One outcome of our long wait on the dock, was meeting the events "Fixer" Turbo. Seeing our broken head light, a left over from the Somme stage, he arranged to get a replacement, as well as some form of air filter. The carb had been open plan since we left Greece & with the prospect of desert stages to come, it was something we desperately needed to address. We expected to meet up at the Movenpick Resort in Ain Sokhna that evening.
It was noticeable that we had a security shadow but never obtrusive. With no time schedule most crews took a break at the Omar Oasis Services. Lots of us also took the chance to fill up with cheaper fuel.
Having taken so long to get under way, it did mean that we were going to be travelling through Cairo in the dark & the first sight of the Nile was a touch disappointing amongst all the rush hour traffic & in the dark. Just a fleeting glimpse. We were experiencing our first trouble free run since leaving the UK, again thanks to Thanos & the Greeks; there were still some serious issues regarding the installation, not least being the air filter business,which became even more important to sort as the sand blew across a lot of the road as we headed south.
Our welcome at Resort was spectacular. Whirling Dervishes, together with a huge crowd as well as a bit of film coverage by a local crew.
At this point "Turbo" had not managed a light unit or anything to link our carb to the oil bath filter from the previous injection system so Richard & I set about finding some form of filter sock. The nearest we could come up with was a very fine ladies scarf. The only real problem with it, apart from it's total unsuitability, was the rather grim yellow colour. It was always going to show the dirt. This was the first time Richard showed his bartering prowess.
During the previous week, we had obviously had major problems, courtesy of the fuel system but otherwise the only thing showing up on our regular evening check was one of the castor nuts needing a tweek with the spanner. We were therefore able to have an early night for a change. Tomorrow morning we would fit our scarf, before Yellowbricking & heading for the desert.
