Part IV Cairo

Partway into my second movie, we took off, and during the fourth replaying of Up we landed in Cairo, at 9 pm instead of 7. Everyone shuffled off the plane and to passport control to buy their visas. After purchasing visas, Kathleen announced that she needed to use the bathroom again. After getting through passport control with Edwin's tourist passport (the Diplomatic having not arrived before our departure), we went to get our eleven pieces of luggage.

With the aid of the ever-helpful Cairene, we pulled the luggage off the carousel and onto two waiting carts. One, two, three, four... nine. Two were missing. Ten o'clock by now, I headed over to the one luggage counter. I arrived behind two Egyptian men, one Egyptian women, and a German man. As the two Egyptians talked, argued, and waited, the German's cursing began. As four more airport workers arrived to 'assist' the two tapping away at their two computers, his cursing became more audible, animated, and offensive.

After waiting 20 minutes with no change in any situation except the addition of four more people, I decided that they would most likely not throw away our box of black beans and Sophia's car seat and went back to my exhausted mother and children.

Our Egyptian friend asked about tips, and I told him that tips would only be forthcoming if he helped us drive our two luggage carts through customs to my waiting husband beyond. He refused. I gave him the look and assumed The Voice and pointed out that there were three wheeled conveyances and two women to push it. He agreed.

And so, after almost 24 hours of travel, technical delays, weather delays, and baggage delays we were home. Welcome back to Egypt.