04.25.23

Kat and I usually do not participate in tours, but since our time in Egypt was pretty short, we chose to do some new things.

Thing #1 (Above) was our first ever hot air balloon ride in Luxor, which was magical! The balloon itself is very cool, but soaring over the Valley of the Kings and seeing the city of Luxor, surrounded by sand as well as verdant green pastures, was beyond trippy. The day before we were down at ground level and went INTO many of the interior temples, and the artwork and sculpting was breathtaking. You can view some of them in my personal Facebook blogs from February.

Thing #2 (Below) was going INSIDE the “Red Pyramid” in Giza, which was an awesome and unique experience. This pyramid is the second oldest ever built, and third largest behind the Great One at Giza. We almost had a private “tour” since there are only 10 people allowed in at a time, and we were the only ones, and I will let the video speak for me. The Dahshur area also houses the very oldest pyramid, called Saqqara, which is known as the “Step Pyramid,” since it was built before they knew what angle to use to create the perfect triangular structure. That angle, by the way, is 51°, which allows it to stay upright without crumbling.

Thing #3 was my first “real” camel ride, which we rode around the Great Giza Pyramid area. We visited all three, including the Khafre, and the Menkaure, plus stood in front of the Great Sphinx, which is very crumbly and can truly only be viewed properly from one angle. I have never ridden a camel in my life, and I think I was actually a bit fearful!

I realized that I did not feel very comfortable being at the mercy of a four-footed animal, so when Kathleen said, “Yes, this is a place to do it!” I reluctantly gulped, and said okay. It was surprisingly easy getting on, but there’s only a stirrup on one side and the other leg hangs free. You hold on to a knob about the size of your fist, and using a video camera with one hand was okay, but using it with two hands was tricky! But Kathleen proved herself to be a superstar.

We walked from the top of the hill, at the base of Khafre, and terminated at the bottom of the hill at the Great Sphinx. Watching the camel take a step DOWN was a little bit eerie, and when they did that we got jostled forward. When we finished, the camel handler had to encourage the donkey to bend their front legs forward, and then the rear legs followed. Now that was a trip! It lurched forward, I lurched with it, and then regained my stability. Let’s just say it was fun, but I’m not quite sure I’m ready to do it again!

We were on the go for six weeks in Israel, Jordan, and Egypt, so compiling these took a bit of time. I hope you enjoy them!

04.04.23

If you are a new follower and want a quick overview of the last three months (Q1) of 2023, here is our recent newsletter.

02.24.23

Three days in Luxor was about right, and the following day we moved on to our next destination, Aswan. There was really only one place we wanted to see there, and that is the Great Temple at Abu Simbel, which I had seen in photos since I was a kid, but I was not familiar with the name. But this is the 4000 year old temple built along the Aswan Lake, which was formed by building the Aswan Dam in the sixties. The rising water put Abu Simbel at risk of being covered, so they dismantled and moved the entire structure about 200 meters up the hill to a higher elevation. This was, and probably still is, the largest archaeological project in history and cost about $200M in 1960’s dollars.

The problem we had was twofold: the “town” of Aswan was dirty and polluted with not much there, and the ride to Abu Simbel was 3.5 hours ONE WAY out, which left just two hours to visit, then another long ride back. To facilitate this we left the hostel at 0430 and that made for a long, tiring day. In hindsight, the visit to Aswan was one we could have passed on, and that would have allowed a shorter trip or more time in Luxor. Again, the beauty of hindsight is clear, but at least we can share it here with you!

The next day it was time to leave, and that involved an overnight 12 hour train ride to Cairo, and then leaving the following day. That part follows.

We are in Egypt for our final night, and it has been one hell of a ride! From camels to hot air balloons, from taxis to trains, tomorrow we are heading back to Albania, and not a moment too soon. We have been gone for 41 days, and most of that time was spent in Israel, but the last 10 days or so have been non-stop. Tonight is our fifth night in a different location, and that includes last night, on an overnight train, and tonight, when we will be sleeping more or less at the Cairo airport. Tomorrow night we will be on the island of Corfu for the first time.

02.24.23

Before we started working on our Egypt trip we had to make many decisions. How long did we need in the country; where were we going, and how were we traveling?

We kind of knew we wanted just a few days in Cairo/ Giza since it was so busy, and after researching the other spots to visit, Luxor was our next spot. We decided to fly there since it was just one hour away and fairly cheap, plus, we met up with some American friends we met in Albania at the airport, and the four of us shared a flight together. This was a first after so many years of traveling since with it is usually just the two of us, but Steve and Kathy were great partners and we all got along well together.

Luxor is a small town, especially compared to Cairo, and the Nile River splits the town in half between the east and west bank. We stayed on the east side and there was a great selection of rooms, plus it was more “rural”, and not within a crowded town.

Our room at the Oasis Gust House was terrific at just $16 per day—including breakfast on the roof patio. When we arrived we met with our hosts, Abraham, and talked about tour options, and like Giza, decided that a tour made sense. Also, since we now had two other people to share it with, we were all able to save a bit of money. The Valley of the Kings, was a must-see, and our tour guide showed us around, shared the history and insight, plus took us to the Temple of Hatshepsut, one of the most significant Queens in early Egyptian history, and a monument we had never heard of, called Medinet Habu. All were spectacular!

The next day we were on our own so took the ferry across the river and visited the Temple of Karnak and viewed the Luxor Temple, which is visible by just driving or walking by, and the next morning, our last, we all did something we had never done before: a hot air balloon ride for $50 each, which was spectacular. We left just after sunrise and sailed over the places we had visited, plus saw other sites from a 2000 foot perspective. Money well spent!

There is much more detail that I shared on my personal Facebook page if you’d like to read it.

03.01.23 (catching up from personal blogs)

Feb 18, 2023: Jerusalem

As we finished up Israel, we also celebrated four years on the road, and on to country #28…

Yesterday was our four-year anniversary since Kat and I left the US, and it’s been a hell of a ride! We marvel at how much has happened since then, and on one hand it seems much longer than four years, but yet it seems like it was just a short time ago. We are now in country #29 since we left, and we have both been to about 45 countries in total. Egypt is coming up next, and later this year many more will be added in the Far East and Southern Hemisphere.

I have taken 69 flights since 2019, and I think a few layovers are missing. We have met some amazing people on the way, including several who we now consider lifelong and dear friends. Unfortunately, we have lost some old friends as well, but that is inevitable just based on distance and different lifestyles. Along with 29 countries, we’ve stayed at more than 100 Airbnb rooms and hotels, in hundreds of cities, and seen an insane number of churches, cathedrals, castles, ruins, and museums! Some of the novelty has worn off, but we are constantly amazed to STILL see something new and exciting. That has certainly been the case over our past month in Israel.

For those who have stayed in touch, and new friends we found along the way…THANK YOU. It’s less fun doing what we do if we don’t share it, and when people tell us that they started their journey because they were motivated or encouraged by us, well, that makes it all the better.

Feb 20, 2023: Jerusalem

We are at the Tel Aviv airport with just a few hours left before we depart Israel for what may be the last time. It’s been a pretty terrific visit, and we had a lot of time to kill on this, our last day, since we had to check out of our room earlier in the day, and our flight did not leave until 0500 the following morning.

Feb 26, 2023: Egypt!

This has been one of the busiest weeks we have had in a long time! To encapsulate the last few days, the day after we arrived in Giza, we visited two pyramid sites, including the Saqqwara Necropolis, which is the site of the very first step pyramid. This was the first attempt at MAKING a pyramid, and that took some trial and error, followed by the second one at Dahsur, which was made at a 54° angle, and they soon discovered that it was too much angle. The bottom corners fell off very quickly, so they decreased the angle to 45°, and the rest of them followed suit. Some pretty amazing mathematics! But at Dahsur we went INSIDE the red limestone pyramid, climbed down 163 steps into the open burial chamber, which was quite cool. THAT was an experience!

From there we visited the Egyptian Antiquities museum and saw our first mummies, I mean, real mummies! They were very tiny and small since that was part of the process of the mummification, and the shapes of their heads were very elongated, almost freaky. Unfortunately, we were unable to take photos.

The next day we hit the big guns: Giza, with three pyramids, plus the Great Sphinx. But before those icons we went to Cairo one more time to the Cairo Museum and saw the original King Tut exhibit. Again, no photos allowed…

It’s hard to really describe the experience at Giza. I don’t really have a bucket this per se, but if I did this would be on it. Kathleen said that if we were ever going to rent camels this was the place to do it and she was right! We took a camel ride from the top of the hill down to the Sphinx at the bottom, and it was a memory that will stay with us forever.

Three days of non-stop was exhausting, but the fun was not over yet! The next day we flew to Luxor and met up with some friends from Albania. Stay tuned!