Mingling With Celebrities in Egypt......

It's been an interesting week of taking in some new, not yet released movies along with special presentations of others that are already out in the public. This was our very first time to attend a film festival and we are fortunate to be house sitting in the resort of El Gouna, Egypt, just in time to catch their 1st Annual Film Festival.

Like all film festivals this one came complete with celebrities from around the world, some of whom we knew like: American actor, producer, director Forest Whitaker known for films like, "The Butler," "Bird," "Platoon," "The Way Of The Samurai," and "The Last King Of Scotland," to name a few along with a slew of television shows too.

Whitaker was in the company of American directors and producers like Oliver Stone and David D'Arcy, and there were probably more that we were not privy to. Also in attendance was American actress, singer, fashion designer Vanessa Williams along with countless numbers of actors from other countries including Egypt.

A highlight of the week long film festival for us was to attend a "masters class" in acting to learn how Forest Whitaker himself has perfected his craft. With David D'Arcy acting as moderator asking him questions about his career we were all smiles sitting just a few feet away from the star as he revealed secrets about his life. He attended college on a football scholarship since his parents could not afford to pay for the education. Later he changed his career focus to singing before giving acting a try. After the questioning was done the audience was allowed to ask any of their own questions.

Forest Whitaker And David D'Arcy

Over the course of the week we attended a total of 19 movies plus the master class at a cost of $22.50 per person. Yes, you heard that right, the $22.50 was for ALL the movies.  And since the homeowners have allowed us use of their car, it was easy to get around within the complex. Since each of the three theater areas was just a ten to fifteen minute drive it was easy to run in to see a movie, get back to tend to the dogs, have a bite to eat and go out for another in the evening.

Tickets From The Movies And Our El Gouna Passes

While some of the movies were great there were others that were thought provoking or downright boring. Our favorite was a British film called, "Breathe." The movie tells the story of an English man who was struck down with polio at the age of 28. Paralyzed from the neck down he requires a ventilator to breathe for him and is given just three months to live.  His girlfriend becomes his wife and together they go on a worldwide crusade to help other disabled people, even inventing the first wheel chair with a portable ventilator to enable him to get around. Considered to me a medical marvel  he goes on to live longer than any other person with polio in the United Kingdom. An inspiring story of hope, triumph and love that brought tears to the eyes of most watching it.

A Must-See Movie But Bring Tissues

Other movies were eye opening about global warming and its effects on the coral reefs like, "Chasing Coral, " and "An Inconvenient Sequel," that featured the efforts of Al Gore. A special 3-D movie called "Wonders Of The Sea," was created by Jean-Michel Cousteau, son of Jacques Cousteau. He explained how at the young age of seven a tank was strapped to his back, flippers put on his feet and he was thrown into the ocean with his family to begin a life of exploration and love for the sea.

Chasing Coral Movie

A one-of-a-kind movie called, "Loving Vincent," is the first ever PAINTED, animated film about the life of master painter Vincent Van Gogh. Every one of the 65,000 frames of the film were hand painted by 115 professional oil painters from all over Europe. It was amazing to learn that Vincent never picked up a paint brush until the age of 28 and only painted for 8 years before taking his own life at age37 after suffering from mental illness and poverty.  He left behind 860 paintings yet sold only 1 while he was still alive. In 1990 an oil painting that he did of his doctor, Dr. Gachet, sold at an auction for over $82 million dollars!

The Painting That Sold For $82 Million

During last nights closing ceremony that was by invitation only, so unfortunately we were not in attendance, Forest Whitaker was presented with a lifetime career achievement award for his humanitarian efforts around the globe. The ceremony was recorded live on the El Gouna website so we did sneak a peek at what celebs were in attendance.

An interesting, thought provoking, enjoyable week of movies, celebrities and enjoying life in Egypt....along the gringo trail.

Is Your Name Theresa, At El Gouna Film Festival.....

There we were sitting at a little table, sipping our cappuccino's killing time, waiting until it was time to watch the next movie at the El Gouna Film Festival. Suddenly a young, Egyptian man dressed in a white tee shirt with the film festival logo on it approached us. "Are you Theresa," he asked? While I was shocked I couldn't help but respond with a, "yes." Clyde was sitting there thinking, "how does he know her name?" "Did you drop her wallet or passport in the theater?" Then the man went on to ask IF I was the Theresa that was supposed to give the introduction for the movie, in both English and Arabic of course? Clyde cracked up laughing and tried to convince the man to make me do it even though I was not that Theresa. Very strange we thought since it's NOT at all a common name.

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Before Some Screenings Someone Gets Up To Introduce The Film

In English and Arabic

The first ever El Gouna Film Festival began officially on Friday, Sept. 22nd with an opening ceremony sometime in the evening. We barely left the house that day due to heavy, sustained winds of 30 mph that were blowing sand everywhere. The swimming pool at our temporary home changed from a bright, pretty blue to brown with a layer of sand on the bottom.  The pool guy showed up that morning as usual. He approached the front, kitchen window where he saw me standing and said, "it's not looking good today to clean the pool." I agreed and he left, returning the next day to clean up the mess.

Founder Of El Gouna, Samih Sawiris Being Interviewed About Film Festival

 

 

Egyptian Engineer, Billionaire, Sawiris

On Saturday we headed out to see what this film festival was all about. With feature films, shorts and others from all over the world this turned out to be quite a big event. Even film directors and producers from the US have films being shown here at different venues around the resort. Each film can be viewed for the low price of 40 LE (Egyptian pounds) which translates to about $2.27. The other option was to purchase a pass for 400 LE each ($22.70) which would give us access to as many films as we cared to watch.

Fire Truck On Standby Just In Case

Everywhere We Go Clyde Finds Fire Trucks

 

While not all of  the films are in English we have to go through the schedule to see which ones are or at least have English subtitles. On Saturday we watched three movies and on Sunday the same.

No Bed Of Roses - filmed in India where the main character was the producer himself and the story was loosely based on real events. It featured English subtitles.

An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power - A film done by former Vice President Al Gore about global warming, the sequel to the first film he did on the same topic. It features a quick shot of President Trump who does not believe that global warming is real.

Snowden - done by American film maker Oliver Stone, this film was released last year world wide, and is being shown here as a special presentation. A film about illegal surveillance techniques in the US and the man that exposed them.

Yesterday we took in another three films.

Three Peaks - French film with English subtitles about a little boys issues with his divorced Mom's new boyfriend.

Chasing Coral - An American film about how the worlds coral is diminishing at an alarming rate also due to global warming of the oceans.

Manifesto - An American film that features Cate Blanchett in a series of manifestos with dialogue that literally meant nothing, at least to us. Neither of us understood what was going on and we left soon after it began.

Today we are only going to see one film since all of the others are either in different languages or overlap the one we will see.

Breathe - based on a screenplay about a young man paralyzed with polio from age 28 and how he and his young wife travel the world giving hope to others with disabilities.

The film festival continues through September 29th with many more films for us to enjoy. During a closing ceremony on Friday, American actor Forest Whittaker will be given a career achievement award for his humanitarian efforts around the world. He is teaching workshops during the week for film makers to learn from. Although it would be nice to bump into some big name celebrities here, we are not sure IF or HOW any of that might happen for us. But at least we are getting out for little money to enjoy some movies, both good and bad while house sitting here in Egypt.....along the gringo trail.

Me And You And A Boatful Of Brits, On The Red Sea, Egypt

Me and you and a boat full of Brits was the theme for yesterdays outing here in Egypt. When the homeowners hooked us up with some of their friends who do a regular boat trip on the Red Sea we knew we were in.  These folks hire the WHOLE boat plus staff for an all-day outing that includes snorkeling at two different locations,  use of their snorkel equipment, a buffet lunch and some relaxing time on the beach all for around $11 each. And also included was a van that picked us up at our front door to take us to the marina in Hurghada, a 30-minute ride from here where our adventures began.

Another Boat Like The One We Are On

The boat was large with plenty of room to spread out. The lower deck featured a kitchen, bathrooms, and sitting area. Upstairs was a larger area with seats, a sun deck and the drivers seat from where the boat was being controlled. Free coffee and water were available throughout the day.

A Barefoot Egyptian In The Drivers Seat

Terry Among The Brits

Our first stop was off an island where we would follow our guide down into the water to see the marine life below. After gearing up with our snorkels, masks and flippers we made our way down the ladder into the warm, clear water of the Red Sea. With fish in hand our guide temped the local fish enticing them to swarm around us for our viewing enjoyment. He even grabbed my hand at one point allowing me to feed the school of fish that was circling around us.

Our Guide Feeding The Fish

 

Clyde Feeding The Fish

After the fish feeding frenzy we followed our guide to a coral reef where we viewed a rainbow of colorful coral along with a mix of different types of fish going in and out of it. Back onto the boat we moved to yet another location where the water was rather choppy but the coral was plentiful. There we followed our guide for quite a distance as he pointed out various types of coral along the way.

Underwater World

A while later we were back on the boat again enjoying a buffet lunch of salads, chicken, fish, beef, pasta, rice and other stuff to fill our tummies. Lastly our boat docked at a golden sandy beach where we enjoyed some floating in the water as we chatted with our British mates. 

Smaller Boat Used To Get Us To The Beach

We made our way back to our temporary home in El Gouna by 5pm, just in time to take out our furry friends for their evening walk. Another day of enjoying life in Egypt, near Hurghada on the Red Sea.....along the gringo trail.

Extending Our Visas And More.....

Visitors to Egypt are issued a "visa on arrival" stamp at the airport that allows them to remain in the country for 30 days. This was an easy process of paying $25 to a jovial, singing man in a small airport bank who applied the large stamp to our passports. But what if a visitor wants to stay longer than 30 days?

When we first discussed this house sit with the homeowners we questioned this, since they had planned a holiday for five weeks and asked us if we could stay that long? We were fine with staying that long as long as we could renew the visa. Soon after we chatted with them they made a trip into Hurghada to the visa office to find out for us. They found out that we were allowed to extend it for six months.

Since our visa was set to expire yesterday (September 14th) we made the trek into the city on Wednesday to begin the process. A taxi driver offered to take us, wait one hour for us and drive us back here, about a 45 minute journey each way for the price of 450 LE (Egyptian pounds). This translates to $25.50, way to much for us so instead we decided to take a bus. Right here in El Gouna, the resort, we were able to pick up a public bus for the 45-minute ride into the city for the low price of just 56 cents each. Since we really weren't quite sure where to get off Clyde asked the driver to let us know when to get off, which he did. He pointed us in the general direction and off we went.

The problem, however, is that ALL of the signs on the government buildings are written in Arabic so we really had no idea which one to go into. Eventually we noticed white folks that looked like European tourists leaving the building and assumed it must be the right place.

The Visa Office, Hurghada, Egypt

Upon entering we had to walk through a scanner, metal detector along with having our bags searched, a very common practice here. The guard looked at Clyde's camera and reminded him that NO photos were allowed inside the building, although we have no idea why?

We entered a room full of people, some were standing in lines while Egyptians were sitting. There were women with their heads wrapped wearing long dresses and men dressed in robes. White looking people stood in lines holding paperwork in their hands along with their passports, so we assumed that we needed to follow suit. There was really no order to this mess and eventually we figured out that we needed to get forms to fill out, step out of line, fill in the paperwork and then resume our place in the queue. When we finally made our way to the clerk behind the window, a woman with her head wrapped wearing a long garment, she took our paperwork along with our passport and sent us to another window to pay. Clyde paid our 1140 LE (about $65 for both) and back we went to the first window to show the receipts. We were told to return the following day after 1pm to pick up our passports with our new visa stamp.

So yesterday once again we made the long trek by bus into the city and walked over to the visa office. This process was fast and just a matter of picking up our passports, the only TWO US Passports that were sitting there on the desk. Our new visa stamps allow us to remain in Egypt for up to 6 months, although we will only be here another 5 or 6 weeks.

Original Visa Stamp Plus Another Nearby

Before leaving Hurghada we had to find an Etisalat store to add more minutes to our Egyptian cell phone sim card. For only around $7 we added plenty of data to our phones, something we do in every country we visit.

We hopped on a bus headed back to El Gouna. Upon entering the resort security guards entered the bus and checked ID's on some of the Egyptians. Many of them are coming into the resort headed to work. But the resort DOES offer housing to many locals that do work here so some could have been going home.

As the uniformed security guard passed by us on the bus he stopped and asked, "do you live here?" Clyde said "no we are just visiting." The man looked at us with a smirk and asked, "do you have any bombs?" Clyde smugly answered by saying, "no, not today." Security checkpoints are just a part of life in Egypt, as we have seen in many other countries we have visited.

Part of our life on the road around the world involves stopping along the way to see dentists and doctors for routine checkups. The last time we had our teeth cleaned we were in Wales and saw a dental hygienist much like we would in the US.  Since we were past due for cleanings we made appointments with a German dentist here in El Gouna for cleanings. Semi retired from Germany the gray haired gentleman was dressed in white shorts, a white short sleeved sport shirt and flip flops. Unlike any other dentist we have met along the way I went first into the office for my cleaning. I was shocked at what came out of his mouth and he proceeded to tell me that I did NOT need my teeth cleaned because I have NO plaque. He explained that plaque can be seen on the teeth and because he saw none, there was nothing to clean. Strange I thought since I have been going in for dental cleanings most of my life and have NEVER heard an American dentist or hygienist say such a thing.  I always was told that I have little to no plaque, but never did anyone refuse to do the cleaning anyway. But this German guy DID tell me that my expensive bridgework needs to be replaced, a point that I argued but did not win. But surely I will get a second opinion before spending tons of money replacing something that's not broken and will not have it done here as prices were a big high. The cost for each dental cleaning was $137 but I ended up paying less since my teeth did not need the cleaning after all. This is the most we've paid in all of our travels but then this IS a ritzy, resort and probably would have cost less elsewhere in Egypt.

Entrance to Hospital/Clinic

Atrium at Hospital/Clinic

Afterwards we stopped for lunch in the downtown area of El Gouna. But the only restaurant that was open for lunch was Zomba, the cheap Egyptian food place where we ate a few days ago. I enjoyed a plate of shawarma chicken, slow cooked meat with onions, peppers, and spices served with rice. It was really tasty. Clyde had his usual Koshari served alongside home made flat bread and hummus, for another cheap, good meal.

Terry's Shawarma Chicken

Another productive day in the crazy, bustling city of Hurghada, Egypt.....along the gringo trail.

Almost A Free Lunch In Egypt....

28 cents for lunch.....really, we are not making this stuff up but things are really that cheap here in Egypt.

Here we are in El Gouna, the premier, luxury resort on the Red Sea near the city of Hurghada. We are surrounded by huge, custom built homes many of which cost over a million US dollars, enjoying the lavish lifestyle for free as house and pet sitters.

Will The Big Boy

Sights Around El Gouna

Tuk Tuk Taxi's Are Cheap

We noticed on the kitchen countertop of the house a few brochures including restaurants, and touristy things to do nearby so we had to sneak a peek. One in particular caught our eye....a restaurant called, "Zomba," who's slogan is, "Egyptian food made right," so we browsed through the menu.

The first section on the menu features Egyptian plates as follows: Classic fool (also spelled ful) is a local dish of fava beans, spices and vegetables for 05.00 LE (Egyptian pounds) translated to US dollars that is 28 cents.

Fool With Spicy Sausage

Wow....we thought so we kept on looking down the menu. Another Egyptian staple is something called Koshari (also spelled kushari and various other ways). This typical meal consists of pasta (usually two types), rice, chick peas (or garbanzo beans), brown lentils and is served with tomato sauce or a garlic sauce. Classic koshari at this restaurant goes for 10.00 LE (which translates to 56 cents). Over the past month we have sampled Koshari at several restaurants and it's really tasty, always served with hot, Egyptian flat bread and is always cheap.

A Heaping Pile Of Koshari For Clyde

So yesterday Clyde, my big spender of a husband took me out to lunch at Zomba. Since I had not tried "fool" yet I ordered a plate of fool with spicy sausage added for a total cost of $1.24. Clyde ordered koshari with shawarma chicken (shawarma is a way of slow cooking meat) for a total cost of just $1.98. We added a side order of hummus for just $1.13 and a liter and a half bottle of water for 68 cents. We were given a basket of HOT, freshly, baked flat bread to dip into our hummus....yum! The total for this splurge of lunch came to a whopping $5.04!

Fresh Baked Bread And Hummus

Everything that this restaurant sells is cheap and they even offer home delivery for FREE. But it's NOT just this restaurant that is cheap, they all are here. Even the famous Nathan's hot dog chain is here in El Gouna where one can buy a hot dog for around $1.40 or a burger for $1.70 for that good old American food fix. But for us we'll stay with the local food since it's cheap, tasty and healthy.

Here's Clyde Hard At Work House Sitting

We have been in Egypt for a full month today and are still loving this place. However, we entered the country on a 30 day tourist visa that expires today, so yesterday we made the trek into Hurghada to the visa office to request an extension. An interesting experience that is not over yet. We had to leave our passports behind and go pick them up this afternoon with our new visas, so full story to follow later. Another day of heat, sunshine, sand, furry friends and loving life in Egypt.....along the gringo trail.

A Dream Location.....El Gouna, Egypt.....

After nearly four weeks of visiting Egypt's ancient sites we have moved into the modern, tourist resort of El Gouna.  Built in 1989 the resort town is situated along the Red Sea, 12 miles north of the city of Hurghada. A maze of man-made lagoons (el gounas) set the theme of this development along with several golf courses, 18 hotels, restaurants, shops, a hospital, clinics, marinas, schools and even a downtown area. El Gouna is a dream come true for lovers of watersports like snorkeling, diving, windsurfing, kitesurfing, waterskiing and parasailing. Sandy beaches lead into the crystal, clear waters of the Red Sea that offers just the right temperature for cooling off from the hot summer sun.

Will The Big Boy

Tee Tee The Female
 

It was six months ago when I stumbled upon the first ever house sit I'd seen in Egypt and jumped at the opportunity. We arrived yesterday and were welcomed in by the English homeowners. It was over ten years ago now that this courageous couple decided to jump into the unknown and move here with their seven year old son for a new way of life.  While living abroad has come with its challenges they have grown to love it here and have no plans to go back to the cold, damp United Kingdom anytime soon.

Our Backyard View....Pool And Lagoon

Back Of The Villa

Front Of Villa
 

Our temporary home is a modern Mediterranean-styled villa with three bedrooms, three bathrooms and a large outdoor entertaining area. The infinity pool overlooks a lagoon that leads out to the Red Sea. Set against a backdrop of mountains, desert and water the stunning view is something we surely will not get tired of. And the home comes complete with the company of some new furry friends who are just waiting for belly rubs. Tee Tee and Will are Egyptian Baladi's (desert dogs) that were once strays before they found their forever home. And there are several cats that live outdoors along with Mouse, the cat, who is allowed inside to interact with the dogs.

Found This Beach In Hurghada

Called Dream Beach

Easy Access Into The Water

Warm, Tranquil, Clear Water Of The Red Sea

It's Called The Red Sea Because Of Algae From The Bottom That Rises Once A Year

And Turns The Water A Reddish Brown

 

Stay tuned for plenty of photos, stories and adventures from this gorgeous home that we have temporarily adopted as our own, in El Gouna, Egypt.....along the gringo trail.