Saturday 25 April

We were woken early by Egyptian voices. The motorboat’s pilot for the last part of their Suez journey had arrived before five in the morning and the boat crew were not awake, hardly surprising as they had been partying into the wee small hours. Somehow they got up and off the quayside though in the process they did ding the boat. Three boats in total headed off so now we are seven.

An hour or so later we gave up trying to go back to sleep. Laundry was put to soak, we have a huge mound due to both the water shortages and the lack of suitable weather. It’s likely we will be hanging up wet washing every day for the next few. After breakfast I made a start on cleaning the inside of the boat. First emptying and washing down shelves in the master cabin then the area behind the galley stove. Having spent the last umpteen weeks sailing through the desert it’s time to remove the dust and sand that has found its way into everything. A spring clean of sorts as I’ve got a few days and plentiful hot water to do it with. If nothing else Redmart’s Lavender Floor Cleaner makes everything smell fresh!

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So a morning spent on household tasks, then in the afternoon Lori and I indulged in some girls together time whilst assembling chicken and veg skewers for supper. We also put together a few salads between us and Lori made delicious rice puddings with coconut milk. Later after a slightly comic transfer of food and people from one boat to the other via the dinghy-cum-paddling pool “bridge”, the five of us had a bbq on Silver Tern. Life goes on until we work out a plan for our joint escape, in a week or so.