The Idiot resumed his walk on the sandy Mediterranean Sea in Egypt towards Libya a week ago feeling spry and secure at his peaceful beachside basecamp in Sidi Abdel Rahman. But these sentiments were less striking than an armed escort provided, at their insistence, by the Egyptian Police.
The Idiot was feeling springy and spiffy when he resumed the MedTrek across northern Egypt on the Mediterranean Sea on March 8.
(Photo: Michael Knipe)
The calming morning view from his room at the Al Alamein Hotel put The Idiot in the mood for a meditative stroll on the Mediterranean seaside.
The Idiot heads west along the Mediterranean Sea towards Libya.
(Photo: Michael Knipe)
The pace is so mellow and the sand so fine that even his 78-year-old English MedTrekking partner and book editor Michael Knipe takes off his trainers and walks barefoot.
The Idiot didn’t mind walking along a 16-kilometer concrete wall that will protect/hide the El Dabaa seaside nuclear plant being constructed by the Russian State Nuclear Energy Corporation…
…or approaching never-completed apartment complexes on a coast that is under the surveillance and control of the Egyptian military.
(Photo: Michael Knipe)
The Idiot, however, was slightly surprised that, four days into this delightful round of MedTrekking, the Egyptian Police insisted that he be accompanied by an armed escort “for your own protection.” After all, although he is regularly stopped by military officers who check his documents and inform him that it’s frequently forbidden to walk on the seaside, there had been no troublesome incidents on a hike along the Mediterranean in northern Egypt that began with an outing last November.
Having no choice, he and MedTrekker Michael Knipe patiently welcomed a four-man armed detail to insure their safety during the MedTrek on March 12-13 and regularly thanked them for their service and protection.
Egypt’s Tourism Police insisted on accompanying The Idiot on the MedTrek between Al Alamein and Marsa Metruh, Egypt. The protective unit consisted of four men, two whom occasionally walked with The Idiot and his MedTrekking partner Michael Knipe, and a pickup with the other two police officers that kept up with the MedTrekkers on a nearby highway.
Michael Knipe, The Idiot’s 78-year-old British book editor, MedTreks in the wake of two Egyptian policemen. The police pickup is ahead on the right shoulder of the road.
The Idiot lets an Egyptian policeman set the pace at one stage during the 18-kilometer MedTrek to the tip of the Ras El Hekma peninsula, where Egyptian presidents traditionally have summer residences.
(Photo: Michael Knipe)
Have holstered gun, will MedTrek.
Discussing the next steps on the Mediterranean Sea.
The MedTrekkers and their armed escort are invited to tea by a stranger named Faisal when they arrive at the tip of the Ras El Hekma peninsula.
(Photo: Michael Knipe)
Next Week: Will the Egyptian police continue protecting The Idiot?
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