Some of you may already know this & many may not, but it’s been over 4 weeks now since I’ve flown our plane. Shortly after Mubarak stepped down from the Egyptian Presidency, the Military Gov’t put a stop on all Egyptian Businessmen’s private flights. It sounds like they are possibly checking into all Egyptians with great wealth & looking for any possibility of dirty money. As you can imagine, this has put many on edge & many have chosen not to fly their corporate aircraft, regardless of the gov’t grounding, so as not to stand out.
Obviously, this has left many of us pilots waiting to see how much longer we will retain our jobs. Some guys have already lost theirs & others have heard that their planes are up for sale. Although my boss has not directly said anything, he has given a few hints that he is at best undecided over his commitment to continue operating a private jet in the near-term.
On that note, I remain focused on the fact that the good Lord clearly lead me to Egypt (for MANY opportunities of personal & spiritual growth, plus SO much more!) & I know that he will guide & care for me going forward. The big question hanging out there is where to next!
Anyway, I thought I’d post a load of pics to tell the graphic stories of some of the things that have kept me busy while grounded in Cairo during the past 4 plus weeks. Here they are, beginning with the most recent.
This past weekend the kids & I went on a retreat with a group from our church. It was a great time of relaxation, prayer & fun family activities for all.
Here's part of the group on the 2 hr tour bus ride, as we headed north out of Cairo.
It was an exceptionally clear night as we drove along the Nile (in the foreground), on the way out of Maadi...so clear, you could see the pyramids!
Within the skateboard park at the resort/camp, the kids found much joy in playing with this old car. (Joshua driving, Jasmine on the hood & friend Jonathan on the roof)
Joshua, in an act of defiance, stops Jonathan from driving away in the car without an engine.
A view of the grounds around the area, from atop the conference building.
Took another hiking excursion out to Wadi Degla with some friends:
There's NOTHING you can't transport via truck in Egypt. This time, it appears to be water buffalo :)
Also featured on the Ring Road this day: 2 guys in a car that wasn't road worthy. Yes, this thing WAS driving down the highway :)
Found a cave that went quite far back into the rock cliff of the valley. A few of us went in about 20 ft, but without the proper gear for this adventure, we decided to revisit another day.
Gabriel (John's son) checkin' out the dark cave!
Atop one of the cliffs overlooking the valley, from left to right: John, Alvero, Justin & myself.
Later that day, I took the kids to one of John's son's birthday party at Family Land:
Jasmine loves to ride this helicopter ride in circles!
Joshua & some of the boys in bumper/laser tag/something or other type cars :)
The kids always love to get wild in the plastic ball cage!
An afternoon at the Maadi Sports Club with the kids at the playground.
During my 4 days of excursions downtown, in order to facilitate the sale of the SUV I recently bought (and I used to think being stuck at the MI Secretary of State office for an hour was bad), we drove through what I would call the hardware district. This guy only sold hand tools out of the back of his truck. Likewise, if you want pipe joints, you go to the guy who sold only those and so on...
This guy had some key roll in approving the transfer of vehicle registration paperwork. Behind him I observed what seemed to be the filing system for stuff that was currently in process...they would take stacks of folders & drop them on the filthy ground in piles & then someone else would come along & rummage through the pile until they found what was needed. I didn't see a single computer in this government building, just lots of metal storage cabinets with boxes of vehicle registration paperwork stuffed inside. I have NO idea how they keep track of anything in this place :)
Shortly after the corporate jets were all grounded, we got together for one of our ACE (Aviator's Club of Expats) meetings at 2 of the guys' roof-top penthouse suites.
From left to right: Juan (Spain), John (US), Alvero (Spain), Justin (US), Doug (US), Alvero (US)
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