An Incredible Journey

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  Aswan, Nile River Valley, Egypt
Wednesday, October 15, 2008

What an incredible journey so far!  I am traveling with Intrepid on their "Discover Egypt" trip and it has been quite an experience.  Already so many life long memories and we are only into Day 4!  Here is a brief rundown:

Day 1-
We have a great group of 11 people.  Three couples, Sarah & Paul from Sydney, Australia; Lisa & Luke from Adelaide, Aus.; Rachel & Michael from England; then David from Vancouver, Canada; Christof from Germany; Louise from Sydney; Tania from New Zealand; and ME!!  Our guide is a Cairo native named Ahmed.  He is great.  Very knowledgeable and organized and almost always has his great smile on his face.  I am really enjoying spending time with everyone!  After we all met we went to dinner and walked around Cairo for the evening.  I finally felt comfortable venturing out in the group and we stopped in a coffee shop and tried Karkaday(Hibiscus tea...really good! and other Egyptian drinks.  Many tried the shisha too, but considering my lungs are still trying to fully recover and I had no voice at the time, I didn't think it a good idea that I participate.  Cairo seemed even busier at night then during the day according to Sarah and Paul.  It was very vibrant along the path we were taking.  They claim to be the city that never sleeps, but that is NYC...everyone knows that!!

Day 2-
Today was saw the Pyramids of the Giza Plateau!  It was hard to believe we were actually looking at THE pyramids!  The were so big!  There is a very interesting idea of security here in Egypt.  The tourism police make you walk through metal detectors everywhere, even in the hotels, but they ALWAYS beep and they don't do anything about it.  They put bags through x-ray machines, but don't even watch the screens.  It is a law that is VERY loosely followed!  We were haggled all along the way by men trying to sell us things and even trying to put things right into our hands as 'gifts' which they then expect a gift in return for.  Tania and I were both walking with Christof and he was offered 1,000,000 camels for one of us!  Paul was offered 15,000,000 for Sarah!  We walked down into on of the queens' tombs and it was so hot and sticky; we got some great photos with the pyramids, and then went to see the Sphinx.  It did not seem as big as I thought it would, but the nose is definitely missing!  Our guide for the day, Hend, said that it really was just the humidity and the limestone breaking that caused the fall, but I'm not yet convinced!  We had casari (spelling questinable) for lunch which was a dish of pasta, rice, fried onions, lentils, chickpeas, tomato sauce, and your choice of spicy or garlic sauce.  I am going to try to replicate it or at least make my own version, it was so tasty!

Sounds like a full day, but then it was on to the Egyptian Musuem and the tomb contents of King Tutankhamun.  The golden mask is stunning!  Then back for a bit of a rest before boarding the overnight sleeper train to Aswan. 

Day 3-
After arriving in Aswan we got the orientation walking tour from Ahmed then had lunch out on the beautiful Nile River and boarded a motorboat for a tour.  Then a visit to a Nubian Beach and a trek up the sand dune for a gorgeous view of the Nile and the vast sand in the other direction!  It was a work out on the way up...for sure.  But the way back down was just fun!  Then it was camel riding!  They did not spit nearly as much as I thought they would or smell that bad.  They actually have such cute faces!  My but still hurts today I must admit!  It was so fun though walking through the desert with a very nice sunset along the way to the Nubian village where we were to have dinner.  Spending time in the village was such a highlight of the trip so far.  The food was wonderful and the women who prepared it for us full of smiles.  They were just so kind and giving.  Then it became a dance party...all of a sudden the entire open courtyard was filled with children.  The boys were mostly playing the drums and singing and the girls pulled us all up to dance with them!  It was so neat.  The kids were of all different ages, but one little one barely looked like she had been walking for too long and she was dancing more than most.  Then as suddenly as it started, and after we had worked off most of the wonderful dinner, they were all gone again!  It was magical!  I will never forgot our time there forever!   

On the way back across the river our boat almost collided head on with another boat.  But it was nothing really!  Really! Just a bit of a side collision when the other boat finally realized we were there and pulled away.  There was a big splash and a big shock, but we made it safefly across and back to bed before too late.

Day 4-
Wake up call 3am
Bus ride in convoy about 6 hours total there and back
Abu Simbel Temple - HUGE

The story is that when the High Dam was created it caused the rising Nile to potential bury the temple, so it had to be moved....INCREDIBLE.  I can't even believe that they were able to do it, but they did and now the temples stand on the edge of Lake Nasser for us to enjoy!


Tomorrow we board feluccas for 2 days sailing along the Nile and I'm really looking forward to it.  Leisurely days to relax and catch up on some rest.  The past few days have really taken a lot out of us all!  Sleeping on the bus today did not make up for the 3am morning. 

Egypt is a fascinating place with so many stories.  I will try to save them all in my memory and share them with you later! 

All my love,
Ali / Althea

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