a month's long hiatus. It turns out it is the Emma Maersk which we read about and she is at the dock but no cranes are active yet. There are three small boats at the canal-ward aside with the gang way lowered to the water. Presumably men are being disembarked and sent home. The officers are also fascinated by this turn of events, and there is a discussion. It can happen at any time. This port does not have the facilities to repair her. The danger of a ship blocking the Suez Canal is ever present and any delay could be costly. 

Emma Maersk; stern thruster shaft tunnel damage. 

The Suez pilot calls for his ride home.

It is getting quite late but the ships are just exiting the Suez Canal. It has been excellent timing. We have not miss any important crossing and interesting sights of this most intriguing journey up the Suez. The two pilots have done their job as we pass out of the canal at Port Said. 

Port Said hoves into view to port.

The distant city lights are all we can discern of this destination.  Gary brought the pilots a meal earlier and they specifically requested apple juice cartons. These were untouched and quickly slipped into their hold-alls. We also watch as the Captain presents them with two cartons of Malborough cigarettes. This is the greasing of the palms so prevalent in the Arabic world. I always assume it is a form of fee. Besides, we have also twice tipped Gary and Sammy for good service. The ship begins to return to the gentle sideways rocking as we enter the Mediterranean Sea. It is now getting dark and it is already 6:30pm. Time to go down for dinner. Roy pours himself two gin and tonics in our room while I lie down for 15 minutes. Ginette is already at table and has eaten. She just had bread and cheese. She is suffering. The Captain, Zoran and Milos all come late to table. They have all been on duty and had a very long and full-on eventful transit from the anchorage at the entrance of the Suez Canal to its exit at Port Said into the Mediterranean. There were no dramas that we were aware of and yet their attention was not allowed to waver. The handing over of the command of the ship to a foreign pilot can only be stressful. It is all a matter of trust as the pilot gives the instructions to engine room. Now we are into the wide water area again and heading westward. We return to our cabin and change. We settle down to rest. Roy falls asleep immediately. I complete the diary entry for today. I didn't want to forget the excitement and all the new and unique Egyptian sights. Coupled with the camera's digital images this should be a happy reminder of an incomparable journey. There are not many travelers who get to see what we have seen today with fresh eyes. The seamen have all seen it so many times before. There is an element of indifference for the Arabs, in conversation, and I admit to a certain incomprehension of their slovenliness. But we have never been so poor and oppressed, and never lacked the opportunities of people living with any religion which tells one what to think. The mullahs influence these people just like the Inquisition did the west in the 1600s. Free thinking and scientific study is only a relative new phenomenon. We must not lose hope that with education, a people will become free thinking and prosperous, too. It will take a long time but the internet is speeding it up. I hope to be able to write all this up in the blog when we reach England. Without this diary I would never be able to remember the details. Even the events of last year have started to fade but it is all written up and as soon as I read the entry, the memories with the details flood back as if it is only just past. It will be useful when I want to share it. It is now 9:30pm and we are heading westward to the next adventures of this unique journey; the crossing of the Mediterranean to the Straits of Gibraltar. Will it be as empty as the Indian ocean and the Arabian Sea? Even the Red Sea was surprisingly uninhabited with little sea life, no birds and almost no shipping.  We were fascinated by the abundance of birds over the Suez; ibises roosting in trees, large flocks of crows/ravens, sea terns with black heads, one grey frigate bird and others too distant to identify. This was more of what we expected over the sea. Now to sleep. I note we have lost mobile reception, since leaving the canal. :::: 

A YouTube video of this blog can be view by clicking the link below:
Bay of Bengal to Port Said, Egypt