We flagged down a taxi and headed east to cross the Nile and enter Maadi, one of the "upscale" parts of town. About a half-mile short of our destination, the driver pulled off the Ring Road, slowed down and pulled to the side along the frontage road. Perhaps we were out of gas? At least the driveshaft hadn't fallen off or the hood blown free - things we have witnessed along this stretch of freeway.
It turns out that the engine had just overheated.
It is time for a taxi update! It seems like only yesterday, but it was actually eight years ago that Cairo began a program to modernize the taxi fleet. That means the shiny new Hyundais and Chevys are well into middle-age.
We had coasted to a halt near a small mosque along the frontage road and there was an entrepreneur set up nearby selling snacks and tea. Tea, of course, requires water - we were in luck since our driver didn't have his own supply in the trunk. I would normally get out of the car to look under the hood and get pictures - but the left passenger door was broken - no window cranks either. The driver's seat had me pretty well pinned in anyway. So I took my photos through the windows.
The driver flipped on the heater to help cool the engine - unleashing a small dust storm inside the car that inflicted a coughing fit upon Linda. He then relieved the pressure in the system and headed back to borrow some water.
Filling the radiator gave us an operational vehicle and we moved on to our destination.
Taxi fare on the meter for the nine mile ride was 43 Egyptian Pounds - about $2.50 U.S. I tipped generously as I suspect he is going to be needing a new water pump soon.
Our first stop at the shopping center was at Chili's for lunch. They had a couple of specials that looked good including a Chipotle Chicken Tex-Mex Salad topped with avocado. The waiter warned us that there would be no avocado, however. I ordered my usual chicken-fried chicken. It is like stepping from the third-world to the first and back to the third on these trips.
Wait a minute - didn't you say there was no avocado? Yes, but our waiter spoke to the manager on Linda's behalf. Not sure what that means but as the picture shows, Linda's salad is indeed topped with a sliced avocado.
This is now Sunday and there is still no baggage and no word from Air France on what happened to those hundreds of bags that didn't arrive on Wednesday night. Since we purchased our ticket from Delta, we have sent an email to them asking for help or any info they may have on the situation.
Posts
1 comment:
Good luck with the bags!
Post a Comment