The Suez Canal is around 120 miles long.  It connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea and saves ships bound for Europe or the Americas from the Middle East and Far East, many thousands of miles going around South Africa (Kids, have a look at a world map).

We entered the canal at Port Said at 03.30 and we exited in Port Suez at 14.00. We were in a convoy of  southbound ships and had to pause at a wide point in the middle (actually a lake) for a northbound convoy to pass.

Now we are in the Gulf of Suez which shortly becomes the Red Sea. At last the weather has seriously improved and should stay sunny for most of the rest of our journey. The sunset this evening over the Egyptian shore was beautiful.