Having completed our little shopping venture we made our way back to the hotel to ready ourselves for the trip to the train station. According to the vacation flyer Anne picked this trip from we were in store for: "This evening, we board our overnight train bound for Cairo. Enjoy the included dinner on board before settling into your first class sleeping compartment." Believe me, that sounds a whole lot better than it actually was. I don't remember anything about the meal on board the train. What I do remember was the condition of the sleeping compartment. The bed linen was clean, but the glasses in the bath area hadn't been washed in a hundred years. We spent much of the evening in the club car playing cards with a group of French tourists we met on the train. We did manage to get some sleep because the next day would be tiring and busy with our having to make our way back to Port Said to rejoin the ship.

Arriving in Cairo it was interesting to watch, from the train, the people scurrying off to their jobs.

In Cairo we were escorted to our awaiting bus for the drive to Port Said. Remembering the drive down everyone took the opportunity to go to the bathroom before boarding the bus. Having spent a week in Egypt where we were restricted to what we could and could not eat, we all began to envision being back onboard the Atlas where we could finally dig into some green salad and fresh fruits. It was on everyone's mind having gone the entire week without.

Arriving in Port Said the bus pulled up near a government building and Zenab, our tour guide, exited the bus and entered the building to do the necessary paperwork before we would be free to board the ship. From what we were told, graft is big business in Egypt and if you grease the palms things go much smoother. Unfortunately, Zenab was either not experienced in these matters or she didn't have the resources to accommodate the wishes of the government officers. We were virtually held captive on the bus for several hours before she finally returned and we were fee to board the ship. Everyone was getting a bit testy toward the end of our wait and wanted off the bus and on the boat. Finally she returned and we headed over to where the ship was docked. Within a few minutes we were again enjoying the luxury of the Epirotiki's Atlas.

As the ship had done a week earlier, it arrived at Port Said early that morning. Some people, following the same itineraries as Anne and I, left the ship for a week in Egypt. Others took a day excursion into Cairo and would return later that evening. We almost had the ship to ourselves. Once we boarded we retreated to the cabin to freshen up and await our luggage. Then we headed directly to the dining room. As we boarded they advised us that they were awaiting us with a late lunch. We all sat at the same table and we all ordered the same thing ... a gigantic green salad.

Later that evening, after all the day travelers had returned to the ship, we would head to our next stop ... Israel. Continue to the next page to see photographs of Israel.